Babachanian Legal Counsel

Babachanian | Legal Counsel subscribes to this statement by the California Lawyers Association condemning the violence at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. https://calawyers.org//statement-regarding-violence-at-th/

The DA says his deputies are sworn to follow his directives. I don’t think that’s true. https://www.latimes.com//george-gascon-reform-bid-meets-re

Thoughts on Special Directive 20-08 just issued by newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney to his deputy prosecutors? Here's the directive for your r...eading pleasure: SPECIAL DIRECTIVE 20-08 TO: ALL DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FROM: GEORGE GASCÓN District Attorney SUBJECT: SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS/ALLEGATIONS DATE: DECEMBER 7, 2020 This Special Directive addresses the following chapters in the Legal Policies Manual: Chapter 2 Crime Charging - Generally Chapter 3 Crime Charging - Special Policies Chapter 7 Special Circumstances Chapter 12 Felony Case Settlement Policy Chapter 13 Probation and Sentencing Hearings Effective December 8, 2020, the policies outlined below supersede the relevant sections of the abovementioned chapters of the Legal Policies Manual. Additionally, the following sections of the Legal Policies Manual are removed in their entirety. Chapter 2.10 - Charging Special Allegations, Chapter 3.02 - Three Strikes, Chapter 7 - Special Circumstances, Chapter 12.05 - Three Strikes, Chapter 12.06 - Controlled Substances. INTRODUCTION Sentencing enhancements are a legacy of California’s tough on crime era. (See Appendix.) It shall be the policy of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office that the current statutory ranges for criminal offenses alone, without enhancements, are sufficient to both hold people accountable and also to protect public safety. While initial incarceration prevents crime through incapacitation, studies show that each additional sentence year causes a 4 to 7 percent increase in recidivism that eventually outweighs the incapacitation benefit. [FN1 Mueller-Smith, Michael (2015) The Criminal and Labor Market Impacts of Incarceration., available at https://sites.lsa.umich.edu//u/sites/283/2015/09/incar.pdf.] Therefore, sentence enhancements or other sentencing allegations, including under the Three Strikes law, shall not be filed in any cases and shall be withdrawn in pending matters. This policy does not affect the decision to charge crimes where a prior conviction is an element of the offense [i.e., felon in possession of a firearm (Penal Code 29800(a)(1)), driving under the influence with a prior (Vehicle Code 23152), domestic violence with a prior (Penal Code 273.5(f)(1)), etc.], nor does it affect Evidence Code provisions allowing for the introduction of prior conduct (i.e., Evidence Code 1101, 1108, and 1109). The specified allegations/enhancements identified in this policy directive are not an exhaustive list of all allegations/enhancements that will no longer be pursued by this office; however, these are the most commonly used allegations/enhancements. POLICY Any prior-strike enhancements (Penal Code 667(d), 667(e); 1170.12(a) and 1170.12 (c)) will not be used for sentencing and shall be dismissed or withdrawn from the charging document. This includes second strikes and any strikes arising from a juvenile adjudication; Any Prop 8 or 5 year prior enhancements (Penal Code 667(a)(1)) and 3 year prior enhancements (Penal Code 667.5(a)) will not be used for sentencing and shall be dismissed or withdrawn from the charging document; STEP Act enhancements (gang enhancements) (Penal Code 186.22 et. seq.) will not be used for sentencing and shall be dismissed or withdrawn from the charging document; Special Circumstances allegations resulting in an LWOP sentence shall not be filed, will not be used for sentencing, and shall be dismissed or withdrawn from the charging document; Violations of bail or O.R. release (PC 12022.1) shall not be filed as part of any new offense; If the charged offense is probation-eligible, probation shall be the presumptive offer absent extraordinary circumstances warranting a state prison commitment. If the charged offense is not probation eligible, the presumptive sentence will be the low term. Extraordinary circumstances must be approved by the appropriate bureau director. II. PENDING CASES At the first court hearing after this policy takes effect, DDAs are instructed to orally amend the charging document to dismiss or withdraw any enhancement or allegation outlined in this document. III. SENTENCED CASES Pursuant to PC 1170(d)(1), if a defendant was sentenced within 120 days of December 8, 2020 they shall be eligible for resentencing under these provisions. DDAs are instructed to not oppose defense counsel’s request for resentencing in accordance with these guidelines. APPENDIX California has enacted over 100 sentencing enhancements, many of which are outdated, incoherent, and applied unfairly. There is no compelling evidence that their enforcement improves public safety. In fact, the opposite may be true. State law gives District Attorneys broad authority over when and whether to charge enhancements. The overriding concern is interests of justice and public safety. The Stanford Computational Policy Lab studied San Francisco’s use of sentencing enhancements from 2005 to 2017. They released their report, Sentencing Enhancements and Incarceration: San Francisco, 2005-2017 in October of 2019. The following policy is informed by the results of the Stanford study. As noted in the study: During the 1980s and 90s, enhancements became more numerous and severe. Dozens of new enhancement laws were passed in a way that critics alleged was haphazardin reaction to the ‘crime of the month.’ California’s massive rates of incarceration can be tied directly to the extreme sentencing laws passed by voters in the 1990’s, including the 1994 Three Strikes Law. In 1980, California had a prison population of 23,264. In 1990, it was 94,122. In 1999, five years after the passage of Three Strikes, California had increased its population to a remarkable 160,000. By 2006, the prison population had ballooned to 174,000 prisoners. California now has 130,000 people in state prison and 70,000 people in local jails. The Stanford study found that the use of sentencing enhancements in San Francisco accounted for about 1 out of 4 years served in jail and prison. This study found that the use of sentencing enhancements -- mostly Prop. 8 priors and Three Strikes enhancements -- accounted for half of the time served for enhancements. The study concluded that we could substantially reduce incarceration by ceasing to use enhancements. These enhancements also exacerbate racial disparities in the justice system: 45% of people serving life sentences in CDCR under the Three Strikes law are black. Gang enhancements have been widely criticized as unfairly targeting young men of color. Recent analyses by the LA Times suggest that the CALGANG database is outdated, inaccurate and rife with abuse. According to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation data from 2019, more than 90 percent of adults with a gang enhancement in state prison were either black or Latinx. According to Fordham Law Prof. John Pfaff, There is strong empirical support for declining to charge these status enhancements. Long sentences imposed by strike laws and gang enhancements provide little additional deterrence, often incapacitate long past what is required by public safety, impose serious and avoidable financial and public health costs in the process, and may even lead to greater rates of reoffending in the long run. According to Pfaff, a growing body of evidence-based studies have suggested that policing deters; long sentences do little. What deters most effectively is the risk of detection and apprehension in the first place. Other studies increasingly indicate that spending more time in prison can cause the risk of later reoffending; as the harms and traumas experienced in prison grow, the ability to reintegrate after release falls. That prison may actually increase the risk of reoffending while imposing serious costs on communities starkly illuminates the need to invest in alternatives. Such options do exist. One striking example: by expanding access to (non-criminal justice based) drug treatment, the expansion of Medicaid yielded billions in reduced crime in states that participated in the expansion. By avoiding harsh sentencing and investing in rehabilitation programs for the incarcerated, we can reduce crime and help people improve their lives. The policies of this Special Directive supersede any contradictory language of the Legal Policies Manual. gg

