The Administration of Justice policy committee advocated on a
number of bills this legislative session. Here are some
highlights from the end of session.
The Senate Public Safety Committee held an oversight hearing,
COVID-19 in California State Prisons. The hearing focused on the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR)
current and future plans for handling of increases in COVID-19
cases in state prisons, which has now spread to at least 19 state
correctional facilities.
In response to increasing court pressure and the growing number
of COVID-19 cases in state prisons, this week the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will begin a
new early release process. Similar to the last round of early
releases, this new program will include several “public safety
screens” which exclude offenders:
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Board will
meet Thursday, June 11, at 10:00 am via
Zoom/Teleconference. The agenda topics include an information
only COVID-19 update on Adult and Juvenile detention facilities
and BSCC inspections, training compliance and grants.
A Judicial Council working group
of 23 volunteer judges and court
executives released a 75-page
resource guide to assist the state’s trial
courts with their pandemic continuity of operations, while
providing a safe environment for court users, staff, and
justice partners.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) resumes intake from county jails this week. The intake
process from county jails began in a very limited and controlled
manner with CDCR only accepting offenders at the North Kern State
Prison and Wasco State Prison reception centers. Also, through
June 19, CDCR will only accept intake from the counties of Los
Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego and Fresno. CDCR anticipates
that no more than 200 inmates will be accepted from these
counties.
As counties work diligently to prepare local budgets in the face
of great fiscal uncertainty, we know there are many questions
about existing revenue streams. The economic impacts of COVID-19
are anticipated to result in sharp reductions in Vehicle License
Fee (VLF) and Sales and Use Tax, creating unprecedented times for
2011 Public Safety Realignment—the first year-over-year decline
in revenue for the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
As previously shared in the April
2 CSAC Bulletin, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA) released a Coronavirus Emergency
Supplemental Funding (CESF) solicitation on March 30, 2020. The
CESF program provides funding to states, local units of
government, and tribes to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
the coronavirus.
The Public Policy Institute of California
released a report summarizing statewide jail population
trends in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not surprisingly,
the report explains that jail populations across the state have
declined—stating that between February 29 and April 11, all of
California’s counties reduced their jail populations by releasing
more people than they admitted.
The Judicial Council of California has launched the Pandemic
Continuity of Operations Working Group, which will quickly
collect best practices and publish a framework to help the
state’s 58 superior courts address interrupted services
in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group, a roster of
22 superior court presiding judges and court executive
officers from a Judicial Council advisory group, plans to publish
by early June its collection of best practices and guidance from
federal, state, and local entities.
A decision issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeal in
Ayala, et al. v. The Superior Court of San Diego
County addresses the application of the Judicial Council’s
emergency rule for a $0 bail schedule.
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) recently
implemented a Supplemental Jail Profile Survey to collect data
from county sheriffs and chief probation officers on average
daily population, bookings, and releases related to the COVID-19
pandemic. The supplemental jail and juvenile detention profile
surveys are now available on the
BSCC website.
Tuesday, April 14, Governor Newsom signed a new
Executive Order related to the discharge and reentry of juvenile
offenders from the state Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
The order shortens from 60 days to 30 days the notification
period for a scheduled discharge consideration hearing given to
the respective probation department, the court of the committing
county, and the youth’s counsel.
At its April 6 meeting, the Judicial Council
approved 11
temporary emergency rules, including setting bail statewide
at $0 for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies to “safely reduce
jail populations” and staying eviction and foreclosure
proceedings to protect Californians from losing their homes
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 31, CDCR amplified actions to protect staff and inmates
at the state’s institutions by implementing additional measures
to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The measures aim to
increase both capacity and physical space at the state’s prisons,
which will allow the department to increase physical distancing
and assist it with isolation and quarantine efforts for suspected
or positive COVID-19 cases.
On March 16, California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye
issued guidance to California trial courts seeking emergency
orders to adjust or suspend court operations in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Current California law circumscribes the authority of the Chief
Justice during emergencies. Presiding judges of county superior
courts may petition the Chief Justice—as chair of the Judicial
Council—for an emergency order to support their local needs.
ADVISORY: Due to the changing nature of directives
related to COVID-19, meeting information is subject to change.
For the latest California Courts news related to COVID-19,
visitnewsroom.courts.ca.gov/coronavirus-updates.
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has set the
dates for three statewide listening sessions so that members of
the public can give comments on separate but related topics: the
agency’s efforts to improve jail inspections and the biennial
update of the adult regulations governing jail operations.
The Pretrial Reform and Operations Workgroup will host public
comment sessions on the use of pretrial risk assessment tools to
further its mission of reviewing and identifying next steps for
reforms to California’s system of pretrial release and detention.
The State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (SACJJDP) will hold its first meeting of the year in
Sacramento on Thursday, January 16 at 10:00 am.
The meeting will be held at the Board of State and Community
Corrections (BSCC) headquarters, 2590 Venture Oaks Way in
Sacramento.
CSAC’s 125th Annual Conference was held in San Francisco
City/County during the first week of December. The conference
offered a variety of workshops, speakers, policy committee
meetings, and networking opportunities – and the Women’s
Leadership Forum (WLF) had a strong presence.
The WLF held a business meeting on Monday, December 2 where
members discussed the WLF by-laws, topics of interest to the
group and elected Supervisor Lynda Hopkins with Sonoma County as
the new Suburban Co-Chair replacing Supervisor Susan Gorin also
with Sonoma County.
The CSAC Administration of Justice (AOJ) policy committee met
Thursday, December 5th at the CSAC Annual Conference
in San Francisco County. The agenda topics for the meeting
included: a discussion about juvenile justice reform in
California, the presentation and approval of the Juvenile Justice
Facilities in California: Report and Tool Kit and a presentation
of advocacy efforts of 2019 and approval of the AOJ 2020
legislative priorities.
Governor Newsom signed 870 bills into law this year. To keep
counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will be
publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in each
policy area. This week, the Administration of Justice policy
area provides information on new laws affecting a wide range of
subjects.
The new laws listed below become effective January 1, 2020 unless
noted otherwise.
The Judicial Council and the State Controller’s Office are
pleased to announce the annual Revenue Distribution WebEx
training session, offered to address impacts of newly enacted
legislation to trial court revenue distributions and provide
updates on other related areas of interest. Such as, the pending
bill that would consolidate collections reporting—read the latest
update on Assembly Bill 1818 (Stats. 2019, ch.637) here.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is offering the
following opportunities that may be of interest to California
county officials involved with Administration of Justice.
Center for Juvenile Justice Reform 2020–2021 Length of
Stay Policy Academy
The Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans: Facilitating
Behavioral Health Diversion webinar hosted by the California
Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health and the
California Department of State Hospitals (DSH), with funding
support from the California Council on Criminal Justice and
Behavioral Health, will be held on Tuesday, October 29
from 11:30 am – 12:00 pm.
Last week, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)
released a report titled “Just the Facts: Racial Disparities in
California Arrests.” The report makes the following findings:
The Council of Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH) is
hosting community engagement events throughout the state and
would like to encourage County participation.
