PJLC Client First to Win Gang Injunction Hearing; Second Client to Appeal.

The PJLC has been working with community members in the Townsend Street neighborhood of Santa Ana and with the organization Chicanxs Unidxs to defend community members from the OCDA's unconstitutional gang injunctions. Part of the long-term strategy for defeating these injunctions has been to ensure that every person receives a fair, individualized court process. The OCDA has conceded that an individualized process is required, what they call an "active participation hearing," but these hearings have been far from fair.

Today, the Superior Court of Orange County issued its decision regarding five people from the Townsend Street neighborhood. The Peace and Justice Law Center represented two of them. We successfully convinced the court that one of the young men ended his gang participation years ago and should not be made subject to the injunction. He is the first person to ever win an active participation hearing. Sadly, after a clearly unfair hearing, the court decided that our other client remains an active gang participant. That sets the stage for an appeal where we will challenge the unfairness of the process, hopefully reverse the Superior Court's decision, and ultimately win with a published opinion by the Court of Appeal that will ensure fairness in future hearings.