New 2022 California Laws That Attorneys Should Know About
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Author | The Practitioner Editorial Team |
The Practitioner Editorial Team
With the new year comes new laws. 770 new laws to be exact! Many of these several new laws are of interest to California lawyers and are summarized below:1
S.B. 775, 2021-2022 Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2021) (Becker), ch. 551 - Effective January 1, 2022
Felony Murder: Resentencing
This legislation involves California's "felony murder" rule, and among other things, codifies the holding in People v. Lewis, 11 Cal. 5th 952, 961-970 (2021) which provided guidance on a petitioners' right to counsel and the standard for a prima facie case. Specifically, the legislation amends Penal Code section 1170.95 to clarify if requested, a counsel must be appointed upon the filing of a facially sufficient petition. Then, only after counsel is appointed and briefing may the court determine whether a prima facie case for relief has been established by petitioner. Further, (based again on People v. Lewis) the legislation addresses what evidence may be considered at a resentencing hearing by the court.
A.B. 1194, 2021-2022 Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2021) (Low), ch. 417 - Effective January 1, 2022
Conservatorship
Assembly Bill 1194 amends Probate Code section 1471 to require the court of appeal to appoint counsel for a conservatee (or proposed conservatee) before the court in an appeal or writ proceeding arising out of: 1) a proceeding to terminate the conservatorship, or 2) a proceeding to remove the conservator, or 3) a proceeding for a court order affecting the legal capacity of the conservatee, or 4) a proceeding to obtain an order authorizing removal of a temporary conservatee from the temporary conservatee's place of residence if the conservatee, or proposed conservatee.
S.B. 331, 2021-2022 Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2021) (Leyva), ch. 638 - Effective January 1, 2022
Settlement And Non-Disparagement Agreements
In claims of workplace or housing harassment or discrimination of any kind (not just those based on sex), the inclusion in settlement agreement provisions that prevent
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disclosure of certain information related to claims of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and workplace or housing-related harassment or discrimination based on sex or retaliation against a person for reporting harassment or discrimination based on sex are prohibited. Further, an employer, or former employer is prohibited from including in an employee's separation from employment agreement any provision that restricts or curtails the employee's ability to disclose information about unlawful acts in the workplace, including information regarding harassment or discrimination or any other unlawful or...
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