Under this new law, defendants are not required to plead guilty in advance. This can have a substantial effect on professional licensure and federal immigration issues. Charges dismissed before a guilty plea should have no effect on licensure, immigration proceedings, DACA recipients nor be counted as deportable offenses.
While trial courts will have discretion to offer misdemeanor diversion, there is no mechanism to legally force them to. It is critical that a defendant’s Long Beach criminal defense lawyer be skilled in presenting an effective petition to the court that makes a compelling argument for diversion. Effective .
The Clean Slate Legislation Assembly Bill 1076 gives automatic record clearance for individuals arrested after . The bill applies to Californians that are eligible to clear their criminal records under Penal Code 1203.4 as follows:
AB 1076 requires California to automate the process of record clearance so that individuals and the courts do not have to incur the costs of petition based record clearance. The state estimates that each record clearance costs the system $3,757, while the automated system will only cost 4-cents per record. California is only the third state to offer clean slate relief, after Utah and Pennsylvania.
California Policy Lab found that “1 in 8 Californians with a criminal record are potentially eligible to have their full record cleared. Further, approximately 81% of persons with a criminal record are potentially eligible for relief of at least one arrest or conviction (approximately 1.8 million persons in the study cohort).”
These automatic record relief provisions apply to defendants arrested or convicted on or after . Funding and implementing the changes are subject to appropriation in California’s Annual Budget. The automatic system is estimated to begin operating , depending on when funding is finally appropriated.
Proposition 17 | Restores right to vote for people on parole after prison
Proposition 17 amends the Constitution of California to allow people on parole to vote. It also allows parolees to run for office if they are registered to vote and have not been convicted of bribery or perjury. The change is estimated to restore voting rights to approximately 50,000 people in California who are on parole after completing their prison sentence.
AB 1196 | Banning chokeholds by law enforcement
Assembly Bill 1196 requires California law enforcement agencies to amend their use of force policies to prohibit using carotid restraints or choke holds. The bill defines the terms as follows:
“Carotid restraint” means a vascular neck restraint or any similar restraint, hold, or other defensive tactic in which pressure is applied to the sides of a person’s neck that involves a substantial risk of restricting blood flow and may render the person unconscious in order to subdue or control the person.
“Choke hold” means any defensive tactic or force option in which direct pressure is applied to a person’s trachea or windpipe.
“Law enforcement agency” means any agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
Now a majority of the nation’s largest police departments have banned or strengthened restrictions on the use of these types of neck restraints since the death of George Floyd. The changes have come as policing agencies are working to reassure stressed communities that they are listening.
AB 2542 | California Racial Justice Act
The California Racial Justice Act of 2020 spanking dating website gratis (CRJA) prohibits the use of race, national origin, or ethnicity to seek or obtain convictions or impose sentences in criminal cases.