Everyday Injustice

One of the bigger issues these days is homelessness. Ron Hochbaum joined McGeorge School of Law in 2021 and directs the Homeless Advocacy Clinic, teaching poverty law. Prior to arriving at McGeorge, Hochbaum directed the UDC Housing and Consumer Law Clinic in which students represented housed and unhoused District residents in efforts to access and maintain healthy, safe, and affordable housing.

Hochbaum worked on AB 1883, “It is a bill I am working on with Assemblywoman Quirk Silva and it was born out of an article I published called ‘Bathrooms as a Homeless Rights Issue’

He also discussed the issue of bail, its impact on homelessness as well as the root causes of homelessness, city sanctioned encampments, and anti-panhandling laws.

Listen as Ron Hochbaum joins Everyday Injustice to discuss issues of homelessness and how we can better serve the unhouse community.

Tamisha Walker is a founding member and Executive Director of Safe Return Project, a campaign to secure the freedom and liberation of formerly incarcerated individuals.

Walker discussed issues of mass incarceration and racial disparity in the criminal legal system, as well as her own situation where she was incarcerated and released in 2009.

As a formerly incarcerated woman, “she shares a powerful personal story about the journey to healing and successful reentry into society. Tamisha has years of community organizing experience in a city impacted by trauma and economic inequality, including her own personal experience with trauma and poverty growing up in Richmond, California.”

Listen as Tamisha talks about her life, her work, and the need to invest in better services for those released from prison.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk with Bree and Malissa Hurry about the case of Michael Gaines, who has been incarcerated since 2003 for a crime, they believe, he did not commit.

According to them, Gaines was 18 years old at the time he was sentenced and charged with murder during the commission of a robbery -- there was no DNA evidence or fingerprints on the murder weapon that links Michael to the crime. They did find the shooter with the murder weapon and his prints were on the gun.

He was also the victim of ineffective assistance of counsel, as Michael wanted to go to trial, but his lawyer said no. The ringleaders of the crime were given a 20 year deal. Gaines got LWOP.

They believe he was convicted by unreliable material witness statements, two of them was given by the actual perpetrators of the crime and was given a deal.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we have Kristina Kersey who last year joined the Gault Center (formerly NJDC) as a Senior Youth Defense Counsel in 2021. Prior to joining TGC, she specialized in youth defense for over 18 years with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.

Kersey was the trial attorney in State in the Interest of N.H., in which the Supreme Court held that youth are entitled to full and complete discovery prior to a waiver/transfer hearing to adult court.

We discussed why the move away from using the term “juvenile,” the importance of not trying youths in adult court, and the need for mental health and rehabilitative services as well as her work on the case that would go to the NJ Supreme Court and the protection that the ruling provides youths accused of serious crimes.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk with Emily Galvin Almanza – she’s a former public defender, clerked for Judge Thelton Henderson, worked for the Stanford Three Strikes Project, wrote for the Appeal and currently heads up Partners For Justice.

Among the topics covered were her past and current work, the state of criminal justice reform, alternatives to incarceration and how to reduce recidivism rates.

With just four weeks to go until the election for District Attorney in many areas in California, Everyday Injustice checked in with Lara Gressley, who is running for a second time against Michael Hestrin for Riverside DA. Hestrin, seeking his third term has held office since 2015.

Hestrin, the incumbent is a heavy favorite and has outraised his two challengers both by more than a three to one margin.

But the race has sparked debate over the role of law enforcement union money in DA’s races. In the last cycle, he took more money from law enforcement than anyone in the country.

According to one report, about 15 percent of his contributions have come from law enforcement. Neither of Hestrins opponents have accepted money from law enforcement.

"It has the appearance of a conflict of interest, regardless of whether it actually manifests into one — which I think it has in this instance — but even setting that aside for a moment, the goal is to earn back the public's trust," Gressley said. "How can you do that when you're not prosecuting law enforcement historically at all, and you have hundreds of thousands of dollars from these union PACs coming in?"

For her part, Gressley talked about her work as a habeas attorney and wrongful convictions as well as police accountability.

Listen as Lara Gressley talks about reforming the criminal legal system and her run for District Attorney.

This week on Everyday Injustice we have Howard University Law Professor Olinda Moyd discussing an under-acknowledged problem of the criminal legal system – the problems of parole and the racial disparities that occur on the backend of incarceration.

Nonpartisan groups like the Council for Court Excellence and the Justice Policy Institute “have studied the Parole Commission, concluding that it doesn't grant parole to enough D.C. prisoners and that it's too quick to send others back to prison if they make mistakes.”

Moyd argues that, “Parole boards are fragmented institutions that operate in fear of releasing “the wrong person,” so “they err to the other extreme and deny release to so many who deserve a second chance.”

Listen as we discuss why parole board are so willing to revoke parole for primarily technical reasons and the impact it has on the criminal legal system.

On June 7, San Francisco voters will decide whether to remove DA Chesa Boudin. This week on Everyday Injustice we are joined by Tinisch Hollins, Executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. She’s been an opponent of the San Francisco recall.

Tinich Hollins said previously, “My position today against the recall is rooted in the belief that the failures of the criminal justice system, and even the failures of this current SFPD office do not begin or end with Chesa Boudin’s leadership.”

She said, “I support him because he has been responsive to the needs and the priorities that were set out by our community. Overreliance on the criminal legal system has had a disastrous impact specifically on the black community, not just in San Francisco, but throughout this country.”

She said, “We need more than reliance on jail and policing to deal with the social issues that are underlying drivers of crime chase.” She added, “I do not recall a time where any other DA’s offices were largely successful in any way, because we know the systems are broken and failing.”

Listen as we discuss the problems of San Francisco and why in her view, removing Chesa Boudin is not the answer.

Dan Canon is a civil rights attorney and a Professor at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. He has already played a huge role in history as one of those arguing the Obergefell decision before the Supreme Court – a landmark decision that legalized same sex marriage.

Last October he warned in a Tweet, “I was one of the lawyers who won Obergefell at SCOTUS and litigated the Kim Davis case in Kentucky. Back when Trump was elected, I said same-sex couples didn't have to be worried about their marriages. I was wrong.”

In our interview, he explained that things have changed since the decision in the Kim Davis case, and said, “I grossly underestimated the effect of Trumpism on the lower courts and on red-state legislatures.” He now believes those courts will act to undermine precedent and overturn progressive legislation.

In the meantime, Canon this year also published a book, “Pleading Out.” Another book that critiques the criminal legal system’s now almost exclusive reliance on the plea bargain. While other works have shown the negative impact of the trial penalty, he links pleas to mass incarceration, wrongful convictions, and far more – and he sees no easy solution.

Listen as Dan Canon discusses the future of the federal bench and the detrimental effects of plea bargains.

A month ago, in an event sponsored by the California Donor Table, Justice Reform groups came together to discuss DA races across the state.

The webinar was hosted by the California Donor Table, which invests in communities of color to help elect people who represent their values and needs, and they have identified six district attorney races with the greatest potential to reduce mass incarceration and advance criminal justice reform policies.

Everyday Injustice this week talked with executive director Ludovic Blain discussing races including: Sacramento, Alameda, San Francisco (recall), Santa Clara, Riverside, Contra Costa, Orange County and more.