More court access for the public may be coming soon. https://blogs.findlaw.com//house-passes-open-courts-act-ta

Shorter probation and parole terms on the horizon. https://www.pewtrusts.org//california-criminal-justice-ref

Check it out: ‘Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over’ shortcut makes it easy to record police https://flip.it/QPv3dM

As the holiday season is among us, please keep your online orders safe from package thieves! Attached are a few helpful tips and a video posted earlier this yea...r from Officer Mark Newborg of GPD’s Crime Impact Team regarding package theft prevention https://www.youtube.com/watch #myglendale #glendaleca #keepglendalesafe

Just a child. Makes a grown man want to vomit. Officers should not deploy Tasers to the chest. People need to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VYPNfpfqXc&feature=share

What an indignity. This man with a developmental disability has probably been bullied all his life, and now again by someone whose job it is to protect him. No justification for this. The bully cop should eat a felony and get real jail time.

It’s about time.

These brave officers are putting their loyalty to the badge aside and standing up for what is right. Well done to every single one of them.

[Qualified immunity...when ignorance of the law IS an excuse - if you’re a cop.] Police act like laws don’t apply to them because of ‘qualified immunity.’ They’re right. https://flip.it/LxldlK

Cops who arrest the Press Corps for no good reason need to be fired and go to jail. We cannot allow ourselves to succumb to a lawless police state.

This has GOT to stop. Death of Breonna Taylor - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Breonna_Taylor

CNN crew released from police custody after they were arrested live on air in Minneapolis https://flip.it/HRuyl9

These 4 simple words could keep you out of prison...

Betcha both officers’ body cams were malfunctioning. https://ktla.com//video-shows-lapd-officer-striking-man-r/

Good Morning, Glendale, please see the below video from GPD's Detective Haddad regarding internet scams.