Law Enforcement

Driver who killed postal worker faces year in jail
A driver who struck the rear end of a U.S. Postal Service van in Boyle Heights, severing the legs of a postal worker who later died of his injuries, was sentenced to nearly a year in jail after pleading no contest to vehicular manslaughter, officials with the Los Angeles city attorney's office said. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Randolph Hammock sentenced Felipe Soto, 59, to six months in jail on the manslaughter charge and an additional six months for a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license.
Los Angeles Times

LA judge deciding on trial in attack on Giants fan
More than a year after a San Francisco Giants fan was brutally beaten at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium, a judge is hearing evidence to determine if two suspects should be tried for a crime that stunned both cities. On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge George Lomeli watched a videotape of one defendant admitting involvement in the attack in a phone call to his mother.
Associated Press

Legislation

California legislature's U-turn on law and order issues
It appears some California legislators want very strongly to return to the bad old days of the Bird court. They shouldn't try to chip away at Prop. 8 by enacting statutes that hamper evidence collection and its use in criminal cases. If state lawmakers want to change what voters put in place, they should run a proposition that asks voters to overturn Prop. 8. Otherwise, they must accept the will of the voters.
LAPPL Blog

Assembly OK's GPS bill named for Carlsbad mom
The state Assembly approved a bill Wednesday that would permit judges to allow suspected perpetrators of domestic violence to be fitted with GPS monitoring devices if a restraining order has been issued against them. The bill is named "Kathy's Law," in honor of Kathleen Scharbarth, a 34-year-old mother from Carlsbad who was killed in November.
UT San Diego

Lawmakers to amend specialty license plate bills
California lawmakers trying to establish new specialty license plates this year said Wednesday they are moving quickly to amend their bills and enact safeguards to ensure the money is spent as promised after an Associated Press investigation raised questions about oversight of the program. Several lawmakers said they are changing their bills to include regular audits as a way to assure the public that the extra fees drivers pay for the specialty plates are going to the right place.
Associated Press

Most California voters don't support legalizing pot, poll finds
In California, cradle of the marijuana movement, a new poll has found a majority of voters do not support legalization, even as they overwhelmingly back medicinal use for "patients with terminal and debilitating conditions." Eighty percent of voters support doctor-recommended use for severe illness, a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found. But only 46% of respondents said they support legalization of "general or recreational use by adults," while 50% oppose it.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

Federal judge lays out plan to return control of state prisons to California
Federal Judge Thelton Henderson wants to return control of California's prison medical systems to the state - slowly, but surely. A federal judge proposed a plan Wednesday to relinquish control of California's prison medical care after nearly seven years. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson seized control of the system because one inmate a week was dying from inadequate treatment. Henderson appointed a federal receiver to improve conditions, which the receiver did.
KPCC

State lawmakers advance medical release for county jail inmates
The state Senate on Wednesday approved a request by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca to allow jails to release terminally ill and medically incapacitated inmates before their sentences are complete. A similar program adopted for state prisons has saved the state tens of millions of dollars, according to state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the author of SB 1462, which was sent to the Assembly for consideration.
Los Angeles Times

Municipal Budgets

Cities lose in court battle over redevelopment funds
A Sacramento County Superior Court judge Wednesday afternoon refused to side with a group of California cities in their battle with the state over hundreds of millions of property tax dollars that used to flow to local redevelopment agencies. Judge Timothy M. Frawley said he would not grant the request from Glendale, Pasadena, Huntington Beach and other cities for an injunction that would have prevented the payout of property taxes Friday to schools and other local governments.
Los Angeles Times

S.F. mayor budgets for more cops, fire personnel
More San Francisco police officers would be walking the beat and fewer firefighters would be forced to work mandatory overtime under Mayor Ed Lee's plan to bolster the city's depleting public safety ranks. Lee wants the Police Department to hold six police academy classes with 50 recruits each, and the Fire Department to conduct two academy classes with 42 recruits each, during the new two-year budget cycle that begins July 1
San Francisco Chronicle