Law Offices of Jacqueline Goodman

"Adora Perez’s healthcare providers told law enforcement that drug use caused her pregnancy loss, but the question remains: Why would those entrusted with her care participate in her criminalization when medical experts agree it is a counterproductive response to drug use, specifically among pregnant people? Every pregnant Californian should be able to access the care they need without fear of being turned into the police by their doctor." Excerpted from Farah Diaz-Tello's letter to the editor. https://www.latimes.com//adora-perez-appeal-stillborn-murd

It's redundant to say that it is unsafe to be in jail during the pandemic. But right now it is particularly treacherous. Some inmates do not even have soap to wash their hands or bodies and, far from socially distanced, currently healthy inmates are forced to share cells with the infected. It is criminal to essentially force people to catch and spread this disease. Not only for the harm it causes those who are incarcerated, but for the harm it causes those whom they infect upon their release. https://www.nytimes.com//coronavirus-vaccine-prisons-massa

Innocence Project client Termaine Hicks, shot in the back by police, exonerated after 19-year cover up. Click on link to learn more: http://bit.ly/3rcdRVA

Well, to be clear, I didn't "join" in the Becker defense. I am lead counsel. And, together with Dan Arshack and Lynn Paltrow of NAPW, we took Chelsea's case over from the PD (who had pled Adora Perez when similarly charged) early on. Matthew Missakian also led the charge for Adora Perez and, together with a team with whom I've merely consulted, has put her case back in issue. I didn't expect to be quoted here. But, if I have anything to say, it is that I originally took this murder case pro bono because I knew of it’s importance not only to a wrongly-accused Chelsea Becker, but to all women, and all people in California. What I now realize is how much I had underestimated its importance, and how much my soul would be enriched by taking it on. #freeChelseaBecker

Come November, California #voters will be faced with a criminal #justice reform proposition that would reclassify many misdemeanor crimes as felonies. Proposition 20 would also bring back DNA collection on low-level crimes and take a stronger stance on parole by limiting eligibility and changing the parole board criteria. #Prop20 should be an easy no. California taxpayer’s money should go towards rehabilitation initiatives like alternatives to incarceration, mental health treatment, and homelessness prevention. NOT more prisons and harsher sentencing. You can read more about Prop. 20 in the Reason Foundation article here: https://reason.org//california-ballot-initiative-analysis/

Thanks to ACLU, the Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes who was forced to admit details of #COVID #outbreaks within the jails involving 74 new confirmed cases, and 75 more unconfirmed, must cut #OCJail population in half. This response will save many individual lives and lay groundwork for the safekeeping of the many surrounding communities. The big story is how the incarcerated made this known. Oh, the humanity. www.aclu.org//judge-orders-50-percent-reduction-orange-cou

Congratulations to California Attorneys for Criminal Justice for the signing of their sponsored bill, #AB3070 (authored by Shirley Weber (D)) which was signed by Gov. Newsom yesterday. The bill makes removal of potential jurors on the basis of #race illegal. It is an important and long-awaited step towards ridding the #criminal #justice #system of the scourge of #racial #bias. You can read more about the signing of AB 3070 from the office of Gavin Newsom here: https://www.gov.ca.gov//governor-newsom-signs-landmark-le/

On Monday Gavin Newsom signed #CACJ -sponsored bill SB 592. The bill requires courts to utilize taxpayer lists when developing lists of potential jurors, expanding the #diversity of the pool of jurors. Jury service suppression has been a systematic problem in the same vain as #voter suppression, and this bill is a fantastic counter to that #injustice. You can find the full legislative update here: https://www.gov.ca.gov//governor-newsom-issues-legislativ/

This just in from The Grim Reaper: Day before yesterday, 3054 beautiful people died from Covid-19 in the U.S. Yesterday it was 3,103. Also, on his way out, trump is rushing through executions for death row inmates as he gives pardons to his co-conspirators. Gosh, this having-to-live-with-your-ex-before-he-moves-out thing super sucks. ... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260

