Vanguard social justice articles involving criminal justice reform
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.
30 individuals have been charged with criminal offenses related to immigration protests in LA, including looting, assaulting police, and using destructive devices, while public support for the Trump administration’s deportation strategy is waning.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused President Trump of undermining democracy by federalizing the California National Guard and conducting aggressive immigration enforcement actions, and has filed a lawsuit to block the deployment, with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals expected to rule in the coming days.
Robert Roberson’s attorneys have filed an objection to the Texas Attorney General’s request for an execution date, citing new evidence supporting his claim of actual innocence and arguing that scheduling an execution while his case is under review by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals would violate state law and principles of due process.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has praised a federal court ruling striking down the Trump administration’s decision to terminate National Institutes of Health grants to public health research institutions in several states, which was deemed discriminatory and unlawful.
California state Sen. Dave Cortese’s bill, SB 551, aims to reduce recidivism and improve the health of correctional officers by promoting safer, more humane prison environments through the principles of “normality and dynamic security”.