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California Black Caucus Gives Thumbs Up to Law Reforming Courtroom Sentencing

The new law marks a correction to a ruling that was only meant to last two years but ended up lasting 14.

Published

5 years ago

October 20, 2021

Isabelle Price

Protestors raising fists high above heads. Concept of protest, human rights, fighting.

Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) are applauding a new law Gov. Newsom signed on October 8 that modifies the state court sentencing procedure for crimes.

Senate Bill (SB) 567 requires judges to only hand out sentences with lengths that match a number of years that reflect the median point of the possible term.

Moving forward, according to the new law, sentences will only exceed middle term after circumstances presented to a jury are proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

“We are now in a period of reckoning that requires us to confront the reality and interconnectedness of racism, inequality, and injustice which have permeated our institutions and deprive people of liberty, without the fundamental standards for fairness in our processes,” said Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who is chair of the CLBC

The new law marks a correction to a ruling that was only meant to last two years but ended up lasting 14.

In 2007, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) held in Cunningham v. California ruled that California’s determinate sentencing law was unconstitutional. The court found that California law impermissibly allowed judges to impose an upper/maximum term based upon facts that were never presented to a jury and deemed to be true beyond a reasonable doubt. This was a violation of the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution right to a trial by jury, according to the SCOTUS.

Later that year, a temporary law was put into place allowing judges to impose any of the three sentencing terms as long as they stated a reason for giving them. The law allowed judges to apply a maximum sentence without granting defendants the opportunity to have a jury determine if the reasoning for the sentence was true or not. The law was supposed to last until 2009 when a review of the sentencing process could determine a long-term solution.

However, the mandate ended up lasting until Gov. Newsom signed the law a little over a week ago.

Bradford was a lead proponent of SB 567 as part of this year’s criminal justice reform efforts.

“SB 567 makes our criminal justice system more credible and is a step in the right direction for criminal justice reform. I am grateful to Governor Gavin Newsom for signing the bill and appreciate the support of my legislative colleagues who voted for the bill because, only together, can we create a system that gives the public more confidence,” he said.

The bill was also sponsored by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, and Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice and supported by organizations such as Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and San Francisco Public Defender.

“SB 567 is a huge step forward in the fight for true justice in the courtroom. The impact of long sentences on individuals and families should not be taken lightly or subjected to arbitrary terms. As a lawyer and someone who has been impacted by the loss of loved ones to incarceration, I find this bill a worthy step in the right direction,” said Joanna Billingy, policy manager for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children.

SB 567 will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

Isabelle Price

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Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on

Published

9 hours ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Post Co-Publisher Gay Plair Cobb with Brendalynn Goodall. Courtesy photo.

By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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Black History

Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

Published

9 hours ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Jackie Wright of Wright Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Wright Enterprises.

By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.

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Community

Gov. Newsom Signs Law Shielding Immigration Aid Workers From Doxing Threats

“AB 2624 is fundamentally about freedom — the freedom from fear that lets our immigrant service providers do their jobs, and the freedom of the press to do their jobs without ever being conflated with the doxing this bill actually targets,” Bonta stated. “Those two freedoms were never in tension. Right now, our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve.”

Published

10 hours ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

By Antonio Harvey, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Aug. 22 designed to protect immigration service providers and humanitarian volunteers from targeted harassment, doxing and violence.

Authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Assembly Bill (AB) 2624, the Privacy for Immigration Support Services Providers Act, establishes an address confidentiality program modeled after California’s Safe at Home program.

Bonta and other proponents of the law say an increase in death threats, online abuse and anti-immigrant vigilante activity has made address confidentiality essential to protecting aid workers.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, eligible immigration service providers, employees and volunteers who face documented threats will be able to apply through Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber’s office to use a substitute address.

Doxing has also affected state lawmakers. In August 2024, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, had private information published online without her permission.

“I’m proud that with the signing of this bill, California is rejecting that, even when people try to make us feel that the political cost of supporting immigrant communities is too high,” Bonta stated.

Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) opposed the legislation, calling it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.” Strickland said he is concerned the law violates the First Amendment and could chill free speech, investigative reporting and public accountability.

Shirley is a conservative YouTube content creator, social media influencer and self-described independent journalist. He gained national political attention in late 2025 and 2026 after publishing viral videos alleging widespread fraud in government-funded programs.

After Newsom signed the measure, Strickland argued that it threatens citizens and independent journalists seeking to expose government waste and fraud.

“I spoke out against it earlier this week. I’m concerned it could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism and protected speech. The law allows at least $4,000 in damages for certain violations,” Strickland posted on X the day Newsom signed the bill.

Established in 1998, California’s Safe at Home program protects survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, child abduction and elder or dependent adult abuse. It has since been expanded to cover reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers.

Bonta said AB 2624 extends a similar framework to another group of Californians facing comparable threats.

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, testified before the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee about her experience being doxed.

“It happened to me and happened to a family member. They were looking for me and ended up in my mother’s home,” Salas said. “There are so many of my colleagues where individuals have shown up to their homes, who have been threatened, and this is not just our organization, but many others.”