The November 2020 ballot in California will include an initiative that would significantly weaken three recent criminal justice reform measures — AB 109, Prop. 47 and Prop. 57. Included in the ballot initiative is a major change to the definition of the term “violent felony,” which is used for sentencing and other purposes. Specifically, the California Criminal Sentencing, Parole and DNA Collection Initiative would expand the total number of violent felonies from 27 to 51. In addition, the ballot initiative would expand the definition of violent felony to include any…
Read MoreCategory: California
CA: CDCR to Request CA Supreme Court Review of Prop. 57 Case
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will request review by the California Supreme Court of their most recent loss in a Proposition 57 case, ACSOL v. CDCR. That loss took place on Feb. 13 when the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision that determined CDCR’s regulations implementing Prop. 57 were unlawful. CDCR’s deadline for requesting the Court’s review is March 24 and it is likely that the Court will grant review of that case. Thus far, the CA Supreme Court has granted review…
Read MoreCA: California Prisoner Confesses To Killing 2 Molesters
[sacramento.cbslocal.com – 2/20/20] CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — A California prison inmate confessed in a letter that he beat two child molesters to death with a cane while behind bars just hours after his urgent warning to a counselor that he might become violent was ignored, a newspaper chain reported Thursday. Jonathan Watson, 41, confessed in the letter to the Bay Area News Group in Northern California that he clubbed both men in the head on Jan. 16 at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran. Prisoner…
Read MoreCASOMB Discusses Tiered Registry Implementation, Registry Increases
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) discussed two major topics today during its monthly meeting — implementation of the Tiered Registry and continued increases to the number of individuals required to register. During the meeting, the board members were told that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) will assign all individuals required to register to a tier under the Tiered Registry Law. Information regarding the tier assignments will be sent electronically by DOJ to local law enforcement agencies no later than January 1, 2021. Registrants must request their tier…
Read MoreCA: Free Legal Clinic in Sacramento for People with Records on February 20th
[rootandrebound.org] Root and Rebound will host a FREE Reentry Legal Clinic for people with arrest and conviction records. Click here for details Sign up here Thursday, February 20, 2020 2:30 PM 5:00 PM Sacramento State University Lassen Hall RM 1013 (“The Vault”) Campus Map You can ask reentry-related legal questions or other questions about how having a record impacts clients’ lives & rights. They will also be providing free know-your-rights resources including Root and Rebound Reentry Planning Toolkit. If possible, please bring: (1) a government-issued photo ID; and (2) a…
Read MoreCA: Sacramento-Area Reentry Network Free Expungement Clinic March 7, April 4
[arc.losrios.edu – 2/13/20] Trying to get a job & need your background cleared? Clear or reduce your criminal record (California arrests and convictions only) at the clinic. YOU ARE ELIGIBLE IF 1) you do not have any pending criminal cases, and 2) you are not currently on parole. REQUIREMENT: BRING A COPY OF YOUR CALIFORNIA RAP SHEET. Request at any Live Scan location. (2 weeks in advance) For more information on requesting them, go to: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/record-review Clinic dates and times are: https://arc.losrios.edu/campus-life/calendar-and-events/free-expungement-clinic-x20100 Saturday, March 7, 2020 Saturday, April 4, 2020…
Read MoreCA: Appellate Court Upholds Challenge to Prop. 57 Regulations
An appellate court in California today upheld ACSOL’s challenge to regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving early parole consideration. This type of consideration was granted by Prop. 57 to all persons convicted of a non-violent offense. In its decision, the Third Appellate District Court noted that CDCR has made “repeated attempts to exclude categories of inmates undisputedly classified as ‘nonviolent’ from early parole consideration.” The court rejected CDCR’s argument that the exclusions were necessary due…
Read MoreCA Governor Pardons First Registrant
California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued the state’s first pardon to a registrant. The pardon was issued to Bayard Rustin, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on February 4. Rustin was convicted of a sex offense and required to register as a sex offender in Los Angeles in 1953 because he participated in a consensual adult sex act with another man. “We celebrate the courage and wisdom of Governor Newsom in his decision to issue a pardon to Bayard Rustin,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This is…
