Coverage on McDaniel Decision
Press coverage of today’s California Supreme Court decision in People v. McDaniel is available from Don Thompson of the Associated Press, Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Maura Dolan of the LA Times.
Author: Kent Scheidegger
Poll: Violent Crime Tops List of Biggest Threats
Americans perceive a plethora of troubling trends in the U.S., but they are particularly worried about the recent upsurge in violent crime rates across the nation. That’s the message sent by this month’s national I&I/TIPP Poll.
So reports Terry Jones for Issues and Insights. Continue reading . . .
Asking the Correct Question in a Death Penalty Poll
I have long been critical on this blog of the way major polling organizations phrase their questions on the death penalty. Professors Joseph Bessette and Andrew Sinclair of Claremont McKenna College have done it right. They have this article at Real Clear Policy explaining their work and results. The full technical report is here. (Hint: no one familiar with my prior posts will be surprised at the results.) Continue reading . . .
Early Releases, Crime, and Evidence
In May, the California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation put into effect regulations that greatly increased the credits that violent criminals can earn to shorten their sentences. Sam Stanton of the Sacramento Bee has this article on a lawsuit by 45 district attorneys (out of 58 in the state) to invalidate these regulations.
I will have more to say about this suit later, but right now I want to focus on a statement by a supporter of the regulations that illustrates the kind of pseudoscientific posturing that is rampant in policy debates today. Continue reading . . .
Joints in the Joint
Did California’s marijuana legalization initiative (Prop. 64 of 2016) legalize possession in state prison? No, said the California Supreme Court today in People v. Raybon, S256978, although the path to that conclusion was more bumpy than one might have thought. Continue reading . . .
Bluegrass Bloodshed and Possible Solutions
Joshua Crawford of the Pegasus Institute has this op-ed on the horrific rates of shootings and homicides in Louisville, Kentucky and the city council’s reaction.
Louisville Metro Council recently took significant measures that could help save lives and stop the out-of-control bloodshed. They passed a budget with notable measures including allocating $620,000 to expand the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, $500,000 to help with the implementation of Group Violence Intervention (GVI), and millions that can be used to increase officer pay in the hopes of improving recruitment and retention. They also admirably resisted calls from radicals to defund LMPD.
Poll: Newsom Recall Within Margin of Error
A new poll has the vote to recall Cal. Gov. Newsom at 46-48 ± 3. The Hill has this story by Joseph Choi. The report of Emerson Polling is here.
Among potential replacements, radio talk show host Larry Elder has a double-digit lead against other actual candidates at 23%, but “someone else” is closer at 14% and “undecided” is way out in front with 40%. Continue reading . . .
McGregor Scott Appointed to Investigate Unemployment Fraud
Former U.S. Attorney ( E.D. Cal.) McGregor Scott has been appointed special counsel in the investigation of $31 billion of unemployment insurance fraud in California, Evan Symon reports for the California Globe. Continue reading . . .
Proper Attire Required
Making a court appearance online does have some advantages. No driving downtown, or even to another city. No parking hassles or expense. No security check.
Casual attire? Better think twice about that one. Continue reading . . .
The New York Mayoral Primary
Earlier this week, after much grinding through the complex ranked-choice voting system, AP called the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York for Eric Adams. Today the WSJ has this editorial. “Perhaps the city that these days never sleeps safely has a chance to reverse its eight-year downward spiral under mayor Bill de Blasio.”
Perhaps, but that is a very tall order. Continue reading . . .
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