The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported today that a bone found in the Redway area in July has been identified as belonging to a local man reported missing in February of 2018. According to a news release, the left tibia was sent to the Department of Justice and the agency notified the sheriff’s office Nov. […]
Department of Justice
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New Police Accountability Laws Up Demands on State Agencies
California Department of Justice agents realized they were short-handed just hours after a Los Angeles police officer shot and killed an unarmed man on Hollywood Boulevard. A 911 caller told police the man was threatening people on the morning of July 15, 2021, waving what appeared to be a pistol in a busy tourist pocket. […]
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Police and Prison Guard Misconduct and Bias: Audit Asks State to Step In
Police departments and state prisons aren’t doing enough to identify and punish bias among their officers and the state should do more to combat the problem, a state audit found. The audit, released this morning, recommended that the state Justice Department more regularly investigate how local police departments and sheriff’’s offices handle such alleged incidents, […]
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Three Years After Jennika Lee Suazo Was Found Dead, Her Family Awaits Justice
Three years ago today, 18-year-old Jennika Lee Suazo was found dead in her home on P Street in Eureka. She was last seen on Dec. 8, 2016. After her cause of death was determined to be asphyxia, the Eureka Police Department began investigating her death as a homicide. Her mother, Jennie Lee Seipp, said that […]
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AG Won’t Take Lawson Case
The California Attorney General’s Office has informed Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming that it will not be taking responsibility for any possible prosecution related to the 2017 killing of David Josiah Lawson. “Absent a reusable conflict of interest, the Attorney General’s Office generally only takes over a prosecution handled by a district attorney when […]
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The Psychosis of Prohibition
If you smoke potent cannabis daily, you may be at an increased risk of having a psychotic episode, according to a British study recently published in The Lancet Psychiatry. The study stops way short of determining there is a causal link between cannabis consumption and psychosis, but it does show a startling correlation. Researchers identified […]
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Speakers Urge Arcata City Council to Seek State Help in Lawson Case
Almost two dozen people gathered in the Arcata City Hall lobby before tonight’s city council meeting, prepared to ask the council to seek outside help in the David Josiah Lawson investigation after a criminal grand jury declined to hand up indictments in the case, sending it back to the Arcata Police Department for further investigation. […]
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AG Revives Program to Seize Assets Without Charges or Convictions
Advocates of civil asset forfeiture reform had a few choice names for U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions — among them “drug warrior” and “forfeiture fanatic” — when interviewed for a Journal story “The Trump Card” back in March. There were also predictions that forfeitures would skyrocket under the influence of the former Alabama senator and […]
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Sessions Fights to Fight Legal Weed
Lost in all the reports of his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was news that last month U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked Congress to give him broad authority to crack down on medical marijuana cultivators and distributors acting in accordance with state laws. On May 1, Sessions penned a letter to congressional leaders […]
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Sessions: Marijuana Only ‘Slightly Less Awful’ than Heroin
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions tossed some more shade on marijuana this week, adding to growing concerns that a federal crackdown is looming for the $7 billion industry. Speaking about efforts to combat violent crime and “restore public safety” before a group of state and local law enforcement in Richmond, Virginia, Sessions spoke about the […]
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AG: No Criminal Charges Against HumCo Judges
The California Attorney General’s Office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against a pair of Humboldt County Superior Court judges accused of submitting false affidavits to the state in order to receive their salaries. The office’s review of the case — conducted at the request of Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming — spanned […]
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State Conducting Sweeping Investigation of DHHS’s Handling of Child Abuse Reports
The California Attorney General’s Office has launched an investigation into the the Humboldt Department of Health and Human Services’ handling of reports of child abuse and neglect, and specifically whether it is in compliance with the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act. The origins and goals of the investigation are unclear, but a court document […]