🚨 New RJA Case Drop: People v. Guerrero & Navarro (2d Dist. 2025)
Court rejects RJA claim as:
❌ Forfeited (not raised at trial)
❌ Substantively unsupported
Key takeaway: If you don’t preserve the RJA objection on the record, you likely lose it on appeal.
Full breakdown + practice tips ⬇️
#CARJA
💡 Five years after the #RacialJusticeAct was passed, not one California judge has yet found disparate sentencing under PC 745(a)(4).
Now 18 new petitions aim to test the statute’s reach — and its promise to correct systemic bias.
Read more below ⬇️
#CARJA #CAcourts #JusticeReform #PC745 #RIA
⚖️ Attorneys from Stanford Law’s Three Strikes Project & @NAACP_LDF filed 18 RJA petitions alleging racial disparities in CA sentencing.
In L.A. County, Black defendants are 13x more likely than white defendants to receive life sentences for attempted robbery.
Full story ⬇️
#RJA #CARJA #EqualJustice
🔎☝️Systemic Perspective
“The race-blind charging study showed no difference,” says the DA.
Yet the ACLU’s data reveal deep disparities in who faces felony charges.
The fight over access to records will shape how California enforces its #RacialJusticeAct.
Full story below ⬇️
#CARJA #CAcourts #PC745
🧾 The ACLU suit frames data transparency as essential to enforcing Penal Code § 745.
‼️ By denying disclosure, the complaint argues, the DA “weakens the public’s ability to monitor prosecutorial practices.”
⬇️ Full story below ⬇️
#CARJA #RJA #PublicRecords #PC745 #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #AB256
‼️Data Disparities
📊According to the ACLU complaint:
• Latino residents = 25 % of county pop. → 53 % of felony prosecutions
• Black residents = 2 % → 13 % of felony prosecutions
⚖️The lawsuit seeks full disclosure to assess whether these gaps violate the #RJA.
Full details below ⬇️
#CARJA #Equity
🕵️♀️ The #ACLU lawsuit against Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen tests a core principle of the #RacialJusticeAct: public access to prosecutorial data.
Without transparency, “the law is just words on paper.” – Abdi Soltani
Read more linked below ⬇️
#CARJA #OpenData #CAcourts #PC745 #AB256 #Transparency #Equity
⚖️ ACLU v. Santa Clara DA
The ACLU of Northern CA has sued DA Jeff Rosen for allegedly withholding records that could expose racial disparities in felony charging.
The suit argues Rosen’s refusal “subverts the Racial Justice Act’s purpose.”
Full write-up below ⬇️
#CARJA #RJA #Transparency #AB256
📰 “The Racial Justice Act is a step forward — but not systemic change.”
Race Forward’s Alex Frank argues that California’s #RJA addresses individual bias but leaves structural inequities untouched.
Full article ⬇️
#CARJA #RacialJustice #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #AB2542 #AB256
📌 Practice Tips for RJA Litigators
✅ Challenge racialized use of music/creative works under § 745(a)
✅ Highlight prosecutorial framing in closing arguments
✅ Build appellate records challenging bias, even in older cases
More info & full text ⬇️
#CARJA #RacialJusticeAct #RJA #PC745 #SystemicBias
🗣️ Chavez:
“I was attacked for where I grew up. The justice system is not fair. I would not have been here if it were.”
He continues advocating for RJA enforcement in Santa Clara County.
Stay updated at CA RJA Hub (link in account bio)
Full Text ⬇️
#CARJA #RacialJusticeAct #PC745 #SystemicBias
🕊️ Chavez was released July 23, 2025.
He met his daughter for the first time.
He is now advocating for reforms and credit organizing by Silicon Valley De-Bug and support from grassroots communities.
More info & full text ⬇️
#CARJA #RacialJusticeAct #RJA #PC745 #SystemicBias #CaliforniaRJA
Cultural Context ≠ Criminal Guilt
New laws (Evidence Code § 352.1) now limit the use of creative expression in criminal cases.
However, Chavez’s case highlights the legacy harm of such tactics before reforms were implemented.
More info & full text ⬇️
#CARJA #RacialJusticeAct #PC745 #SystemicBias
🧑🏽💼 Public Defender Damon Silver:
“Labels like ‘gangs’ tap into deep fears & histories. They risk injustice.”
He commended the DA’s choice to dismiss the charges rather than retry.
More info & full text: sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-...
#RacialJusticeAct #RJA #PC745 #SystemicBias #CaRJA #CARJA
📍Case Overview
Chavez spent 13 years in prison after being convicted of gang-related crimes in a case the DA retried multiple times.
However, in 2024, the 6th DCA reversed its decision, finding that the “extremely inflammatory” use of lyrics had biased the jury.
