Supreme Court of California Decisions 2023

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case of The People v. Fernando Rojas, the Supreme Court of California addressed the issue of whether the application of Assembly Bill 333 to the gang-murder special circumstance in section 190.2(a)(22) of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case, a defendant, Mario Rodriguez, was charged with several felonies, each carrying a maximum sentence exceeding two years. In 2018, Rodriguez was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and committed to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: A person identified as O.R. appealed the decision of the Los Angeles County Superior Court to place his child, N.R., under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the trial court denying Petitioner's petition for relief and resentencing under the new procedure set forth in Senate Bill No.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held, in response to a request by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that Cal. Publ. Util. Code 1759 bars a lawsuit that seeks damages resulting from public safety power shutoffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal declining to remand this case for resentencing in light of a new law that was enacted after Defendant had been sentenced but while his appeal was still…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal reversing the judgment of the trial court determining that because of racially polarized voting, the at-large method of election had impaired Latino voters'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that persons facing involuntary commitment under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVP Act), Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 6600 et seq., have a due process right to a timely trial but that whether…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal reversing the trial court's judgment concluding that the at-large method of electing city council members in the City of Santa Monica diluted Latino voters'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal that a Department of Insurance regulation prohibiting bail bond agents from entering into agreements with jail inmates to be notified when individuals have…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that an employer's business entity agents can be held directly liable under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov. Code 12900 et seq., for employment discrimination in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeal affirming Defendant's convictions for, among other crimes, first degree murder and two counts of attempted, premeditated murder…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeal affirming Defendant's conviction of first-degree murder, holding that when the record contains substantial evidence of imperfect self defense, the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal concluding that because certain statements fell within an exception to the hearsay requirement they automatically qualified for admission into evidence,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal finding that Cal. Corp. Code 5142, 5233, and 5223 impose a continuous directorship requirement that would require dismissal of a lawsuit brought under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this challenge to "Measure Z," a Monterey County ordinance, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeal affirming the judgment of the trial court in favor of Plaintiffs on preemption grounds,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, in disciplinary proceedings, private universities are not required to provide accused students the opportunity to directly or indirectly cross-examine the accuser and other witnesses at a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal finding evidence of Plaintiff's subsequent molestation was admissible into evidence in a trial claiming emotional distress damages from the conduct of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that under California's Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act, Cal. Veh. Code 34600 et seq., a commercial automobile insurance policy does not continue in full force and effect until the insurer…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeal affirming the conclusion of the State Department of Health Care Services that the costs of outreach and education activities aimed at Medicaid-eligible…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeal concluding that the actions of Defendants Lonnie Mitchell and Louis Mitchell were sufficient to demonstrate that each proximately caused the victim's death,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming the judgment of the court of appeal granting summary judgment for the defense in this lawsuit brought by the California Medical Association (CMA), …

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that an aggrieved employee who has been compelled to arbitrate claims under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), Cal. Lab. Code 2698 et seq., that are "premised on Labor Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that because Plaintiff's state-law claims were based on allegations that his father's health maintenance organization (HMO) plan and healthcare services administrator that managed his father's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that a claim for reimbursement of emergency medical services may be maintained against a health care service plan when the plan is operated by a public entity and that the Government Claims Act,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the exclusivity provisions of the California Workers' Compensation Act (WCA), Cal. Lab. Code 3200 et seq., do not bar an employee's spouse's negligence claim against the employer when the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal with instructions to remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings on Defendant's petition for resentencing, holding that the trial court erred…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the court of appeal to determine in the first instance whether Sarah Plott Key was entitled to equitable relief from the 100-day deadline prescribed by Cal. Code Civ. P. 1288.2,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed as modified the judgment of the appellate court reducing the length of Defendant's probation from three years to two, holding that Assembly Bill No. 1950 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) applies…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming the trial court's judgment in favor of the County of Riverside in this action asserting negligent distress, holding that a provision of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of the court of appeal reversing Defendant's conviction of rape and kidnapping to commit rape, holding that the court of appeals incorrectly found prejudicial instructional error. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence of death, following resentencing, in connection with his convictions of first degree murder, two counts of forcible rape, and enhancements for personal use of a firearm,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals upholding the trial court's denial of Defendant's request for a pretrial diversion made for the first time after the jury returned its verdict, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal determining that Cal. Gov. Code 818, a provision within the Government Claims Act, shields public entities from liability for enhanced damages under Cal.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Cal. Penal Code 667.6(d), which requires that a sentencing court impose "full, separate, and consecutive" terms for certain sex crimes if it finds certain facts, complies with the Sixth…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming Defendant's gang enhancement and firearm enhancement and remanded this case to the superior court for a retrial, holding that a retrial was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that a report of unlawful activities made to an employer or agency that already knew about the violation is a protected "disclosure" within the meaning of Cal. Labor Code 1102.5(b). Employer fired…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal declining to remand this matter to the juvenile court, holding that because the trial court did not comply with the "mandatory express declaration" set forth…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal in this action alleging that Defendants entered into a lease-leaseback construction agreement in violation of various statutes and common law rules, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relying on its holding in Cameron v. State of California, 7.Cal.3d 318 (1972), the Supreme Court held that design immunity does not categorically preclude failure to warn claims that involve a discretionarily-approved…

Justia Opinion Summary: A gambling dispute incited a fistfight between gang subsets. Witnesses later testified that after they thought the fight was over, they saw Ferrell shoot a gun, then saw Rawlings, lying on the ground, bloodied. Ferrell…

Justia Opinion Summary: After determining that Father’s delusions and paranoia put A.G.(age 14) at risk of serious harm, the juvenile court assumed jurisdiction, ordered that A.G. be removed from Father’s custody, and ordered reunification…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, a jury convicted Lopez and three others of Gomez’s first-degree premeditated murder and found true the gang-murder special circumstance and the criminal street gang sentencing enhancement. Lopez was sentenced…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal denying Petitioner's petition for writ of habeas corpus, holding that the Attorney General has both a constitutional and an ethical duty to disclose evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeal affirming the trial court's judgment convicting Defendant of loitering for purposes of prostitution, holding that the court of appeal erred in ruling that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of the first-degree murder of her newborn daughter by poison, holding that the jury instructions were erroneous and that the error was prejudicial. At issue was whether…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the circuit court after the court found that Defendant inflicted "great bodily injury," holding that the sentencing court's finding of great bodily injury violated Defendant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal in this criminal case, holding that the evidence a law enforcement officer found after his illegal detention of Defendant was not admissible. The officer in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, did not change the law and strip sentencing courts or their discretion to impose concurrent terms for felonies that were committed on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming an award of attorney's fees under Cal. Gov. Code 91003(a) to a prevailing defendant, holding that a prevailing defendant under the Political Reform…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for the first degree murder of Rafael Noriega and his sentence of death, holding that there was no reversible error in the proceedings below. A jury convicted Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to vacate his conviction, holding that holding that the court of appeals erred in ruling…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for three counts of first degree murder and several other crimes, holding that the trial judge erred when he granted Defendant's request to represent himself after a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeal dismissing Father's appeal of the determination of the juvenile court that it had jurisdiction over D.P. under former Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 300(b)(1),…