Today George Gascón was sworn into office as the District Attorney for Los Angeles County, and just like that, hope has been restored to millions of people, whether they knew it or not. At his inaugural address, Gascón immediately got to work instituting sweeping criminal justice reform, relating to everything from juvenile justice to bail to the death penalty, and pledging review of every three-strikes or enhanced case for resentencing, and more. He began his remarks with w...ith an edict that from this day forward, NO JUVENILE WILL BE CHARGED AS AN ADULT. While COVID19 robbed us of the roar of a standing ovation and the tearful expressions of joy and hope and healing, my heart stood still for just a moment. And he went on. Policy after policy, promise after promise kept. Gascón asked us to close our eyes and envision the peaceful community we can and should have. He's right. This dystopian city was a product of bad choices, not an unavoidable tragedy. He rightly put to the dustbin of history old, wrong-headed policies that caused generations of damage and despair. It's Day One, and the real work must follow, but I have hope. Welcome, Mr. Gascón. We've been waiting for you.

Even in death. https://www.voanews.com//breaking-another-barrier-ruth-bad

Yesterday the California Supreme Court granted our habeas petition on the issue of bail for Chelsea Becker, a woman wrongly accused of murder for the stillbirth of her fetus. A proud moment for team-Becker including NAPW, and a time to take stock in the support of Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the ACLU. #freechelseabecker

There are many unsung heroes among us. Many angels who lift us up and bring light to our world. David Dinkins, New York City's first (and as yet only) Black mayor passed away yesterday. As NYC's first Black mayor, he faced challenges we can only imagine. But he was a visionary. And he understood the needs of the people of New York City in a way most did not. And despite those challenges, Mayor Dinkins created a legacy of love, life, safety and honor that will live on for as... long as humankind may exist. While those who do not understand his legacy or his struggles mistake NYC's 106th mayor as "moderate," it was, for example, Mayor Dinkins who supported the birth and development of holistic defense from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, to lift NYC's most vulnerable communities out of the bonds of multilateral systems that exacerbated their struggles. Here's to this revolutionary champion of kindness and hope. May he be remembered for this and all of his efforts, known and unknown. https://www.nytimes.com///nyregion/david-dinkins-dead.html

A somber anniversary: Nine years ago today Georgia executed Troy Davis, a Black man, despite compelling evidence of his actual innocence. The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davis’s who came before me and all the ones who will come after me, he said. In fact, innocent Black people are still seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people. The struggle for justice wages on. ... Click on the link to find out more: https://bit.ly/32R8dhE

I am grateful that the @ACLU has added their voice to the ever-expanding and diverse chorus demanding justice for my client, #ChelseaBecker, currently facing murder charges for the stillbirth of her fetus. The #ACLU filed an amicus brief earlier this week in the California Supreme Court in support of our pending petitions.

"Section 187 of the California Penal Code was intended to protect pregnant women from harm, not to be used to prosecute for murder a woman who has just lost a pregnancy, said Attorney General Becerra. When I took on the representation of Chelsea Becker pro bono, I knew we would have righteousness --and a few excellent lawyers -- on our side. It is gratifying to see the enormity and the diversity of voices who've joined us in our effort to #freechelseabecker https://goldrushcam.com//26449-california-attorney-general

Robert DuBoise has been #exonerated of all charges after 37 years in prison. His #freedom comes as the result of the first systematic review of bite mark cases initiated by a prosecutor’s office. Great work by The Innocence Project, and a testament to the value of the Tampa State Attorney’s #ConvictionReviewUnit and why all prosecutors would be well-served by their own #CRU or #CIU s, 50 of which now exist throughout various jurisdictions across the U.S. Relentless pursuit of #justice on behalf of Mr. DuBoise. Congratulations. Learn more about Mr. DuBoise, his exoneration and The Innocence Project on their website here: https://www.innocenceproject.org/robert-duboise-officially/#

California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye yesterday launched a work group focused on addressing and preventing the undeniable inherent bias that exists in the California Supreme Court. Implicit bias has plagued our justice system since its inception. Such action from the California Supreme Court, particularly with the recent passing of CACJ-sponsored AB 3070, legislation outlawing the exclusion of jurors on the basis of race, is a harbinger of good things to come. It is a hopeful day for justice in California and beyond.

