Judges cheer as Prop. 5 loses

That loud exhaling sound you hear is a general sigh of relief from California's judges as polls show that Proposition 5 is heading toward defeat.

Prop 5 would have gutted the state's current three-tier sentencing system for nonviolent drug offenders and replaced it with one that offered defendants more chances at treatment, even after repeat run-ins with the law. Drug court judges were almost unanimous in their dislike of the initiative because it largely stripped their ability to order short jail stints as punishment. The California Judges Association also voted to oppose Prop 5, fearing that the additional hearings required by the measure would clog court operations.

None of the major public polling groups released numbers on Prop 5, so it was difficult to gauge its popularity coming into election night. But even opponents must be shocked to see that, in early results, the initiative is losing badly, with just 38 percent of voters saying "yes." This is a state, after all, where voters solidly backed treatment for low-level offenders when they passed Prop 36 eight years ago.

The measure's defeat was no doubt helped by a television ad featuring popular U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who urged voters to "say no to drug dealers." The ad was financed in part by a $1 million donation from the union representing state prison guards.

— Cheryl Miller

Comments

[Lance]

I am revolted that the prison guards' union could spend this amount of money on a blatant attempt to entrench jobs locking up their fellow citizens.