Alameda County
Bar Association

NEW 2016 CALIFORNIA LAWS: A PRIMER 

Prepared by Pelayo A. Llamas, Jr.

Pelayo Llamas is a senior deputy with the Oakland City Attorney’s office and an ACBA Board member. He is a 2015-2017 At Large Member of the Judiciary Council’s statewide Bench Bar Coalition (BBC) Executive Committee. The BBC is composed of judges and leaders of local and statewide bar associations and legal services organizations, is designed to enhance communication, perform legislative outreach, and coordinate the activities of the judicial community with the state. He has generously prepared a short summary of some of the most important pieces of legislation that were passed in 2015.

For the full list, and a handy reference sheet, please check out the summaries prepared by the Judicial Councilat:http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/2015_LegSummary.pdf

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AB 39 (Medina) – Requires affiant to sign and submit affidavit before undergoing telephone oral examination by a magistrate to obtain a search warrant.

SB 178 (Leno) – Electronic Communications Act – Search warrant required before investigators can access and examine mobile phones and other electronic data.

AB 1156 (Brown) – Makes numerous technical and clarifying changes to the 2011 Realignment Act including resentencing powers and felony DUI prosecutions while incarcerated.

AB 1328 (Weber) – Authorizes courts to disqualify individual prosecutors and requires reporting to the State Bar, upon finding a prosecutor intentionally withheld material exculpatory evidence.

SB 674 (De León) – Requires certifying agencies, entities, or officials, such as judges, on request of an immigrant victim of crime, to certify victim helpfulness on the applicable form so that the victim may apply for a U visa to temporarily live and work in the United States.

CIVIL
AB 555 (Alejo) – Mandates the use of Expedited Jury Trials for most limited civil actions.

AB 1141 (Chau) – Modifies recoverable expert witness costs under CCP 998. Reinstates the ability to seek partial summary adjudication under CCP 437c. Limits court’s duty to rule on evidentiary objections.

SB 383 (Wieckowski) – Requires that attorneys meet and confer before filing demurrers.

SB 641 (Wieckowski) – Revisions to California Fair Debt Buying Practices Act regarding the set-aside of default judgments. *this one is not summarized in my matrix

FAMILY
AB 1081 (Quirk) – Amends restraining order statutes to extend temporary orders upon continuance of a hearing date.

SB 594 (Wieckowski) – Sets new minimum requirements for child custody evaluation, investigation, or assessment, and any resulting report.

JUVENILE
AB 703 (Bloom) – Sets minimum qualifications for counsel to be appointed in delinquency proceedings.

AB 900 (Levine) – Establishes a new form of guardianship for persons 18-21 years old who may qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile status.