Thread by @Taniel

Over the past few days, Gavin Newsom signed (and vetoed) a flurry of California bills linked to the criminal legal system.

And to keep it together, here's a thread of 10 important bills that he signed, & also 2 that he vetoed, with links that help flesh out what's going on.

1/ SB203 (signed) requires that minors be able to consult with legal counsel before a police interrogation.

The first state in the country to enable that, per: imprintnews.org/justice/juveni…

2/ AB 3070 (signed) strikes a significant (if incomplete) blow to racism in jury selection.

It will make it harder for prosecutors to exclude Black people form jury trial, and presumptively bar some of the reasons they give most often.

Explanation: theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

3/ AB 2542 (signed) is the Racial Justice Act.

It will make it easier for defendants to appeal a conviction or sentence on the grounds that it is racially discriminatory. It allows use of statistical evidence to show inequity while seeking relief. (See link above for more.)

4/ AB 1506 (signed) shifts the responsibility of investigating police killings of unarmed people onto the state’s attorney general, instead of local district attorneys.

context: courthousenews.com/newsom-signs-b…

5/ A few years ago, California barred the imposition of some fines & court fees on minors & on their parents or guardians, effective Jan. 2018. SB1290 (signed) vacates the fines and fees that had already been imposed as of that date.

6/ AB1950 (signed) will reduce the length of probation, capping it at 1 year for misdemeanors & 2 for felonies. Probation terms are stringent & can result in incarceration over technical violations, a pattern law seeks to diminish.

Context on issue: vcstar.com/story/news/loc…

7/ AB1185 authorizes counties to set up an oversight board with subpoena power to conduct oversight over the sheriff's department.

Sheriffs have so little oversight! But in LA, the sheriff intends to ignore even subpoanas issued against him, so we'll see where this goes.

8/ SB 32 provides that transgender people be detained in a prison based on their gender identity; but it also enables the state system to ignore this provision by citing “management or security concerns.”

context: kjrh.com/news/national/…

9/ SB823 (signed, like all above) takes a step toward phasing out state youth prisons. Existing prisons will stop admitting most minors starting in July 2021; minors will be incarcerated instead in facilities run by their county governments.

context: laprogressive.com/youth-prisons

10/ AB 3234 (signed) does 2 things: It expands eligibility for the state’s elderly parole process (e.g. people will be eligible at age 50 instead of 60). And it enables judges to steer people toward pre-trial diversion (with which charges drop) without a prosecutor’s assent.

Now for 2 noteworhty bills that Newsom vetoed.

11/ Newsom vetoed CRISES Act. It'd have set up a pilot program for community programs of medical or mental health professionals to respond to some emergency calls instead of police. More info/links in thread:

https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1311517878429126658

12/ Also vetoed last night: SB555, which would have capped the cost of phone & video calls for incarcerated people, & capped the inflation of commissary items, to fight exhorbitant fees/prices incarcerated people have to pay.

CODA: This is meant to *only* cover stuff that's happened over the past few days (and even then I surely missed a few). 

There've been other bills adopted over the past few weeks/months. You can find out some more here as always. theappeal.org/political-repo…