News Room

SFPD Beat City Resident Into Near-Coma in 2025 and DA 'Tried to Cover It Up,' Public Defenders Allege

Newsom Mulls Sparing Lives of All 563 People on Death Row in California

Viral Police Beating in Santa Ana Spurs Calls for Accountability

New California Law Restricts Undercover Police Operations Targeting Youth

Activists Are Pushing Cities and Companies to Cancel Parking Contracts With ICE

Newsom Signs Immigration Bills Authored by Inland Empire State Senators

New Laws Make Incremental Tweaks to California's Mental Health Court, While Bigger Changes Nixed

Measure A Would Give San Diego County Supervisors More Power Over Crucial Roles

California's tough on crime law promised treatment. Here's why people are falling through the cracks

Judge: Immigration agents must stop the way they're conducting warrantless arrests

California has one-quarter of all the nation's death sentences. Will Newsom commute them all?

Judge extends halt on Gilroy ICE facility, promises full ruling within a week

Historic ruling: Santa Maria judge says prosecutor violated Racial Justice Act

California may restrict undercover police operations targeting youth

She made a fatal choice at 22. Now she's in prison, figuring herself out one day at a time

The County Prosecutors Who Became ICE Informants

LA's Indigenous migrants need court translators who speak their languages. Without it, some are getting deported.

AI led to mistakes in Nevada County criminal cases. Should the DA be sanctioned?

The California Supreme Court said it eliminated unaffordable money bail. Did it?

LAPD officer who secretly recorded others will likely avoid jail after charges reduced

The Origins of Police Power

Deportation Dollars: ICE Contracts With More Than 1,000 Businesses Across the U.S.

What DeFlock? Week of Action Confronts the AI Surveillance State

The "grim bargain" made by California's prison towns did not pay off

This Case Has the Power to Stop L.A.'s ICE Raids. Here's What Happened This Week

California prisons fail to stop guards from sexually abusing women, Justice Department finds

Federal judge poised to restrict immigration arrest tactics in Los Angeles raids

Calls grow for Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute death sentences in California

U.S. Congressman Accuses ICE Of Hiding Deaths In Its Custody

After More Than 20 Years in Prison, Georgia Man Wins New Trial in "Shaken Baby" Case

LAPD officer charged with illegally recording colleagues' conversations

Chabria: Proposition 36 Created 'Treatment-Mandated Felonies.' What It Really Created Is a Complicated Mess

Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights for Thousands With Past Felony Convictions

Little-Known Alien Terrorist Removal Court Hears First-Ever Case in Attempt to Deport Permanent US Resident

In the first-ever case before the previously unused court, Haji Zada's appointed federal public defenders argued the removal effort was an end-run around ordinary criminal process, alleging violations of her First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment rights

Wi-Fi Fiasco Transforms Washington Bar Exam Into an Even Bigger Waste of Time Than Usual

CA's Privatized Public Defense Leads to Caseloads 3x the Most Basic Standards, Report Finds

A judge sent a doctor to evaluate California's largest ICE detention center. What he found

Why California prisons are using their own employees as human fire alarms

Solano County Profited From Video Calls After Banning In-Person Jail Visits, Lawsuit Says

Trump's New Immigration Strategy Revealed in Purchase of 2 ICE Detention Centers in California

New Book Examines Women and Queer People Convicted for Crimes That Never Occurred

A Homeless Man Was Charged With a Felony for Camping. He's One of the First

Public Defender Wins Murder Acquittal for Client with Serious Mental Illness

Judge Demands Immigrants at Adelanto Get Clean Water and Medical Care

California Keeps Passing Progressive Criminal Justice Reforms — and Failing to Fund Them

CPDA member and UC Berkeley Law lecturer Andrea Crider argues the Racial Justice Act's promise of counsel to challenge racially biased convictions is proving hollow, as counties fund prosecution while starving public defense of resources

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Solitary Reforms in California

CalMatters' Investigation Into Law Enforcement's Perkins Operations

Homeboy Industries Gives a Historic Monastery a New Mission

Justice in Less Than a Minute? Oklahoma County Bail Hearings Don't Meet Constitutional Standards, Attorneys Say

Audit: California State Bar Missed Warning Signs Before 2025 Exam Fiasco

He Was Arrested for Unpaid Court Fees. He Was Dead 48 Hours Later.

