Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and enshrined in international law as a human right. Yet in courtrooms across California, racial bias still shapes who gets charged, how they are tried, and the sentences they receive.
That’s why AB 1071, a bill making its way through the California legislature, is so important. AB 1071 further clarifies the state’s tools to confront that reality head-on, closes dangerous gaps in the Racial Justice Act and makes sure fairness in California courts is not only for some.
Closing Gaps in the Racial Justice Act
In 2020, through the tireless work of advocates and policymakers, California enacted the initial Racial Justice Act, creating a pathway to confront racial bias and discrimination in criminal courts. The law was a landmark—but it didn’t go far enough.
While the purpose was to rectify decades of racial injustice, courts continue to struggle with how to resolve violations after finding proof of racial bias, leaving the promise of the Act out of reach for too many. AB 1071, now before the Senate, answers this problem with three critical fixes:
- Access to Counsel: Courts must appoint an attorney to anyone unable to afford one who wishes to bring a Racial Justice Act claim.
- Access to Information: AB 1071 ensures people can obtain the evidence necessary to prove discrimination, closing an information gap that has set many up to fail.
- Appropriate Remedies: The bill reaffirms that courts must impose remedies when racial bias is proven, giving judges the flexibility to match remedies to the harm.
AB 1071 also explicitly protects against national origin bias—vital in a state where immigrants, especially those who are Black or brown, are targeted by racial profiling, arrests, biased comments, charging decisions, and sentences that harm access to protection and legal pathways.
The Crisis Is Real and Documented
The need is undeniable. For example, Black Californians make up 28% of the state’s prison population but only 5% of the overall population. Latino and Indigenous people also face disproportionate arrest, charging, and sentencing rates. Stark statistical evidence shows bias at every stage of the process—starting with the type of crime charged and ending with the disproportionate sentence given to a Black or brown person when compared to their white peers.
Part of this issue stems from the courts themselves following the 1987 McCleskey v. Kemp precedent. In McCleskey analysis, courts require proof of intentional discrimination—an almost impossible standard that ignores systemic bias, unless it’s accompanied by a smoking gun of explicit bigotry. As a result, California convictions and sentences are routinely upheld despite blatantly racist statements, all-white juries, and statistical proof of racial disparity.
AB 1071 corrects this injustice. It operationalizes the intent of the original Act and ensures that racism, whether explicit or hidden in data, is confronted and remedied.
Answering the Opposition
While some have voiced concern about cost and court workload, AB 1071 is preventive, investing in fairness upfront to avoid the far greater costs of racial injustice later. Wrongful conviction appeals and overturned cases exhaust far more resources than efforts undertaken to correct this injustice. As courts continue to grow in a more equitably centered practice, the need for claims raised under the Racial Justice Act will go down. The goal is a society where this law is no longer needed, but until we reach that, we must intentionally address racism entrenched in our justice system.
Why Now
Racial disparities in policing and prosecution remain pervasive. A National Academy of Sciences analysis confirms that Black and Latino people are disproportionately stopped, arrested, and sentenced more harshly than white counterparts, even when charged with similar offenses.
Currently, ICE raids, often militarized and indiscriminate, continue to tear families apart. On July 11 of this year, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a temporary restraining order halting ICE’s use of racial, language, occupation, or location-based profiling during roving immigration arrests in seven Southern California counties, including Los Angeles. That such an injunction was necessary in a region with one of the nation’s largest immigrant populations speaks to a dangerous erosion of due process, and to why California must shore up its own legal safeguards now. With AB 1071, California now has a chance to push back on the racial injustices exacerbated by the current administration, enabling a way to address clear racial bias of the language and location-based profiling.
For years, California has prided itself on being a leader in advancing civil rights. But leadership is not just about passing bold laws—it’s about making them work. The promise of the Racial Justice Act is only as strong as the ability to enforce it. Without AB 1071, too many will continue to face bias without a meaningful path to justice.
Passing AB 1071 is how California maintains that pathway—by making courts fairer, remedies stronger, and the promise of justice real. In a moment when other states are rolling back civil rights, California must declare that here, justice will not be compromised.
The California Senate should pass AB 1071 without delay. Racial Justice cannot wait.