Rights and Liberties
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Gov. Brown signs bill to expand prisoner DNA testing
Wrongly convicted prisoners received a glimmer of hope Thursday from a new law that could help prove their innocence. Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 980, by state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, which expands access to DNA testing for prisoners who are searching
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We’re all perpetual suspects: Portents of privacy-free era emerging in CA
The inexpensive ease with which law-enforcement authorities can monitor the citizenry has gotten some attention from the media, which has reported on how cell phones and cars are de facto tracking devices and on how NSA software allows it to
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Bill banning forced arbitration on Gov. Brown’s desk
A bill that the California Chamber of Commerce warns will drive up litigation costs for California businesses is on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. For disputes involving civil rights, currently businesses can provide contracts for customers in which civil-rights disputes are settled
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Backlash to CA police militarization extends across political spectrum
The acquisition of a mine-resistant armored vehicle by the city of Davis has drawn national attention and fueled a statewide outcry over the armament of law enforcement with military-grade equipment. In a detailed history of the so-called militarization of California police, the
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Kashkari would veto gun bills
GOP candidate Neel Kashkari assured gun owners Friday he’s opposed to controversial gun-control measures now sitting on the desk of his Nov. 4 election opponent, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. The four measures, which include a ban on home-built firearms and the importation
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Support for death penalty drops
A new Field Poll shows support for the death penalty dropping to its lowest level in 50 years. The Times reported: After a series of botched executions raised questions about the use of capital punishment across the United States, support for the
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DMV crashes due process
One of the most crucial elements in the development of liberty was that every man deserves his day in court. As described by Harvard professor Harold J. Berman in his crucial “Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition,”
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Missing from CA’s economic ‘comeback’: Los Angeles
Gov. Jerry Brown’s daily push to depict California as being in a sharp rebound from the 2007-2009 economic meltdown ignores the fact that the recession never went away in a majority of the state’s 58 counties, especially those in inland
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Labor-backed bill may force union on farm workers
Democratic state legislators passed a bill that could result in thousands of Fresno farm workers paying dues to a union that they may not support and abiding by a labor contract that they might not want. Senate Bill 25, authored
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CSU fee addiction shows value of Props 13, 26, 62, 218
The newsrooms of California appear to have collectively decided that the state props that make raising taxes and fees more difficult for elected officials — starting with 13, 26, 62 and 218 — are irrational. This is regularly reflected in the
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