Supreme Court week opens
Monday orders and opinions traditionally post after 10:00 a.m.; monitor supreme.courts.ca.gov for the civil and criminal channels.
Supreme Court of California · Thursday slip list · Sunday Edition
Three
Bindings
On April 30, 2026, the Judicial Branch posted a trio of published Supreme Court opinions in one calendar drop — a rhythm criminal and civil practitioners watch because published slips enter the statewide citation channel the moment they hit the index.
3
published opinions · same filing date
Judicial Branch of California — Published / citable opinions index
No. S287814 · filed April 30, 2026
People v. Lopez
Supreme Court of California
Case No. S287814
Published opinion
The high court’s April 30 column included this criminal matter among the week’s statewide precedential releases; defense and prosecution research teams typically pull the PDF the same morning for charging, trial, and post-conviction updates.
People v. Lopez, No. S287814 (Cal. Apr. 30, 2026) — Judicial Branch slip opinionOriginal jurisdiction · S277910
In re Kowalczyk
Habeas and original-review captions on the Supreme Court docket signal collateral channels that intersect with trial-court records preservation, discovery disputes, and long-running post-conviction litigation.
The April 30, 2026 filing date groups this matter with the week’s other published Supreme Court work; practitioners treat the Judicial Branch metadata line as the authoritative filing stamp for citation practice.
In re Kowalczyk, No. S277910 (Cal. Apr. 30, 2026) — Judicial Branch slip opinionCapital docket channel · S112146
People v. Stayner
Automatic capital appeals and related Supreme Court dispositions remain a distinct procedural lane from ordinary felony briefing; April 30 added this published opinion to the capital column researchers monitor each filing day.
Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One · April 28, 2026
Detrick v. Shimada
Los Angeles’s First Division published B344461 as part of the week’s civil docket from the state’s largest intermediate appellate district.
DocketB344461
DistrictCA2/1
FiledApr. 28
StatusPublished
Fourth District, Division One · published April 28, 2026
AVL Test Systems v. Hensel Phelps Construction
Civil trial posture
San Diego Division One continues a heavy flow of contract, construction, and commercial disputes that feed statewide treatises on remedies and procedure.
Appellate function
Published opinions from Division One enter the citable body of law searchable through the Judicial Branch slip-opinion index once marked published.
Insurance · Fourth District, Division One
People v. The North River Insurance Company
D085358 adds to the week’s published column from the same division that handles a large share of Southern California coverage and bad-faith adjacent litigation.
Practice note (illustrative)
Unpublished opinions may not be cited. Here, the Judicial Branch lists D085358 as published April 28, 2026 — confer the slip PDF for holdings.
Employment / health care · Second District, Division One
Chang v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group
Slip list
Judicial Branch index entry ties this published opinion to the Second District’s Division One channel (B340770).
Research use
Employment and medical-group counsel fold new Kaiser-adjacent authority into workplace compliance memos alongside FEHA and PAGA developments elsewhere in the courts.
Multistate enforcement · effective May 1, 2026
Purdue and Sackler Opioid Settlement Becomes Legally Effective
Attorney General Bonta announced that a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family is now in effect, with California expected to receive more than $440 million over the payment schedule the release describes.
$0M+
California allocation (expected) — figure from the Department of Justice May 1, 2026 press statement.
Antitrust · broadcast merger challenge · April 30, 2026
Five More States Join California-Led Nexstar–Tegna Suit
The Attorney General filed an amended complaint adding Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to a bipartisan coalition challenging the Nexstar–Tegna transaction; the release notes a preliminary injunction pausing the merger and a Ninth Circuit schedule calling for Nexstar’s opening brief on May 20, 2026.
People of the State of California v. Nexstar Media Group, Inc., et al.
ComplaintPreliminary injunctionAmended complaintAppellate briefing
Climate investments · affordable housing · May 1, 2026
Cap-and-Invest Dollars Open East Hollywood Units and Advance San Francisco Project
The Governor’s office announced more than 180 affordable homes opening in the Los Angeles area — including Santa Monica and Vermont Apartments in East Hollywood, with on-site services for formerly unhoused residents — and highlighted final financing steps for 85 affordable units at the 160 Freelon development in San Francisco.
Southern California
Santa Monica / East Hollywood openings framed as paired housing and transit improvements under California Climate Investments.
Bay Area
160 Freelon in SoMa — AHSC-supported, all-electric, with bike and bus improvements tied to the award.
Welfare & Institutions Code · CARE Act · amended in Senate April 28, 2026
Senate Bill 1016 — CARE Court and Court-Ordered Evaluations
Legislative counsel digest text on file with the Senate describes SB 1016 as expanding pathways for petitioners to seek LPS-style mental health evaluations when respondents may be unable to participate voluntarily in CARE Court — a proposal that has drawn committee testimony from families and disability-rights advocates.
MeasureSB 1016 (2025–2026)
VersionAmended in Senate Apr. 28, 2026
SubjectCARE process; LPS evaluations; Judicial Council forms
California Privacy Protection Agency · hybrid board meeting
CPPA Board Convenes April 30–May 1, 2026
The agency’s public meetings calendar lists a hybrid board session spanning the April 30–May 1 window with a published agenda PDF — the regulatory venue where CPRA rule packages, enforcement calendars, and cross-cutting privacy programs are agendized for board action.
BodyCPPA Board of Directors
FormatHybrid (notice on file)
MaterialsMeeting notice PDF dated 2026 session
The Week Ahead · May 4 – May 10, 2026
On the California Legal Calendar
Senate and Assembly floor periods
Spring session continues; verify committee referrals for behavioral-health and housing bills on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
Supreme Court oral argument — session I
The court calendars arguments for May 6–7, 2026; the docket includes matters such as Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association v. County of Los Angeles (S286264) per the court’s oral-argument listings.
Supreme Court of California — May 6 & 7, 2026 oral argument casesSupreme Court oral argument — session II
Second day of the May 6–7 calendar; appellate specialists sync transcripts and tentative calendars for post-argument briefing in related matters.
Appellate mid-week opinions
Districts often cluster published slips on Tuesdays and Thursdays; check the published opinions index for new filings.
Ninth Circuit — Nexstar opening brief
The Attorney General’s April 30 Nexstar release states Nexstar’s opening brief on the preliminary-injunction appeal is due May 20, 2026.