Last week, WitnessLA wrote about SB 233, a new bill from Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)...
LA Board Supervisors to Vote on Motion Questioning Legality of Sheriff’s Controversial Practice of “Unilaterally” Reinstating Fired Deputies
At around 2:30 p.m. at the Tuesday, March 5, meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of...
LA County Supervisors Take Sheriff Alex Villanueva to Court Over Mandoyan Case
The County of Los Angeles and the LA County Board of Supervisors have filed what is called a...
Bad Numbers: Inspector General Says “Little to No Confidence” in LA Probation’s Stats Claiming Soaring Assaults By Kids
On Wednesday, February 27, the Los Angeles Times published an article describing a sharp increase...
Carl Mandoyan, the Deputy Rehired by LA County Sheriff Villanueva, Is Ordered to Turn in His Badge and Gun
In a hand-delivered letter from LA County Auditor-Controller John Naimo, former LASD deputy Carl...
For Inmates Serving Life Terms, USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project Sparks Hope Where None Existed
By Gilien Silsby, USC News The inmates at the maximum-security Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern...
Opening up New Avenues for Formerly Incarcerated Californians Who Served in Fire Camps to Get Jobs as Firefighters After Prison
A new California bill aims to make it possible for formerly incarcerated individuals, thousands of...
Under New CA Bill, 911 Dispatchers Would Be Trained to Identify and De-escalate Mental Health Crises
A new California bill, AB 680, aims to reduce the criminalization of people suffering from mental...
California Must Double-down On Prison Rehabilitation
During my stay in maximum security prisons, my cellmate and I would put quotes, definitions and...
The Sudden Death of Near-Legendary San Francisco Public Defender, Jeff Adachi, Stuns Bay Area Leaders & the Many Ordinary People Whom He Championed
When the news flew around the state that San Francisco Public Defender, Jeff Adachi, 59, had died...
Foster Parents Have Become Professionals in Some States
By Teresa Wiltz, Stateline Foster parents, tasked with the 24-7 care of often-traumatized children...
At Contentious Meeting, LA County Supes Said Enough Is Enough & Banned Use of Pepper Spray on Kids
When the Los Angeles County Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday, February 19, to slam the door...
SCOTUS Narrows Scope of Civil Asset Forfeiture at the State Level
Justices Unite Over Asset Forfeiture On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that...
Dispatch From San Quentin: Young, Earnest and Criminalized
Editor’s Note: This essay, by James King is one of a series of essays WitnessLA is...
DJJ Watch: Violence, Neglect & Fear Makes Kids Worse Not Better at California’s Division of Juvenile Justice, Says Scathing New Report
"It did not want to make people build their dreams. It did not rehabilitate me, for sure. If...
CA Attorney General Sued Over Denying Public Records Request Under New Police Transparency Law
On Thursday, February 14, the First Amendment Coalition filed a lawsuit challenging California...
California’s Sweeping Group Home Reform Falters Without Key Supports for Youth
Early one Saturday morning in September, Jacob McCleary, then 15, got into his aunt and uncle’s...
New Bill Would Grant Sex Workers Who Report Violent Crimes Immunity From Arrest and Criminalization
A new bill from Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) aims to ensure that sex workers who are...