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

A client represented by the Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) became the first person in Orange County to successfully block their placement under a gang injunction after a full, individualized court hearing. The court ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the client’s “active participation” in a gang, a legal requirement that must be met before a person can be subjected to a gang injunction.

Gang injunctions are civil court orders that can severely restrict where people can go, who they can associate with, and how they live their daily lives—often without a criminal conviction. In Orange County, prosecutors have long relied on broad assumptions and outdated information to add people to injunctions years after the alleged conduct occurred.

In this case, the court closely examined the evidence presented by the District Attorney and found it lacking. Although the state pointed to incidents from several years earlier, the judge concluded that the evidence was too old to show current gang involvement. The court emphasized that even if past conduct once suggested gang activity, the law requires clear and convincing proof of current active participation at the time of the hearing.

The court also credited evidence showing that the client had been released from state custody years earlier, was living outside Orange County, and had no recent conduct tying them to any gang activity. Taken together, the judge ruled that prosecutors had not met their high burden of proof and denied the request to place the client under the injunction.

This ruling is significant because it confirms that gang injunctions cannot be imposed based on stale allegations or past associations alone. Courts must evaluate up-to-date evidence and make individualized findings, rather than relying on generalized claims about neighborhoods or social ties.

PJLC has been working with community members in Santa Ana’s Townsend Street neighborhood, in partnership with Chicanxs Unidxs, to challenge Orange County’s gang injunction practices. A central part of that strategy has been demanding fair hearings that test whether injunctions are actually justified under the law.

In the same proceeding, the court granted the state’s request as to other individuals. PJLC is appealing those decisions, arguing that the hearing process itself remains deeply flawed and fails to provide meaningful due process. That appeal seeks to establish clearer standards that protect everyone targeted by gang injunctions.

This first successful hearing demonstrates that gang injunctions are not automatic or inevitable. When courts are required to apply the law carefully and demand reliable, current evidence, people can and do prevail. PJLC will continue this work until gang injunctions in Orange County are either fundamentally reformed or brought to an end altogether.