Read on for important information about new legislation, changes to CDCR’s inmate locator, upcoming training opportunities, and recent panel victories.
New Legislation: Website and Webinar
Now that the year’s legislative session is over, we’ve updated the table on our Pending Issues and Legislation page with summaries of the bills we’ve been tracking that have been enacted. An easy way to view the enacted bills is to sort the table by “Status,” with enacted bills at the top.
For more information on the various new laws, FDAP is hosting a New Legislation Webinar on December 6th at 12 p.m. Registration details are available in the training section below and on our Upcoming Events page.
Changes To CDCR Inmate Locator
Starting Monday November 6th, 2023, the CDCR’s Inmate Locator feature will be replaced with the redesigned California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS). Inmate Locator visitors will be automatically redirected to the new site to lookup individuals in CDCR custody. Links throughout the CDCR website will be changed from “Locate Inmate” to “Search Population.”
Training Opportunities
Habeas Corpus Resource Center, Fall Conference 2023
The RJA for All: Developing & Litigating (a)(1) and (a)(2) Claims
November 1-2, 2023
HCRC’s virtual fall conference will include sessions on Using Social Media to Investigate and Support (a)(1) Claims (Nov. 1, 2023, 9:15 – 10:45 a.m.); Proving Violations of (a)(1) and (a)(2) Affected the Outcome of Trial (Nov. 1, 2023, 11- 12:30 p.m.); and Social Injustice and Mental Health (Nov. 2, 2023, 1 – 2:30 p.m.) Registration information available here.
Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF)
Appellate Law Section Roundtable Discussion with Justice Chou
November 16, 2023, 12 to 1 p.m.
Join BASF’s Appellate Law Section for an informal roundtable with Justice Danny Y. Chou. Justice Chou was appointed to the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five in February 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom, and confirmed in July 2023. Michael von Loewenfeldt, Appellate Section Chair will be moderating an open-ended discussion with Justice Chou and the audience. The event will be held via Zoom. No MCLE credit will be provided. Registration information is available here.
The RJA on Appeal Part II: Implicit Bias and Language-Based Claims
November 30, 2023, 12 to 1:30 p.m. (Note new date/time)
Arizona State University Clinical Professor of Law Mary Bowman will be joining us to provide information on implicit bias, and to discuss the use of racially coded language and its impact in our system of justice. Following Professor Bowman’s presentation, SDAP Staff Attorney Anna L. Stuart will take us through some examples from case law and recent superior court litigation to suggest ways in which language-based claims might be raised on appeal under the RJA. This webinar qualifies for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit, of which 1.5 hours qualifies for elimination of bias credit. Register here.
New Legislation Webinar
December 6, 2023, 12 p.m.
As 2023 draws to a close, a host of new legislation relevant to our work and the people we serve will be enacted into law. Please join FDAP Staff Attorneys Deborah Rodriguez and Nat Miller for an overview of new criminal, juvenile delinquency, and civil commitment laws. This webinar is eligible for MCLE credit, including appellate and criminal specialization credit. The length of the webinar is yet to be determined, depending on the number and complexity of new laws enacted this year. Register here.
Panel Victories
Below are a few noteworthy First District victories from this past month. These victories and many more can be found on the Panel Victories page of FDAP’s Website.
A163114 – [Unpublished Opinion | Panel Attorneys Geoff Jones & Robert Bryzman] The Court of Appeal holds that appellant received ineffective assistance of counsel in pleading no contest to a felony count of meeting with a minor for lewd purposes (PC 288.4(b)), based on an adult decoy posing online as an underage girl, because it is reasonably probable that had appellant gone to trial and asserted the defense of entrapment at least one juror would have voted to acquit him.
A167485 – [Unpublished Opinion | Panel Attorney Gerald Miller] The Court of Appeal reversed the order renewing appellant’s LPS conservatorship, finding that the record does not demonstrate appellant was ever advised of or personally waived his right to a jury trial.
A166310 – [Unpublished Opinion | Panel Attorney Linda Harvie] In light of recent amendments to WIC 707 (AB 2361), the Court of Appeal held that the minor was entitled to a new juvenile transfer hearing. At the time of the minor’s initial hearing, the juvenile court applied the former preponderance of the evidence standard (as opposed to the now required clear and convincing evidence standard), and directed its analysis to whether “transfer[ ] is appropriate,” not whether the minor was “amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court,” as is required under amended WIC 707. Relying on In re F.M. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 701, the Court further found that remand was necessary because applying Watson’s harmless error analysis would be inappropriate, as it would require the Court to speculate as to how the juvenile court might apply the new legal standards.