Prosecutor Expects Criminal Justice System Improvements Under Prop 36

Voters passed an effort to reform Proposition (Prop) 47 that increases punishment for drug and retail theft crimes.

The Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative, also known as Prop 36, was approved by 68.52% of voters on November 5, according to Ballotpedia. Only 31.48 percent of voters disapproved.

The landslide indicates that Californians want reasonable and responsible reform of the criminal justice system, according to Los Angeles County prosecutor Eric Siddall.

“The criminal justice system is on the verge of collapse,” Siddall said. “There are way too many cases, not enough judges, not enough prosecutors, and not enough deputy public offenders to handle the caseload. In Los Angeles, we even have a crisis in terms of getting defendants to court because of the lack of transportation.”

Siddall ran for Los Angeles County district attorney but lost in the primary on March 5 this year.

Prop 36 came along after Prop 47 was blamed for ‘smash and grab’ burglaries at department stores by bands of thieves. Under Prop 47, the prosecution of thefts below $950 were downgraded from felonies to misdemeanors.

“There was significant experimentation with the criminal justice system for the past 15 years and some of those policies have been failures,” Siddall told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “It was more of an ideologically-based approach to criminal justice and it did not work.”

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) data shows that retail theft increased statewide by 16% from 2019 to 2022 but the passage of Prop 36 restored felony charges for theft.

Related:

• Prop 36 supported by republican and democrat politicians
• Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco supports Prop 36
• George Gascón ignores $2M retail theft grant

Prop 36 and Harsher Fentanyl Consequences

Prop 36 also holds offenders accountable for sales of illicit fentanyl more strictly.

Some 80% of drug-related deaths among youths statewide are deaths by Fentanyl overdose, according to the California Department of Education.
Come January 1, 2025, Prop 36 will hold defendants convicted of trafficking fentanyl accountable in the same way as dealers of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

“I’m hoping the system will become a bit more balanced,” Siddall said.

Prop 36 allows for substance abuse treatment plans for those who plead guilty to felony drug possessions, which could result in dismissed charges.

Some 2.9 million or 9% of Californians aged 12 and older have a substance use disorder, according to a report issued by the “Substance Use In California” report published by the California Health Care Almanac.

“Prop 36 is measured, limited and reasonable reform to our theft and drug laws to allow us to deal with habitual offenders and drug users who are on the verge of crisis,” Siddall said in a phone interview on Nov. 20. “This way, the criminal justice system can intervene on the both groups and hopefully have some positive effect.”

The initiative was opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Democratic Party, the ACLU of Northern California, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, the Vera Institute of Justice, and the League of Women Voters of California.

“Prop 36 is not this draconian tough on crime proposition that some people make it out to be,” Siddall added. “I think it’s a pretty limited, reasonable and responsible response to some of the problems that are happening within our criminal justice system.”