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Paul Butler / Consulting Editor

Molly Miller

Molly Miller is a journalist and screenwriter whose work centers on policing and the criminal legal system. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Screenwriting from USC. After graduate school, Molly worked as a reporter for Crime Story Media where she wrote about LA's criminal courts and covered major cases for The Jury Duty Podcast, including the trial of Robert Durst and the trial of Harvey Weinstein. She was a writer on the Spectrum TV drama LONG SLOW EXHALE and is currently a writer for the upcoming Apple TV miniseries FIREBUG.

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To Imprison or Divert in L.A.

Editor’s note: Out of respect for the privacy of the individuals depicted in this story, we have changed those individuals' names. Reggie was going for breakfast at Denny’s with some of his buds. It was 10am on a Saturday but it wasn’t “brunch.” Reggie is adamant about that. It was just guys going to breakfast, ready to slam back stacks of pancakes and troughs of bacon. No frills. No bottomless mimosas. But the whole morning went to hell before it even began. Reggie was pulling into the Denny’s parking lot in his mom’s Honda Civic when he accidentally hit the backside...

Reassessing The Estes Robbery

Editor’s note: Out of respect for the privacy of one of the people depicted in this story, we have changed that person’s name. It was 1983 in the men’s department of a Sears when Curtis Estes committed a crime that would eventually redefine an entire category of theft in California. Estes was unaware that a security guard was watching him when he surreptitiously slipped on a down vest, and then a corduroy jacket, from the rack. Price tags concealed, Estes strolled out the door with the unpurchased merchandise on his back. It wasn’t until he reached the parking lot that the...

The Second L.A. D.A. Debate: A View From the Front Row

It was minutes after the conclusion of the most recent District Attorney debate in downtown Los Angeles and the crowd was just starting to spill from the Aratani Theatre. Among them, a man garbed in khakis and a gingham button-up held a cellphone to his ear and kept his eyes on the ground as he gave the listener his take on the event. “You know how it feels like the world is fucking on fire? Yeah, this was no different.” The DA debate on Wednesday, January 29 was a melee: part protest, part political cage match and part radio broadcast. No...

Third Floor Madness

I’ve long suspected that the third floor of the downtown Los Angeles criminal courts building is the busiest waiting room in the world. At 9:00 each morning its halls are bristling with fleet-footed defense attorneys, well-tailored Deputy DAs, smiley clerks, jittery defendants, huddled family members, animated translators, bleary-eyed witnesses and boisterous police officers. The collection results in a rowdy rumble more reminiscent of a school assembly than a courthouse. The third floor is home to the preliminary courts. On an average day, each court has roughly 20 items on its docket. That’s 20 cases that must be heard before the presiding...

PART 3 — PODCAST SPECIAL: The First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate

This is the third part of a three part look at the First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate of the 2020 election cycle. You can find part 1 of this series here and part 2 of the series here. On December 19, 2019 USC Law Professor Jody Armour moderated the first Los Angeles DA debate in which candidates George Gascón and Rachel Rossi squared off over a host of criminal justice issues. Conspicuously missing from the event was incumbent Jackie Lacey, who cited a scheduling conflict. In today’s Podcast Special, we examine the responses of George Gascón and Rachel Rossi...

CalGang

According to the California Department of Justice, you are eligible for inclusion on CalGang, a statewide database of gang members and gang associates, if you meet two or more of the following criteria: 1.     You have admitted to being a gang member. 2.     You have been arrested for offenses consistent with gang activity. 3.     You have been identified as a gang member by a reliable informant. 4.     You have been seen associating with documented gang members. 5.     You have been seen displaying gang symbols and/or hand signs. 6.     You have been seen frequenting...