Criminal Law

5th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Chang — Mere presence of peace officer is not the ‘objective correlate’ required for imperfect self-defense instruction in delusion case

automatic / March 25, 2026

Fifth District holds that the mere presence of peace officers attempting a routine traffic stop is not the 'objective correlate' required to support an imperfect self-defense instruction for a defendant whose only basis for self-defense was a delusion.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Criminal Law

Chi v. Department of Motor Vehicles — Post-California DUI Lawyers DMV hearing structure satisfies due process; ordinary judicial questioning is not advocacy

automatic / March 24, 2026

First District holds that the DMV's revised hearing structure satisfies due process and rejects the broader 'appearance of bias' approach used in Romane v. DMV (now before the California Supreme Court).

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Tzul — Murder convictions reversed because trial court erroneously excluded handwritten ‘rage note’ relevant to provocation defense

automatic / March 23, 2026

Second District reverses first and second degree murder convictions because the trial court abused its discretion in excluding under Evidence Code section 352 a contemporaneous handwritten note relevant to the defendant's provocation defense.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Taft — Trial court retains jurisdiction under Penal Code section 1237.1 to correct presentence custody credit errors during pending appeal

automatic / March 20, 2026

Second District holds that under Penal Code section 1237.1 a trial court retains jurisdiction during a pending appeal to correct presentence custody credit errors, and modifies the judgment to award two additional days of credit.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Perez — Police cannot order a person out of a home without a warrant or probable cause; in-home detention rule extends to officers standing outside

automatic / March 20, 2026

Fourth District holds that police violated the Fourth Amendment by ordering a man out of a residence at gunpoint without a warrant or probable cause and rejects the contrary 1985 Trudell decision.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Perez — Vehicle impoundment to prevent unlicensed driving alone does not satisfy Fourth Amendment community caretaking requirement

automatic / March 19, 2026

Sixth District holds that impounding a suspended-license driver's minivan solely to prevent further illegal driving violates the Fourth Amendment community caretaking doctrine and orders suppression of evidence from the resulting inventory search.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

Meiner v. Superior Court — Apple Pay account is a ‘financial account’ excluded from warrantless probation searches

automatic / March 18, 2026

Fourth District holds that an Apple Pay account is a 'financial account' excluded from warrantless probation searches and orders suppression of bank evidence obtained through a warrant relying on the unlawful search.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Jones — Defendant in custody in another county did not willfully fail to appear; uncertified court records were inadmissible to prove Cruz waiver violation

automatic / March 17, 2026

Second District holds that a defendant in custody in another county did not willfully fail to appear for sentencing and that uncertified records from a Fresno court were inadmissible to prove a Cruz waiver violation.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Dunn — No sua sponte circumstantial evidence instruction required where direct evidence supported felon-in-possession charges

automatic / March 16, 2026

First District holds that a trial court had no sua sponte duty to give a circumstantial evidence instruction in a felon-in-possession case where direct evidence linked the defendant to the cabin containing the guns and ammunition.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Riggs — Defense counsel’s brief administrative suspension during trial does not, by itself, establish ineffective assistance of counsel

automatic / March 16, 2026

Fourth District holds that defense counsel's brief administrative suspension from the State Bar for trust account reporting noncompliance during trial does not, by itself, establish a denial of the right to effective assistance of counsel.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law

In re O.F. — Juvenile transfer order to adult court reversed for failure to apply heightened standards under AB 2361 and SB 545

automatic / March 13, 2026

First District reverses a juvenile court order transferring a 16-year-old murder defendant to adult court because the court did not apply the heightened amenability standards required by AB 2361 and SB 545.

6th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Anderson — CalECPA does not require suppression of phone evidence when officers reasonably relied on consent from deceased suspect’s mother

automatic / March 13, 2026

Sixth District holds that even if a search of a deceased suspect's phone violated the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, suppression is not required because officers acted in good-faith reliance on the mother's consent.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Valencia — Hot pursuit and the safety of family members justified warrantless entry that led to standoff and officer’s death

automatic / March 10, 2026

Second District affirms convictions for the murder of a Pomona police officer and a separate assault, holding that hot pursuit and concern for family members justified the warrantless entry, but remands to correct determinate-term sentencing under Penal Code section 1170.1.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Uceda — Murder conviction affirmed but drive-by shooting conviction reversed for failure to instruct on lesser included offense

