Brown,Governor of California v Plata

This case note examines the controversial decision of the US Supreme Court which, by a majority of 5:4 held that California should reduce its prison population as overcrowding levels gave rise to cruel and unusual punishment. The implications of the case for the interpretation of when prisoners' rights under the Eighth Amendment are breached, the separation of powers are discussed; the possible impact on prison rates in the USA is also examined.     

Ethnic politics, policy fragmentation, and dependent health care access in California

One out of every six nonelderly Americans without health insurance lives in California. The problem of access to competent and dependable health care is especially problematic among the state's minority, and especially Hispanic, population. Because one-third of the country's Hispanics live in California, how this state deals with health access issues will affect the practice and progress toward universal care in the nation as a whole. Expanding health care access to California's dependent population will involve overcoming a number of well-known administrative and fiscal obstacles, including an underfunded, highly fragmented public health care system that has developed incrementally and incoherently over decades. However, a key to understanding the problem of access to health care in California involves a story of how ethnic conflict and partisan politics often conspire to deny or discourage access for eligible women and children.     

CONFIDENTIALITY REVISITED:California Style

Stewart and I have lived through the legal adversary system and we know what havoc it could have wrought on our family…. We were nuts. We were crazy. We were your average psychotic divorcing parents…. What you do not see is we get well. We bailed out of the adversary court system because we could see it was no help to us. We were the lucky ones…. There are thousands like us who could use your help before the war gets started.
—Parent at the 1978 Midwinter Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference, Los Angeles.     

Methamphetamine use, self-reported violent crime, and recidivism among offenders in California who abuse substances

This study uses data from 641 state prison parolees in California to examine the associations between methamphetamine use and three measures of criminal behavior: (a) self-reported violent criminal behavior, (b) return to prison for a violent offense, and (c) return to prison for any reason during the first 12 months of parole. Methamphetamine use was significantly predictive of self-reported violent criminal behavior and general recidivism (i.e., a return to custody for any reason). However, methamphetamine use was not significantly predictive of being returned to custody for a violent offense. These trends remained even after controlling for involvement in the drug trade (i.e., sales, distribution, or manufacturing).