PJLC Urges California Supreme Court to Enforce Limits on Gang Enhancements

The Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking the California Supreme Court to enforce clear limits on the state’s gang enhancement law. The brief urges the Court to apply AB 333—the reform law PJLC helped draft—as the Legislature intended, so people are not punished with extra prison time based on overly broad gang allegations.

The case, People v. Clark, focuses on how courts should decide whether a group qualifies as a “criminal street gang.” Under AB 333, prosecutors must show that gang members acted together in committing crimes, not just that different people committed crimes at different times. PJLC’s brief explains that the law was changed on purpose to stop the long-standing practice of labeling individual crimes as “gang crimes” simply because of where someone lives or who they know.

For decades, gang enhancements have been used in ways that are especially harmful to communities of color. Police and prosecutors have often treated ordinary crimes as gang-related based on loose associations, neighborhood stereotypes, or past contacts with law enforcement. AB 333 was written to narrow this practice by requiring proof of real, organized group activity—not just assumptions or guilt by association.

In its brief, PJLC explains that a small wording mistake in the statute has led some courts to allow prosecutors to keep using the old, overbroad approach. PJLC asks the Supreme Court to correct that mistake by reading the law in a way that matches the Legislature’s clear goal: limiting gang enhancements to cases where two or more gang members actually committed crimes together.

This issue matters statewide. How the Court rules will affect gang prosecutions across California and determine whether AB 333 leads to fairer sentences or is weakened in practice. Enforcing the law as written would reduce excessive punishment, limit racial bias, and help rebuild trust in the justice system in communities most affected by gang policing.

PJLC will continue to advocate for the proper implementation of AB 333 and to use litigation and policy work to ensure that California’s gang laws are applied narrowly, fairly, and as intended by lawmakers.