A month ago, the Chief Justice did not respond specifically to a Los Angeles Times report of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of people leaving a Los Angeles courthouse. At the time, a California Courts spokesperson said there was “nothing new to add to what the Chief stated in her [State of the Judiciary Address (see here)].”

(Subscription required) “Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” Chief Justice Guerrero said.

(Subscription required) Her comments come amid growing reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appearing at local courthouses in recent days, a practice long opposed by judicial leaders and advocates for immigrants' rights.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal has held that a defendant seeking relief from his conviction under an anti-racism statute in a petition for writ of habeas corpus failed to allege a violation under the law where he claimed only that certain sentencing enhancements are more often applied to one ethnic group than another.