#RJA #PC745 #SystemicBias #CARJA
Defense Rebuttal
Stankewitz’s team pushes back:
➡️ RJA was designed precisely to revisit these injustices
➡️ Cultural context ≠ license to stereotype
➡️ RJA does not require race to be the sole factor
More info & full text below
#DueProcess #DeathRow #RacialJusticeAct #CARJA #DeathPenalty #PC745
🚨 Batson/Wheeler Claim
Stankewitz’s team challenges the removal of the only Native juror, arguing it was racially motivated.
Prosecutors say she knew his family—a neutral reason for her association.
Defense: The strike still raises serious constitutional concerns.
More info & full text ⬇️
#CARJA
“The prosecution elicited racially charged testimony… and urged jurors to impose death because of Mr. Stankewitz’s background,” the motion states.
Prosecutors linked cultural identity with future dangerousness.
More info below ⬇️
#RJA #EqualProtection #SystemicRacism #CARJA #DeathPenalty #PC745
Case Background
Stankewitz, of Native American heritage, was sentenced to death after a 1978 Fresno County trial. In his recent § 745 motion, he alleges the prosecution relied on racial stereotypes and removed the only Native juror.
#DeathRow #RJA #CARJA #DeathPenalty #PC745
More info & full text⬇️
California’s Longest-Serving Death Row Prisoner Brings RJA Challenge
Douglas “Chief” Stankewitz, incarcerated since 1978, has filed for relief under California’s Racial Justice Act—arguing that racial bias shaped his capital conviction and sentence.
#RacialJusticeAct #CARJA #DeathPenalty #PC745
📌Practice Tip for RJA Litigators:
If a former DA hears your RJA motion, consider:
✅ Asking for on-record disclosure of any prior involvement with your client
✅ Citing CJEO 2025-028 to frame your disqualification motion
More info & full text ⬇️
#RJA #PC745 #RacialJusticeAct #CARJA #JudicialEthics
👥 About CJEO
CJEO is an independent ethics advisory committee appointed by the CA Supreme Court.
Its formal opinions are nonbinding but widely respected and followed.
More info & full text ⬇️
#CJEO2025_028 #PC745 #RacialJusticeAct #CARJA #JudicialEthics
🗣️ Judge Samantha Jessner (CJEO):
“This opinion provides timely and practical guidance for judges navigating the complexities of RJA claims.”
The goal is to protect public confidence in the judiciary without blanket exclusions.
More info below ⬇️
#JudicialImpartiality #PC745 #CARJA #JudicialEthics
📚Context
The opinion addresses growing concerns about judicial impartiality in RJA litigation, particularly in counties where former prosecutors now serve on the bench.
CJEO affirms that prior prosecutorial experience alone does not equal automatic disqualification.
More info & full text ⬇️
#CARJA
📢 Disclosure is Key
CJEO: Judges who choose not to disqualify must disclose on the record any facts “reasonably relevant” to that determination.
That includes the judge’s own reasoning for staying on the case.
More info & full text ⬇️
#Transparency #RacialJusticeAct #PC745 #CARJA #JudicialEthics
🧑⚖️ Core Holding:
A judge is not automatically disqualified from hearing an RJA discovery motion just because they previously served as a prosecutor in other cases that may now be subject to RJA claims.
👇 Learn more below 👇
#CARJA #JudicialEthics #PC745 #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #RJA
Important ethics update for RJA practitioners, judges, & advocates:
The CA Supreme Court’s Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions just issued CJEO Formal Opinion 2025-028, clarifying disqualification & disclosure rules under the Racial Justice Act (PC § 745).
👇 Learn More Below
#PC745 #CARJA #RJA
📌 Lashon answers:
❓ Can defendants raise § 745(a)(2) claims for the first time on appeal?
✅ Only if forfeiture exceptions apply.
❓ Does AB 1118 eliminate preservation?
❌ No.
Full case breakdown: californiarja.wordpress.com/2025/08/24/p...
#RJA #PC745 #AB1118 #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #CARJA
Habeas Path
🧰Lashon shows that forfeited RJA claims may still survive via habeas corpus petitions.
Appellate relief denied, but habeas remains a safety net.
Read the full breakdown: californiarja.wordpress.com/2025/08/24/p...
#Postconviction #CARJA #PC745 #AB1118 #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #RJA
💡Practitioner Practice Tip: If you see judicial bias at trial, file a § 745 motion immediately or post-verdict. In Lashon, failure to object meant forfeiture—despite AB 1118.
More lessons: californiarja.wordpress.com/2025/08/24/p...
#TrialTips #CARJA #PC745 #AB1118 #CaliforniaRacialJusticeAct #RJA
