The
following bills of interest to the legal community were acted upon
in April:
•AB
27, by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, which would
increase the amount of damage required for a person to be guilty of
aggravated arson from $5.65 million to $6.5 million, and extend the
sunset date for existing provisions relating to property damage from
Jan. 1, 2010 until Jan. 1, 2014. The bill was sent to the Appropriations
Committee suspense file April 1.
•AB
58, by Jeffries, which would reduce to an infraction, punishable
by a fine of no more than $250, the offense of participating in a
sports betting pool, when the offender is not being paid to operate
the pool, the pool is not being operated online, and the amount at
stake is no more than $2,500. A similar bill was vetoed last year
by the governor. The bill was approved April 1 by the Governmental
Organization Committee by a vote of 18-1 and was re-referred to the
Public Safety Committee, which passed it April 21 by a vote of 7-0.
•AB
168, by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, which would authorize
access to some sealed juvenile court files where the offender later
becomes the subject of a commitment proceeding under the Sexually
Violent Predator Act. The bill was amended in the Assembly April 14
to specify protections for the confidentiality of the records.
•AB
170, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, which would tighten
the rules restricting use of court reporters' rough drafts in place
of official transcripts. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee
March 17 by a vote of 10-0 and by the full Assembly March 23 by a
vote of 77-0.
•AB
316, by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, which would, among
other things, allow a wrongfully convicted defendant two years after
being exonerated to bring a malpractice action against his or her
attorney; extend from six months to two years the time following exoneration
in which such a defendant may bring a wrongful imprisonment claim
against the state; and eliminate the defense, in connection with any
such claim against the state, that the defendant negligently contributed
to his or her arrest or conviction. The bill passed the Public Safety
Committee April 1 by a vote of 7-0 and was re-referred to the Appropriations
Committee.
•AB
362, by Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Mission Viejo, which, as amended,
would create a new crime, punishable as a misdemeanor punishable by
up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000 to steal, damage,
or destroy election campaign signs. The bill passed the Public Safety
Committee April 21 by a vote of 6-1, but was amended in the Assembly
April 28 to make the offense a misdemeanor rather than a "wobbler"
as under the previous version of the bill.
•AB
375, by Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Redding/Yuba City, which would
clarify the requirements for an ex parte change or modification of
child custody based on a finding of recent sexual abuse or domestic
violence. The bill was scheduled for a vote in the Assembly yesterday.
•AB
459, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would
allow a party to a dissolution of marriage action to waive the requirement
of financial disclosure by the other party. The bill, which is sponsored
by the Family Law Section of the State Bar and has no apparent opposition,
passed the Assembly April 16 by a vote of 70-0.
•AB
461, by Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, which would reenact
the expired Economic Crimes Act of 1992, which, among other things,
limits the circumstances in which a defendant who steals more than
$50,000 may be placed on probation. The bill was referred to the Appropriations
Committee suspense file April 23.
•AB
590, by Feuer, which would create a right to appointed counsel
for some indigent civil litigants under pilot programs to be established
by the Judicial Council and funded through increases in some court
fees. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 20 by a vote of
7-2.
•AB
663, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, which would, among
other things, require the Judicial Council to set up a pilot project
for the use of interpreters in civil proceedings. The bill was approved
by the Judiciary Committee April 21 by a vote of 7-2.
•AB
674, by Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, which would establish
a deferred entry of judgment program and a preconviction drug diversion
program for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
or traumatic brain injury and who commit specified offenses. A Public
Safety Committee hearing scheduled for April 21 was cancelled at the
request of the author.
•AB
680, by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, which would increase
some fees for the services of sheriffs and marshals. A Judiciary Committee
hearing scheduled for April 27 was postponed by the committee.
•AB
942, by the Judiciary Committee, which,
as amended, would require the Judicial Council to assess the need
for creation of additional judicial positions to handle family law
and juvenile cases, and would authorize conversion of subordinate
judicial officer positions, over and above those conversions previously
authorized, to judgeships in order to handle family law and juvenile
court cases. The bill was approved by the committee April 21 by a
vote of 10-0 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
984, by Nava, which, as amended, would revise
the requirements governing accreditation of law schools. The bill
was amended in the Assembly April 13 and re-referred to the Judiciary
Committee.
•AB
1040, by Assemblywoman Audra Strickland,
R-Westlake Village, which would require that an appeal from the approval
of a class action settlement be argued within 120 days of the filing
of the notice of appeal. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for
April 21 was cancelled at the author's request.
•AB
1046, by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El
Cajon, which would increase the homestead exemption from execution
on a judgment to $75,000, or $100,000 if the judgment debtor or his
or her spouse who resides in the homestead is, at the time of the
sale, a member of a family unit, and one member of the family unit
is without an interest, or with only a limited interest, as specified,
in the homestead, and to $175,000 if the judgment debtor or the spouse
of the judgment debtor who resides in the homestead is, at the time
of the sale, 65 years of age or older, disabled, or 55 years of age
or older with a limited income. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee
April 14 by a vote of 10-0, and passed the Appropriations Committee
April 22 by a vote of 16-0.