In 2019 nearly a third of the 72,000 people in California jails had an open mental health case. Take the case of Keiana Aldrich, whom the LA Times recently highlighted. Ms. Aldrich is only one of the 30,000 inmates who have been left vulnerable because of the recent curtailing of access to mental health treatment as a result of the current pandemic, in a system ill-equipped to treat mental illness in the first place. The way a society treats its most vulnerable is perhaps the... clearest statement of its value. In California, the largest mental hospital is the Los Angeles county jail. Ask any fourth grader and they will tell you this is wrong. We should be as smart as a fourth grader. You can read more of my thoughts about this on my blog here: https://www.californiadefenselawyer.net/blog/ And you can read more about Aldrich in the LA Times article here: https://www.latimes.com//sex-trafficking-victim-suicidal-n

Here in California, a good day for justice. An emphatic "NO!" to props. 20 and 25 earlier this week, and one giant "Yes!" to prop. 17 and to our newly-elected LA District Attorney George Gascon, means that California's fight for a more just, equitable and less racist criminal justice system is making some much deserved headway. Props. 20 & 25, which would have returned us to mass incarceration and the unequal pretrial detention of people from minority populations were rejected by California voters this week. Meanwhile, Prop. 17, which restores voting rights to parolees, was voted in. A big win for justice reform.

Defunding police does not mean eliminating all police. It means putting funds into other services better suited to handle the complexities of life which comprise the majority of 911 calls. This young man suffered from a mental health episode and his family called for help to calm things down. They did not call with the expectation that Daniel Prude would be harmed, much less killed. Law enforcement officers are not trained, nor are they equipped, to handle much of what we as...k them to do. Guns and choke-holds are not needed to deal with a situation that requires an understanding of mental illness. We must fund social services and we need to value a masters degree as much as we value a badge. There are many ways to help our loved ones during a crisis; killing them is not one. It is purely a lack of imagination that causes us to have police respond in every single situation with their weapons and force. To recognize this issue is not to devalue police but to understand their appropriate role. It is to also value the many other areas of expertise that exist. It is to value human life. https://www.nytimes.com//daniel-prude-police-rochester.html

Today's Exonerated Black Man: Derrick Harris has spent the last 7 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was wrongly convicted of a 2013 robbery after being #misidentified. Today, with the help of the California Innocence Project and the LA district attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, his freedom is returned. You can read more about Derrick Harris’ dismissal here:... https://www.latimes.com//after-7-years-in-jail-los-angeles See more

Bernie Sanders endorses Gascón! Police unions endorse Lacey. Maybe that’s all you need to know. I encourage all of my LA County friends and family to vote ourselves a new District Attorney. It’s easy to forget the down-ballot contests, and the district attorney’s office is very far down the ballot, especially in our county. But it’s a very important office and change is necessary. For Bernie Sanders to weigh in on a local county prosecutor race, you must know something is u...p. And love him or hate him, no one questions Bernie Sanders’s integrity. I’ll be hosting a virtual fundraiser for Gascón this evening, and have given as much as I can to help bring integrity to the LA DAs office. I personally love Gascón, while at the same time, am reminded that if he were to win, I would spend my life opposing him. Ironic. But he’s what LA needs a thinker with a conscience. Please vote Gascón for LA DA and help spread the word. https://www.latimes.com//bernie-sanders-endorses-former-sf

