2025-11-17T19:01:38-07:00 2024-12-31 990 2024-01-01 861981490 PEACE AND JUSTICE LAW CENTER PEAC 3234902412 600 West Santa Ana Blvd Suite 810 Santa Ana CA 92701 Sean Garcia-Leys Executive Director 3234902412 2025-11-14 1 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z X Sean Garcia-Leys 600 West Santa Ana Blvd Suite 810 Santa Ana CA 92701 262696 0 X www.pjlawcenter.org X 2021 CA To advance community safety and constitutional rights. 8 6 4 3 0 0 583293 259351 0 0 1874 3345 0 0 585167 262696 0 0 0 0 177215 226365 0 948 11899 32751 100598 209966 327911 375201 -65215 410337 345122 0 0 410337 345122 To advance community safety and constitutional rights, including the causes of equal protection under the law and the advancement of First Amendment rights, exclusively for charitable and educational purposes in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 0 0 116620 0 0 The organization's largest program service by expense is its human and civil rights defense program. This work advances several charitable purposes expressly recognized in Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(2), including the defense of human and civil rights secured by law, elimination of prejudice and discrimination, lessening of neighborhood tensions, and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency. The PJLC's work also fits within long-established charitable categories recognized through IRS rulings, such as public-interest litigation, legal assistance to low-income individuals, police accountability and reform, violence reduction and crime-prevention efforts, alternatives to incarceration, and dissemination of public-interest information. All services are provided without charge. Except where noted, clients are indigent or nonprofit organizations, and none have a financial stake in the outcome. When attorney fees are sought, they are pursued only from opposing parties under fee-shifting statutes. No attorney fees were paid to the PJLC in 2024. In 2024, the PJLC continued its public-interest litigation challenging Orange County's longstanding gang-injunction practices. This work is aimed directly at reducing discriminatory enforcement, protecting constitutional rights, and limiting the reliance on punitive strategies that destabilize neighborhoods and funnel young people into the criminal system. As part of this effort, the PJLC represented one indigent defendant in People v. Townsend Street. The client has no financial interest in the litigation, which seeks injunctive relief rather than monetary recovery. The PJLC did not seek attorney fees in 2024. The PJLC also continued litigating ACLU v. Inglewood Police Department, a public-records case brought on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union and an individual petitioner. These clients are not indigent, but they have no financial interest in the matter, which seeks disclosure of police-misconduct records rather than damages. This case directly supports charitable purposes related to police reform, transparency, and the defense of civil rights secured by law. Although the petitioners requested statutory attorney fees from the opposing party, no fees were awarded in 2024. The PJLC continued its representation of three nonprofit organizations in Chicanxs Unidxs v. Spitzer, which seeks prosecutorial records necessary to enforce the California Racial Justice Act. The clients are not indigent and have no financial interest, as the case seeks only injunctive and declaratory relief. This litigation advances charitable purposes related to eliminating prejudice and discrimination, expanding public access to government information, and enforcing civil rights protections. Attorney fees, if awarded, would come solely from the opposing party. None were awarded during 2024. The PJLC also filed an amicus brief regarding conditions in Los Angeles County's juvenile halls. Although the client in this matter is not indigent and has no financial stake in the outcome, the issue involves the safety of detained youth and the enforcement of state minimum standards. This work contributes directly to combating juvenile delinquency, promoting alternatives to incarceration, and supporting violence-reduction efforts. The PJLC did not seek attorney fees. Finally, the PJLC engaged in non-litigation work, including participation in a regional anti-poverty initiative and providing First Amendment counseling to a student coalition. These clients are not indigent, have no financial interest, and the work was performed entirely pro bono with no possibility of fee recovery. 12405 0 0 The organization's second largest program service by expense is its education and public-interest information program. This work advances several charitable purposes recognized in Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(2), including the advancement of education, elimination of prejudice and discrimination, lessening of neighborhood tensions, and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency. The program also furthers IRS-recognized educational and charitable activities such as dissemination of public-interest research, professional training related to civil rights and criminal justice, and community education directed toward violence prevention, alternatives to incarceration, and public transparency. All activities in this program are conducted without charge. In 2024, the PJLC supported the statewide Data for Racial Justice Training by assisting with planning and by providing instruction to public defenders from across California. The training focused on methods for obtaining, interpreting, and presenting crime data to support statistical arguments under the California Racial Justice Act. This work advanced the charitable purposes of educating professionals engaged in the administration of justice, promoting nondiscriminatory practices, and supporting the dissemination of accurate, research-based information on race and criminal legal outcomes. The PJLC also presented at the University of California, Berkeley's Racial Justice Act Symposium. Staff participated in a plenary panel examining how community organizations, researchers, and other non-defense stakeholders can contribute to statewide efforts to implement the Racial Justice Act. This work advanced the charitable purposes of education, elimination of prejudice and discrimination, and the development of research-based strategies for improving fairness in the criminal system. The presentation delivered at the symposium was later revised and published as an article in the UC Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law. This publication further advanced the organization's educational