How effectively is CA racial justice legislation working?

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into legislation in September 2020, following the police homicide of George Floyd. For the primary time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the legal authorized system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

Nonetheless, a Garrison Venture and CalMatters evaluation of the Racial Justice Act discovered solely a few dozen profitable instances wherein judges took motion on racial bias within the authorized course of, an indicator of the “uphill battle,” as one lawyer known as it, to persuade judges to carry these challenges.

The state, dwelling to the most important legal authorized system within the U.S., doesn’t maintain information on Racial Justice Act instances. There’s no courthouse code for a movement made underneath the act, leaving no systematic technique to monitor instances. Successes are inclined to unfold by phrase of mouth, whereas the main points of rejections are buried in courtroom filings. Within the absence of complete information, the Garrison Venture spoke with greater than 40 attorneys, authorized consultants, and advocates, throughout greater than a dozen counties to know its effectiveness.

The outcomes up to now are blended. A evaluate of courtroom paperwork, appellate rulings, and interviews with protection attorneys point out the true energy of a Racial Justice Act continuing: the flexibility so as to add proof of bias to the courtroom report via motions.

• Elizabeth Lashley-Haynesa deputy public defender for Los Angeles County: “You don’t know the importance of just going into the court and fighting it and having these conversations. It’s incredibly meaningful to be able to articulate and say to a judge, ‘No, this officer doing that is biased.’”

Learn extra on the Racial Justice Act within the story by Sean Kevin Campbell, a contributing reporter with The Garrison Venture.

Californians constantly rank jobs and the financial system as among the many most urgent points going through the state. And whereas the tech and leisure industries seize a variety of Gov. Newsom’s consideration, employees outdoors the Bay Space and Los Angeles are getting some focus, too.

As CalMatters financial system reporter Levi Sumagaysay explains, the governor was in Fresno Thursday selling a 20-year financial improvement plan submitted by counties within the Central Valley. The 502-page plan outlines how the area proposes to spice up its agricultural trade and put together for climate-related jobs.

The Central Valley is one in every of 13 areas all through the state engaged on these plans. In March, Newsom introduced $182 million in grants to place the plans into motion. Within the Central Valley, the place 1 in 5 individuals dwell under the poverty line, counties are asking for $58 billion in private and non-private investments by 2045, in accordance with an August draft of its plan.

The governor is predicted to launch a statewide blueprint in January based mostly on the opposite 12 regional plans.

Learn extra about Newsom’s vow to go away no area behind in Levi’s story.

Trump prep: Newsom additionally stated that the particular legislative session he known as is required as a result of even when he acquired together with President-elect Donald Trump throughout his first time period, he nonetheless assaulted California on coverage and cash.

“We have the receipts,” Newsom stated in response to reporters’ questions.

And Trump is proving along with his appointments and rhetoric that he’s “hellbent” on doing extra when he returns to the White Home in January, the governor stated. Particularly, Newsom stated he’s involved concerning the “chilling effect” of Trump’s mass deportation threats on authorized immigrants and blended standing households.

It’s been three days since California’s first main storm of the wet season sloshed ashore and hopefully everyone seems to be staying protected and dry. (My windowsill leaked rainwater Wednesday, inflicting a small puddle to soak my front room rug, in order that’s the place I’m at.)

This atmospheric river, intensified by a bomb cyclone from the Pacific Northwest, is predicted to maintain battering the West Coast into early subsequent week. Flood warnings are in impact in components of Northern California via Friday, and heavy snow is predicted within the Sierra. The storm’s highly effective winds have induced energy outages and knocked down bushes. However as of late Thursday, no main flooding in California had been reported.

But when there are devastating floods once more, will support rapidly attain these in want?

Not in the event you take a look at what occurred to households in Planada, a Latino-majority city in Merced County devastated by flooding in January 2023.

As CalMatters’ Felicia Mello paperwork, solely about $4 million of the $20 million in reduction has been spentmost in funds to affected residents.

It took months for the state to ship the cash to Planada. And as soon as it arrived, there was pressure between residents who wished direct support and native officers who wished to make use of some to repair infrastructure. Many residents work in low-wage agricultural jobs and are undocumented, which suggests they aren’t eligible for federal emergency support.

Learn extra on flood reduction in Planadain addition to Pajaro in Monterey County, in Felicia’s story.

As California public faculties battle to carry pupil attendance again as much as pre-pandemic ranges, the newest state report gives a glimmer of hope.

Within the new California Faculty Dashboard — the state’s key information supply that gives a snapshot of how Okay-12 college students are faring — absenteeism dropped to twenty% in 2023-24, which is healthier than the 30% charge in 2021-22, writes CalMatters Okay-12 schooling reporter Carolyn Jones.

It’s proof that faculties’ efforts to scale back absenteeism are workingbut it surely’s not as little as the pre-pandemic charge of 12%.

The dashboard, launched Thursday by the California Division of Schooling, additionally reveals that the highschool commencement charge ticked up (86.4% from 86.2%), and suspension charges dropped barely (from 3.6% to three.3%).

However there may be one trigger for concern: Whereas barely extra college students are graduating highschool, solely about half of those graduates meet the admissions standards from the College of California and California State College, and the variety of those that are eligible dipped barely from 45.2% final yr to 44.9%.

Study extra concerning the dashboard’s newest findings in Carolyn’s story.

Talking of commencement charges: Cal State reported this week that the college has fallen wanting its objective to graduate 40% of its college students who begin as freshmen. As CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn explains, officers reported that the four-year commencement charge hit 36.2% this spring. Whereas an all-time excessive, it’s nonetheless wanting Cal State’s 2025 goal. Commencement charges amongst Latino and Black college students additionally hit effectively under the targets. Amongst switch college students who come from neighborhood schools and graduate inside two years, nonetheless, Cal State is nearer to its 45% goal, with 44% graduating.