•AB
1163, by Assemblyman Van Tran, which deals
with the attorney-client privilege as applied to the client's estate.
The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 21 by a vote of 10-0.
•SB
39, by Sen. John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, which would, as amended,
enact the Good Samaritan Protection Act which would provide that medical,
law enforcement, and emergency personnel who in good faith, and not
for compensation render emergency care at the scene of an emergency
shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or
omission, and that any person, not including medical, law enforcement,
and emergency personnel, who in good faith, and not for compensation,
renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the
scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting
from any act or omission, as long as that act or omission does not
constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. A Judiciary
Committee hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.
•SB
46, by Sen. Elaine Alquist,
D-San Jose, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for certain
sex crimes. The bill was held without recommendation following a hearing
April 21 in the Public Safety Committee.
•SB
59, by Sen. Robert Huff,
R-Diamond Bar, which would provide that good cause exists to continue
a trial for violation of the California Street Terrorism Enforcement
and Prevention Act when the assigned prosecutor has another case in
progress, within specific limitations. The bill was amended in the
Senate April 21 and re-referred to the Public Safety Committee.
•SB
108, by Sen. Mimi Walters,
R-Laguna Niguel, which, as previously amended, would have added charter
schools to the list of public agencies covered by the California Tort
Claims Act. Those provisions were eliminated by amendment April 21.
•SB
150, by Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, which would amend provisions
related to sentence enhancements to eliminate the requirement, the
validity of which is in question as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Cunningham v. California, that when there are three possible
terms for the enhancement, the judge must select the middle term in
the absence of aggravating or mitigating factors. The bill would amend
Proposition 21, and thus requires a two-thirds majority. The Committee
on Public Safety approved the bill April 15 by a vote of 7-0. As amended
April 16, the bill would have a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2011. The bill
was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee and was sent to the
Appropriations suspense file April 27.
•SB
151, by Sen. Diane Ducheny,
D-San Diego, which would require the Judicial Council to conduct a
pilot program, ending on January 1, 2015, for the operation of up
to 10 court-based reentry programs for parolees who would benefit
from community drug treatment or mental health treatment. The bill
passed the Committee on Public Safety April 21 by a vote of 7-0 and
was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, which has a hearing
scheduled for Monday.
•SB
154, by Benoit, which,
as amended, would grant the Department of Motor Vehicles the authority,
which the Court of Appeal ruled last year it does not have under existing
law, to suspend the license of a driver convicted of operating a boat
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The bill passed the Public
Safety Committee April 14 by a vote of 6-0, but was amended in the
Senate April 28 to limit its effect to a driver who had also been
convicted of driving or boating under the influence during the previous
seven years.
•SB
203, Sen. Tom Harman,
R-Costa Mesa, which would abrogate the holdings in People v. Hertzig
(2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 398 and People v. Manfredi (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th
622 by providing that a person in possession of multiple obscene images
of children is guilty of a separate crime for each such image. The
bill was amended in the Senate April 16.
•SB
319, by Harman, which,
as amended, would require a trial court to wait at least 90 days before
issuing a new summons to a prospective juror who fails to appear,
and would eliminate the Jan. 1, 2010 sunset date of the law that allows
a court to impose monetary sanctions on a prospective juror who fails
to appear. The bill was amended in the Senate April 22.
•SB
377, by Sen. Ellen Corbett,
D-San Leandro, which would, subject to appropriations, authorize creation
of 50 new superior court judgeships. The bill passed the Judiciary
Committee April 14 by a vote of 5-0, passed the Appropriations Committee
April 27 by a vote of 13-0, and was placed on the Appropriations suspense
file.
•SB
393, by Harman, which
would reduce the interest rate on judgments, and on personal injury
awards that exceed the plaintiff's rejected offer of settlement, from
10 percent to 2 percent above prime. A hearing set for April 14 was
cancelled at the request of the author and is now scheduled for May
12 before the Judiciary Committee.
•SB
399, by Sen. Leland
Yee, D-San Francisco, would permit a trial court to review a life-without-parole
prison sentence after 10 years, if the defendant was a minor when
the crime was committed and certain other requirements are met. The
bill passed the Senate Public Safety Committee April 14 by a vote
of 5-2 and was amended in the Senate April 28.
•SB
440, by Sen. Jeff Denham,
R-Modesto, which, as amended, would add aggravated child abuse, physical
child abuse, animal abuse, elder abuse, and aggravated escape or attempted
escape to the list of serious and violent felonies for which enhanced
penalties may be imposed. The bill was amended April 2.
•SB
641, by Corbett, which
would extend the State Bar's dues authority to 2010 with no increase
in dues. The bill is scheduled for hearing in the Judiciary Committee
May 12.
•SB
669, by Sen. Dennis
Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, which, as amended, would provide that,
in a hearing on the issue of whether a sexually violent predator should
be conditionally released or unconditionally discharged, the committed
person's failure to participate in or complete the State Department
of Mental Health Sex Offender Commitment Program may be considered
evidence that his or her condition has not changed, and a jury would
be so instructed. The bill was amended April 14 and re-referred to
the Public Safety Committee.
