After a number delays, and a groundswell of support which included celebrities and national civil rights organizations, Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. Author Demone Carter wonders about future of the movement which called for his freedom, one that was widely built through social media. — Post submission by Demone Carter
Troy Davis is dead and unfortunately the passion and energy of his supporters may die with him. Continue reading
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen
As stated in a recently released document, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced they will change their policy regarding the consideration of collateral consequences (such as possible deportation consequences for a minor conviction) when negotiating plea agreements. The memo states, “It is not generally the duty of a prosecutor to mitigate the collateral consequences to a defendant of his or her crime. However, in those cases where the collateral consequences are significantly greater than the punishment for the crime itself, it is incumbent upon the prosecutor to consider and, if appropriate, take reasonable steps to mitigate those collateral consequences.” Continue reading
Written by Gail Noble, ACJP Organizer
9/12/2011
The hallway was crowded with people waiting for Judge Manley’s courtroom doors to open at 9:00am. I did not know what to expect. This was my first time at Drug Court. I was there on behalf of a community member who came to ACJP who needed support.
Judge Manley began to address the court room, “I look forward to having people move on with their lives. There are eight to ten graduates this week.” He further instructed the courtroom. “I do not want anyone laughing when a client’s case is being heard.” He also wanted everyone to clap for every client after their case is heard, even if they have failed. “I believe that they can get it right.”
As I watched Judge Manley’s courtroom operations, I could see justice playing out at its highest level. Clients looked like the weight of the world was being lifted off their shoulders. Justice was seeing them as a human being and not PFN#.
In one particular case, Judge Manley told the client to see her probation officer (PO) within the next couples of days. The client replied, “I don’t have any money, or transportation to go see my PO.” Judge Manley then said, “See your case manager. They will help assist with that.” A lady got up, and walked over, sat down beside her, and started talking with her. I guess her job was to make sure she was connected with a case manager who would assist with her financial needs.
A young man’s name was called. He stepped forward. Judge Manley praised him for completing the program and spoke words of encouragement for his future. All of a sudden, Judge Manley got up from his chair, came down to the floor, walked up to the young man, and extended his hand to shake. They shook hands, and the Judge gave the young man a hug in the process. I stared with amazement; everyone began clapping. I was moved by the caring and compassion that Judge Manley displayed towards the graduate and to all the other clients that followed.
Justice is not blind in Judge Manley’s courtroom.
We played the following video at the Santa Clara County Public Safety Committee hearing regarding the County’s draft plan for realignment. Video produced by Jean Melesaine:
The Public Safety and Justice Committee of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss the draft realignment implementation plan this Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at the County Building, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose. Click below and scroll down to Item 13 to see the initial plan…
By Michelle Fei — The Obama administration’s Aug. 18 announcement of a new policy that purports to suspend deportations against immigrants without criminal convictions has sprouted a range of reactions from immigrant rights advocates, from full-fledged celebration to wary suspicion.
I can appreciate why some advocates are praising the announcement. First, it does seem true that the national outcry over the failure of immigration reform and the expansion of the deportation program known as “Secure Communities” – which requires police to share fingerprint data of all arrestees with federal immigration authorities — has prompted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to respond with this “new” policy. It’s worth noting, however, that advocates have long sought to get ICE to actually exercise the discretionary powers it has always held. Second, fewer deportations is certainly a good thing. To the extent that this announcement can actually help the small percentage of people who could qualify for a temporary reprieve from deportation, I share the temporary sense of relief of these immigrants. No family should know the devastation of deportation. Continue reading
Unlike Santa Clara County that doesn’t honor ICE holds on juveniles, San Mateo County practices the unjust policy of honoring detainers for young people under 18. At ACJP, we’ve seen families come in with children as young as 12 who have had detainer requests placed on and honored in San Mateo County. This Sunday, we worked with two families from Redwood City whose children — ages 12 and 13 — both have ICE holds in San Mateo County. The younger one is so little that the clothes they gave him to wear at the hall don’t even fit him. This young man thought he just had to agree to the charges and then he could go home. But when he is released from the hall in mid-September, ICE has 48 hours to pick him up and he has to navigate the world of juvenile immigrant detention alone — a web of group homes, maybe a detention facility, maybe back home to fight his charges if he’s lucky. It is a policy that is cruel, and the community needs to raise our voices to stop it. Submission Post by Charisse Domingo
In landmark decision that will likely impact courts across the country, the New York Times reports on a New Jersey Supreme Court decision regarding eyewitness identifications. Post Submission by Aram James.
The New Jersey Supreme Court, acknowledging a “troubling lack of reliability in eyewitness identifications,” issued sweeping new rules on Wednesday making it easier for defendants to challenge such evidence in criminal cases.
The court said that whenever a defendant presents evidence that a witness’s identification of a suspect was influenced, by the police, for instance, a judge must hold a hearing to consider a broad range of issues. These could include police behavior, but also factors like lighting, the time that had elapsed since the crime or whether the victim felt stress at the time of the identification. Continue reading
Check out the inspiring video of our friends at CJNY at their national gathering!
After months of advocacy from San Jose immigrant advocacy organizations, civil rights groups, and service agencies — the San Jose police is withdrawing their participation from the controversial Homeland Security/ICE program called “Operation Community Shield.” Initial news of the program drew a widespread backlash from immigrant communities who said placing two ICE agents within the SJPD would cause waves of distrust in local law enforcement. Groups such as Sacred Heart Community Services, SIREN, PACT, and De-Bug organized public community responses to share their message that community trust is an important feature of a smart public safety framework. Today, the SJPD sent out the following press release.
San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore has announced that the San Jose Police Department is concluding its partnership with Homeland Security Investigations as part of Operation Community Shield (OCS).
The San Jose Police Departments involvement in OCS began on June 24th as part of Chief Moores plan to halt an alarming increase in gang violence in the city. Other components to the plan involved redirecting the 38 member METRO Unit to focus on All gangs, all the time. The METRO Unit has since made over 315 arrests. Approximately 70% of the arrests have been gang-related. Chief Moore also directed the Patrol Division to deploy additional officers as daily gang suppression cars to further decrease gang violence. Continue reading
Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project 