california criminal justice time line

8/10/2019 California Criminal Justice Time Line

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I1822End of

Spanish rulein California.

Mexicancontrolbegins.

1836First vigilance

committee formedin Pueblo deLos Angeles.

1848Gold

discovered January 24

by JamesMarshall at

Sutters Mill.I

Treaty of Guadalupe

Hidalgosigned.

Mexico cedesCalifornia to

U.S.

I1849

San Francisco specialpolice force formed in

response towidespreadlawlessness.

IFirst California

constitution ratified.It forbids slavery andrequests admission to

the Union.I

First state electionheld Tuesday,

November 13. PeterH. Burnett electedfirst governor of

California.I

First state legislaturemeets in San Jose, the

first capital of California.

IC.S. Hastings electedfirst Chief Justice of

the StateSupreme Court.

IEdward J.C. Kewenelected first attorneygeneral of California.

I1846First jury

summoned byWalter Colton, first

American alcalde, inMonterey.

1850First county election held in

San Francisco. Sheriffs,attorneys, judges, andcoroners are elected.

ICalifornia granted statehoodand admitted as 31st state on

September 9.

I1851

Act passed byCalifornia

Legislature makesrobbery and grandlarceny punishableby imprisonment

or death.

IFirst San Francisco VigilanceCommittee

formed.I

Los Angelesapproves

formation of vigilance

committee. Oneman hanged was

later provedinnocent.

IFirst state prison,

a ship namedWaban, opens.

1852First Californiaprison built on

land,San Quentin, is

founded.

I1853

Legislatureapprovesformation

of CaliforniaRangers totrack down

JoaquinMurieta.

1856Second San Francisco

Vigilance Committeeformed.

IConsolidation Act

enlarges and formalizesSan Franciscos police

force. Vigilance

committee maintainsinfluence by selectingchief of police.

1874Construction

begins inFolsom on

secondCalifornia

prison builton land.

1879California constitution of 1879

approved. State Board of PrisonDirectors established. Privateprison industries abolished.

I1884

In response to313 stagecoach

robberiesbetween 1870

and 1884,Wells Fargo

creates its own

investigativedivision, whichcaptures

Charles E.Black Bart

Bolton.1891

Whittier StateSchool, the

beginning of Californias

modern systemof juvenilecorrections,

opens.

IState of Californiaassumes

responsibility forexecutions.

CaliforniaCriminalJusticeTimeLine1822-2000

I1872PenalCode

becomeslaw.

California Department of JusticeDivision of Criminal Justice Information ServicesBureau of Criminal Information and AnalysisCRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS CENTER Historical Research: Adele SpearsGraphics: Rebecca BoweEditor: Tad Davis

Population1,213,398

1890Population864,694



1860Population

92,597

1850

1822 18601850 18871848


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19241912 1932 1940I

1893Californiaenacts its

firstparolelaw.

1903Law enablescounties to

establish juvenilecourts for

delinquents andplaces restrictionson detention of juveniles with

adults.I

California beginsprobationprograms.

I1905

CaliforniaState Bureauof Criminal

Identificationcreated tomaintain

records on

wantedpersons andthose already

inconfinement.

1909Law requires

California countiesto maintain

separate juveniledetention facilities.

I1910 Alice

StebbinsWells

becomesfirst

policewomanin

Californiaand the U.S.

1911Law provides that no

intoxicated personshall drive.

I1914

Los AngelesCounty createsOffice of the

PublicDefender, the

first of its kindin the U.S.

Walton J. Woodbecomes firstpublic defender.

ICongress passesHarrison Act toregulate and tax

production,importation,

andmanufacture of opium or coca

leaves, theirderivatives, etc.

1916 August Vollmer developsfirst formal, academic law

enforcement program.

1917California

adopts

indeter-minatesentencing

system.

I1920

Volstead Act(Prohibition)takes effect.

1926Georgia P. Bullock elected judge of the Los AngelesMunicipal Court.She is Californiasfirst woman to

hold such aposition.

I1927Division

of NarcoticEnforce-

mentcreated aspart of

the StateBoard of Pharmacy.

1929California Highway

Patrol created.I

California CrimeCommission

requests legislatureto hire statistician

for Bureau of Criminal

Identification and

Information (CII).CII formallyorganized in 1930and begins datacollection from

agencies.

I1931

WickershamCommission cites

need for morecomplete crimeinformation.

California becomesfirst state to

establish astatewide reportingsystem to provide

such data.I

Act regulating sale,possession, and

transportation of machine guns

approved.I

CaliforniaLegislature

establishes Boardof Prison Terms

and Paroles.

