On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s Determinant Sentencing Law (DSL) was unconstitutional. The current DSL allows a trial court judge to determine issues of fact during the sentencing hearing for the purpose of establishing aggravating and mitigating factors. The judge can then use these factors in establishing whether a criminal defendant should get the short, medium, or long sentence as established by current sentencing guidelines. In short, the Court reasoned that allowing the judge to determine issues of fact violates a defendant’s 6th Amendment right. The net consequence of the Court’s ruling will very likely be reduced sentences of some of California’s most violent criminals.

As such, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, a longtime advocate for all things public safety, and I will be introducing legislation to remedy the constitutionally invalid process. While the “fix” probably is not as complicated as some would have us believe, the process to get there is likely to meet with much political positioning. In particular,… Read More

Almost everyone has heard and commented about Assemblywoman Sally Lieber’s bill to ban spanking – but as a new father I couldn’t resist weighing in. First disclosure: my mother spanked me a few times as a child – and for those who have heard stories of my childhood, it’s good thing she did. Second disclosure: I am a new father of twin girls and I cannot imagine spanking either one of my daughters. But I surely do not need a Legislator to tell me how to raise my children. Let’s be clear: there is no excuse for and no punishment strong enough for abusing a child – but there is a bright line between abuse and a swat on the behind. (Another disclosure: for years I volunteered for FamiliesFirst – a non-profit foster care agency that dealt with severely abused children.) Lieber’s bill does nothing to address the problems of child abuse or child exploitation – it’s more pomp and fluff to make a do-nothing legislature feel like it’s doing something. Perhaps Leiber can explain why she supported legislation that allows landlords to rent apartments… Read More

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber is proposing legislation that would prohibit schools from admitting female students into the 6th grade unless the girl has received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Remember, Lieber is the same legislator who is grabbing headlines these days with her spanking legislation.

This HPV vaccine push is coming from the Planned Parenthood types who believe that most children become sexually active around 11 or 12. Certainly, there are those children who do starting having sex that young–but they are not the mainstream. Moreover, even if they are, we do not need the schools to be requiring this vaccine. This should be between the student, her parent(s) and her physician.

I’m sure that Lieber and others will argue that it is the norm to have schools require students be vaccinated, but these vaccines are generally for highly communicable diseases that have posed major threats to the public health in the past.… Read More

I wanted to let FR readers know about the launching of the Red County/Riverside blog.

When my OC Blog became part of Red County, it was just the first in a planned series of blogs in "red" counties around the nation. Today we are officially launching the second member of our family of blogs: Red County/Riverside.

The Red County/Riverside’s charter “blopen” of contributors includes:

He is an unlikely hero, just a councilman in the sleepy seaside city of Seal Beach. But today he is the best friend to property rights advocates everywhere.

In late 2006 the city of Seal Beach voted to ban third-story additions in one part of town. They did not do so based on health or safety or traffic or parking concerns, just based on aesthetics and because a small but powerful minority wanted them to. Freshman Councilman Ray Ybaben voted with the majority. It was a personal blow because I had been helpful to Ray very early in his campaign and thought he would make good pro-property rights decisions.

Interestingly the council passed this anti-home improvement ordinance on the eve of the 2006 General Election. They even went so far as to hold a special weekend council meeting to do the second reading of the ordinance prior to the election. Why? Because they feared that if they waited and Proposition 90 passed, they would be… Read More

Prop 90 didn’t survive at the polls last November, but it did pass in San Diego County.Former SD City Councilman Fred Schnaubelt and the folks at Citizens for Private Property Rights are leveraging that local success into a San Diego area ballot measure:

Citizens for Private Property Rights

I was condemned in 1963 by the government. If you have ever had your property taken by the government you will never view government the same. It’s a life altering experience. I managed a family owned business in the path of the on-ramp to I-5 from Balboa in Pacific Beach. After 26 years in business, the government put our family business out of business. This is why I’m now in real estate, why I was elected to the San Diego City Council, and why I joined Citizens For Private Property Rights.

Some of you are concerned about the government’s efforts to outlaw the spanking of children, prohibit smoking not only in public buildings but in private, fine you for not wearing seatbelts or not using low-flow toilets, limit tasty foods with trans fats and prohibit coffee, eliminate free speech 90… Read More

Some people lament term limits, saying that it means that some of the best and brightest legislators are forced to leave office too soon. Personally I am a fan of term-limits, for a number of reasons. But that is the topic for another day. But I did want to say that one of the advantages of term-limits is that we get to bring new talent into the legislature. In the case of the voters of California’ 38th Assembly District in Northern Los Angeles County, they elected Cameron Smyth. Smyth is shaping up to be an outstanding legislator, and I know that he will make a tremendous impact during his time in Sacramento.

There are a number of issues about which Smyth is passionate, but certainly seeing that kids are able to receive a quality education ranks right up there. It is because of this passion for the well-being of young people that he has taken on the challenge of trying to deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District. When I say "deal with" — what it means is that Smyth realizes that the district is too vast and too bureacratic. Anyways, I will let him… Read More

Some people lament term limits, saying that it means that some of the best and brightest legislators are forced to leave office too soon. Personally I am a fan of term-limits, for a number of reasons. But that is the topic for another day. But I did want to say that one of the advantages of term-limits is that we get to bring new talent into the legislature. In the case of the voters of California’ 38th Assembly District in Northern Los Angeles County, they elected Cameron Smyth. Smyth is shaping up to be an outstanding legislator, and I know that he will make a tremendous impact during his time in Sacramento. There are a number of issues about which Smyth is passionate, but certainly seeing that kids are able to receive a quality education ranks right up there. It is because of this passion for the well-being of young people that he has taken on the challenge of trying to deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District. When I say "deal with" — what it means is that Smyth realizes that the district… Read More