Los Angeles Hate Crime Laws
Posted on January 27, 2008
Filed Under Hate Crimes, Los Angeles |
Hate Crimes: A Maze, A Web, A Quandary
Hate crime statutes in California can be complicated. Wait, let’s rephrase that, hate crime statutes in California are a maze of tangled loopholes and agendas spread throughout the law. The laws, for the most part, are well intentioned and are designed to protect anyone from being discriminated against based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or other factors. However, there have not only been grossly inappropriate applications of laws, but few understand when/where they are to be implemented. As a result, since no one wants to offend any particular special interest group, many are suffering the abuse of a legal system without direction.
Here are a few examples:
1. Over a year ago in Long Beach some African American teens were charged with beating up a few white students. However, because one or more of the teens uttered “ I hate whites” during the incident, they were charged with a hate crime. The reason is that they law allows attorneys to piggyback penalties, meaning if you are charged with crime X and then it comes out during the investigation that racial slurs or something if that nature were uttered, then they prosecuter can piggyback a hate crime penalty onto the other charges.
2. An incident was reported this past summer in West Hollywood wherein two homosexual men were attacked while walking along the sidewalk. The incident was obviously the type of event that would fall under the hate crime statutes, however the Sheriff’s department published the name’s of the victims against their will. The victim’s may sue, but the overarching issue is that the Sheriff’s Department has certain procedures which may not gel with what the statutes are, meaning the Sheriff in question may need to post a victim’s name in order to move a process along while the statute may call for the victim to be protected. In the end, there’s a disconnect between statutes and the enforcement of the law.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office defines a hate crime as :
* Criminal acts or attempted criminal acts against an individual or group of individuals because of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Because they are targeted for who they are, victims of hate crimes continue to feel threatened long after an attack. These crimes victimize everyone – individuals and our entire community.
These crimes can fall under three umbrellas, felonies, misdemeanors or enhancements.
Felonies are appropriate when:
# P.C. 422.7 – Commission of a crime for the purpose of interfering with another’s exercise of civil rights.
# P.C. 594.3
# – Vandalism of place of worship based on racial or religious bias. P.C. 11412
# – Threats obstructing exercise of religion. P.C. 11413
– Use of destructive device or explosive or commission of arson in certain places.
Misdemeanors are appropriate when:
* P.C. 302
* – Disorderly conduct during an assemblage of people gathered for religious worship at a tax-exempt place of worship. P.C. 422.6 – Use of force, threats or destruction of property to interfere with another’s exercise of civil rights.
* P.C. 422.9 – Violation of civil order (Bane Act) protecting the exercise of civil rights.
* P.C. 538(c)
* – Unauthorized insertion of advertisements in newspapers and redistribution to the public. P.C. 640.2
* – Placing handbill, notice or advertisement on a consumer product or product package without authorization. P.C. 11411
– Terrorism of owner or occupant of real property. Placement or display of sign, symbol or other physical impression without authorization, engagement in pattern of conduct, or burning or desecration of religious symbols.
Enhancements come into play when:
* P.C. 190.2(a)(16) – Special circumstances imposing the Death Penalty or Life Without possibility of Parole if the victim was intentionally killed because of race, color, religion, nationality, country of origin.
* P.C. 190.3 – Special circumstances imposing Life Without possibility of Parole if the victim was intentionally killed because of sexual orientation, gender or disability.
* P.C. 422.75 – Penalty for felony committed because of victim’s race, color, religion, nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability or sexual orientation shall be enhanced one, two or three years in prison, if the person acts alone; and 2, 3 or 4 years if the person commits the act with another.
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