The latest publication in CJCJ’s Juvenile Justice Realignment Series analyses direct adult criminal court filings across California’s 58 counties since the passage of Proposition 21 (2000). Direct filing allows prosecutors to unilaterally transfer youth to adult court, thereby circumventing juvenile court jurisdiction.* Read the full report at $1What_has_been_the_effect_of_Prop_21.pdf$4 Find out what others are saying about it in our attached press release, including statements by Assembly…
Demonstrations are taking place at Governors’ offices across the country today in New York, Connecticut, and Illinois in solidarity with those pushing for basic rights and humane conditions within the Security Housing Units (SHU) at the notorious Pelican Bay State Prison, located in the northwestern tip of California. The conditions of the SHU will be the topic of discussion at today’s oversight hearing by California’s Assembly Public Safety Committee (listen live at 1:30 pm ). The…
Aug 23, 2011
The Pacifica Evening News
The Pacifica Evening News KPFA Radio, August 22, 2011
Selena Teji on California’s Broken Juvenile Detention System Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, August 18, 2011
Aug 18, 2011
Curfews: Crime Fighting Or Racial Profiling?
Curfews: Crime Fighting Or Racial Profiling? NPR, August 17, 2011
On the November 2, 2004 California ballot, Proposition 66 was designed to place limitations on California’s “Three Strikes” law enacted in 1994. In response to the increasing numbers of third-strikers serving 25-years-to-life for drug possession, the initiative intended to require that the third-strike conviction be for a violent or serious felony in order to apply an increased sentence. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office , Proposition 66 would have saved the state several…
Over the past three decades a continuous mantra among conservatives has been that the “free market” represents the best solutions to social problems. The government is “too big” and is inefficient; the free market works best. Let the market rule and social problems will disappear has been the thinking. One of the consequences of this line of thinking is the privatization movement where issues normally handled by the government should be turned over to private businesses. The profit motive…
Blog Aug 16, 2011
Conservative states leading the way in prison reform
The Supreme Court decision that California needs to shrink (not release) its prison population has made national headlines, but as I mentioned in my last blog , over the past few years many states have already begun reducing their reliance on incarceration. What is particularly interesting, as the ACLU points out in their most recent report, is the overwhelming bi-partisan support for prison reform efforts. Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and a handful of other states have successfully…
Despite declining crime rates, incarceration rates are at an all time high in the United States with 2 million adults in prison, including 150,000 in California institutions. The number of people in private prisons has increased more rapidly than the rate of people sentenced to state and federal facilities. The reason behind this growth is due to the direct link between the private prison industry, monopolized by the GEO group and the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and The American…
Blog Aug 9, 2011
Farrell Update: Motion Granted
Last week, in response to the July 7th Farrell hearing , Judge Tigar enforced the Prison Law Office’s (representing Farrell ) motion to hold California’s state-run juvenile correctional facilities (DJF) accountable, specifically for unmet educational and programmatic requirements. DJF remains in violation of a 2005 court order to meet the 4‑hour minimum requirement per youth per day for educational programming. In July 2011, DJF said they needed at least 90 days to hire adequate staff to…
While a large majority of American cities have juvenile curfews on their books, cities elsewhere in the world apply curfews only to serious offenders, not to youths committing no crime other than being young and in public. Americans seem eager to admit what should been deeply shameful: that we grownups have created urban areas so dangerous, and we are so frightened of our young people, that federal proposals for daytime and nighttime curfews would banish youths from being in public all but a…
Blog Aug 4, 2011
Counties begin the daunting task of realignment
As the October 1st deadline edges closer, California’s counties have started formulating their plans for how they will manage the new population of at the local level. Assembly Bill 109 defines the realignment, which was prompted by the May 2011 Supreme Court decision to reduce prison overcrowding in California. For information on the practical application of AB 109, read Emily Luhrs’ blog, Myths vs. Facts — Clearing up the realignment debate . The most significant change the bill…