CALIFORNIA: GANGS ALL HERE

OFF THE WIRE
 
Interesting that the writer chose to use the word "GANG" when referring to a CMA member! I find the usage of the description to be way out of whack here~ does anybody else?
Gang's ,all here, 'and there

~ "

Gang's ,all here, 'and there
D.A.'s anti-gang injunction too broad.
~ "
J ./ A federal judge has WIsely able if          those subject to the order
slapped down the Orange County               were unquestionably gang mem-
District Attorney's Office and the                bers who had their cases adjudi-
Orange Police Department for pol-              cated, But, despite the insistence
icies that seem to clearly violate                'of the D.A.'s office that it targets
the Constitution's requirement                    only known active participants in
that no one be "deprived of life,                  the gang, it's clear that a gang
liberty, or property, without due                  member is whoever a police offi-
'process, oflaw." Instead of bring-               eer and prosecutor believes is one.
ing their policies in Iine with those,            There is no due process, and
appropriate in a free society,                     'that's a huge opening for abuse.
Orange County officials are appealing         -In fact, U.S, District Judge Vale
this ruling to the 9th U.S. rie                     Baker, Fairbank found that the
Circuit Court of Appeal.                            alleged gang members "were' not
In their efforts to crack down                     given notice of and access to evi-
.:.on gang activity within the city of           dence, or the opportunity to con-
Orange, those agencies have uti-              front and to be heard as required
lized the broadest possible brush -           by due process .... The risk of erro- _
imposing what are called gang in- ~          neous deprivation is substantial."
junctions. As the DA.'s office ex-              And the D.A.'s Office employed a
plains, "A gang injunction is a civil           disturbing legal stunt. As the pri

order
that restricts or prohibits                         vate attorneys representing the.
documented gang members from             plaintiffs explained, "Police and
participating in specific acts or ac-           prosecutors originally sought a
tivities that may not be criminal."             gang injunction in February 2009
The authorities targeted the, against the  ... gang and more than
OrangeVarrio Cypress street                  100 alleged members. After nearly ,
gang, which has undoubtedly                 60 people named as suspected
caused a-great deal of havoc with-         gang members appeared or tried
in its community. We applaud the          to, appear in court to contest the
D.A. and police for listening to the         "allegations against them, prosecu

concerns of residents who feel ter-  tors voluntarily dismissed them
rorized and for trying to do some-            from the case .... [S]oon afterward,
thing about the menace. But in-              the district attorrney and police be-
stead of doing the hard work re-,             gan serving the injunction on the
quired of identifying imd prose-                very same people that had been
cuting individual gang members              dismissed from the case, on
who break the law, the D.A. and             grounds that they were suspected
police are taking the easy route -           of being part of the enjoined
a tactic so sweeping that it under-          gang." ,
mines the civil liberties of inno-              This is an almost totalitarian
cent people in the process. policy -       an effort to give police of- ,
Anyone that police or prosecu-              ficers carte blanche to arrest a
tors believe to be members of that         laundry list of people while assur

gang can be restricted from           ing that those same people could
"standing, sitting, walking, driv-             never contest their inclusion on
ing, bicycling, gathering or ap-              that list. The court found that th1
pearing anywhere in public or               authorities used vague and at
public view with 'any known mem-         times unsubstantiated evidence to
ber of the gang," according to the         determine who was a gang mem-
D.A.'s explanation. This is a life-           ber.
time order that is in force in a               Because of the decision, "police
nearly four square-mile radius              and prosecutors can't impose spe

that includes the key downtown    cial sets of rules on the people
and commercial areas of Orange.         they decide are gang members,
Clearly, scores of Orange resi-             without providing a meaningful
dents can be detained and arrested      hearing as the Constitution read,

and deprived of the freedom

 to asquires," said Hector Villagra, exsociate
with friends and family executive director of the ACLU of
members. This would be accept- Southern California ..He's right.
- .l'

D.A.'s anti-gang injunction too broad.