According to a report released this week by the Prison Policy Initiative, since 2009, a movement...
Criminal Justice in the Governor’s Budget: Firefighter Employment Program for Formerly Incarcerated, Raising the Age, and More
On Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown released a proposed $131.7 billion general fund budget for...
California Legislators Introduce Marijuana Bills in Response to AG Sessions Rescinding Obama-Era Directives
Just four days after the sale of recreational marijuana became legal in California, via...
LA Supes Vote to Improve Crucial Services for the Disproportionate Number of LGBTQ Youth in the County’s Care — UPDATED
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of an important motion that...
California’ Powerful Central District Has New U.S. Attorney—at Least for a While
On Friday, Nicola Hanna was sworn in to serve as the interim United States Attorney for the Central...
OP-ED: Oregon Foster Care Said Parents Not Smart Enough to Raise Their Son, But Judge Vehemently Disagreed
Last month, the Oregon Department of Human Services deployed three lawyers to call 40 witnesses...
First California DOJ Report on Bias in Policing Looks at Complaints Against Officers
California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) publicly released its first...
As New Juvenile Justice Reform Laws Go Into Effect This Week, New Data Shows Youth Arrest Rates Keep Dropping
Arrest rates for kids in California dropped for the ninth year in a row in 2016, according to a...
THE WRITER, The Sequel: A Confused Teenager, a Shooting, a Long Prison Sentence & an Unusual Opportunity
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Thanksgiving morning, 2017, I received an unexpected email from someone...
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
WitnessLA will be dark until Jan 2—except for news emergencies. (So check in from time to...
Murder Rate in Largest U.S. Cities—Including 4 in California—Estimated to Fall This Year Says New Report
The 2017 murder rate in the 30 largest American cities is estimated to decline by 5.6 percent by...
Legislators Call for Investigations Into Assault Claims in Immigrant Detention; OIG Inspections Reveal Troubling Immigrant Detention Conditions
On Monday, a group of more than 70 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter urging federal...
Why 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s Resignation for Sexual Impropriety is a Very Big Deal
As most readers know by now, Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, announced...
Judge Alex Kozinski Announces Retirement “Effective Immediately” Amid More Accusations of Sexual Impropriety
Judge Alex Kozinski, the powerful and notoriously quirky justice for the 9th Circuit Court of...
Powerful 9th Circuit Justice Alex Kozinski to be Investigated for Sexual Misconduct Allegations
On Thursday, Sidney R. Thomas, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit...
Fight Against Mugshot Sites Brings Little Success
By Rebecca Beitsch Mike Anderson was an 18-year-old freshman at Texas State University when he was...
Research Says Juveniles Need Their Own Miranda Rights
Studies suggest they're "too complex" for kids to understand, spurring some police departments to...
ACLU Launches National Initiative to End Cash Bail
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Campaign for Smart Justice announced the...