You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself. Gov. Newsom’s recent nomination of Martin Jenkins to replace its most conservative justice on the California Supreme Court will be seen as both refreshing and restorative to many in the wake of recent political events. Judge Jenkins would not only be the third Black man to sit on the court, he would be the first openly gay man as well. Judge Jenkins is widely believed to be imminently qualified, enjoying both longs...tanding democratic and republican support. And for some, that's the problem. Jenkins, a 66 years old moderate, will be plucked out of retirement. The Trump administration has installed hundreds of youthful ultraconservatives to the federal bench, and Republican administrations have long understood the generational impact of the appointment of youthful justices to the Supreme Court, the Democrats still play to the middle. While Jenkins's appointment will signal an undeniable win for the #LGBTQ community, his actual impact may be less consequential for the state of California as a whole, and in a state as blue as this, many may see this appointment as a missed opportunity. Read more here: https://www.latimes.com//2020-10-/newsom-cal-supreme-court

Congratulations to California Attorneys for Criminal Justice for the passage of their sponsored bill, #AB3070 (authored by Shirley Weber (D)) which passed through the #Senate on Sunday. The bill, which previously passed the #Assembly and is on its way to @GovernorNewsom, makes removal of potential jurors on the basis of #race illegal. It is an important and long-awaited step toward ridding the #criminal #justice #system of the scourge of #racial #bias. You can read more about AB 3070 in the piece I penned for the Daily Journal attached:

Qualified immunity shields cops from juries’ oversight and denies justice to victims of police brutality. And the regional differences in how qualified immunity is granted only add to arguments that this relatively new court-created doctrine is unfair and should be abolished. You can learn more about the issues behind qualified immunity in the Reuters article, here: https://www.reuters.com//s/usa-police-immunity-variations/

Judges now have to consider a defendant’s ability to pay when setting #bail rather than relying on conventional bail schedules affixed to specific #crimes. Judges must also give increased consideration to alternatives like electronic monitoring. The presumption of incarceration is meant to end. The hard part will be changing their mindsets. Getting ready with the writs. https://www.mercurynews.com//california-supreme-court-rei/

The Los Angeles Times highlighted the importance of CACJ-sponsored bill #AB3070 up for vote. Hard to imagine a no vote for a law to stop the widespread banning of POC from juries. [For] racism to do its damage to individual defendants and to the integrity of our system of justice, it need not be blatant or explicit. Should Assembly Bill 3070 pass through the Senate in the next few days, it would protect potential jurors from being removed on the basis of race. You can read the LA Times editorial on AB 3070 here: https://www.latimes.com//attack-racism-in-criminal-proceed

It's crunch time for the @CACJ -sponsored bill #AB3070, which is making a third appearance in the #Senate today. CACJ has been in conversation with #California state #legislators #advocating for the bill, which protects potential jurors from being removed on the basis of race. The time has come to rid the criminal justice system of the scourge of racial bias and I intend to go the extra mile to see that this bill becomes law. You can read more about AB 3070 and other CACJ-sponsored legislation on the CACJ website: https://cacj.org/

Happy belated birthday, #19thAmendment! You don’t look a day over 100. But that’s exactly what you are. It has been only one hundred years (and a day) since the ratification of the #19thAmendment, which finally granted voting rights to women in the U.S. 100 years later, only 359 women in congress. That number, when compared to the 12,000 men was a step in the right direction, but there is much more to be done. For her birthday, I thinkthe 19th Amendment would like more women elected to office.

Racist trope much? The dean of Chapman Law School, John C. Eastman, manages to somehow eclipse his display of abject racism with an ironic display of a lack of legal acumen. One might guess he was angling for a way out of working.... https://www.latimes.com///2020-08-17/newsweek-racist-op-ed

Jeff Adachi, passed away too soon last year. He fought tirelessly and creatively to empower those without it, provide opportunity to those without it, and to protect the indigent from injustice. UC Hastings Law has set up The San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to students who have experienced obstacles restricting their access to academic opportunities and resources. For more information, or to donate: https://uchastings24024.thankyou4caring.org/jeff-adachi