Read MoreCA: Sharing ‘revenge porn’ would get you on the sex offender list under proposed California law
Sharing “revenge porn” could lead to more prison time and a spot on California’s sex offender registry under a proposed law carried by former California Highway Patrol officer. California in 2013 became the first state to outlaw revenge porn when it made it a misdemeanor to share “intimate images” of a person without their consent. The current penalty for a first offense is six months in jail. Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, thinks the sentence needs to be tougher. “This is a sex crime and we need to start treating it like…
Read MoreRegistrant Workforce Training Program (Los Angeles)
Please see the Program Flyer for details Program Flyer
Read MoreCA: San Diego Settles ACSOL Suit On Sex Offender Residency Law
[kpbs.org – 2/6/20] The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County.…
Read MoreCA: DA drops serial rape charges against reality TV doctor and girlfriend, saying case was ‘manufactured’
[washingtonpost.com – 2/5/20] California prosecutors are dropping all charges against an Orange County surgeon and his girlfriend after concluding that the previous district attorney “manufactured” the high-profile 2018 case in which the couple was accused of serially drugging and raping women. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release Tuesday that after his office reviewed the case, investigators found “no provable evidence” to support the charges against ____ a 39-year-old orthopedic surgeon and former reality TV star, and his girlfriend _____, a 33-year-old dance instructor. The decision…
Read MoreCA: How Whittier mayor, City Council candidates would solve the homeless crisis
For more than a year, Whittier’s political leaders have been wrestling with how to handle the local homeless crisis, which has seen the development of three encampments. Two of those encampments have been cleared, but the debate rages on. With a March 3 election date set, voters will get an opportunity to say how well the city is doing managing the issue and whether new faces — and ideas — are needed. … Challenger I.L. Leon Savage, an accounting bookkeeper, would remove sex offenders from their homes to create space…
Read MoreCA: Sex Offenders Fight To Serve As Poll Workers In LA
Two registered sex offenders and the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws can proceed to trial with their lawsuit challenging a Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder policy that prohibits all registrants from serving as poll workers, a judge ruled Friday. Full Article
Read MoreCA: San Diego Officially Rescinds Sex Offender Law
[nbcsandiego.com – 1/22/20] The city of San Diego has agreed to remove a law that restricted potential living locations for registered sex offenders who are no longer on parole for their crimes. The decision was part of a legal settlement that officially puts an end to the city’s Child Protection Act of 2008. The law prohibited all registered sex offenders regardless of parole status from living less than a half-mile from schools, parks, and other public places. In 2009 the city decided to no longer enforce the Child Protection Act…
Read MoreACSOL Argues Prop. 57 Case Before Appellate Court
ACSOL argued in support of Prop. 57 yesterday before the Third Court Court of Appeals in Sacramento. At issue in the case are regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that exclude everyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving the benefits of that ballot proposition. A trial court decided in favor of ACSOL’s position in March 2018 and declared that CDCR’s regulations were invalid because they impermissibly alter and amend the terms of Prop. 57. CDCR appealed that decision and the trial court’s decision was…
Read MoreCA: 2nd California child molester dies after beating with cane
[sfgate.com – 1/22/20] [Note: This information is important because it demonstrates the dangers of CDCR placing registrants in the general population. ] CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — A second convicted child molester has died after he was beaten with a walking cane by another inmate last week at a central California prison, officials said Wednesday. Graham De Luis-Conti, 62, was pronounced dead on Sunday at a hospital, three days after authorities said he was attacked at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in the small central city of…
Read MoreCA: Oakland votes to bar landlords from conducting background checks
Oakland on Tuesday moved to become the first city in the state to ban landlords from investigating the criminal history of renters applying for both public and private housing. … Landlords will be allowed to look up a prospective tenant on the state’s sex offender registry, but only after providing a conditional offer to the potential renter. Full Article https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-could-be-first-in-state-to-ban-criminal-14992798.php https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oakland-could-be-first-in-state-to-ban-criminal-background-checks-for-rental-housing/ar-BBZbUXh?ocid=hplocalnews
Read More