- Corruption and Misconduct in Orange CountyAccording to an article published in the New York Times on September 30th, rampant misconduct on the part of the Orange County district attorney’s office has come under scrutiny by California judge, Thomas Goethals.
- Outrageous Cost of Inmate Phone CallsThe cost of prisoner phone calls is not just high, but in some cases, outrageous. the Federal Communications Commission is finally poised to set a ceiling on inmate phone call charges.
- Deported Immigrants with Mental DisabilitiesOn September 26th, 2015 U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee granted final approval of the settlement in Franco v. Holder, paving the way for previously deported immigrants with severe mental disabilities to request to reopen their cases in Immigration Court, and if approved return to the United States.
- New 9th Circuit Opinion: Prosecutorial MisconductIn a notable recent decision on prosecutorial misconduct, United States v. Citali-Flores, 14-50027, 2015 WL 5569098 (9th Cir. Sept. 23, 2015), the Ninth Circuit held error, albeit harmless, where the prosecutor, in closing argument, misstated evidence.
- The Secret Nature of Supreme Court Case SelectionIt is hard to think of a more significant power in the machinery of our democracy that is exercised more secretly.
- U.S. Dept. of Justice to Re-Prioritize White Collar ProsecutionsAs Matt Taibbi noted in his New York Times Bestseller, The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap (2014), oddly, not a single high level individual Wall Street employee was ever prosecuted and jailed for the large-scale corporate malfeasance that led to the real estate and market implosions of 2008.
- Texas Modifies it’s Unmitigated Food Stamp Ban for Drug FeloniesIn 1996, as part of America’s “War on Drugs,” Congress enacted a now-controversial measure, which strips both food stamps and welfare cash assistance (known as “Temporary Assistance to Needy Families” or “TANF”) from anyone convicted of any state or federal drug-related felony. See 21 U.S.C. § 862a (a).
- Immigrants No Longer “Aliens”Governor Jerry Brown signed a triptych of immigration bills, the first of which removed the word “alien” from California’s legal code. The second bill allows immigrant high school students to serve as election poll workers.
- Attorney Failed to Explain Immigration Consequences | Ninth CircuitIn an important ruling, a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel in United States v. Rodriguez-Vega, No. 13-56415 (8-14-15), held that where deportation of an immigrant is a “virtual certainty” as a consequence of a guilty plea, the defense attorney has an affirmative duty to properly advise. It is not enough to say it is a “possibility” under those circumstances.
- California Law Bans Grand Juries in Police Brutality CasesCalifornia’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Tuesday that prohibits secretive grand juries from determining cases where law enforcement uses “excessive” or “deadly force.”