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OP-ED: Thousands of African-Americans Jailed by Void Restraining Orders

Published

9 years ago

January 12, 2015

By Conrad Baldwin

Did California’s courts issue thousands of void and unenforceable restraining orders between 1999 and 2007? Did those void orders cause the false arrest and jailing of thousands of young African-American men, many of whom may still be in prison?

The answer is yes, according to this author and legal researcher in my new book, “The Void Generation: How a Generation of Void Restraining Orders Voided the Lives of a Generation,” which was selected for review in the current issue of Forum, the official publication of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, by assistant editor and veteran Deputy L.A. County Public Defender Al Menaster.

“The Void Generation” demonstrates with 47 public documents that between 1999 and 2007, the governing arm of the State courts, the Judicial Council of California, published 13 void and unenforceable restraining order forms, then refused to supply the courts with an alternative form.

With no valid forms available for their use, California’s courts were compelled to issue all of their restraining orders on void and unenforceable forms, which may have caused the false arrest of thousands of young African-American men who were jailed without a warning notice or a prior court hearing for allegedly violating California Penal Code Section 12021(g)(2) by “owning or possessing a firearm.”

De Jenny "CandyMan" Davis, Danny Glover and the author discussing "The Void Generation" at the Marcus Books benefit in Oakland last month. Photo by South Park Kenneth Johnson.

The public documents illustrating “The Void Generation” demonstrate that a Notice Regarding Firearms and a Firearm Restriction notice printed in the restraining order forms published by the Judicial Council between Jan. 1, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2007 violated state and federal law by:

Requiring respondents to give up any firearms they “owned or possessed” without a court hearing;

Ambiguously stating the court “has authority” to order firearms surrendered, not that it “will”;

Failing to warn the restrained person they were prohibited from “owning or possessing a firearm”.

“The Void Generation” includes two official Judicial Council reports, one from April 17, 2000 and the other from October 5, 2000, which detail the invalid firearms prohibition notices contained in the restraining order forms DV-110, DV-130, and MC-220.

Also included are excerpts from the Minutes of two Judicial Council meetings on April 28, 2000 and Oct. 27, 2000 demonstrating that the Judicial Council failed to revise the invalid firearms prohibitions in these three restraining order forms until July 1, 2000 and Jan. 1, 2001, long after these mandatory forms were voided by the Jan. 1, 2000 enactment of the 1999 California Senate Bill 218.

According to the judicial forms illustrating The Void Generation, the Judicial Council failed to revise many of California’s restraining order forms to prohibit “owning or possessing a firearm” for more than four years after the enactment of Senate Bill 218, and failed to revise the firearm restriction notice in the criminal court restraining order Form MC-220 to correctly refer to a prior court hearing until that form was finally discontinued on Jan. 1, 2007.

An included Judicial Council report admits Council staff refused to publish an alternative “one-page form that could be attached to the appropriate forms” to warn respondents they are prohibited from “owning or possessing a firearm” because “attaching the warning to every restraining order might be burdensome to court clerks and individuals.”

An included study by California’s Criminal Justice Statistics Center found that over 12,000 people may have been arrested and jailed between Jan. 1, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2000 for allegedly violating these void restraining orders. And an included study by three professional researchers from the UCLA School of Public Health reports that almost two-thirds of those arrested for allegedly violating these void restraining orders were young African-American men between the ages of 25 and 34.

“The Void Generation” includes binding decisions by several appellate courts that no court can issue, enforce, or uphold a void order and that no statutes of limitations apply to a void order. These decisions confirm that all of the restraining orders issued on these void Judicial Council forms can now be set aside and their innocent victims freed from false imprisonment and compensated for their damages.

“The Void Generation” concludes with a quote from the 1958 appellate case of Fritz v. Krugh, holding that a void order “as we all know, grounds no rights, forms no defense to actions taken thereunder, and is vulnerable to any manner of collateral attack“ and even years later, “when the memories may have grown dim and rights long been regarded as vested, any disgruntled litigant may reopen old wounds and once more probe their depths.”

“And it is then as though trial and adjudication had never been.”

Conrad Baldwin is the author of “The Void Generation: How a Generation of Void Restraining Orders Voided the Lives of a Generation.”

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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Bay Area

Mayor London Breed: State Awards San Francisco Over $37M for Affordable Housing

On April 30, Mayor London N. Breed announced San Francisco has been awarded more than $37.9 million in funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as part of the State’s Multifamily Housing Program (MHP). The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed (File Photo)

By Oakland Post Staff

The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The new development at 1515 South Van Ness Ave. will provide 168 affordable homes to low-income families, formerly homeless families, and persons living with HIV earning between 25-80% of the San Francisco Area Median Income (AMI).

