PJLC Files Legal Challenge to OCDA's Gang Injunction Program

On behalf of a client newly subject to a gang injunction, the PJLC has filed the first state appeal to test the injunction process since Vasquez vs. Rackauckas (2013) and People vs. Sanchez (2016). Those two cases found that gang injunctions violated the rights of accused gang members by failing to require that DAs must prove a person’s gang participation before enforcing a gang injunction against that person. This case tests whether the OCDA’s attempts to prove gang participation are fair and constitutionally adequate. It also builds on the landmark civil rights case NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware (1982), which, in a gang context, says that law enforcement can’t punish someone just for claiming their neighborhood; they must first prove a person joined a gang with the specific intent to commit gang crimes.

While most California jurisdictions have recognized gang injunctions as counterproductive and done away with them, Orange County is one of the last remaining counties that continue to enforce and expand them. If the PJLC’s client wins this appeal, it could finally lead to the end of gang injunctions in Orange County