PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE WEBINAR RECAP Criminal Justice Reform: Local Impacts MORGAN H. DALY
At MCBA’s April General Membership Meeting, panelists from the three pillars of our local criminal justice system—the Bench, the District Attorney’s office, and the Public Defender’s office—each shared their perspectives on the local impacts of legislation aimed at reforming our criminal justice system. The trend toward Criminal Justice Reform in California The presentation began with an introduction summarizing the shift away from the toughon-crime policies of the 1990’s, which saw
the enactment of three-strikes and other laws that limited judicial discretion and resulted in lengthy sentences. As a result of these policies, California reached a peak incarceration rate of over 170,000 people in 2006-2007. But now, the pendulum is swinging the other way.
trauma, mental health disorder, and/or past victimization contributed to the commission of the offense. These considerations come into play in felony sentencing laws, which establish a preference for the lowest applicable prison term when such circumstances are present and direct courts to afford “great
to the Penal Code, including reforms to the
weight” to these circumstances in deciding whether to strike sentencing enhancements.
felony sentencing scheme and the expansion
(See Pen. Code, §§ 1170, 1385.)
of diversion programs.
These same considerations used to evaluate
Felony Sentencing Provides for Consideration of the Offender’s Circumstances
an offender’s circumstances in sentencing, also come into play at the other end of spec-
A common theme is greater consideration of
trum with the recent expansion of diversion programs.
Recent years have seen sweeping revisions
the circumstances of the offender: whether, for example, the defendant’s youth, past
THE MARIN LAWYER An Official Publication of the Marin County Bar Association
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