California Policies

A Vision of What Realignment Could Be

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As counties across California scramble to implement plans for realignment, in Santa Clara County, one humble program born from the opportunity of realignment is taking off. In this picture Steeda McGruder, founder of Sisters That Been There, reads through a butcher paper full of quotes from recently released women who are participating in her program through the auspices of the county probation department. The quotes are from larger writings the women did on messages they would send out about their hopes and challenges for their new lives free of incarceration. The women range in ages of 59 to 22 years old. Powerful work, be on the look out for more work from Sisters That Been There! (click here to check out the video when Steeda shares how she was inspired to create the program while incarcerated.)

A Father Takes One More Step Towards Finding His Kids

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This may not look for much, but this worn packet of disheveled papers held together by a rubber band is actually the key to one of our ACJP members getting his kids back. They were taken from him, without consent or notice, while he was incarcerated. When he got out of prison, they were gone, with no state or county agency giving him any information on where they are, or how they are doing. He has been on a mission ever since, undeterred by the bureaucratic obstacles in his way. This packet is from his former public defender, and may contain the papers he needs to reach his kids. It took months to receive, and he’s now one step closer. We took the picture as soon as he got it, memorializing history in the making.

Sixth Annual “Beyond the Bench Conference” Empowering Families, Engaging Parents

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James Bell, Founder of the Haywood Burns Institute

ACJP organizer Gail Noble was invited to the Santa Clara County “Beyond the Bench Conference” a convening of juvenile justice court practitioners and advocates. She reports back on the event that both described the uphill battle to bring a new mind frame to youth incarceration, as well as some hopeful signs of changes to come.

By Gail Noble: The Sixth Annual Beyond the Bench Conference Empowering Families, Engaging Parents was held at Saint Claire Hotel Downtown San Jose, February 3, 2012. The conference room was filled with Public Defenders, District Attorneys, Probation Officers, City Council Officials,  Community Organizations, and Parents.
The Host of the event Beyond the Bench was Judge Patrick Tondreau, who has been the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Justice System. In the year 2009 Judge Tondreau began to put in motion the concept of the “Model Court.” Continue reading →

Santa Clara County courts: Now providing legal representation in misdemeanor court to anyone who can’t afford their own

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A couple of years ago, it was common to hear of Santa Clara County indigent community members tell us they plead guilty to a misdemeanor at arraignment. Since the Public Defender’s office didn’t staff all arraignment courts, many took a plea without consulting an attorney. Many would pay the consequences of their uninformed decision after the fact in terms of jobs, housing, and immigration. We still remember going to meet with Jeff Adachi in San Francisco, and being stunned at the differences of services offered for public defender clients who faced misdemeanor charges. The main difference being ofcourse that in San Francisco people could consult with an attorney at arraignment, and in Santa Clara County, they were denied that right. De-Bug’s ACJP and other members of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability met with the Public Defender’s office about this discrepancy in 2010. Very excited to see now that the Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office will staff all arraignments!

By Tracey Kaplan for the Mercury News: Ending an era in which criminal defendants’ constitutional rights were routinely jeopardized, Santa Clara County will now offer legal representation to anyone who can’t afford an attorney at their initial court appearance.

The reform, which begins next week, brings the local judicial system in line with the majority of other California counties — including San Mateo and San Francisco — that have long staffed misdemeanor arraignments, a defendant’s first court appearance. A 2009 Mercury News investigation prompted the county to provide representation for defendants in custody. Now that right will apply to all defendants accused of misdemeanors. Continue reading →

LaDoris Cordell: San Jose Should Outfit Police Officers with Cameras

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LADORIS CORDELL: SAN JOSE SHOULD OUTFIT POLICE OFFICERS WITH CAMERAS

Judge LaDoris Cordell San Jose Independent Police Auditor

Police Chief Chris Moore,  the City Council, and the mayor, are all in agreement with getting the  San Jose Police Department outfitted with cameras.  We have the funds to purchase the cameras,  and San Jose should take the next step and do it.  This would help stop the fraudulent police reports, unnecessary use of force, and restore the trust back in the community which is long over do. Read the position by Judge Ladoris Cordell, San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor.  Submission Post by Gail Noble

By LaDoris Cordell: Special to the Mercury News — Thursday morning saw San Jose’s eighth officer involved shooting this year, the fourth to end in a fatality.  The  circumstances of the  shooting are under investigation by the San Jose Police Department.  Undoubtedly, there will be a review and an assessment by the district attorney;  and because a member of  the  public registered a concern about the shooting with us, the Office of the Independent Police Auditor will ensure that the investigation into the question of whether or not there was any police misconduct is fair, thorough and objective.