In addition, the project is anticipated to provide family-friendly amenities and ground floor community-serving commercial spaces that preserve the prevailing neighborhood character of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.

“This funding unlocks our ability to move on building affordable housing units for families in San Francisco at a crucial time. We understand the level of need for more housing that is accessible, and like the state, the city continues to face a challenging budget cycle,” said Breed. “1515 South Van Ness is a good example of what can be achieved in San Francisco when you have strong community partnerships and an unwavering commitment to deliver on critical needs for our residents.”

“From the beginning of my term as Supervisor, I have fought to bring affordable housing to 1515 South Van Ness” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “In the interim, the site has been utilized for homeless services and shelter, and I am thrilled that HCD has recognized the value of this development, and we are finally ready to break ground and bring 168 affordable homes to low income and formerly homeless families in the Mission.”

Owned and occupied by McMillan Electric Company until 2015, the City and County of San Francisco purchased 1515 South Van Ness Avenue in June 2019 with the intent of developing new affordable housing.

In November 2020, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) released a Multi-site Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking qualified developers to build affordable housing on the site, and subsequently selected Chinatown Community Development Corporation (CCDC) and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in May 2021 to develop the site.

The project is expected to begin construction in winter 2025.

“A strong, long-term push by Mission advocates to make this site 100% affordable is now paying off, with 168 family units that include services and childcare. People of color communities know what they need, and we are excited to be in partnership with a team, consisting of MEDA, CCDC, and MOHCD, that listens,” said Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director at CCDC.

“We are excited to be in partnership with CCDC, yet again, and for the opportunity to develop intergenerational affordable housing in the City’s Mission District,” said Luis Granados, executive director at MEDA.

Increasing housing affordable to lower-income and vulnerable residents is a key priority in the City’s Housing Element which calls for additional funding for affordable housing production and preservation, as well as Mayor Breed’s Housing for All Executive Directive that sets out the steps the City will take to meet the bold goal of allowing for 82,000 new homes to be built over the next eight years.

Tuesday’s funding announcement emphasizes the importance of regional and state collaboration in order to reach our housing and climate goals.

“We are thrilled—not just to bring a project of this size to a community with great need — but to do so with community-based developers and their partners who understand the neighborhood and sensitivities around cultural preservation,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez.

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Community

Opening Soon: Vibe Bistro Is Richmond’s New Hub for Coffee, Cuisine, Community and Culture

Vibe Bistro, located at 1503 MacDonald Ave., Suite B, Richmond, CA, is announcing its grand opening week, May 21-26, 2024. The café will be a hub where people can come together to enjoy coffee, cuisine, community, and culture, according to the establishment’s owner, Free Brown.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Vibe Bistro Logo

By Y’Anad Burrell

Vibe Bistro, located at 1503 MacDonald Ave., Suite B, Richmond, CA, is announcing its grand opening week, May 21-26, 2024.

The café will be a hub where people can come together to enjoy coffee, cuisine, community, and culture, according to the establishment’s owner, Free Brown.

“Vibe Bistro is Richmond’s neighborhood haven for soulful coffee, delicious food, and vibrant experiences. Vibe Bistro is not just a coffee shop; it’s a place where ‘coffee meets community” says Brown.

It occupies the space formerly known as the Richmond Food Hall, which was also the former location of OakStop Richmond.

During the grand opening week, folks are invited to join in celebrating the spirit of community. From Tuesday, May 21, Vibe Bistro will be open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, serving specialty coffees, convenient grab-n-go options, and delicious breakfast and lunch selections.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 23, from noon to 2 p.m., followed by surprise festivities that the owners say you will need to experience in-person to fully enjoy.

Vibe Bistro’s art exhibition opens May 23, through Sunday, May 26. It features a special artist talk led by renowned curator Jowhari Trahan, a story on glass, and a mural unveiling by Richmond’s own Nakari Syon.

Additionally, the community is invited to immerse themselves in artistic expression throughout the week with art and craft classes.

Get ready for ‘Feature Fridays’ at Vibe Bistro, where they will showcase the culinary creations of local food businesses. This initiative is not just about food, it’s about fostering a spirit of collaboration and community.

All local businesses are invited to be part of this exciting journey, says Brown.

For more information, visit www.VibeBistro.com, sign up for the newsletter to stay connected, and follow all social media platforms at @TheVibeBistro.