Summary
Sacramento Superior Court case challenging regulations issued by the Newsom Administration that will speed up the release of 76,000 prison inmates. Although Proposition 57 was sold to the public as a way to be more lenient on nonviolent convicts, the new regulations issued under it greatly expand the system of credits, shortening the sentences of all but a few of California's prisoners. Robbers, rapists, and even most murderers are eligible for the expanded credits. The suit challenging the regulations was begun by a group of 44 of California's 58 district attorneys. CJLF represented two victims' organizations, Crime Victims United and Citizens Against Homicide, who joined the suit after the judge expressed doubt that the district attorneys had legal standing to make the challenge. The suit claimed that the regulations were illegally adopted and conflict with multiple California laws. It sought an injunction against their enforcement.
The court removed the district attorneys from the suit for lack of standing on March 8, 2022. After further delays, the remaining plaintiffs dismissed their suit on May 16, 2023, so that another case, which was a better vehicle for these claims, could go forward. See CJLF v. CDCR, filed in 2022.
