California Supreme Court

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Morris — California Supreme Court Says Non-Killer Must Aid the Lethal Act, Not Just the Underlying Felony, to Be Guilty of First-Degree Felony Murder

automatic / May 4, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that a non-killer accomplice with intent to kill is guilty of first-degree felony murder only if they aided the actual killer in the lethal act itself, not merely the underlying felony — reopening resentencing for many defendants previously denied.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

In re Kowalczyk — California Supreme Court Reaffirms Constitutional Right to Bail, Limits When Pretrial Detention May Be Imposed

automatic / April 30, 2026

California Supreme Court reaffirms the constitutional right to pretrial release, requiring prosecutors to prove the necessity of detention by clear and convincing evidence and forbidding boilerplate denial-of-bail orders.

California Supreme Court, Criminal Law

People v. Lopez — California Supreme Court Clarifies Senate Bill 1437 Resentencing for Aiders and Abettors of Gang-Related Killings

automatic / April 30, 2026

California Supreme Court holds that gang-enhancement and vicarious firearm-use findings cannot substitute for proof of personal malice in Senate Bill 1437 resentencing hearings, opening the door to new resentencing for aiders and abettors of gang-related killings.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Stayner — California Supreme Court Affirms Death Sentence for Yosemite Cedar Lodge Murders

automatic / April 30, 2026

On automatic appeal, the California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the convictions and death sentence of Cary Stayner for the 1999 Cedar Lodge murders of Carole Sund, her daughter Juli, and Silvina Pelosso. Justice Evans concurred and dissented in part.

California Supreme Court, Family Law

In re Z.G. — Juvenile Court Cannot Terminate Parental Rights Based Solely on Adoptability, and Mother’s Lawyer Was Ineffective for Failing to Demand Required Reunification Services

automatic / April 27, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that juvenile courts cannot terminate a parent's rights based solely on a finding that the children are likely to be adopted, and that the mother's trial counsel here was constitutionally ineffective for failing to assert her statutory right to reunification services.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

Shear Development Co. v. California Coastal Commission — Courts Decide Coastal Commission Jurisdiction Independently, and the Commission Cannot Take Appeals Just Because a Site Allows Multiple Principal Uses

automatic / April 23, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that courts must independently review whether the Coastal Commission has appellate jurisdiction over a local permit decision and that the Commission cannot exercise that jurisdiction merely because a site allows multiple principal uses.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Bertsch and Hronis — Convictions Affirmed, Bertsch Death Sentence Stands, but Hronis Death Sentence Vacated Because of Later Changes to Self-Representation Law

automatic / April 20, 2026

The California Supreme Court affirms the convictions and Bertsch's death sentence in this 1985 kidnap-rape-murder case but reverses Hronis's death sentence because of post-trial changes in the law governing a defendant's mental competency to represent himself.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Deen — Death Sentence Reversed Because Trial Court Failed to Probe Juror’s Possible Bias from Knowing the Murdered Police Chief

automatic / April 6, 2026

The California Supreme Court reverses Omar Deen's capital conviction and death sentence because the trial court failed to adequately examine whether a juror who had a personal connection to the murdered police chief harbored actual bias.

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.

California Supreme Court, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Fuentes v. Empire Nissan — Tiny, Unreadable Contract Print Goes to Procedural, Not Substantive, Unconscionability — but Courts Must Scrutinize Illegible Terms Closely

automatic / February 2, 2026

The California Supreme Court clarifies that an unreadably small or blurry contract goes to procedural unconscionability, not substantive unconscionability — but illegibility triggers heightened scrutiny of the underlying terms for unfairness.

California Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Sellers v. Superior Court — Loose Marijuana Crumbs on a Car Floor Are Not an Open Container and Cannot Justify a Vehicle Search

automatic / January 29, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that a small amount of loose marijuana scattered on a car floor is not an open container under state law and does not give police probable cause to search the vehicle.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

City of Gilroy v. Superior Court — Public Records Act Allows Declaratory Relief Even After Records Are Disclosed, but Imposes No Three-Year Retention Duty

automatic / January 15, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that requesters under the California Public Records Act can sometimes obtain declaratory relief even after the agency has produced everything responsive, but the statute does not impose a three-year duty to preserve records the agency has withheld as exempt.