Nevada County Local News: Crime & Justice


All Local Crime & Justice News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: California cities switch to more inclusive, district-based elections system.
Voting Rights...the Final Frontier

Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

05/14/2025
The California Highway Patrol is introducing "discreet" Dodge Durangos into their fleet of patrol vehicles.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/14/2025
California’s falling incarcerated population has allowed Gov. Gavin Newsom to close four state prisons. Now he’s calling for a fifth.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/08/2025
Earthquakes, wildfires and floods all could cause problems for California prisons. A new audit says they aren’t ready to quickly evacuate prisoners.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/02/2025
California Republicans are increasingly pushing Democrats on child sex crimes bills. The supermajority is growing more divided about it.

California Local Pin Marker From The Union...

05/02/2025
Law Day 2025 was a learning experience for hundreds of local fifth graders in an event at the Nevada City Courthouse.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/29/2025
‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin and say give me your papers,’ a federal judge told Border Patrol attorneys at a hearing challenging recent immigration sweeps.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/29/2025
A California law empowers state investigators to check on conditions at ICE detention centers. A new report raises concerns about health care inside them.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/28/2025
Groups that support California crime victims and attempt to reduce gun violence lost millions of dollars in grants when the Trump administration pulled funding.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/27/2025
Police agencies — under scrutiny and worried about their own liability — increasingly won’t respond to someone in a mental health crisis unless that person is committing a crime. So who will transport people in psychosis to get help? And who will keep those around them safe?

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/17/2025
Wickey Two Hands was supposed to be the first person tried for camping in Fresno. Instead, after the city and county poured resources into his case, it was dismissed at the last minute.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/17/2025
A California Republican state senator finds his crime bills getting a warmer welcome this year. Democrats say they’re just responding to their voters.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/15/2025
Almost everyone gets nervous during a traffic stop, but people with disabilities also worry about whether an officer understands their condition or could misinterpret their symptoms.

California Local Pin Marker From The Union...

04/11/2025
A look at the rise in crime, drug use and homelessness in the Glenbrook Basin area of Grass Valley.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/10/2025
After controversial sweeps in Kern County and a CalMatters investigation, the federal government will train agents on when they can stop and arrest people.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/08/2025
Contrary to its public narrative, the agency cast a wide net in its California immigration raid, setting the stage for a legal battle over how the government carries out mass deportations.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

04/04/2025
Image for display with article titled Scam Alert: Multiple Reports of Scammers Impersonating Tahoe Forest Health System Staff

Tahoe Forest Health System has recently received multiple reports of scammers impersonating our employees and attempting to obtain personal information from patients. Their security staff has investigated the matter and can attest there has been no breach or unauthorized access to data within our healthcare system's technical infrastructure.

California Local Pin Marker From YubaNet...

04/01/2025
A look at the Court Appointed Special Advocate program to pair a trained adult with children in the court system. Training begins in April, consider applying.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/30/2025
Californians accused of crimes have the right to an appointed defense attorney if they can’t afford to hire their own. In that way they are just like criminal defendants in every other state — protected, at least in theory, by the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/17/2025
Ruby Marichalar couldn’t get an in-person meeting after California’s crime victim compensation fund denied her claim. She wasn’t the only one.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/06/2025
Los Angeles Assemblymember Rick Zbur says he wants to narrow the standards for justifiable homicide. Critics say he wants to make self-defense illegal.