Judge Orders OCDA to Give Notice of Gang Injunction Dissolution

An Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered the District Attorney to provide in-person notice to approximately 1,000 people who were previously subjected to county gang injunctions, confirming that the injunctions are no longer being enforced and are on track to be formally dissolved. The order follows sustained advocacy by the Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) and its partners and represents a critical step toward ending the long-running use of gang injunctions in Orange County.

Gang injunctions are civil court orders that impose sweeping restrictions on people’s daily lives, including where they can go, how they can dress, and who they can associate with. Although the Orange County District Attorney has agreed to dissolve all existing gang injunctions, the court required that everyone previously covered by these orders first receive direct notice before dissolution can be finalized.

At the August 28 hearing, the judge made clear that he sees no legal obstacle to dissolving the injunctions once notice is complete. However, the District Attorney’s Office insisted that notice be served in person by armed investigators. PJLC opposed this approach, warning that sending armed law enforcement to people’s homes risks unnecessary confrontation and harm, particularly given the history of gang policing in Orange County.

To reduce those risks while still ensuring meaningful notice, PJLC is partnering with the UCI Community Violence Intervention Clinic and Chicanxs Unidxs to represent individuals subject to the injunctions directly. Individuals who sign up with the PJLC as clients will be served through PJLC attorneys and armed law enforcement will not go to their homes.

This hearing is part of a broader resolution reached earlier this year. PJLC had threatened litigation demanding the immediate dissolution of all gang injunctions as unlawful under recent reforms. In response, the District Attorney agreed to dissolve the injunctions voluntarily if PJLC refrained from filing suit.

While this process has created a pathway to closure for many people who have lived for years under unjust court orders, it has also raised difficult questions about dissolution procedure. PJLC continues to weigh whether similar approaches should be pursued in other counties, balancing the importance of formal dissolution against the real risks posed by law enforcement service.