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Santa Clara County Crime & Justice Articles



Image caption: Gavin Newsom (l) has lashed out at Florida Gov. and GOP Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (r).
Newsom Wants DeSantis Charged With Kidnapping Migrants

‘You small, pathetic man,’ Gavin Newsom wrote in a Twitter post suggesting he’d pursue criminal charges against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over recent migrant flights to Sacramento.

Image caption:
What Happens to a Town When its Prison Closes?

California is unwinding the prison-building boom of the 1980s and 1990s. The cuts are falling on small towns that banked on government jobs to anchor their communities.

Image caption: How many innocent people have been executed? There is no way to know for sure.
Death Penalty Mistakes: When the State Kills the Innocent

More than 4 percent of death penalty convicts have been wrongfully convicted, data shows. But courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to provide protections for the innocent facing death at the hands of the state.

Morgan Hill Times logo LOCAL NEWS
City council prohibits firearms in ‘sensitive’ locations

Firearms—even those carried by lawful permit holders—are formally prohibited from Morgan Hill’s government offices and other sites after a recent city council decision. An ordinance approved unanimously by the five-member Morgan Hill Council on May 3 prohibits firearms in “sensitive …

Image caption: The death chamber inside San Quentin. Gov. Newsom has ordered the facility dismantled.
Is California’s Death Penalty Finally Dead?

The death penalty remains legal in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on executions in 2019. Will capital punishment end in the state? Here’s what’s happening.

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
O’Connor rejects sentence offered by judge

Had she gone for it, the Los Gatos mother likely could have wrapped up at least two of her court cases. But on Tuesday afternoon, Shannon O’Connor officially rejected a 17-year, four-month sentence offered by Judge Elizabeth C. Peterson in …

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.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Federal Judge Rejects Google Bid to Toss Antitrust Suit Alleging Monopoly in Online Ads

The lawsuit alleges that Google leverages control over online advertising, driving out competition and receiving profits that far exceed what could be made in a competitive market.

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
South County Reentry Resource Center celebrates fifth anniversary

The Gilroy Reentry Resource Center is celebrating five years of providing crucial services to residents of south Santa Clara County who are leaving jail and prison, according to county staff. Since 2018, the center has partnered with some of the …

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
Prosecutors say Los Gatos mother tried to establish drug ring in jail

Over the past few months, Shannon O’Connor, the woman charged with manipulating teens into attending her drunken parties, came up with a scheme to smuggle drugs into the jail she’s stuck in, as her cases wind their way through Santa …

Image caption: Murder committed by strangers who don't know the victim remained relatively rare, data shows,
Is Crime Out of Control? What's the Reality?

Fears that violent crime is out of control on the streets of California cities rose after the murder of a well-known tech exec. But what are the facts and do they back up the rising moral panic about crime?

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Gilroy to purchase armored vehicle for police

Gilroy will buy its own armored vehicle for the police department after its decade-long access to a shared vehicle was restricted due to a recent state law. The Gilroy City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $360,497 purchase of a …

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
O’Connor considering pleading to all charges

As Shannon O’Connor, the Los Gatos mom charged with throwing illegal parties for teens and facilitating sexual assault, sat in Department 29 of the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice talking to her lawyer, Monday, it wasn’t for the start …

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Judge Orders Calvary Chapel to Pay $1.2M in Fines for Defying 2020 COVID Mask Mandates

Judge Evette Pennypacker ruled that Calvary Chapel San Jose is liable to pay the fines and interest after the church held indoor services and other gatherings and did not require attendees to wear a face covering.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker Indicted on Perjury Charge, Accused of Lying to Civil Grand Jury

The grand jury report, titled "Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Santa Clara City Council," alleged unethical relationships between multiple members of the City Council and the 49ers. Becker allegedly leaked a draft of the report at least three days ahead of its planned …

Metro Silicon Valley logo LOCAL NEWS
City, DA Defer to Feds and POA to Continue Fentanyl Probe

As Homeland Security investigators continue their probe of an international drug smuggling scheme operated out of the office of the San Jose police union, the union announced April 7 that it will conduct its own independent “no-holds-barred” investigation. The San …

Morgan Hill Times logo LOCAL NEWS
City approves $800 CCW permit fee in Morgan Hill

For the first time, Morgan Hill Police will begin offering Carry Concealed Weapons permits to local residents at the end of May, at a cost of $800 for a two-year license. The Morgan Hill City Council approved the new fee …

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Homeland Security Accuses Top San Jose Police Union Official of Smuggling Fentanyl into the U.S.

Joanne Segovia is accused of buying and distributing opioids for eight years, running some transactions from her San Jose Police Officers’ Association office.

Image caption: A memorial to the seven victims slain in a mass shooting in Half Man Bay in January 2023.
Mass Shootings in California: 2023 Has Been a Bad Year

Three mass shootings with at least six fatalities have already taken place in California in 2023, resulting in 25 deaths. Statistically however, California has been below average for the United States in rate of mass shooting deaths.

Morgan Hill Times logo LOCAL NEWS
MHPD proposes city’s first concealed weapon licensing program

For the first time, the Morgan Hill Police Department may soon have a program in place to process and issue permits for local residents to carry concealed firearms. MHPD officers and city staff have been working on the local CCW …

Featured

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.
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
But even in California, access to abortion services in many areas remains limited.
The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here
The making of Gov. Newsom's plan to help get mentally ill Californians into treatment.
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
What causes the cycle of homelessness and crime, and how to stop it.
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
From its beginnings in the Gold Rush, the state Supreme Court continues to define the state today.