Welcome to the People's Justice Project!
People's Justice Project is a non-profit law firm that protects the civil rights, liberties and dignity of all Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County residents through the provision of high-quality legal and social services, including (1) civil rights litigation, (2) screening for U.S. citizenship eligibility, applying for U.S. citizenship, and other immigration law services, and (3) criminal defense litigation, including post-conviction services.
We help fill the justice gap by connecting low and moderate income community members with affordable legal representation. Due to our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization status, our attorneys are able to provide legal representation at a lower rate than most private firms and have more time to devote to your needs than most public defender or legal aid offices.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2020: Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill 1076 (Stats. 2019, ch. 578) added Penal Code sections 851.93 and 1203.425, requiring the state Department of Justice (DOJ) to review
statewide criminal history records and, without requiring a petition or motion, to grant automatic record relief to persons with arrests for a misdemeanor or felony punishable in the county jail that did not result in a conviction, as specified, and to persons with convictions who completed probation without revocation or who completed an infraction
or misdemeanor sentence without probation, as specified. Persons granted relief are released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the arrest or conviction, and courts, in turn, are generally prohibited from disclosing information on these arrests or convictions, as well as convictions granted relief under other specified dismissal statutes.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2021: A new change in California law specifies the maximum term of probation for most misdemeanors for a period not to exceed one year and for most felonies for a period not to exceed two years.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2022: Effective September 29, 2022, Assembly Bill 160 (Stats. 2022, ch. 771) amended Penal Code section 1203.4b to allow defendants who successfully participated at an institutional firehouse, as specified, to petition to have their qualifying convictions
dismissed. Defendants granted relief are released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from their conviction.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2023: Effective January 1, 2023, Assembly Bill 1706 (Stats. 2022, ch. 387) amended Health and Safety Code section 11361.9 to require courts to issue an order granting relief under
Health and Safety Code section 11361.8 for specified marijuana-related convictions, and to notify the state DOJ by March 1, 2023, in cases where the prosecuting agency did not challenge the granting of relief by July 1, 2020.
Previously, Proposition 64, effective November 9, 2016, (1) eliminated or reduced the punishment for designated marijuana-related offenses; and (2) added Health and Safety Code section 11361.8, which provides a resentencing and redesignation mechanism for persons convicted under the previous law who would not have been guilty of an offense or who would have been guilty of a lesser offense had Prop. 64 been in effect at the time.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2023: Effective January 1, 2023, Senate Bill 731 (Stats. 2022, ch. 814) amended Penal Code section 1203.41 to allow defendants who have been convicted of a felony to petition for
dismissal relief, as long as the conviction does not require registration as a sex offender; and commencing July 1, 2023, amends Penal Code section 851.93 to extend automatic arrest record relief to persons who have been arrested for a felony, including a felony punishable in the state prison, as specified, and section 1203.425 to extend automatic
conviction record relief to defendants convicted of a felony other than one for which the defendant completed probation without revocation, as specified.
LEGAL UPDATE JAN. 1, 2023: Effective January 1, 2023, Senate Bill 1106 (Stats. 2022, ch. 734) amended Penal Code sections 17, 1203.4,
1203.4a, 1203.41, 1203.42, and 1203.45 to prohibit the denial of relief under these sections because of an unfulfilled order of restitution or restitution fine.
Contact: legal@peoplesjusticeproject.org or call (805) 242-6691 for a free, no obligation consultation.
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and improve conditions.
