Senate Bill 10, passed by the Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018, violated one of the unwritten rules of making public policy in California. The measure, one of several criminal justice reforms championed by Brown during his second governorship, would eliminate cash bail for those accused of...
Lawyer: Michael Avenatti Too Isolated in Jail to Help Case
NEW YORK — Michael Avenatti is housed in drug kingpin El Chapo's chilly former cell, making it impossible to properly prepare for an extortion trial that was supposed to start his week, his lawyer said. Attorney Scott Srebnick wrote in a letter to a federal judge late Sunday that Avenatti,...
Avenatti Arrested for New Alleged Crimes While on Bail
LOS ANGELES — Michael Avenatti, the brash former attorney for the porn actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested for allegedly violating bail by committing numerous financial crimes to conceal assets from creditors while living a lavish lifestyle, U.S. prosecutors alleged in a court document released Wednesday. Avenatti was arrested by IRS...
County Hopes Text Messages Will Help Defendants Show Up
A new text message service in Fresno County aims to ensure clients represented by the public defender's office show up in court. Listen to this article: The service, called Uptrust, sends personalized text messages to public defender clients reminding them of their scheduled court hearings and other legal appointments. The...
R. Kelly Out of Jail After Posting $100K in Sex Abuse Case
CHICAGO — R. Kelly walked out of a Chicago jail Monday after posting $100,000 bail that allows him to go free while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused four people dating back to 1998, including three underage girls. Hours earlier, the R&B star pleaded not guilty to the...
California Lawmakers Consider Proposal to Eliminate Bail
SACRAMENTO — California would be the first state to completely end bail for defendants awaiting trial under a proposal unveiled Thursday that would create a new system to instead jail people based on their risk level. The plan calls for most suspects arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors to be released within...