#criminal-justice

#criminal-justice

Sending text message reminders to indigent South Bay defendants reduced jailings for missed court appearances by at least 20%, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford, Harvard and New York universities that devised an automated system to help people remember their court dates. The study, which involved thousands of people represented by the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office, contends that missed court appearances more often than not the product of simple forgetfulness and a lack of familiarity with court procedure, rather than acts of defiance.

Mission Local readers first met Church in 2019. It was a redemptive tale of a woman who had spiraled into the darkest corners hidden in plain sight in San Francisco. An underaged sex worker walking the streets at 14. An alcoholic paying for three-dollar bottles of vodka with small change. A heroin addict. A barefoot homeless woman washing her hair in the gutter. A " High User of Multiple Services " with a rap sheet six pages long.

During the pending hearing, Williams may decide if Torres-Mendoza should be placed in MHM Services Inc. - which provides mental health services to government agencies and which operates a secure facility in Vallejo - or one of five State Hospitals in California. Criminal charges have been suspended against Torres-Mendoza under Penal Code section 1368, which stipulates that a defendant in a criminal case cannot be tried or punished if they are mentally incompetent.

The fate of a 24-year-old Sacramento man, who is charged with stabbings on an Amtrak train last year, is at the intersection of the state's massive mental health care and criminal justice systems. Reversing her March decision, a Solano County Superior Court Janice M. Williams in May ruled that Brandon Torres-Mendoza was incompetent to stand trial. He faced a mental health facility placement hearing and a report from the North Bay Regional Center on Monday,

Fox News' Andy McCarthy pooh-poohed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting cashless bail policies on Monday during an appearance on The Story with Martha MacCallum later that afternoon. Guest host Gillian Turner kicked off the segment by observing that Trump's new executive order signed today threatens to revoke federal funds to any jurisdiction in the United States that continues to employ no cash bail.

Kemp must begin home monitoring within two weeks, The Seattle Times reported. He must also serve one year of state Department of Corrections supervision and complete 240 hours of community service. Prosecutors had recommended the six-time NBA All-Star be sentenced to nine months in jail, a year of supervision and pay restitution. Judge Michael Schwartz of Pierce County Superior Court found the circumstances surrounding the crime warranted a lesser sentence, allowing Kemp to avoid incarceration.

California's leaders have a history of closing mental hospitals and failing to deliver promised community-based care, leading to thousands of mentally ill individuals on the streets.

Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down.

Prosecutors said Peña resorted to violence in the belief that a "rigged" election had robbed him of victory in his bid to serve in the state Legislature.

The 36-year-old woman was suddenly grabbed and thrown into the back of a white Ford Transit van as she left her home on the morning of May 10.

Haddix, who ran a primate facility in Festus, pleaded guilty in March to perjury and obstructing justice, related to the treatment of the chimp, Tonka.

The report lays bare the reasons why prisons have become so consistently overcrowded over so many years to the point of frequent near-collapse.

"From the get, this police report is used to determine whether a criminal case will be started," said Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association, which sponsored the bill. "Then a judge would be reviewing this police report, for example, to determine the circumstances of offense and to determine whether or not to hold somebody in jail."

Combs was denied bail during his latest attempt to go home from jail following his prostitution-related conviction, stemming from federal charges of coercion and manipulation.