The Supreme Court orders California to release nearly 46,000 inmates. Could your apartment be a no-smoking zone? New bill aims to ban employee credit checks. LAPD nab suspect for vicious beating of Giants fan. Is celebrity perjury undercutting the foundation of American justice?
Supreme Court decision on CA prison overcrowding
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to cut its prison population by approximately 32,000 inmates. In a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that the reduction is “required by the Constitution” to correct longstanding violations of inmates’ rights. California’s 33 adult prisons currently house more than 142,000 inmates. The order mandates capping the state’s prison population at 110,000 inmates, which is still higher than the capacity the system was designed to accommodate. In two decades-old cases, federal judges have found that California’s overcrowding situation is so bad, inmates have been needlessly dying due to lack of medical care. But Justice Antonin Scalia said in dissent that the court order is “perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation’s history.” Will California have to abide by this ruling? Will the state begin releasing prisoners? If so, how will officials decide who gets released? Or might Governor Brown’s recently enacted “realignment plan” to shift thousands of inmates from state prisons to county jails come into play?
Guests:
Don Specter, Director of the Prison Law Office
Todd Spitzer, Victims' Rights Attorney, Former Chairman of the Select Committee on Prison Construction and Operations in the California Assembly
Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Sheriff
Could your apartment be a no-smoking zone?
Senator Alex Padilla has introduced a bill in California which would allow landlords to prohibit smoking in apartments, duplexes and townhomes if they so desire. The legislation passed the Senate, and is now with the Assembly. If passed, your landlord could legally ban you from smoking in your own pad. Is that fair? Who has more rights in this situation, renters who smoke or landlords who own the property? Is this an issue of property owner rights or individual freedoms? Do we really need a law to sort this out?
Guests:
Alex Padilla, California State Senator (D-San Fernando), author of SB 332
Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor, Reason magazine; nationally syndicated columnist and author of the book For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health.
New bill aims to ban employee credit checks
California Assemblyman Tony Mendoza’s bill to ban employers from performing credit checks on prospective employees has just passed the assembly. According to Mendoza, assessing a person’s credit history as a condition of employment is unfair and shameful. Mendoza says financial history is not a good indicator of trustworthiness or work ethic. That may be true, there’s no evidence to the contrary, but industry groups still aren’t on board. They claim credit screening is far less widespread than lawmakers would have us believe. They also say that - for the most part - the people who are being screened are employees who handle money or sensitive information. Mendoza’s bill, and the dozen or so others across the country, provide exemptions for these workers so the credit check industry claims the legislation will actually make very little difference. Either way, the bill is headed to the senate, but will it make it past Governor Jerry Brown? And will this remove a barrier to employment for the chronically unemployed or become a barrier to businesses just trying to find the best person for the job?
Guest:
Tony Mendoza, California Assemblyman representing the 56th district
LAPD nab suspect for vicious beating of Giants fan
Police Chief Charlie Beck says he waited seven weeks to hear the news -- that hundreds of tips and thousands of man hours has led to an arrest in the violent assault at the Dodgers Stadium home opener. The victim, Bryan Stow, had been blind-sided by two attackers and repeatedly kicked and punched after he fell to the ground. Stow is still in critical condition since the March 31st assault. Thirty-one year old Giovanni Ramirez was arrested yesterday at 7 a.m. after a tip from his parole officer. Police are still looking for a second suspect in the beating and a woman who was seen driving the getaway car. The case brought intense scrutiny to safety concerns at Dodgers stadium. To talk about it all we're joined by Police Chief Beck. What is the latest on the search for the other suspects? How is the current security situation at Dodgers stadium?
Guest:
Charlie Beck, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
Is celebrity perjury undercutting the foundation of American justice?
Recently four high profile public figures, Bernie Madoff, Martha Stewart, “Scooter” Libby and Barry Bonds lied under oath. In his new book “Tangled Webs,” author James Stewart argues that this behavior is emblematic of a troubling trend in American society, that the celebrated and the very wealthy often perceive themselves to be above the law. Stewart contends that these rampant acts of perjury undercut the foundations of our legal system which relies on witnesses to tell the truth. Based on exclusive interviews with insiders from each case, Stewart explores the various motivations of those involved and looks at how this challenge to our judicial system affects business, academia, government and the medical profession. Has the importance of honesty been undermined by these high profile liers? When famous people trash the truth, does it hurt all of us?
Guest:
James Stewart, author of Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff