2010 California Code
Code of Civil Procedure
Article 2. Incidental Powers And Duties Of Courts

128.  (a) Every court shall have the power to do all of the
following:
   (1) To preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence.
   (2) To enforce order in the proceedings before it, or before a
person or persons empowered to conduct a judicial investigation under
its authority.
   (3) To provide for the orderly conduct of proceedings before it,
or its officers.
   (4) To compel obedience to its judgments, orders, and process, and
to the orders of a judge out of court, in an action or proceeding
pending therein.
   (5) To control in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its
ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner
connected with a judicial proceeding before it, in every matter
pertaining thereto.
   (6) To compel the attendance of persons to testify in an action or
proceeding pending therein, in the cases and manner provided in this
code.
   (7) To administer oaths in an action or proceeding pending
therein, and in all other cases where it may be necessary in the
exercise of its powers and duties.
   (8) To amend and control its process and orders so as to make them
conform to law and justice. An appellate court shall not reverse or
vacate a duly entered judgment upon an agreement or stipulation of
the parties unless the court finds both of the following:
   (A) There is no reasonable possibility that the interests of
nonparties or the public will be adversely affected by the reversal.
   (B) The reasons of the parties for requesting reversal outweigh
the erosion of public trust that may result from the nullification of
a judgment and the risk that the availability of stipulated reversal
will reduce the incentive for pretrial settlement.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 1211 or any other law, if an order of
contempt is made affecting an attorney, his or her agent,
investigator, or any person acting under the attorney's direction, in
the preparation and conduct of any action or proceeding, the
execution of any sentence shall be stayed pending the filing within
three judicial days of a petition for extraordinary relief testing
the lawfulness of the court's order, the violation of which is the
basis of the contempt except for the conduct as may be proscribed by
subdivision (b) of Section 6068 of the Business and Professions Code,
relating to an attorney's duty to maintain respect due to the courts
and judicial officers.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 1211 or any other law, if an order of
contempt is made affecting a public safety employee acting within the
scope of employment for reason of the employee's failure to comply
with a duly issued subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, the execution of
any sentence shall be stayed pending the filing within three
judicial days of a petition for extraordinary relief testing the
lawfulness of the court's order, a violation of which is the basis
for the contempt.
   As used in this subdivision, "public safety employee" includes any
peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, or any other employee of a
public law enforcement agency whose duty is either to maintain
official records or to analyze or present evidence for investigative
or prosecutorial purposes.
   (d) Notwithstanding Section 1211 or any other law, if an order of
contempt is made affecting the victim of a sexual assault, where the
contempt consists of refusing to testify concerning that sexual
assault, the execution of any sentence shall be stayed pending the
filing within three judicial days of a petition for extraordinary
relief testing the lawfulness of the court's order, a violation of
which is the basis for the contempt.
   As used in this subdivision, "sexual assault" means any act made
punishable by Section 261, 262, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of
the Penal Code.
   (e) Notwithstanding Section 1211 or any other law, if an order of
contempt is made affecting the victim of domestic violence, where the
contempt consists of refusing to testify concerning that domestic
violence, the execution of any sentence shall be stayed pending the
filing within three judicial days of a petition for extraordinary
relief testing the lawfulness of the court's order, a violation of
which is the basis for the contempt.
   As used in this subdivision, the term "domestic violence" means
"domestic violence" as defined in Section 6211 of the Family Code.
   (f) Notwithstanding Section 1211 or any other provision of law, no
order of contempt shall be made affecting a county government or any
member of its governing body acting pursuant to its constitutional
or statutory authority unless the court finds, based on a review of
evidence presented at a hearing conducted for this purpose, that
either of the following conditions exist:
   (1) That the county has the resources necessary to comply with the
order of the court.
   (2) That the county has the authority, without recourse to voter
approval or without incurring additional indebtedness, to generate
the additional resources necessary to comply with the order of the
court, that compliance with the order of the court will not expose
the county, any member of its governing body, or any other county
officer to liability for failure to perform other constitutional or
statutory duties, and that compliance with the order of the court
will not deprive the county of resources necessary for its reasonable
support and maintenance.



128.5.  (a) Every trial court may order a party, the party's
attorney, or both to pay any reasonable expenses, including attorney'
s fees, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or
tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary
delay. This section also applies to judicial arbitration proceedings
under Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1141.10) of Title 3 of
Part 3.
   (b) For purposes of this section:
   (1) "Actions or tactics" include, but are not limited to, the
making or opposing of motions or the filing and service of a
complaint or cross-complaint only if the actions or tactics arise
from a complaint filed, or a proceeding initiated, on or before
December 31, 1994. The mere filing of a complaint without service
thereof on an opposing party does not constitute "actions or tactics"
for purposes of this section.
   (2) "Frivolous" means (A) totally and completely without merit or
(B) for the sole purpose of harassing an opposing party.
   (c) Expenses pursuant to this section shall not be imposed except
on notice contained in a party's moving or responding papers; or the
court's own motion, after notice and opportunity to be heard. An
order imposing expenses shall be in writing and shall recite in
detail the conduct or circumstances justifying the order.
   (d) In addition to any award pursuant to this section for conduct
described in subdivision (a), the court may assess punitive damages
against the plaintiff upon a determination by the court that the
plaintiff's action was an action maintained by a person convicted of
a felony against the person's victim, or the victim's heirs,
relatives, estate, or personal representative, for injuries arising
from the acts for which the person was convicted of a felony, and
that the plaintiff is guilty of fraud, oppression, or malice in
maintaining the action.
   (e) The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any
other liability imposed by law for acts or omissions within the
purview of this section.



128.7.  (a) Every pleading, petition, written notice of motion, or
other similar paper shall be signed by at least one attorney of
record in the attorney's individual name, or, if the party is not
represented by an attorney, shall be signed by the party. Each paper
shall state the signer's address and telephone number, if any. Except
when otherwise provided by law, pleadings need not be verified or
accompanied by affidavit. An unsigned paper shall be stricken unless
omission of the signature is corrected promptly after being called to
the attention of the attorney or party.
   (b) By presenting to the court, whether by signing, filing,
submitting, or later advocating, a pleading, petition, written notice
of motion, or other similar paper, an attorney or unrepresented
party is certifying that to the best of the person's knowledge,
information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the
circumstances, all of the following conditions are met:
   (1) It is not being presented primarily for an improper purpose,
such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase
in the cost of litigation.
   (2) The claims, defenses, and other legal contentions therein are
warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the
extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the
establishment of new law.
   (3) The allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary
support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have
evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further
investigation or discovery.
   (4) The denials of factual contentions are warranted on the
evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on a
lack of information or belief.
   (c) If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the
court determines that subdivision (b) has been violated, the court
may, subject to the conditions stated below, impose an appropriate
sanction upon the attorneys, law firms, or parties that have violated
subdivision (b) or are responsible for the violation. In determining
what sanctions, if any, should be ordered, the court shall consider
whether a party seeking sanctions has exercised due diligence.
   (1) A motion for sanctions under this section shall be made
separately from other motions or requests and shall describe the
specific conduct alleged to violate subdivision (b). Notice of motion
shall be served as provided in Section 1010, but shall not be filed
with or presented to the court unless, within 21 days after service
of the motion, or any other period as the court may prescribe, the
challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, allegation, or denial
is not withdrawn or appropriately corrected. If warranted, the court
may award to the party prevailing on the motion the reasonable
expenses and attorney's fees incurred in presenting or opposing the
motion. Absent exceptional circumstances, a law firm shall be held
jointly responsible for violations committed by its partners,
associates, and employees.
   (2) On its own motion, the court may enter an order describing the
specific conduct that appears to violate subdivision (b) and
directing an attorney, law firm, or party to show cause why it has
not violated subdivision (b), unless, within 21 days of service of
the order to show cause, the challenged paper, claim, defense,
contention, allegation, or denial is withdrawn or appropriately
corrected.
   (d) A sanction imposed for violation of subdivision (b) shall be
limited to what is sufficient to deter repetition of this conduct or
comparable conduct by others similarly situated. Subject to the
limitations in paragraphs (1) and (2), the sanction may consist of,
or include, directives of a nonmonetary nature, an order to pay a
penalty into court, or, if imposed on motion and warranted for
effective deterrence, an order directing payment to the movant of
some or all of the reasonable attorney's fees and other expenses
incurred as a direct result of the violation.
   (1) Monetary sanctions may not be awarded against a represented
party for a violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
   (2) Monetary sanctions may not be awarded on the court's motion
unless the court issues its order to show cause before a voluntary
dismissal or settlement of the claims made by or against the party
that is, or whose attorneys are, to be sanctioned.
   (e) When imposing sanctions, the court shall describe the conduct
determined to constitute a violation of this section and explain the
basis for the sanction imposed.
   (f) In addition to any award pursuant to this section for conduct
described in subdivision (b), the court may assess punitive damages
against the plaintiff upon a determination by the court that the
plaintiff's action was an action maintained by a person convicted of
a felony against the person's victim, or the victim's heirs,
relatives, estate, or personal representative, for injuries arising
from the acts for which the person was convicted of a felony, and
that the plaintiff is guilty of fraud, oppression, or malice in
maintaining the action.
   (g) This section shall not apply to disclosures and discovery
requests, responses, objections, and motions.
   (h) A motion for sanctions brought by a party or a party's
attorney primarily for an improper purpose, such as to harass or to
cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of
litigation, shall itself be subject to a motion for sanctions. It is
the intent of the Legislature that courts shall vigorously use its
sanctions authority to deter that improper conduct or comparable
conduct by others similarly situated.
   (i) This section shall apply to a complaint or petition filed on
or after January 1, 1995, and any other pleading, written notice of
motion, or other similar paper filed in that matter.




129.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no copy,
reproduction, or facsimile of any kind shall be made of any
photograph, negative, or print, including instant photographs and
video recordings, of the body, or any portion of the body, of a
deceased person, taken by or for the coroner at the scene of death or
in the course of a post mortem examination or autopsy made by or
caused to be made by the coroner, except for use in a criminal action
or proceeding in this state that relates to the death of that
person, or except as a court of this state permits, by order after
good cause has been shown and after written notification of the
request for the court order has been served, at least five days
before the order is made, upon the district attorney of the county in
which the post mortem examination or autopsy has been made or caused
to be made.
   This section shall not apply to the making of such a copy,
reproduction, or facsimile for use in the field of forensic
pathology, for use in medical or scientific education or research, or
for use by any law enforcement agency in this or any other state or
the United States.
   This section shall apply to any such copy, reproduction, or
facsimile, and to any such photograph, negative, or print, heretofore
or hereafter made.



130.  (a)  Subject to the provisions of this section, when a child
who is under 18 years of age is killed as a result of a criminal act
and a person has been convicted and sentenced for the commission of
that criminal act, or a person has been found to have committed that
offense by the juvenile court and adjudged a ward of the juvenile
court, upon the request of a qualifying family member of the deceased
child, the autopsy report and evidence associated with the
examination of the victim in the possession of a public agency, as
defined in Section 6252 of the Government Code, shall be sealed and
not disclosed, except that an autopsy report and evidence associated
with the examination of the victim which has been sealed pursuant to
this section may be disclosed, as follows:
   (1) To law enforcement, prosecutorial agencies and experts hired
by those agencies, public social service agencies, child death review
teams, or the hospital that treated the child immediately prior to
death, to be used solely for investigative, prosecutorial, or review
purposes, and may not be disseminated further.
   (2) To the defendant and the defense team in the course of
criminal proceedings or related habeas proceedings, to be used solely
for investigative, criminal defense, and review purposes, including
review for the purpose of initiating any criminal proceeding or
related habeas proceeding, and may not be disseminated further. The
"defense team" includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
attorneys, investigators, experts, paralegals, support staff,
interns, students, and state and privately funded legal assistance
projects hired or consulted for the purposes of investigation,
defense, appeal, or writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the person
accused of killing the deceased child victim.
   (3) To civil litigants in a cause of action related to the victim'
s death with a court order upon a showing of good cause and proper
notice under Section 129, to be used solely to pursue the cause of
action, and may not be disseminated further.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of autopsy
reports and evidence in relation to court proceedings.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall abrogate the rights of victims,
their authorized representatives, or insurance carriers to request
the release of information pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
6254 of the Government Code. However, if a seal has been requested,
an insurance carrier receiving items pursuant to a request under that
subdivision is prohibited from disclosing the requested items except
as necessary in the normal course of business. An insurance carrier
shall not, under any circumstances, disclose to the general public
items received pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 6254 of the
Government Code.
   (d) This section may not be invoked by a qualifying family member
who has been charged with or convicted of any act in furtherance of
the victim's death. Upon the filing of those charges against a
qualifying family member, any seal maintained at the request of that
qualifying family member under this section shall be removed.
   (e) A coroner or medical examiner shall not be liable for damages
in a civil action for any reasonable act or omission taken in good
faith in compliance with this section.
   (f) If sealing of the autopsy report has been requested by a
qualifying family member and another qualifying family member opposes
sealing, the opposing party may request a hearing in the superior
court in the county with jurisdiction over the crime leading to the
child's death for a determination of whether the sealing should be
maintained. The opposing party shall notify all other qualifying
family members, the medical examiner's office that conducted the
autopsy, and the district attorney's office with jurisdiction over
the crime at least 10 court days in advance of the hearing. At the
hearing, the court shall consider the interests of all qualifying
family members, the protection of the memory of the deceased child,
any evidence that the qualifying family member requesting the seal
was involved in the crime that resulted in the death of the child,
the public interest in scrutiny of the autopsy report or the
performance of the medical examiner, any impact that unsealing would
have on pending investigations or pending litigation, and any other
relevant factors. Official information in the possession of a public
agency necessary to the determination of the hearing shall be
received in camera upon a proper showing. In its discretion, the
court may, to the extent allowable by law and with good cause shown,
restrict the dissemination of an autopsy report or evidence
associated with the examination of a victim. This section shall not
apply if a public agency has independently determined that the
autopsy report may not be disclosed pursuant to subdivision (f) of
Section 6254 of the Government Code because it is an investigative
file. In that instance, nothing in this section shall preclude the
application of Sections 6258 and 6259 of the Government Code.
   (g) If a seal has been maintained pursuant to this section, a
qualifying family member, or a biological or adoptive aunt, uncle,
sibling, first cousin, child, or grandparent of the deceased child
may request that the seal be removed. The request to remove the seal
shall be adjudicated pursuant to subdivision (f), with the party
requesting the removal of the seal being the opposing party.
   (h) Nothing in this section shall limit the public access to
information contained in the death certificate including: name, age,
gender, race, date, time and location of death, the name of a
physician reporting a death in a hospital, the name of the certifying
pathologist, date of certification, burial information, and cause of
death.
   (i) When a medical examiner declines a request to provide a copy
of an autopsy report that has been sealed pursuant to this section,
the examiner shall cite this section as the reason for declining to
provide a copy of the report.
   (j) For purposes of this section:
   (1) A "child who is under 18 years of age" does not include any
child who comes within either of the following descriptions:
   (A) He or she was a dependent child of the juvenile court pursuant
to Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code at the time of
his or her death, or, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10850.4
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, abuse or neglect is determined
to have led to his or her death.
   (B) He or she was residing in a state or county juvenile facility,
or a private facility under contract with the state or county for
the placement of juveniles, as a ward of the juvenile court pursuant
to Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code at the time of
his or her death.
   (2) "Evidence associated with the examination of a victim" means
any object, writing, diagram, recording, computer file, photograph,
video, DVD, CD, film, digital device, or other item that was
collected during, or serves to document, the autopsy of a deceased
child.
   (3) "Qualifying family member" means the biological or adoptive
parent, spouse, or legal guardian.
   (k) Nothing in this section shall limit the discovery provisions
set forth in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1054) of Title 6 of
the Penal Code.
   (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
authority of the court to seal records or restrict the dissemination
of an autopsy report or evidence associated with the examination of a
victim under case law, other statutory law, or the rules of court.
   (m) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.