It's been 5 years since the death of civil rights leader Julian Bond in 2015. In light of the #BLM movement and the issues of racism returning to the fore in this country today, opportunities to remember great leaders in the struggle for racial equality should not go unrecognized. Julian Bond was born into a prominent, activist African American family and carried that tradition on from his earliest days as a student. He was the youngest founding member of the Student Nonviole...nt Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Bond also won a seat in the Georgia General Assembly, had his name placed in nomination for Vice President at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, was a co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and was the longtime chairman of the NAACP. Later in life he served as the narrator of the 14-part award-winning PBS documentary series "Eyes on the Prize." At the time of his death, President Obama called Bond, "a hero and a friend." We would all do well to follow the example of Julian Bond. Rest in Peace. See more

Defendant [The DA Todd Spitzer’s] first argumentthat the complaint fails to allege a current programsuffers from the problem that the complaint repeatedly alleges a current program. https://voiceofoc.org//appeals-court-revives-lawsuit-alle/

This week I’ve been attending #NACDLAnnual, Breaking Through: Challenging Police Credibility, Misconduct, and Overreach. So excited to rejoin the nation's finest criminal defense #lawyers to discuss state #criminaljusticereform, and work with committees like #women in #criminal #defense, #membership and #corrections. #Tribe NACDL

Chief Justice Roberts's new procedure for oral arguments before the #USSC is to call on every justice in order of seniority via live-stream, including the typically silent Justice Clarence Thomas, for more order and transparency than the free-for-all inquiries of times past. The pandemic has had its silver linings. This is one. https://www.latimes.com//editorial-stop-experimenting-with

In a virtually unprecedented move, the top law enforcement official in the state, Attorney General Xavier Becarra, has recently joined in the effort to free our client, Chelsea Becker. I took on this murder case pro bono because I understood the far-reaching significance of this prosecution on women throughout the nation. To see this issue garner a national headline in the New York Times underscores that significance. We work on behalf of Ms. Becker and to protect women throughout California from prosecution for murder after a stillbirth. Read here for more: https://www.nytimes.com//chelsea-becker-california-stillbi

On Friday, our state prosecutor, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, filed an amicus brief in support of my challenge to the trial judge’s refusal to dismiss the case against my client, Chelsea Becker, who is charged with murder for the stillbirth of her fetus. Meanwhile, Chelsea Becker still sits in Kings County jail, on 2 million dollars bail, where she has been for 9 months in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.thedailybeast.com/chelsea-becker-was-charged-wi

"The harm in this case to one man sheds light on the harm done to the nation by this manufactured doctrine," wrote Judge Carlton Reeves as he held, with express regret in this remarkable opinion on Tuesday, that officer McClendon should receive qualified immunity. Regrettable, indeed, that Judge Reeves, aware of the harm to come from his holding, was forced by the law to uphold the blanket protection to law enforcement from claims, no matter how legitimate. This was a cry for help. And long overdue. Qualified immunity is perhaps the root of all police evil, and as Judge Reeves says, it belongs in the dustbin of history. https://www.npr.org//judge-shielding-cop-via-qualified-imm

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court’s interim order which required social distancing, regular testing, and the use of hand sanitizer in the Orange County jails. The 5-4 decision is a clear manifestation of a deep national divide. Justice Sotomayor in a rare, scathing dissent, questioned the integrity of the Orange County Sheriff in light of the earlier findings of the District Court that the Sheriff’s Department had falsely represented its compliance ...with CDC guidelines. The Orange County jail, which houses a revolving 3000 inmates, reported 489 coronavirus cases, 71 of which are currently active. The failure to value the lives of those in [temporary] custody has proven useful to the virus, as jails and prisons in California have proven to be a uniquely efficient breeding ground for this deadly disease. And, not for nothing, apparently it’s now okay to lie to a federal court. https://www.ocregister.com//u-s-supreme-court-blocks-judg/

Today marks 55 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices that disproportionately affected people of color. Still, the struggle for racial justice continues. https://www.cnn.com//voter-registration-voting-/index.html

