California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law
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June 1, 2026
The California Supreme Court affirms a double gang-murder defendant's convictions but reverses his 1994 death sentence under the retroactive California Racial Justice Act of 2020, requiring a new penalty-phase trial in a case that has been on automatic appeal for over three decades.
California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation
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June 1, 2026
The California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the death sentence of a Los Angeles father convicted of the torture-murders of two young children, holding that months of deliberate beatings, starvation, and medical neglect provided sufficient evidence of premeditated torturous intent, and that confrontation clause error in admitting a non-testifying expert's hearsay was harmless in light of the overwhelming independent evidence of abuse.
California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation
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June 1, 2026
The California Supreme Court reverses a death-row defendant's convictions entirely because his attorney conceded guilt over the client's explicit objection — a structural constitutional error requiring automatic reversal — while affirming the co-defendant's death sentence and vacating both defendants' gang enhancements under California's reformed gang statute.
1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Litigation
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May 29, 2026
The First District holds that San Francisco has discretion to develop a fishing program and complete CEQA review before applying for a water supply permit to open the Calaveras Reservoir to public fishing.
2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law
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May 29, 2026
The Second District holds that DCFS satisfied its ICWA initial inquiry duty despite not reaching the maternal grandmother, who was unreachable and whose contact information a relative declined to share.
3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law
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May 29, 2026
The Third District holds that an ex-husband who filed a written opposition to a child support arrearage request cannot later void the resulting $768K order by claiming defective notice based on unchecked Judicial Council form boxes.
5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation
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May 29, 2026
The Fifth District reverses a 19-year wage-and-hour class action over improper judicial reference and flawed statistical sampling, reinforcing Duran's rigorous requirements for misclassification class trials.
California Legal News
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May 29, 2026
The California Labor Commissioner cited Canoga Park-based Hart Placement Agency Inc. and its principals, Annie Ghaw and Hartmann Ghaw, $4,423,450 for misclassifying 144 in-home caregivers as independent contractors across Los Angeles County. The defendants have appealed; a hearing is pending.
California Legal News
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May 29, 2026
On May 14, 2026, the State Bar of California Board of Trustees approved Proposed Standards for Certification and Recertification in Privacy Law, creating a new attorney specialization that takes effect January 1, 2027. A two-year alternative pathway through December 31, 2028 lets eligible practitioners certify without sitting for the written exam.
California Legal News
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May 29, 2026
Los Angeles Superior Court grants two CCP 877.6 good-faith settlement motions in Myriad Pictures' fraud and tortious-interference suit over the fourth Jeepers Creepers movie, freeing settling defendants from cross-claims by the non-settling Seal/Orwo group ahead of trial.
California Legal News
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May 29, 2026
Orange County Superior Court denies Linda Sadeghi and Little American Businesses' anti-SLAPP motion in a divorce-related trademark co-ownership dispute, while sustaining demurrers without leave to the four federal-trademark cancellation counts and the Penal Code section 502 computer access claim.
California Legal News
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May 29, 2026
Orange County Superior Court sustains demurrer with leave on most of ComfyGo's California trademark, dilution, misappropriation, accounting, and commercial disparagement counts against Malisa Mobility, lets conversion, UCL, and tortious interference claims proceed, and strikes the UCL disgorgement and unsupported punitive-damages prayers.
California Supreme Court, Civil Procedure, Litigation
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May 28, 2026
The California Supreme Court overrules Solberg and holds that courts may now scrutinize alleged blanket peremptory challenges to judges under CCP section 170.6, adopting a Batson-like three-step procedure to protect judicial independence.
1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation
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May 28, 2026
The First District reverses the denial of compassionate release for a prisoner whose severe medical deterioration — complete loss of lower extremity function, fused spine, and incontinence — made any realistic possibility of future harm impossible.
4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law
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May 28, 2026
The Fourth District conditionally reverses gang murder convictions, finding the trial court applied the wrong legal standards when denying Racial Justice Act motions and discovery requests based on the prosecution's introduction of a rap song at trial.
4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law
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May 27, 2026
The Fourth District revives claims against a rival mortgage company that allegedly orchestrated a branch defection scheme, holding that all employees owe a duty of loyalty and that CUTSA does not displace interference or computer fraud claims.
4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law
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May 27, 2026
The Fourth District holds that arrest records cannot be sealed under Penal Code section 851.91 when the arrest led to a conviction in a separately filed case arising from the same underlying conduct.
Appellate Division (Superior Court), Litigation, Real Estate Law
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May 27, 2026
The Appellate Division holds that a three-day pay-or-quit eviction notice is void where the mail payment option lists only a “leasing office” without the name and telephone number of a specific person, as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 1161(2).
2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation
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May 27, 2026
The Second District Court of Appeal reversed denial of arbitration in a lemon law case, holding that the plaintiff failed to dispute the existence of arbitration agreements in both the lease and the manufacturer’s warranty booklet.
4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law
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May 27, 2026
The Fourth District holds that the CPRA’s “promptly available” production standard is a flexible, context-dependent requirement — not a fixed deadline — and sets out a multi-factor test for courts to evaluate agency compliance.
4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law
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May 27, 2026
The Fourth District affirms a murder conviction where a suspect’s incriminating statements to a jailhouse undercover agent were admissible despite his prior Miranda invocation, because no known officer stimulated conversation after the invocation.
2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation
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May 26, 2026
California appellate court holds that a nonsignatory defendant cannot compel arbitration by relying on generic boilerplate agency allegations in an unverified complaint as judicial admissions.
6th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law
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May 26, 2026
California's Sixth District Court of Appeal upholds lifetime sex offender registration for offenders convicted of lewd acts with minors under Penal Code section 288(c)(1), rejecting an equal protection challenge comparing them to section 288(a) offenders who face shorter registration periods.
2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Litigation
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May 26, 2026
California appellate court reverses juvenile's commitment to a Secure Youth Treatment Facility because the minor's most recent offense by date was not a qualifying crime under section 707(b).
2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Litigation
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May 26, 2026
California appellate court rules that defendants must be allowed to argue aggravating sentencing factors to a jury, reversing an upper-term firearm enhancement where the trial court denied closing argument on those factors.