California Criminal Prosecution of Law Enforcement Officers Initiative (2018)
| California Criminal Prosecution of Law Enforcement Officers Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials and Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Criminal Prosecution of Law Enforcement Officers Initiative (#17-0022) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have provided that law enforcement officers be held to a reasonable person standard in criminal prosecutions involving the use of lethal or near-lethal force. The measure would have also required law enforcement officers being prosecuted for abuse of power or authority under color of law, unlawful or excessive use of force under color of law, or a violent felony whether or not under color of law before a jury, not a bench trial.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Defines Legal Standard for Claim of Self-Defense in Certain Criminal Prosecutions of Law-Enforcement Officers. Requires Jury Trial for Specified Criminal Prosecutions of Law-Enforcement Officers. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Requires that law-enforcement officers who are prosecuted for crimes involving use of lethal or near-lethal force be held to a reasonable-person standard equal to or higher than that required for ordinary citizens to prevail on self-defense claims. Requires that criminal trials of law-enforcement officers be by jury for charges related to abuse of power or authority, unlawful or excessive force under color of law, or violent felonies.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | Likely minor net fiscal impact on annual state and local criminal justice costs.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 5 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The timeline for the initiative is as follows:[4]
- Nadia Turner submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on August 22, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on October 27, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by April 25, 2018, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
- On May 10, 2018, the secretary of state announced that the initiative failed to make the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0022," accessed August 23, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed August 23, 2017
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