In June of 1952, an innocent 16-year-old Franky Carrillo was wrongly convicted of murder and six counts of attempted murder. In April of 2011, after having spent nearly two decades in prison, he was finally exonerated. His father died before seeing his son obtain his #freedom. After his release, Franky graduated from Loyola Marymount University, and was then elected to the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee in the 51st Assembly District. He is one of the eight wr...ongly-convicted individuals featured in the #Netflix docuseries, "The Innocence Files." Franky Carrillo and I will join other #criminal law experts and practitioners to discuss issues affecting our criminal justice system in a Zoom event hosted by the National Institute of Justice. Funds raised from this event will be used to support the candidacy of our next #LA County District Attorney, George Gascón. This is an important discussion supporting a most important campaign. I will be donating to help underwrite his campaign and encourage you to do the same.

Some people serve their country with their conscience. John Lewis, American Hero. https://www.nytimes.com//john-lewis-civil-rights-america.h

Michael Morton was critical of the portrayal of one of his attorneys, spotlighted in the film series "Outcry. Morton, who was wrongly convicted in 1987 and finally exonerated in 2011, and who inspired the first legislation aimed at criminalizing such prosecutorial misconduct complained about #Showtime. I am a fan of Morton, although I disagree slightly with his perception on this one. There is a long history of prosecutors being glorified in the media, when in truth they’ve... often been responsible for the perversion of the #justice they are sworn to uphold. And it is particularly remarkable that Morton, having been robbed of 25 years of life, spoke with such temperance and compassion when the prosecutor responsible for his wrongful conviction received his days-long sentence back in 2013. At the time of the prosecutor’s sentencing, I was tapped to write about Morton’s shocking experience in this piece for the DailyJournal (below). But after having seen the film series myself, I was pleased at its portrayal of the criminal justice system, the evils of a rush to judgment, the apparent virtue of the NEW District Attorney who seems to seek actual justice, and the very real danger of a poor criminal defense. I encourage you to watch and judge for yourself.

The death penalty is indisputably racialized. Race and location are the most salient factors in determining whether a prosecutor will seek the death penalty and whether a jury will award it. More than three quarters of death penalty convictions are for crimes involving white victims, even though half of all murder victims in the U.S. are black. And a black defendant accused of murdering a white victim is three times more likely to get the death penalty than a white person acc...used of killing a white victim. The modern American criminal justice system was conceived as a systematic method of racial oppression, and the racism that formed its basis has yet to be dismantled. Keep in mind that bias aside, the death penalty doesn't deter crime, but instead increases it. Of this there is overwhelming proof. Finally, the ever-increasing number of the exonerated living and executed should concern every person, regardless of philosophical differences in the abstract, particularly given that DNA evidence may not be available or meaningful in many cases. We know that more than 100 death row inmates have been exonerated. How many innocents executed are too many? That the overwhelming majority of exonerees are black leaves no room for doubt that the time has come to finally end this unholy stain on the American soul. https://www.law.com//the-future-of-the-death-penalty-do-a/

Gov. Newsom grants clemency for 34 Ok... not to be ungrateful, but about 309 people in California are still serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed while under the age of 18. Just a drop in the bucket. - https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article243830462.html

Blog post, now published in the Daily Journal. Read more on my blog: https://www.californiadefenselawyer.net/blog/

144 years ago, Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1875, prohibiting African-Americans from being excluded from jury service. And, sure as night follows day (but about 100 years of them), the California Supreme Court held, in People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258, that attorneys in criminal trials are forbidden from striking potential jurors based on race, ethnicity, or religion. And a mere decade after that, the U.S. Supreme Court followed our lead, hol...Continue reading

A Deputy Public Defender in Santa Clara County is garnering national attention. And so is his Karen, the personally-offended DA, Jeff Rosen. Sajid Khan posted on social media and penned an op-ed, calling the DA’s office complicit in the systemic racism so prevalent in our criminal justice system. He encouraged an automobile demonstration in front of the civic center, which also houses police and DAs offices. DA Karen called his boss and threatened to file a "whistleblower" c...omplaint. I looked, but cannot find, what basis Karen thinks exists for such a complaint. Luckily Khan's bosses, and @washingtonpost find Khan’s truth-telling refreshing. Stop it, Karen. https://www.claraweb.us/archives/34048

Attorney Jacqueline Goodman wrote an article for the Daily Journal titled, Rule 4 rescission: untethered from reason" that was published last Friday, June 12, 2020. In the article, she condemned how the California Judicial Council voted 17-2 to rescind "Rule 4, an emergency order which set bail at $0 for most individuals facing lower-level, nonviolent criminal charges. A little over two months ago, the Judicial Council originally passed Rule 4 to reduce jail populations in ...an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded jails and other facilities. During the time that this emergency order was issued there have been far fewer inmate-related infections and fatalities, thus ultimately saving thousands from contracting the coronavirus. However; since the rescission of Rule 4, 13 inmates from the Fresno County Jail have been moved to the state prison. All 13 of them, 100%, tested positive for COVID-19. A week from the date Attorney Jacqueline Goodman’s article was published. A few local prosecutors and sheriffs, who are more interested in being tough on crime, led a misinformation campaign to show how these released inmates go on to commit more crimes. The truth is only a few of the over 22,000 released individuals under Rule 4 committed another crime.

Today 100% of the inmates transferred from Fresno jail to Wasco State Prison tested positive for COVID-19 upon entry; and a rogue judge’s group, The Alliance of California Judges, criticizes AB 3070, CACJ-sponsored legislation to outlaw race-based jury selection, as it simultaneously acknowledges systemic racism in jury selection and the concomitant convictions. Oh yeah, and it’s also Juneteenth, still not a holiday.

My hard-working, fearless, brilliant friend Bobbie Stein, criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, Berkeley Law prof who singlehandedly changed the face of protests in San Francisco, penned this truth. And was one of the panelists on CACJ’s Defending Protests webinar. https://www.mercurynews.com//opinion-oakland-police-viola/

The Batson Reform Bill sponsored by CACJ just passed! Yes! On to the Senate!

It's clear that a return to business as usual in California courts is not the answer. The goals should be public safety and access to justice. And perhaps a new idea of a smarter justice system in the wake of this pandemic. There has been a paradigm shift in our society. Change is a’comin’, but the courts are slow to change. Please let the Governor’s office know and if possible, cc the two Budget Chairs (Sen. Holly Mitchell, Asm. Phil Ting, as well as the Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office) that we want them to understand this is an issue that WE ALL care about. Ideally, these emails need to be sent by 5 pm TODAY, Thursday, June 11th, or the latest by noon on Friday, June 12th. https://www.startribune.com/first-hennepin-county-jury-//

Together with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and other law firms from across the country, Attorney Jacqueline Goodman is working pro bono as the lead counsel to defend a Central California woman, Chelsea Becker, facing a felony first-degree murder charge for a stillbirth after an autopsy revealed there was methamphetamine in the fetus’ system. Not only does Goodman seek the dismissal of the murder charge against our client, but she is also attempting to stop the ex...pansion of a California criminal code that allows women to be charged with murder for the outcomes of their pregnancies. This is part of a nationwide attempt to criminalize abortion and other actions by pregnant women. Under Penal Code 187 PC, murder is defined as "the unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with malice aforethought. However, the law is intended to punish individuals causing harm to pregnant women, not implicate mothers who experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth. Our client is not the first person to be charged after a stillbirth. Other than a case that resulted in a no-contest plea, no one has ever been convicted under California law. Health providers and legal experts claim that criminalizing fetal harm can make pregnant women hesitant or even reluctant about seeking medical care if they experience a miscarriage or other pregnancy-related health issues. Furthermore, doctors could be forced to act as investigators, significantly severing physician-patient relationships. Attorney Jacqueline Goodman is committed to protecting the rights of our clients and the rights of women everywhere. Experiencing a pregnancy loss is not a crime! For more information about what you can do to help, call The Law Office of Jacqueline Goodman today at (866) 294-8952 or contact us online. To read more of my blogs please click this link: https://www.californiadefenselawyer.net/blog/

