For some reason, some people seem to be very anxious to find a connection between the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), or to just make one up if they can't find one. For those who actually care about the truth, you can stop looking. There is no connection.
We have read it in blog comments, such as in this thread at SL&P. We hear it from callers to radio talk shows. People flatly assert that CJLF is funded by or otherwise joined with CCPOA. In this thread at Prison Talk, poster "madmusic" concedes he has found no direct connection, but he makes up a preposterously strained connection through a former state senator who long ago signed on as one of many amici on a pair of our briefs and now has a lobbying firm with a CCPOA connection. (For what it's worth, we have had no contact with him whatever since he left the Senate.)
Why are so many people so interested in finding a connection where none exists? As nearly as I can figure out, their purpose is to support an argument that our positions on policy questions have somehow been bought by someone with a financial interest in large prison populations.
So, for the record, CJLF has never received one red cent from CCPOA. That organization has no role in our decisions regarding what positions to take on matters of policy. Indeed, we have never had any discussions with them on policy questions during the time I have been legal director, over 20 years.
We have read it in blog comments, such as in this thread at SL&P. We hear it from callers to radio talk shows. People flatly assert that CJLF is funded by or otherwise joined with CCPOA. In this thread at Prison Talk, poster "madmusic" concedes he has found no direct connection, but he makes up a preposterously strained connection through a former state senator who long ago signed on as one of many amici on a pair of our briefs and now has a lobbying firm with a CCPOA connection. (For what it's worth, we have had no contact with him whatever since he left the Senate.)
Why are so many people so interested in finding a connection where none exists? As nearly as I can figure out, their purpose is to support an argument that our positions on policy questions have somehow been bought by someone with a financial interest in large prison populations.
So, for the record, CJLF has never received one red cent from CCPOA. That organization has no role in our decisions regarding what positions to take on matters of policy. Indeed, we have never had any discussions with them on policy questions during the time I have been legal director, over 20 years.
That is not to say, of course, that we might not cooperate on some
project at some point in the future. We have nothing against CCPOA, and
law enforcement organizations do sometimes sign on our briefs as
co-amici. The reality of getting things done is that you make alliances with people who have compatible positions on issues of mutual interest. Joining amicus briefs and endorsing bills before the Legislature is part of the effort, and you find allies where you can.
When it comes to deciding what CJLF's positions will be, however, those positions always have been and always will be determined by our independent judgment regarding what is best for victims of crime and the law-abiding public. We have never sold our support, and we never will. We are supported by donations from people who agree with those independently determined positions. We have never made any argument in any brief or taken any position on any legislation in response to a request by a donor.
I hope that is sufficient to put this nonsense to rest.
When it comes to deciding what CJLF's positions will be, however, those positions always have been and always will be determined by our independent judgment regarding what is best for victims of crime and the law-abiding public. We have never sold our support, and we never will. We are supported by donations from people who agree with those independently determined positions. We have never made any argument in any brief or taken any position on any legislation in response to a request by a donor.
I hope that is sufficient to put this nonsense to rest.
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