1933Two lynched in

San JosesSt. James Park forkidnapping andmurder. Mob

action praised byCalifornia

Governor JamesRolph, Jr.

IProhibitionrepealed by 21st

Amendment toU.S. Constitution.

1937Law authorizes use of lethal gas as means of

execution inCalifornia.

I1938

Firstlethalgas

executioncarriedout.

1941California Youth

Authority created.I

First womanexecuted in

San Quentins gaschamber.

I1935

ComprehensiveMotor Vehicle

Actdistinguishes

between drunk driving

resulting in

death or injuryand all othertypes; alsoincreases

penalties forrecidivism.

194L

offhangocc

1904

Population6,907,387

PrisonPopulation

8,180

1940

Population5,677,251

PrisonPopulation

7,071

1930

Population3,426,861

1920Population2,377,549

1910Population1,485,053

1900


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1945 1966 1971 1981I

1944Californias

penal systemrestructuredwith Prison

Reorganization Act.

Departments

of Justice andCorrectionscreated.

1945Bureau of Criminal

Statistics (now Criminal Justice Statistics Center)

formed to collectcriminal justice data.

I1952

Bureau of Criminal

Statistics beginscollecting data

on felonycrimes and

arrests, superior

courtdispositions,adult commit-ments, Youth Authority

wards, juvenileprobation, and

jail population.

1960

Caryl Chessman executedat San Quentin.

His execution for crimesless than murder reopensdebate on death penalty.

I1963

U.S. SupremeCourt rulesthat criminaldefendantsmust have

counsel andthat illegally

acquiredevidence isnot

admissible.

I1967

Aaron Mitchelldies in San

Quentins gaschamber for

the killing of aSacramento

police officer.

He becomesthe 194thperson

executed in thegas chamber in

California.

1969Use a Gun,

Go to Prison statuteenacted by California

Legislature.

I1971

KeldgordReport calls forrestructuringof correctionsin California

with emphasison community-

basedalternatives.1972

Death penalty ruledunconstitutional byCalifornia Supreme

Court.

I1974Public vote

results inreinstate-ment of the deathpenalty in

California.

I1977Deathpenalty

reinstatedin

California.

I1982

California votersapprove

Proposition 8,the Victims

Bill of Rights.

1981Legislation provides

mandatoryminimum penaltiesfor drunk driving

convictions.

I1989

Roberti-Roos AssaultWeapons

Control Actapproved.It regulatespermits and

bans the sale,manufacture,and

distributionof military-type assault

rifles.1985

California Departmentof Justices (DOJ)

Automated FingerprintIdentification Systembecomes operational;

identifies RichardRamirez, the

serial killer known asthe Night Stalker.

1990Blue Ribbon Commission on

Inmate Population Managementrecommends expanded use of

punishment options withemphasis on community-based

alternatives in response to prisonovercrowding.

ICongress passes Crime Control

Act of 1990 prohibitingimportation and manufacture of

semi-automatic weapons

designated as assault weapons. Actalso establishes gun-free schoolzones.

IFederal Hate Crimes Statistics Act

becomes law.I

First boot camp in Californiaopens for juveniles in Los Angeles

County.

I1991

Beating oRodney Kin

four peace officgalvanizes pub

opinionationwide a

highlight

problems police andminoritrelations.

IU.S. DOlaunches

Operation Wand Seed to hprevent crime animprove qualof life in hig

crimeneighborhoo

1990

1976Legislation decriminalizesmarijuana; possession of

one ounce or lessbecomes a misdemeanor.

ICalifornia invokes

determinate sentencing.I

Death penalty againdeclared unconstitutional

by California SupremeCourt.

FelonyArrest Rate

2,490.5

Population29,557,836

PrisonPopulation

99,145

CCI Rate3,443.0

Felony DrugArrest Rate

627.9

1990

FelonyArrest Rate

1,977.2


PrisonPopulation

27,916

CCI Rate3,922.1


345.8

1980

FelonyArrest Rate

2,049.8


PrisonPopulation

22,399

CCI Rate2,987.1


769.4

1970

FelonyArrest Rate

1,170.0


PrisonPopulation

21,660

CCI Rate1,441.8


136.6

1960


PrisonPopulation

11,598

1950

CCI Rate898.1

1952

1966U.S. Supreme Court rulesthat persons accused of

crimes must be informed of their constitutional rights,

including the right toremain silent, before being

questioned(Miranda rights).


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california criminal justice time line

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