when was kamala harris california attorney general

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Oct 07, 2020 · Harris' first go-around was as the district attorney general of San Francisco. Her term lasted seven years, from 2004 to 2011. Then, from 2011 to 2017, she went on to serve the state of California...

Who is Kamala Harris?

Harris served as the junior United States senator from Cali fornia from 2017 to 2021. Harris defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate.

Where did Kamala Harris go to high school?

After high school, in 1982, Harris attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C. While at Howard, she interned as a mailroom clerk for California senator Alan Cranston, chaired the economics society, led the debate team, and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

What is the privacy policy of Harris?

In February 2012, Harris announced an agreement with Apple, Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Research in Motion to mandate that apps sold in their stores display prominent privacy policies informing users of what private information they were sharing, and with whom. Facebook later joined the agreement. That summer, Harris announced the creation of a Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to enforce laws related to cyber privacy, identity theft, and data breaches. Later the same year, Harris notified a hundred mobile-app developers of their non-compliance with state privacy laws and asked them to create privacy policies or face a $2,500 fine each time a non-compliant app is downloaded by a resident of California.

Why does Kamala Harris wear pearls?

Although speculation during the 2020 presidential campaign emerged that she began wearing them as an homage to her Howard University sorority, or even to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known for wearing a distinctive collar when issuing a dissent, in her 2019 biography The Truths We Hold Harris had previously explained that she began doing so after being given some as a gift by her mother's mentor Howard.

What did Harris do to reduce truancy?

In 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the city's skyrocketing homicide rate, Harris led a city-wide effort to combat truancy for at-risk elementary school youth in San Francisco. Declaring chronic truancy a matter of public safety and pointing out that the majority of prison inmates and homicide victims are dropouts or habitual truants, Harris's office met with thousands of parents at high-risk schools and sent out letters warning all families of the legal consequences of truancy at the beginning of the fall semester, adding she would prosecute the parents of chronically truant elementary students; penalties included a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail. The program was controversial when introduced.

Why did Harris question Nielsen?

Later that month, Harris questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for favoring Norwegian immigrants over others and claiming to be unaware that Norway is a predominantly white country.

Where did Harris go to law school?

Harris then returned to California to attend law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law through its Legal Education Opportunity Program (LEOP).

Harris served as attorney general twice

Harris' first go-around was as the district attorney general of San Francisco. Her term lasted seven years, from 2004 to 2011. Then, from 2011 to 2017, she went on to serve the state of California as attorney general before taking on the role of Senator.

The "Back on Track" initiative was one her most successful programs

As district attorney in 2005, Harris launched an initiative to reduce recidivism among first-time drug-trafficking defendants. The program, known as "Back on Track", lasts 12-18 months and provides its participants with a personal responsibility plan (PRP).

She tackled racial bias and police brutality (kind of)

In 2015, under Harris' jurisdiction as state attorney general, California became the first statewide agency to adopt a body camera program and also enforced a "first of its kind" law enforcement training. The then-presidential candidate reminded people of her work during one of the debates.

Prison reform hasn't always been her strong suit

In 2011, the Supreme Court demanded the state of California reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates in the next two years due to overpopulation resulting in starvation, inhumane treatment and even death, according to NPR.

Her stance on marijuana has evolved

In 2010, Harris was staunchly opposed to the use of recreational marijuana. “Spending two decades in court rooms, Harris believes that drug selling harms communities,” her then campaign manager Brian Brokaw told Capitol Weekly. "Harris supports the legal use of medicinal marijuana but does not support anything beyond that.”

The anti-truancy policy she passed had good intentions, but backfired

In her 2011 inauguration speech, Harris pointed out that in 2010 there were 600,000 truant students in their elementary schools alone.

Sex workers are wary of her

In 2016, she was one of the leaders in the downfall of the classified ads website, Backpage.com. In her filings, she charged the site owners for money laundering, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping.

Who enforces the penalty in California?

Unlike the larger national agreement, which is only enforceable in a federal court in Washington, D.C., the agreement reached with California empowers Attorney General Harris to enforce the penalty provisions in California state court.

Does California have a separate commitment?

California’s separate commitment also creates important incentives to ensure that banks will reduce the principal mortgage balance of underwater homeowners in California’s hardest-hit counties and that the principal reductions in these and other California communities will occur within the first year of the settlement.

Overview

Attorney General of California (2011–2017)

Early life, family and education (1964–1990)

Early career (1990–2004)

District Attorney of San Francisco (2004–2011)

U.S. Senate (2017–2021)

2020 presidential election (2019–2020)

Vice presidency (2021–present)