During his presentation, Dr. Steven Campman, San Diego County’s Chief Medical Examiner, will discuss the medical examiner's jurisdiction, the difference between a coroner and a medical examiner, and why a cause of death may be different from how it might be determined in court. We look forward to learning more about the reasons that our county has the highest rate of deaths in our jails compared to other California cities.
Prior to joining the county, Dr. Campman worked for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner and served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserve, retiring as a colonel in 2016. He has conducted more than 5,000 autopsies, served as an autopsy supervisor for more than 800 cases, testified in hundreds of court proceedings and been published more than a dozen times in medical journals and forensic/pathology publications.
We did not have a December meeting, but at the November meeting we agreed to change our time to begin from 12 pm to 12:30 pm. Meetings will still be the second Wednesday of the month.
For our February 8th meeting we are planning on having Max Huntsman, Los Angeles County’s Inspector General, speak to us. What does an Inspector General do, and does San Diego need one? That is what we are wondering, too.You can look at their webpage to learn a little more before the meeting.
As for the committee members, we have been working to educate ourselves regarding all of the new criminal justice legislation that has been passed in the California legislature over the past year or two. We want to make sure that we know how things should be changing, and then monitor local jurisdictions to make sure these changes are being implemented.
We are also asking other Leagues in the state not only to include criminal justice as an Issue for Emphasis at their local Program Planning meetings this year, but also to focus on juvenile justice, using the existing LWVC Juvenile Justice Position.
As you can see, we have a lot of work on our plate, and would love to have more of you join in our Zoom meetings to see if this is something that you would like to help with. We have a wide variety of backgrounds in the committee, from those well acquainted with legal matters to those of us, like me, who are learning as we go.
Join the new LWVC Sheriff Interest Group
All California League members are invited to join the new Interest Group on Sheriffs for education and advocacy. The goal is to encourage and provide tools for local Leagues to facilitate accountability, transparency and local oversight of Sheriff’s departments. This includes compliance with criminal justice related laws supported by the League. The group aims to identify best practices for local Board of Supervisors/Sheriff’s departments as well as specific areas of statewide public concern.
For example, they’ve begun to prioritize projects such as: deaths in jails, state legislative compliance, use of AB109 realignment funds, and effectiveness in reducing recidivism and incarceration rates. As they continue research of oversight and operations, they may identify more priorities. League members are asked to help complete this research. Join the email list (click “Ask to join group”). Meetings are the third Monday of each month from 5-6:30pm via Zoom (agenda & how to join).
Email criminaljustice@lwvc.org with questions and to learn more.