But already, the finger-point has begun.  The officer’s version of the incident has the deceased  in a bedroom brandishing a gun at the officer;  and the civilian witness’s version has the officer shooting at an unarmed man in his bedroom.  This “he-said, she said” response is nothing new.  It happens all the time when there are controversial police incidents;  in most instances, the final determination whatever it is, leaves one side or the other dissatisfied.  If the officer is absolved of any misconduct and the shooting deemed justified, a public outcry ensues with shout of biased policing, frequently emanating from communities of color.  If the officer is deemed to have violated department policy, police officers and their multitude of supporters in the community express their outrage.  And what we all end up with is a city divided by anger and mistrust.

Healthy Cal: Fewer Youth in State Detention After Juvenile Realignment

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The results of juvenile realignment forced our state to think more creatively and compassionately about juvenile offenders.  As a result, according to this article, the youth prison population went down 88% in the last 10 years.  Hoping the same results happen through the jails realignment.  Submission Post by Charisse Domingo

Fewer youth in state detention after juvenile realignment

Published: January 9, 2012

By Callie Shanafelt, California Health Report

Michael Bryant has been in and out of Juvenile Hall in Santa Cruz since he was 13 years old, when he started drinking alcohol everyday. Now 17, Bryant is doing time in a treatment center after plea-bargaining on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Some counties would have viewed this crime as a second strike and sent Bryant to a state facility. But Santa Cruz rarely sends youth to the state for supervision. In part, that’s because the county is a participant in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, a program of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Continue reading →

San Francisco Bay Guardian: SF Supervisors Urge City To Defy Federal Immigration Holds

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The Santa-Clara-fication spreads.  Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a similar policy to Santa Clara urging the City to limit cooperation with federal immigration officials and not spend county resources to do ICE’s job.  Great job to the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee for pushing this forward, and to Supervisor Eric Mar for sponsoring the resolution.  We need more and more of our jurisdictions to turn the tide against the criminalization of immigrants.  Post by Charisse Domingo

 

SF supervisors urge city to defy federal immigration holds

by Steven Jones
12/14/11

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tues/13) approved a resolution calling for the city to adopt stronger policies for resisting federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants who live here. It is the latest move to support the city’s Sanctuary City status and counter the federal Secure Communities (S-Com) program, a new database that allows the feds to circumvent local policies protecting local immigrants who have been arrested but not convicted of any crimes.

Continue reading →

Arizonification vs. Santaclarification of enforcement policies

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Members of the Probation Department of Santa Clara County question an inmate during... (Gary Reyes)

The following piece entitled On Crime Policy, Takes a cutting edge — some say risk — approach in the Mercury News highlights Santa Clara counties strategies around realignment and immigration detainers — both of which were influenced by community input.

By Tracey Kaplan, Mercury News: Long overshadowed by freethinking San Francisco, Berkeley and now protest-roiled Oakland, Santa Clara County has been eclipsing its lefty neighbors lately — with criminal justice policies that critics blast as risky but supporters call cutting-edge.

From its controversial stand against a federal policy on detaining jailed illegal immigrants to its open-arms, welcome-home stance toward newly freed state prisoners, Santa Clara County has struck the kind of permissive chord that puts Fox News pundits in a lather. Continue reading →

A Day in a California Court — Record Clearance

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The following blog post by Cecelia Chavez is part of an ongoing series of ACJP participants writing about observing court sessions. Cecelia works with the ACJP in East San Jose, and is currently a Criminal Justice Studies Major at San Jose State.

The Record Clearance Project was a very interesting court session to observe. The purpose of this program was for individuals who had felony convictions have the opportunity to get their records cleared or reduce their felony convictions to misdemeanors. It was an opportunity given to the defendants to plea their situation in front of Judge Arroyo. Each defendant explained the circumstance in which they were at the time they received the felony conviction and how they have moved on and bettered their lives. It was important for these individuals to have their records cleared because with a felony conviction in their records they are limited in the job industry. Many jobs now ask in their applications whether or not the person applying has been ever convicted of a felony, although it should not influence the employers’ decision it greatly does. With the records cleared or charges reduced each individual has a wider range of job opportunities and a second chance for a better life. Continue reading →

San Jose Mercury News: Stanford Law Professors Submit Proposed Initiative to Limit Three Strikes Law

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The Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project has been successful in overturning life sentences where the third strike was imposed on non-violent felonies.  This has resulted in changed lives — from the defendants now freed to the families that have supported them. Now, Stanford law professors are trying to take it on a statewide level. Submission post by Charisse Domingo

San Jose Mercury News: Stanford Law Professors Submit Proposed Initiative to Limit Three Strikes Law

by Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News
11/2/11

An effort to limit California’s tough Three Strikes Law is gaining momentum, with a proposed ballot initiative that would reserve the toughest penalty — 25 years to life — for the baddest of the bad, including murderers, rapists and child molesters.

The initiative, now under state legal review, was carefully crafted by a group of Stanford University law professors and stops far short of the extensive changes proposed under a previous reform measure that narrowly failed in 2004.

Continue reading →