Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a task force on Tuesday that will spread homeless camps from Los Angeles and San Francisco to every corner of the state.* * *Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg will co-chair the new task force due to his success in building affordable housing on flood control levees.
Not one, but two different agencies in Maryland released two teenagers from custody despite detainers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The two teens -- Josue Rafael Fuentes-Ponce, 16, and Joel Ernesto Escobar, 17 -- are suspects in the MS-13-related killing of 14-year-old Ariana Funes-Diaz, of Anne Arundel County, whose body was found in Prince George's County May 15.
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"The [Prince George's County] Department of Corrections follows the Guidance Memorandum of the Maryland Attorney General to not inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency of individuals being released with a detainer, which is a civil matter," said Andrew Cephas, spokesman for the Prince George's County Department of Corrections, in an email.
Which great thinker has done the most to make life better for the people of most modest means? In my view, it is not anyone in the progressive pantheon. It is George Kelling, whose work on policing, where adopted, has made formerly unlivable neighborhoods livable again.
Claudia Prado ("Prado") seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that her California felony conviction for possession of marijuana was an "aggravated felony" and an offense "relating to a controlled substance" that rendered her removable. See 8 U.S.C. ยงยง 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), (a)(2)(B)(i). Prado claims this conviction is no longer a predicate to removal because it was recalled and reclassified as a misdemeanor under California's Proposition 64. Because valid state convictions retain their immigration consequences even when modified or expunged for reasons of state public policy, we deny her petition.
Many of us are lifelong prosecutors who have spent years in the trenches trying to do the best we can to keep Alaskans safe and seek justice. We work side by side with law enforcement to try and get those offenders off the street who are likely to do more harm, get those offenders into treatment who need some help and achieve the best outcome under the circumstances to protect the community. The current criminal laws tie our hands along with the hands of judges and keep us from achieving these important goals.
A vigil commemorating the victims of the STEM School shooting in Colorado ended in protest Wednesday evening after students said they refused to be used as pawns to promote gun control.
Hundreds attended the vigil -- students, teachers, activists and elected officials -- to honor Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old who was fatally shot on Tuesday at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in suburban Denver. But Castillo's classmates were moved to protest after invitees Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) spoke. Many of the teenagers perceived the speeches as politicians politicizing their trauma when they wanted their own voices heard.
The House Judiciary Committee is voting to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress and to secure a vote of the entire House of Representatives in order to send the matter to federal court. The problem is that the contempt action against Barr is long on action and short on contempt. Indeed, with a superficial charge, the House could seriously undermine its credibility in the ongoing conflicts with the White House. Congress is right on a number of complaints against the White House, including possible cases of contempt, but this is not one of them.
If you hit an animal with your car, it is presently a crime in California to scrape it off the pavement, take it home, and barbeque it. "Unlawful possession of wildlife" can cost you 6 months and $1K. But Ben Christopher of CalMatters reports that legislation under consideration beneath the copper dome would create a partial exception.
Kendrick Castillo - only days from graduation - acted fast inside of his British literature class at a suburban Denver school Tuesday afternoon. And he paid with his life.
When a gunman burst through the door at STEM School Highlands Ranch, barking at students to stay in place and not move, Castillo, 18, rushed the shooter. It was a quick-thinking move that fellow students said gave them a chance to bolt for safety or take cover under desks.
"Kendrick lunged at (the gunman), and he shot Kendrick, giving all of us enough time to get underneath our desks, to get ourselves safe, and to run across the room to escape," senior Nui Giasolli told NBC's Today on Wednesday morning. Other students helped Castillo tackle the shooter, classmates said.
WASHINGTON -- Can Attorney General William Barr thumb his nose at Congress and get away with it? Can the nation's top lawman refuse to honor a House Judiciary Committee subpoena for an unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and not pay a penalty?
In 2012, then-Attorney General Eric Holder did just that. Holder defied a congressional subpoena to furnish documents about "Fast and Furious," a program to attempt to trace gun trafficking along the Southwest border that went awry. The House held Holder in contempt, but since Holder declined to indict himself, the controversy faded. Holder resigned in 2015.
Proposition 57, passed by California voters in November
2016, mandated that all allegations of criminal conduct against a minor (under
age 18) must be initiated in juvenile court.
Pre-Proposition 57, minors ages 14+ could be tried in adult court in 1
of 3 ways: (1) statutory waiver; (2) prosecutorial waiver; or (3) judicial
waiver. Proposition 57 eliminated options
1 and 2. In early 2018, the California
Supreme Court held that Proposition 57 applied retroactively to all cases that
were not final at the time of its enactment.
(See my post here for more details).
Alexander Cervantes was 14 years old when he was directly charged as an adult for committing horrific sex crimes against a 13-year-old girl. Cervantes was convicted by a jury and his case was pending on appeal when Proposition 57 passed. (CJLF filed a brief in his case arguing that Prop 57 should not be applied retroactively). He benefited from the Proposition's retroactivity and his case was sent back to the juvenile court so that a judge could decide if his case should stay there or be transferred to adult court. However, while his transfer hearing was pending, former California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1391. SB 1391 "repeal[ed] the authority of a District Attorney to make a motion to transfer" 14- and 15-year-old offenders from juvenile court to adult court. There is an odd exception in the law for 14- and 15-year-olds who "were not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction." SB 1391 went into effect on 1/1/19. In a nutshell, 14- and 15-year-old criminals must stay and be tried in juvenile court and in no way can a judge decide if he or she should be transferred to adult court. This is true regardless of the crime committed.
