Abstract: The California Racial Justice Act (RJA), which applies to all pretrial, trial, and post-conviction defendants, prohibits any state actor from relying upon racial bias to seek or obtain a conviction or sentence against a defendant. In a state where racial disparities in incarceration have been growing for decades, the law, which became retroactive in 2024, has the power to create a sea of change across California criminal institutions. Using the power of state consti

Abstract: Are rap lyrics worthy of the same protections that other forms of creative expression enjoy, or is there something inherent to rap lyrics that renders them autobiographical, confessional, and reflective of the author’s true intentions and desires? This Article will attempt to answer that question. In doing so, the authors will take the reader on a voyage through a history that is not widely known among the attorneys, judges, expert witnesses, and jurors who are freq

Abstract: The rise in xenophobia, hate and violence against AAPI Americans inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the criminal legal system as a tool of anti-racism. This Article traces the legal aftermath when Asian New Yorkers reported 276 possible hate crimes to the police in 2021. The analysis takes an empirical approach and a narrative approach. It relies on a unique database that followed what happened to civilian complaints