Monthly Archive: December 2023

The following article was published on December 28 in the California Globe:

In a unanimous ruling announced on December 18, the California Supreme Court held that a 2021 bill that narrowed the definition of “street gang” to reduce the number of criminal defendants designated as gang members, did not violate Proposition 21, a 2000 ballot measure cracking down on gang criminals.

The Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act was adopted by state voters to, among other things, require that gang members convicted of first degree murder receive a sentence of either death or life in prison without parole (LWOP). Critical to a court’s ability to sentence a gang murderer is his gang affiliation, which is considered under state law to be an aggravating factor to the crime.

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A federal judge in San Francisco has rejected plea deals for two illegal aliens dealing drugs in the Tenderloin.  J.D. Morris and Megan Cassidy of the Chronicle report that District Judge William Alsup told federal prosecutors that he would not accept any plea agreement that failed to give the illegals jail time before they were deported. Both defendants were arrested for dealing fentanyl, which the judge called “public enemy number one.” Judge Alsup is not the only federal jurist denying lenient plea deals. District Judge James Donato also rejected a similar deal involving an illegal immigrant from Honduras earlier this week, because it was “not consistent with the goals of sentence and the ends of justice.”

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Pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked the Oakland Bay Bridge for 4 hours on November 16th are being prosecuted by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. The Associated Press reports that 17 of the 80 protesters arrested were in court Monday facing several charges including false imprisonment and refusing to comply with a police officer. Dozens more will be charged and arraigned throughout the week. This is a sharp turnaround from former progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who refused to prosecute protesters and many criminals.  Last year 60% of San Francisco voters recalled Boudin for failing to enforce the law, leaving the city ravaged with crime. Jenkins was elected after promising to restore law and order.  Over the past year she has been keeping her word.

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A Sacramento Superior Court judge has held that the Newsom Administration’s effort to grant early releases to tens of thousands of prison inmates is invalid when it comes to offenders sentenced to indeterminate sentences, most of whom are sentenced for violent crimes. The December 13 decision came in a lawsuit brought by the Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) on behalf of the families of crime victims. CJLF argued that administrative regulations authorizing the inmate releases adopted in 2021 by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) violate numerous state laws and ballot measures which specify when and how a prison inmate qualifies for credits to gain early release.

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Six months after Soros-backed progressive Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned, new Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore has initiated a crackdown on crime, increasing prosecutions by 45%. Gardner, who refused to prosecute what she deemed “low level crimes” such as theft, assault and drug dealing, and even murders in the name of racial justice, quit her job last May before the state Attorney General could remove her from office. Jim Salter of the Associated Press reports that Gore, a democrat and former Deputy U.S. Attorney, was appointed to replace Gardner by Republican Governor Mike Parson. He entered the prosecution office with a 6,700 backlog of pending cases including 250 murder cases. Gore almost immediately hired 24 attorneys to fill vacancies and strengthened the working relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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A Los Angeles judge has denied a cop-killer’s petition to overturn his death sentence and gain release on parole.  Thomas Buckley writes in the California Globe that Jessie Gonzales’ habeas corpus petition claimed that prosecutors withheld evidence regarding the reliability of a witness during his 1979 murder trial. The withholding of possibly exculpatory evidence was held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 ruling in Brady v. Maryland. District Attorney George Gascon’s office conceded the Brady error but argued that it did not void Gonzales’ conviction, only his death sentence. Because Gonzalez is 76, under Gavin Newsom’s generous early release policy, he would undoubtedly be set free.  Fortunately, even though both the defense attorney and Gascon’s office were supporting the murderer, the effort failed.

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With crime and violence increasing since the 2018 election of Soros-bankrolled District Attorney Larry Krasner, who refuses to prosecute most criminals, the Philadelphia City Council has taken action. The Associated Press reports that by a 13-2 vote Philly’s leaders have banned ski masks in schools, recreation centers, parks and aboard public transportation. Those caught in these places wearing a ski mask will be fined $250. Supporters say that the masks make it difficult for police to identify offenders. The ACLU responds that there is no evidence that ski masks cause or encourage crime, but banning them would provide police with probable cause to detain innocent people who wear the masks.  How this ban addresses the call by some government health agencies for the public to resume wearing surgical masks due to increased covid 19 and other viruses remains to be seen. Unless and until Philadelphia voters replace their criminal-coddling District Attorney with a real prosecutor and restore genuine consequences for crime, a ban on ski masks doesn’t make much sense.