Ironically, in a vote cast by e-mail to ensure their own safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Judicial Council voted 17-2 this afternoon to rescind the emergency order that required, depending on where you practiced [I’m looking at you, GD], bail be set at $0 for most people accused of lower level, non-violent crimes. The Judicial Council had passed the emergency rules to try to reduce jail populations and keep the coronavirus from spreading in over...crowded jails and courtroom cages. Since then, the number of cases in jails has increased, yet we have not seen a spike in crime rates, notwithstanding Spitzer’s anecdotal evidence. So if the timing of this vote seems curious to you, you’re not alone. Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye also rescinded the emergency order that gave courts up to seven days to arraign a defendant after an arrest. Arrestees will again have to be arraigned within 48 hours. In the wake of this decision untethered from reason, the Chief Justice offered a conciliatory judges will retain the flexibility to grant zero bail. Mhm. In other news, the LA Times reports that the state will allow convicted inmates to move from jails to prisons in all 58 counties by June 19. Yay.

As lead defense counsel in the case against #chelseabecker a case charging her with murder for the death of her unborn child together with NAPW and law firms across the country we are bringing our first motion for dismissal of the case this morning. I took this case pro bono to help stop the expansion of the criminal code in California which would allow women to be charged with murder for the outcomes of their pregnancies, part of a nationwide attempt to criminalize abortion and other actions by pregnant women.

And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? ... It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Floyd, Taylor and the CNN Reporter ...and protests: A blackish CNN reporter is illegally arrested while reporting live on the air on the George Floyd murder by police, just as violence had erupted at the protest in Louisvillea protest not of the Floyd murder by police, but of the police killing of black EMT Breonna Taylor, shot at night in her own home last week (a story getting national attention only in the wake of the Floyd killing). And good people, believing any ra...cism is bad, see the violence in the protests as part of the problem. It’s not. It’s a result of the problem. I am of Jewish descent. Lost family in the Holocaust. If after the Jews were freed, Germans continued the oppression; if Jews were so disproportionately stopped, arrested, wrongly convicted, imprisoned, executed and killed on the street by police we would not consider their uprising in the wake of another public murder unexpected or even worthy of concern for its wrongfulness. I just want to loot a Walmart rn. 2020: When Mother Earth sent us to our rooms to think about what we had done, but our sibs kept f#cking up, so The Universe actually smacked us.

https://www.cbsnews.com//minneapolis-police-george-floyd-/ How many black men have to be murdered in public? In broad daylight? How many more in the age of pocket-video before people believe it and reject the ignorant lies that we are largely post-racial? It’s well past the time for those who are comfortable because they don’t suffer this racism to ignore it. We are complicit in propagating a racist society. We are complicit in murder.

What does it mean to be human? California prisons house the the second largest population of prisoners over 55 in the nation which imprisons more of its citizens than any other by far. Remind me how prisons, a top vector in the spread of the coronavirus, are not concentration camps? https://www.theguardian.com//california-prisons-covid-19-o

On Monday, www.CACJ.org sponsored legislation AB 3070 was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The bill creates a new process to identify and remedy implicit bias over race, gender, ethnicity and other invidious categories in the exercise of peremptory challenges. As Batson has proven ineffective, this bill is long overdue. AB 3070 is authored by CACJ Legislator of the Year Assemblymember Shirley Weber. CACJ’s partner in the effort was UC Berkeley Law School Death Penalty Clinic.

Join the IP in welcoming Sheila Denton home after 15 yrs in prison! She's the 27th person wrongly convicted with bite mark evidence. https://bit.ly/3e9oCBJ