MISSING EXECUTED LEGISLATION FORM
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Resolution / Ordinance Number:
MAR 01 imCity Council Meeting Date
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Agenda Item No.
Recorded Vote
Status of Resolution/Ordinance:
yl Filed without signature
I I Council amended legislation
I I No signed version will be filed
I I No signed version will be filed
Author Contact Information:
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C_J| IfiZ-Contact Person/Ext.
Notes (if any)
Revised: 8/29/2018
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City Attorney’s Office
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE SHENG THAO AND
COUNCIL PRESIDENT NIKKI FORTUNATO BAS
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 256 (KALRA,
KAMLAGER, RIVAS, & SANTIAGO), WHICH WOULD EXTEND
RIGHTS PROVIDED UNDER THE CALIFORNIA RACIAL JUSTICE ACT OF 2020, WHICH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, PROVIDES GROUNDS TO
HAVE CONVICTIONS OR SENTENCES REVIEWED FOR EVIDENCE
OF STATE PROSECUTION BASED ON RACE, ETHNICITY OR
NATIONAL ORIGIN THAT WERE ENTERED ON OR AFTER JANUARY
1, 2021, TO INDIVIDUALS WHOSE CONVICTIONS OR SENTENCES
WERE ENTERED PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 2021
WHEREAS, the history of the State of California is inseparable from unequal treatment of Californians of different racial and ethnic backgrounds; and WHEREAS, the State of California and Californians must reconcile with injustices of history and take active steps toward social equality and heal historical and institutional racism; and WHEREAS, implicit bias, even unintentional or unconscious, is sufficient for unequal racial outcomes of justice and prosperity; and
WHEREAS, racial disparities exist throughout the California justice system; and WHEREAS, California has disproportionately incarcerated indigenous, Latinx and Black people, with black people incarcerated at a rate nine times higher than their share of the population; and
WHEREAS, involvement in the justice system can have a ripple effect on families, exposing them to emotional and economic instability; and WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once observed “[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.”; and
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WHEREAS, the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 amended California Penal Code Section 745 to provide that “the state shall not seek or obtain a criminal conviction or seek, obtain, or impose a sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin’ to ensure that race, ethnicity and national origin play no role at all in seeking or obtaining convictions or in sentencing; and WHEREAS, the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 allows individuals who allege that the state improperly sought their convictions or sentences on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin to petition the court to have their convictions and sentences vacated and new proceedings ordered; and
WHEREAS, the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 did not apply to judgments entered in criminal proceedings before January 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, California State Assembly Bill 256 (Kalra, Kamlager, Rivas, and Santiago) would provide the rights granted under California Racial Justice Act of 2020 retroactively to individuals whose judgments were entered in criminal proceedings before January 1, 2021, which would enable more individuals to seek to have their convictions vacated and have new proceedings ordered; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 256, among other things, would further require a judge to disqualify themself from new proceedings when a petition brought under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 is based on the conduct or statements of the judge; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED: That the Oakland City Council hereby endorses AB 256 (Kalra, Kamlager, Rivas, and Santiago) and urges the California State Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom to support its enactment into law.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES-
ABSENT -
ABSTENTION-
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
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