CA City Turns to Feds on Gun Crimes:  Responding to the dramatic reduction in sentences under Governor Jerry Brown's Realignment (AB109) and Proposition 57, the San Jose Police Department and the District Attorney are referring gun related felonies for federal prosecution.  Robert Salonga of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Police Chief Eddie Garcia told reporters that under state law "there are individuals released back into our communities arrested with loaded handguns or selling large quantities of meth. If federal agents can help us take these criminals off the street, we are going to use that tool."  District Attorney Jeff Rosen agreed, "We view gun crimes very seriously....if we don't think we'll get an appropriate sentence in state court, we'll seek an appropriate sentence in federal court."  Referring to an increase in gun crimes as the cause of the referrals, Mayor Sam Liccardo, a former federal prosecutor, echoed Rosen's contention that the SJPD practice is simply using an already available path in response to changing circumstances.  "There's nothing new under the sun here," Liccardo said. "What's changed is that we've seen a rollback of state law protections that have created unintended consequences."  Governor Brown, who signed AB109 and financed Prop. 57 along with George Soros, did not respond to a request for comment.

Will Gov. Brown Give Mass Clemency?  In a piece published in Cal Matters, CJLF Legal Director Kent Scheidegger hopes to discourage Governor Jerry Brown from granting clemency to the condemned murderers on the state's death row.  Citing the 11 times that state voters have insisted on enforcement of the death penalty, including two recent rejections of initiatives to repeal it over a four year period, he notes that "the voice of the people does not get any more clear than this."  One example of a murderer the Governor's blanket clemency would spare is Tiequon Cox.  "Cox broke into a home to make a gang hit but instead found a grandmother, her daughter, and her grandchildren. Aware that he was in the wrong house, he slaughtered them anyway. These are the kinds of people that Hollywood activists wring their hands and soak their hankies for. Death penalty opponents want him to follow the example of Illinois' corrupt former Gov. George Ryan with an act of political cowardice, misusing the pardon power on the way out the door when there is no political price to pay for it."