This Maine Lawsuit is Testing the Boundaries of Suing Federal Immigration Agents

Private Prison Company Sells Two of California's Immigrant Detention Centers to the Feds

California Prisons Clamp Down on Overtime, Limit Access to Classes for Incarcerated People

He Spent 19 Years in Isolation on Death Row. Then the Handcuffs Came Off

California's Public Defense System Is Broken. A New Commission Wants to Fix It

How a George Floyd-Inspired California Law Weakened Police Accountability

New California Bill Would Prevent ICE Arrests In and Around State Courthouses

California Public Defenders Launch 'Motions Bank' Amidst Workload Crisis

In a First, California Supreme Court Reverses a Death Sentence Under New Racial Justice Law

Federal Judge Orders Immigrant Detention Center to Allow San Diego County Health Inspection

Irony Abounds in DUI Arrest of Kern County's Legendarily Aggressive Former District Attorney, Ed Jagels

ICE Detained Them, and Then They Vanished

Why the Brooklyn Courtroom Birth Was the Last Straw for Public Defenders

California Judges Are Testing a New AI Clerk, and You Won't Know If It's Looking at Your Case

Critics Say WA Is Neglecting to Fund Public Defenders Amid Caseload Cut

North Carolina Governor Denies Nearly All Juvenile Lifers Seeking Clemency

Californian Criminal Suspects Can Trade Prison for Psychiatric Care. Is It Working?

California Has a Public Defender Crisis. A New Bill Seeks to Force the State to Confront It

S.F. Judge Candidate Outraising Opponent 5-to-1, Boosted by Tech Exec, Cop Unions

Free Phone Calls Saved Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones $622.5 Million

Public Defenders Sue Spokane County Over Work Standards

Coalition Demands Increased Resources for California's Public Defenders

California Lawmakers Push Funding Boost as Public Defense System Nears 'Breaking Point'

Public Defenders Rally at State Capitol for More Funding

A $7 Cheeseburger Reopened Debate Over Bail in California. Here's What the Supreme Court Found

Checking on Prop. 36: A Necessary Crackdown on Repeat Offenders or a Return to Mass Incarceration?

Debunked Arson Science Keeps Mother Imprisoned for Nearly 30 Years, Attorneys Say

California Courts Will Begin Tracking ICE Arrests at Their Facilities

Alameda County Public Defender: 'Right to Counsel Is Dead'

Public defenders across California wore black Thursday to protest chronic underfunding, with Alameda Chief Defender Brendon Woods calling the crisis a breaking point for the Sixth Amendment as attorneys rallied on the steps of the Oakland courthouse holding torn images of Clarence Earl Gideon

Santa Cruz County Public Defenders Join Statewide Protest Demanding More Funding, Lighter Workloads

Chief Public Defender Heather Rogers says her office would need 43 more attorneys and more than double its current budget to meet national staffing standards, as the 2025 California Public Defense Workloads and Staffing Study confirms excessive caseloads burden most trial-level defenders statewide

CA Dems to Trump Immigration Agents: Don't Apply Here

"[The bill] recognizes that individuals who have participated in or enabled unlawful enforcement and custodial practices — where cruelty and racial discrimination are not only tolerated but incentivized — should not occupy roles of public trust in California."

CPDA's Margo George, testifying in support

Judge Orders Some Fundraising Records Released to Probe Conflict-of-Interest Claim Against Santa Clara County DA in Stanford Vandalism Case

A judge ordered DA Jeff Rosen's campaign fundraising records turned over to the defense as Deputy Public Defender Avi Singh pursues a recusal motion in the "Stanford 5" pro-Palestinian protest case, arguing Rosen "monetized criminal prosecution" by featuring the case on his campaign website alongside donation buttons

The Right to Counsel in an Age of Case-Specific and Systemic Inadequacies

With federal constitutional protections for the right to counsel potentially weakening under the current Supreme Court, a retired Iowa Supreme Court justice argues that state courts and constitutions must step up to fill the gap

A Shortage of Prosecutors and Public Defenders Is Causing Delays in Cases

From Indiana to Alaska to Kansas, understaffed public defender and prosecutor offices are dismissing cases, stretching attorneys past their limits.

16th In-Custody ICE Death Reported as ICE Ramps Up Targeting in Los Angeles

A 49-year-old Mexican national was found unresponsive at a Louisiana detention facility as ICE operations intensified across Southern California, with agents appearing at courthouses, ISAP check-ins, and neighborhoods across the region

Pennsylvania's First-Ever Investment in Public Defense Allowed Offices to Hire Attorneys, Improve Case Management

Pennsylvania's $7.5 million annual investment in indigent defense is a meaningful start — but the state remains roughly 400 attorneys short of what it needs, and turnover is outpacing hiring

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Mandatory Life Sentences for Felony Murder

The state's highest court ruled that automatic life without parole sentences for felony murder violate the state constitution — affecting more than 1,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Black

Public Defenders Relaunch Motions Bank to Ease Workload Pressures

A relaunched shared resource gives overextended public defenders access to pre-researched motions — a practical tool for doing more with less

Spokane Public Defenders Are at a 'Critical Moment' as Homelessness Crackdown Stresses Courts and Caseloads

New state caseload standards are taking effect just as citations from Spokane's homelessness laws have driven an 8% increase in cases — putting defenders in an impossible position

After Immigration Arrests, California Lawmakers Wonder: Are Police Telling the Feds Too Much?

