In the News
In a move aimed at enhancing lawyer oversight and addressing concerns of professional misconduct, the State Bar of California’s board of trustees has voted in favor of a new ethics rule that would require lawyers to report fraudulent activities, misappropriation of funds, and other criminal acts committed by their fellow attorneys. Referred to as the “snitch rule” by critics, the proposed change marks a significant shift in the state’s legal landscape. The rule, if adopted, would bring California in line with every other state that already mandates lawyers to report ethical violations.
Maybe you’ve scrolled through your Facebook feed during an election season and stumbled upon an influencer’s post encouraging you to get out the vote for a certain candidate. Or you’re on TikTok and the algorithm let through a celebrity’s snappy video advocating for a specific campaign.
Just like #sponsoredposts for products, oftentimes these influencers are paid to promote a candidate or ballot measure.
Frustrated by what they say is a lack of action in the California legislature, child advocates and parents of fentanyl victims are taking action of their own, and they tell the NBC4 I-Team they want active registered voters in California to help.
With a handful of legislative proposals regarding fentanyl stalling at the state capitol, the nonprofit organization based out of Orange County, FentanylSolution.org, has started a new campaign to hold dealers accountable.
How do we solve the fentanyl crisis, which kills more people in California than car accidents or homicides?
That’s the question hanging over the halls of the California Capitol as lawmakers consider more than two dozen bills on the powerful opioid.
The wide-ranging debate is generating unique alliances in the Democratic-controlled Legislature but is also running headfirst into traditional political fault lines that pit proposals to treat addicts against efforts to get tougher on crime.
After the California State Senate Public Safety Committee once again blocked a bill that would require courts to notify convicted fentanyl dealers they’re eligible for murder charges should they sell fentanyl that kills someone in the future, the bill’s Democratic author and a leading critic in the state Senate sparred on Twitter.
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The chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday threatened to nix the state bar’s authority to collect licensing fees in 2024 in response to damning reports documenting the influence Tom Girardi wielded at the agency that declined to discipline him for decades.
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An influential Sacramento lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require California’s 266,000 lawyers to report misconduct by colleagues to the State Bar, the agency that regulates the legal profession.
The bill introduced this week by state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange) comes after a Times story noting that California is the only state that does not require or encourage lawyers to turn in their peers for wrongdoing and that highlighted how that outlier status may have figured into the corruption by Los Angeles legal legend Tom Girardi.
PDF of full article attached. This piece contains legal commentary on Senate Bill 241 (Umberg, Statutes of 2021). Senate Bill 241 revolutionizes our justice system by expanding access to our courts and incorporating greater uses of remote technology.
CONTACT: Jennifer Molina | Jennifer@ecovote.org| 213.537.6324
SACRAMENTO – Today, a coalition of advocacy, labor, immigration, women’s health, youth and environmental organizations applauded the legislative Elections Committee Chairs call for Governor Gavin Newsom to issue an Executive Order that will set up critical protections across the state to ensure the safety of all voters. The state-wide coalition consists of nearly a dozen organizations. As California continues to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the coalition requests Governor Newsom provide clear direction on the steps counties should take to ensure all voters—regardless of zip code or racial identity - have the ability to vote safely in the upcoming November 2020 election.