mission by analyzing racial justice policies, documenting community-based strategies for addressing disparities, and making this information publicly available to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. Throughout 2024, the PJLC continued to lead joint meetings of the Decriminalizing Neighborhoods Network and the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice. These statewide coalitions meet regularly to examine and promote public health approaches to reducing community violence and state violence, with a particular focus on youth. By planning and facilitating meetings every two weeks, the PJLC advanced the charitable purposes of public education, dissemination of research on community safety, and lessening neighborhood tensions through nonpunitive violence-prevention strategies. In addition, Oxford University Press published a chapter authored by PJLC's Executive Director in its Handbook of Gangs and Society. The chapter examines community responses to gang injunctions and contributes to scholarship on violence reduction, community organizing, and alternatives to punitive policing practices. This work advanced the public's understanding of community-based strategies for combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency. The PJLC also supervised graduate students at the University of California, Irvine as they completed a capstone research project analyzing the effects of AB 333, a law passed in 2021. The project evaluated how changes to California law affected gang-related prosecutions and the operation of gang enhancements. This work advanced education and research related to criminal justice reform. Finally, the PJLC presented on racial justice advocacy at the University of California, Irvine School of Law's MLK Day Teach-In. The presentation provided law students with education on racial justice, civil rights enforcement, and community-based approaches to legal advocacy. 160898 0 0 The organization's third largest program service provides direct civil legal services to individuals transitioning out of gang involvement or targeted for gang-suppression enforcement. This is a state-funded CalVIP violence-reduction pilot designed to test whether addressing legal barriers can support gang desistance and reduce community violence. The program advances charitable purposes including combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, and promoting alternatives to incarceration. The program focuses on legal barriers that research shows can prolong gang involvement and increase violence risk, such as gang injunctions, diversion-program navigation, driver license holds, wage garnishments, child-support arrears, and immigration-related obstacles. These legal issues are linked to social marginalization, economic instability, and other adverse experiences associated with gang involvement. During the year, the organization maintained a docket of approximately 9 to 14 participants at a time, with each participant receiving services for about one year on average. Activities included outreach to individuals exiting gangs, comprehensive legal assessment, direct representation in civil and administrative matters, and coordination with re-entry service providers for non-legal needs. The program incorporates structured data collection and external evaluation to measure reductions in arrests, new charges, and probation violations as compared to a control group. Findings will help develop new legal-services-based violence-reduction strategies for broader community benefit. 0 0 0 289923 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 CA X Peace and Justice Law Center 3234902412 600 West Santa Ana Blvd Suite 810 Santa Ana CA 92701 Sean Garcia-Leys Co-Executive Director 40 0 X X X 109999 0 0 Ameena Qazi Co-Executive Director 20.00 0 X X 52615 0 0 Keiko Elizabeth Board President 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Jody Vallejo Board Secretary 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Jesse Engel Treasurer 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Patrick Palma Director 1 0 X 0 0 0 Theresa Smith Director 1 0 X 0 0 0 Laura Hernandez Director 1 0 X 0 0 0 162614 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80449 178902 0 259351 0 3345 0 0 3345 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 262696 0 0 3345 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 176947 150405 17694 8848 0 0 0 0 32580 32580 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16838 14879 1306 653 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2772 0 2772 0 0 0 0 0 948 948 0 0 0 0 66020 66020 131 131 0 0 2481 2109 248 124 3550 3018 355 177 0 0 0 0 12280 10438 1228 614 2390 2390 0 0 0 0 0 0 1238 548 225 465 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6165 4895 1200 70 3571 2510 1061 327911 289923 26089 11899 191587 314710 0 218750 29460 0 0 0 0 0 0 952 0 0 0 0 0 410337 345122 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 410337 345122 0 0 410337 345122 410337 345122 -65215 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 196900 92000 583293 257261 1129454 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 196900 92000 583293 257261 1129454 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1129454 96 474 1874 3345 5789 0 0 0 0 0 0 96 474 1874 3345 5789 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 196996 92474 585167 260606 1135243 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b The form was emailed to each board member before filing Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c The conflicts policy is enforced by the Board President at meetings, including that interested parties are asked to leave meetings when required by the conflicts policy. Annual disclosures by board members are requested at meetings. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15 Comparison studies were completed in 2021 for the two executive staff positions. Salary comparisons were made to executive directors of other legal aid organizations, the legal directors of larger organizations, and comparable government positions within the office of the US Attorney General. Executives' 2024 salaries were unchanged from 2021 and 2022 salaries. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 All documents whose disclosure is mandatory are available upon request. No requests have been made. Form 990, Part IX, Line 11g Deposition and court reporter services ($20,261); external program evaluation services ($20,000); consulting and contract services ($14,855); case management software and programming fees ($2,690); legal research service ($6,000); web design services ($1,825); other services ($389)