California votes to audit fusion centers amid concerns that local law enforcement has been sharing information with ICE in violation of state law

SF Judge Orders Public Defender to Pay $26,000 in Contempt Fines

Public defenders from across California packed the courtroom in solidarity as the judge fined Raju $1,000 for each case his office refused to take

Why S.F. Public Defender Mano Raju Is Justified in Refusing Cases

CPDA weighs in on the constitutional fight over caseloads and the right to effective counsel

Formerly Incarcerated Women Are Pushing Systemic Change in Elected Office

From voting rights to expungement to housing, these elected officials are using their lived experience to fight the policies that put them behind bars

Virginia Is Poised to Ban ICE Contracts, Unless the Feds Agree to Obey the Law. No One Expects Them to.

California arrests thousands on minor drug charges, but few get treatment

Drug users face felonies and prison under Prop 36, with analysis showing racial disparities and little help

Prop 36 Promised Treatment. It's Delivering Incarceration.

Agents of Chaos: Border Patrol's Year of Unchecked Force

A collaboration tracking masked Border Patrol agents across Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis documents a pattern of force that courts have said likely violated the Constitution

California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women's Prisons

Judge Orders Colorado to Stop Throwing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work

San Francisco Public Defender Found in Contempt After Refusing New Cases

Alameda County Public Defender Challenges Judge Over Lack of Black Jurors

A misdemeanor case has surfaced a troubling pattern in Alameda County juries, which often fail to reflect the community's diversity.

Incarcerated Women in Arizona Go on Hunger Strike for Better Conditions

Bad Omens: Reform Rollbacks in Washington D.C. Are a Warning Sign for State-Level Advocates

Federal reversals on criminal justice reform send an urgent signal to advocates working at the state level.

Public Defender Shortage Is Leading to Hundreds of Criminal Cases Being Dismissed

CalMatters Named a Finalist in Prestigious National Magazine Awards Public Interest Category

There is no both sides when power is unequal

Oregon public defense non-profits allowed to limit caseloads

Federal judge in Riverside accuses White House of 'terror' against immigrants in US

"The threats posed by the executive branch cannot be viewed in isolation," US district judge Sunshine Sykes said in a scathing decision.

California prisons have life-saving addiction treatment. Doctors say the parole board is undermining it.

Signing up for substance use disorder treatment in California prisons involves taking more frequent drug tests. The results, which are prone to error, can set back a prisoner's chance for freedom.

Oregon must dismiss more than 1,400 criminal cases due to attorney shortage, court rules

Severe lack of public defenders has meant people charged with crimes have been routinely unable to fight their cases.

ICE-Cold Cash: Private Prison Companies and Executives Have Donated Millions to Members of Congress

Find out if your representatives have taken cash from the companies fueling ICE's mass deportation efforts.

Stanley Richards, criminal justice reformer and formerly incarcerated person, named as new head of NYC's Department of Corrections

Richards will lead the same Rikers Island jails where he once served time on robbery charges in the 1980s.

California cities just saw their lowest homicide rates in decades. It's not clear why.

Homicides surged during COVID-19. Now killings are at historic lows in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and many other cities.

Crime rates declined over time near Toronto supervised drug consumption sites, study suggests

Study examined police data from 2014–2025 near 9 drug consumption sites in Toronto.

Senator Reyes Introduces SB 873 to Curb ICE Arrests In and Around Courthouse Grounds

Cities can't punish outreach workers for helping homeless Californians under new law

She goes to police calls in a Prius. It's part of a new approach to mental health emergencies.

The Walmart of Public Defense: How justice gets sold to the lowest bidder in rural California

Flat-fee contracts have been banned elsewhere. But they've flourished in California.

Public Defenders and prosecutors warn of crisis fueled by Prop 36

"We now have the data that defines ethical workloads, new laws that have inflated caseloads, and a veto that stripped away protections."

Tracie Olson, CPDA President

New pilot program will defend LA immigrants in deportation court — a first for the county

The LA County Public Defender's Office is expanding its immigration unit to include removal defense.

Most people dread jury service, but some people never get the chance to serve

'Nauseated': S.F. supervisors demand action after alleged mass strip search of women in jail

"These women are gonna sue. They're going to win. We're going to end up paying for it."

Supervisor Myrna Melgar

New Jersey Bans 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' in Nationwide First

Spokane County braces for impact of Washington's new public defender caseload limits

New York bail reform not linked to higher recidivism

A John Jay College study finds bail reform led to fewer felony rearrests. The state's prison population has dropped nearly 50% since 2003.

John Oliver on the 'shocking' use of felony murder charges in the US

The host examines a charge that sends people to prison for life even if they didn't commit murder.

Voters ousted this Pennsylvania sheriff after he signed up to collaborate with ICE

A populous swing county replaced its sheriff months after controversy over his joining ICE's 287(g) program.