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Eicher Motors Limited v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto
No full textTHE DISPARITY IN LITIGATING RACIAL DISPARITY CLAIMS: THE NEED FOR CALIFORNIA COURTS TO ARTICULATE A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING RACIAL JUSTICE ACT CHALLENGES TO CHARGING, CONVICTION, AND SENTENCING
Full text linkUnder California’s Racial Justice Act (RJA)—codified in Penal Code section 745—the state may not seek or obtain a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. There are four pathways to establishing an RJA violation. Two of the pathways proscribe discriminatory or biased conduct or language inside or outside the courtroom by specified criminal legal system actors, including judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers, and expert witnesses. The other two are based on disparities in charging, conviction, or sentencing associated with defendant race, ethnicity, or national origin and alternatively, in the case of sentencing, that of the victim. This article focuses primarily the application of Penal Code section 745, subdivision (a)(3), which addresses racial disparities in charging. In creating this portion of the RJA, the legislature expressly intended to lessen the exacting burden the United States Supreme Court set out in McCleskey v. Kemp for proving such claims. The article surveys litigation of disparity claims in some early cases to demonstrate how both trial and appellate courts have inconsistently interpreted subdivision (a)(3) and in many cases applied it in a manner that essentially reinstitutes the virtually unattainable McCleskey standard
PROCESSES THAT PRODUCE RACIAL DISPARITIES IN CALIFORNIA DEATH SENTENCES: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Full text linkA robust and extensive body of empirical research, and a rich historical record, documents a recurring and pervasive influence of race in the application of California’s death penalty. This article reviews the legal and social science research to document multiple paths through which institutions and processes produce these racial disparities over many decisions in many cases across four decades. The article reviews relevant literature by decision, institution, or actor and presents key findings. This includes documenting the history of the broad statutory design of the California capital punishment statue. The review also considers research on policing, including the influence of race on the supply of capital-eligible cases. Finally, the article collects research on racialized decision making by prosecutors, defense counsel, juries, and judges. This examination of the literature provides a necessary foundation for meaningful reform.
The California Racial Justice Act presents new statutory mechanisms to mitigate the persistent legacy of systematic racially infected decision making. This review underlines the importance of this reform and renews constitutional concerns about the breadth and application of the California statute