automatic / March 5, 2026

First District affirms a murder conviction but reverses a drive-by shooting conviction because the trial court failed to instruct the jury on grossly negligent discharge of a firearm as a lesser included offense.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Nelson — Trial court’s denial of mental health diversion is reviewed deferentially; concurring justice criticizes contrary Fourth District opinion

automatic / March 5, 2026

Second District affirms denial of mental health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36, with a notable concurrence sharply criticizing a recent Fourth District decision that overturned a similar denial.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Superior Court (Taylor) — Mental health diversion requires evidence the defendant will actually comply with treatment, not just willingness

automatic / March 5, 2026

Second District grants writ vacating mental health diversion in a violent hate-crime case, holding that the trial court must consider evidence of past treatment noncompliance when applying the public safety prong of Penal Code section 1001.36.

California Supreme Court, Criminal Law

People v. Morgan — Assault Is Not a Lesser Included Offense of Resisting an Officer by Force or Violence

automatic / February 26, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that assault is not a lesser included offense of resisting an officer by force or violence under Penal Code section 69, because resistance does not require the present ability to inflict harm.

5th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Gonzalez — Trial Court Properly Used Aggravating Factors Tied to Prior Convictions for Upper-Term Sentence; Strike Vacated After Fletcher

automatic / February 26, 2026

Fifth District holds (on transfer from the California Supreme Court) that trial courts may impose upper-term sentences based on California Rules of Court rule 4.421(b) factors derived from prior convictions, but vacates the prior-strike finding under People v. Fletcher.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law, Litigation

J.S. v. D.A. — Trial Court Again Erred by Issuing DVRO Without Addressing Incarcerated Respondent’s Request to Appear by Phone

automatic / February 25, 2026

Fourth District reverses a five-year DVRO for the second time, holding the trial court again denied the incarcerated respondent meaningful access to the courts by issuing the order without addressing his request to appear telephonically.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Family Law

In re Christian V. — Amended Juvenile Restitution Statute Did Not Apply Retroactively Where Minor’s Case Became Final Before the Effective Date

automatic / February 24, 2026

Fourth District affirms a juvenile court's joint-and-several restitution order, holding the January 2025 amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.6 — which replaced joint-and-several liability with several liability based on percentage of fault — does not apply retroactively to a case that became final before the amendment took effect.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

In re Lynex — Racial Justice Act Petitioner Entitled to Counsel on a ‘Plausible Allegation’ Standard, Not a Prima Facie Showing

automatic / February 19, 2026

Second District grants writ of mandate, holding that an indigent petitioner under California's Racial Justice Act must show only a 'plausible allegation' of a violation to obtain counsel — not a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief — and may amend his petition to meet that standard.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. T.B. — ‘Less Onerous Alternatives’ to Court-Ordered ECT Means Medical Alternatives, Not Surrogate-Consent Procedures

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District affirms a trial court order authorizing electroconvulsive therapy for an incarcerated patient with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder, holding that 'no less onerous alternatives' under Penal Code section 2679(b) refers to medical alternatives, not surrogate-consent procedures.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

Flareau v. Superior Court — Trial Court Abused ‘Residual’ Discretion to Deny Mental-Health Diversion Without Proper Analysis

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a Riverside County trial court abused its 'residual' discretion under Penal Code section 1001.36 by denying mental-health diversion without proper analysis of the statute's eligibility and suitability criteria.

4th District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law

People v. Gutierrez — Tree-Mortality State of Emergency Was Not Statewide; Arson Sentence Enhancement Requires Proof Fire Was in a Designated Hazard Zone

automatic / February 17, 2026

Fourth District affirms a felony arson conviction but reverses the state-of-emergency sentencing enhancement, holding the 2015 tree-mortality emergency proclamation did not extend statewide and the prosecution failed to prove the fire was in a designated hazard zone.

1st District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Litigation

People v. Alston — Conviction Reversed Where Trial Court Failed to Explain Reasons for Overruling Section 231.7 Objection to Peremptory Strike

automatic / February 13, 2026

First District reverses an attempted-lewd-act conviction, holding the trial court violated Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7(d)(1) by failing to explain its reasons for overruling defense counsel's objection to the prosecutor's peremptory strike of a prospective juror.