California Department of Justice

Report: Police Officers Stop Black Californians 132% More Than Expected

A California Department of Justice (DOJ) report released last week states that African Americans in California are stopped by law enforcement officers 132% more than expected, based on a comparison of stop data and residential population.  

Six Questions for the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California 

The Coalition for a Just and Equitable California (CJEC) is a statewide organization comprised of various associations, community groups and individuals united by a commitment to fight for reparations and reparative justice for the descendants of enslaved Black American men and women.  

Report: Anti-Black Hate Crimes Surge 27% Higher

According to state data released in August, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that hate crimes involving racism against Black people surged last year compared with 2021 data, including instances of violence motivated by bias.

Meet the 29-Year-Old Activist and Atty Chairing California’s Reparations Task Force

In June, California launched the nation’s first Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans this year.   The nine-member committee was established to meet the requirements of Assembly Bill (AB) 3121, which California Secretary of State  Shirley Weber authored and introduced in 2020 when she served in the Legislature.  Gov. Newsom signed it into law in September 2020.  “This is a debt that is owed, just because it hasn’t been paid doesn’t mean it goes away,” said the newly elected chair of the California reparations task force Kamilah V. Moore.    At the task force’s first meeting on June

Appeals Court: California Must Unseal Secret Files That Hide Police Misconduct

Activists, some news agencies and civil rights groups across the state are applauding a California court decision last week to reject an appeal that would have overturned Senate Bill 1421.   The landmark legislation, which former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in September 2018, allows unprecedented public access to thousands of previously sealed records on police misconduct, including shootings cops across California have committed.   “California is finally joining other states in granting access to the investigatory records on officer conduct that the public truly has a right to know,” said the bill’s author Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) in a statement

Gov. Brown Signs Bills to End Sentencing of 14-and 15-year-olds in Adult Criminal Court, Support Exonerated People After Prison

Gov. Brown today signed two research-based criminal justice reforms to improve rehabilitation and reduce the odds of re-offending. Senate Bill 1391 prohibits 14- and 15-year-olds from being tried as adults in criminal court and subsequently sent to adult prison. The bill reverses laws passed in the 1990s that allowed for sentencing the youngest teens to the adult criminal justice system.  

Three Facing Charges in Sex Trafficking Case 

Three suspects are collectively facing more than four dozen felony charges in connection with an alleged sex-trafficking ring that stretched across the state, law enforcement officials announced Thursday.