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OP-ED: Thousands of African-Americans Jailed by Void Restraining Orders

Published

10 years ago

January 12, 2015

By Conrad Baldwin

Did California’s courts issue thousands of void and unenforceable restraining orders between 1999 and 2007? Did those void orders cause the false arrest and jailing of thousands of young African-American men, many of whom may still be in prison?

The answer is yes, according to this author and legal researcher in my new book, “The Void Generation: How a Generation of Void Restraining Orders Voided the Lives of a Generation,” which was selected for review in the current issue of Forum, the official publication of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, by assistant editor and veteran Deputy L.A. County Public Defender Al Menaster.

“The Void Generation” demonstrates with 47 public documents that between 1999 and 2007, the governing arm of the State courts, the Judicial Council of California, published 13 void and unenforceable restraining order forms, then refused to supply the courts with an alternative form.

With no valid forms available for their use, California’s courts were compelled to issue all of their restraining orders on void and unenforceable forms, which may have caused the false arrest of thousands of young African-American men who were jailed without a warning notice or a prior court hearing for allegedly violating California Penal Code Section 12021(g)(2) by “owning or possessing a firearm.”

The public documents illustrating “The Void Generation” demonstrate that a Notice Regarding Firearms and a Firearm Restriction notice printed in the restraining order forms published by the Judicial Council between Jan. 1, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2007 violated state and federal law by:

Requiring respondents to give up any firearms they “owned or possessed” without a court hearing;

Ambiguously stating the court “has authority” to order firearms surrendered, not that it “will”;

Failing to warn the restrained person they were prohibited from “owning or possessing a firearm”.

“The Void Generation” includes two official Judicial Council reports, one from April 17, 2000 and the other from October 5, 2000, which detail the invalid firearms prohibition notices contained in the restraining order forms DV-110, DV-130, and MC-220.

Also included are excerpts from the Minutes of two Judicial Council meetings on April 28, 2000 and Oct. 27, 2000 demonstrating that the Judicial Council failed to revise the invalid firearms prohibitions in these three restraining order forms until July 1, 2000 and Jan. 1, 2001, long after these mandatory forms were voided by the Jan. 1, 2000 enactment of the 1999 California Senate Bill 218.

According to the judicial forms illustrating The Void Generation, the Judicial Council failed to revise many of California’s restraining order forms to prohibit “owning or possessing a firearm” for more than four years after the enactment of Senate Bill 218, and failed to revise the firearm restriction notice in the criminal court restraining order Form MC-220 to correctly refer to a prior court hearing until that form was finally discontinued on Jan. 1, 2007.

An included Judicial Council report admits Council staff refused to publish an alternative “one-page form that could be attached to the appropriate forms” to warn respondents they are prohibited from “owning or possessing a firearm” because “attaching the warning to every restraining order might be burdensome to court clerks and individuals.”

An included study by California’s Criminal Justice Statistics Center found that over 12,000 people may have been arrested and jailed between Jan. 1, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2000 for allegedly violating these void restraining orders. And an included study by three professional researchers from the UCLA School of Public Health reports that almost two-thirds of those arrested for allegedly violating these void restraining orders were young African-American men between the ages of 25 and 34.

“The Void Generation” includes binding decisions by several appellate courts that no court can issue, enforce, or uphold a void order and that no statutes of limitations apply to a void order. These decisions confirm that all of the restraining orders issued on these void Judicial Council forms can now be set aside and their innocent victims freed from false imprisonment and compensated for their damages.

“The Void Generation” concludes with a quote from the 1958 appellate case of Fritz v. Krugh, holding that a void order “as we all know, grounds no rights, forms no defense to actions taken thereunder, and is vulnerable to any manner of collateral attack“ and even years later, “when the memories may have grown dim and rights long been regarded as vested, any disgruntled litigant may reopen old wounds and once more probe their depths.”

“And it is then as though trial and adjudication had never been.”

Conrad Baldwin is the author of “The Void Generation: How a Generation of Void Restraining Orders Voided the Lives of a Generation.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

Published

23 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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City of Oakland Celebrates Reopening of Main Library

“Libraries are such critical facilities for all Oaklanders, whether it’s children coming to story-time, adults reading the newspapers or borrowing the latest novels, and people engaging with a range of services and programs that the library hosts,” said Council President and District 2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas. “Such library services and programs are only possible when the facility’s electricity, heating, roof, and lighting are fixed and running efficiently. I’m proud to join this re-opening of our Main Public Library.”

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Left to Right- Jamie Turbak, Director of Library Services, LaTonda Simmons, Assistant City Administrator, Nikki Bas, President Oakland City Council, Shen Thao, Mayor of Oakland, Carroll Fife, Oakland City Councilmember District 3, Harold Duffey, Assistant City Administrator, Sean Maher, Projects Coordinator. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

The branch had been closed since May for critical infrastructure upgrades

Special to the Post

The City of Oakland leadership and community partners gathered to celebrate the reopening of the Main Library after completion of critical infrastructure upgrades to enhance the library’s facilities and provide a better experience for patrons.

Renovations include new roof installation, skylight repair, critical electrical system upgrades, new boiler control system installation, auditorium heating and cooling system installation, and improvements to lighting, flooring and ceilings throughout the building.

“This is truly something to celebrate, the reopening of our wonderful Main Library! I congratulate the staff and our partners for this important project to make the Main Library a more comfortable place for everyone for years to come, said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “Thank you to Oakland voters and the California State Library for making these crucial improvements possible.”

“Public libraries are a wonderful resource for our residents, offering a safe space for learning and being,” said District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. “It is critical to improve and modernize our libraries so more members of our community can utilize and enjoy them. I’m excited that the necessary renovations to the Main Library have been completed successfully and thank everyone involved, particularly the City team, who helped secured the necessary grant funds for this work.”

“I am proud of the City staff and project partners who kept this important project on schedule and under budget,” said Assistant City Administrator G. Harold Duffey. “The library is an incredibly important resource for our community members, and this project is an investment into the library’s future.”

“December 2nd was a momentous occasion for Oakland Public Library as we proudly reopened the doors of the Main Library following extensive infrastructure repairs,” said Director of Library Services Jamie Turbak. “Closing the Main Library for six months was no easy decision, as it serves as the central hub for our library system and is truly the heart of Oakland. Yet, this renovation was essential, representing more than just physical upgrades—it reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a safe, welcoming space for everyone.”

The City Administrator Jestin Johnson also attended the press conference and signalled his support for the completion of the record-setting completion of the renovations. Gay Plair Cobb, a newly appointed Library Commissioner said the Library represents the soul and brains of our community.

The Oakland Public Library secured funding for these crititcal repairs through a variety of sources. The California State Library’s Building Forward Library Facilities Improvement Program awarded the Main Branch $4.2 million. To comply with the grant terms, the City of Oakland provided matching funds through Measures KK, as approved by the Oakland City Council in October 2023.

The Main Library will host an Open House to celebrate the reopening on February 22, 2025, 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

About the Oakland Public Library

The Oakland Public Library is a part of the City of Oakland in California and has been in existence since 1878. Locations include 16 neighborhood branches, a Main Library, a Second Start Adult Literacy Program, the Oakland Tool Lending Library, and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO). The Oakland Public Library empowers all people to explore, connect, and grow. Oaklandlibrary.org