Vanguard social justice articles involving criminal justice reform
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and lawful permanent resident, has been granted bail by a federal court and is now allowed to return home to reunite with his wife and newborn son, after being detained for three months in a remote ICE facility in Louisiana.
Mass incarceration is a public health crisis that harms the health and well-being of incarcerated people, corrections staff, families, and communities, and is disproportionately detrimental to Black people, with the impact of immigration detention only exacerbating the problem.
Immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles County have led to mass protests and fear in immigrant communities, with CHIRLA documenting alleged abuses and providing legal support, while warning of potential backlash.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed 16 new judges to county trial courts across the state, including six in Los Angeles County, one in Merced County, one in Orange County, one in San Diego County, two in San Francisco County, three in Santa Clara County, one in San Joaquin County, and one in Tulare County.
Los Angeles attorney Aaron Spolin has been approved for disbarment after admitting to charging incarcerated clients and their families excessive legal fees and misleading them about their chances of resentencing under Assembly Bill 2942.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating an incident where an officer fired a 40mm less-lethal launcher round during a crowd control operation in Central Division, resulting in an injury to a protester who was later taken to a hospital for treatment.
Trump’s immigration crackdown is justified by claims of public safety and national security, but data suggests it is driven by racial profiling and political theater, causing unnecessary harm to families, chilling civic engagement, and harming both immigrants and citizens alike.
California is increasing penalties for retail theft, but lacks comprehensive data to determine if the changes are working, and the state is flying blind without it.
AB 1376 would allow youth to be removed from probation after nine months, requiring that conditions be individually tailored and in the best interest of the young person.
The article discusses the ongoing issue of slavery in Texas, the rescinding of asylum protection for people of color, and the need for young Progressives to fight for democracy and the Constitution.
Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and immigrant rights activist, shares his personal story of being undocumented for over 32 years and the misconceptions about immigration, while advocating for fair and humane policies that recognize the critical role immigrants play in the U.S. economy and communities.
New DNA testing has cleared Kenneth Clair of the 1984 murder of a Santa Ana nanny, and his legal team is urging the Orange County District Attorney to declare him legally innocent.
The City of San Jose has agreed to pay $1 million to the family of David Tovar, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by police in 2021, after an excessive force lawsuit alleged that the officers’ actions caused Tovar to suffer an “agonizing and torturous death”.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that incarcerated people have a right to a jury trial when they are accused of failing to file a prison grievance, if they claim they were prevented from doing so due to allegations of abuse or retaliation.
Over 24 members of the California Legislature are calling on the state’s Republican congressional delegation to pressure President Trump to end indiscriminate immigration crackdowns that are harming the state’s economy and communities.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, giving legal cover to similar bans in other states and potentially emboldening efforts to restrict trans health care.
The California Public Defenders Association has condemned the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s lockdown of nearly two dozen state prisons, calling it a “human rights crisis” and an act of “collective punishment” that violates principles of proportionality and basic human dignity.
The Marshall Project reported that plans for a new recovery court in Wilkes County, North Carolina were derailed after the U.S. Department of Justice abruptly rescinded its funding, leaving the court unable to open and forcing Project Lazarus to seek alternative funding sources.
The ACLU is demanding the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil, a U.S. permanent resident, who has been detained in a remote facility in Louisiana for allegedly misrepresenting his employment and affiliations in his immigration paperwork, which they argue is a pretext for retaliation against his speech about Palestine.
Ohio lawmakers are reconsidering a budget proposal that would have limited public access to police records, with a joint House-Senate committee now reviewing a compromise to address concerns.