Sunday Edition · Access to justice · Week of August 10 – August 16, 2026
On August 10, the California Supreme Court unanimously held in Family Violence Appellate Project v. Superior Court that trial courts must provide electronic recording of proceedings when a certified court reporter is unavailable and a civil litigant cannot afford a private stenographer — rejecting a two-tiered system that left more than three million hearings without an official record since 2023.
Unanimous · S288176 · published August 10, 2026
'No Discretion': California Supreme Court Orders Electronic Case Recording for Indigent Litigants — The Recorder, August 10, 2026From the opinion
Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero — Family Violence Appellate Project v. Superior Court, August 10, 2026 California Supreme Court Rules for Recording in Hearings — CalMatters, August 2026A verbatim record created by electronic recording is better than no record at all.
Court administration · access gap
0
proceedings without an official verbatim record since 2023
Hiring a private stenographer costs roughly $3,000 per day. More than two-thirds of family law and probate cases from 2023 through 2026 proceeded without a reporter. Chief Justice Guerrero held that Government Code section 69957's ban on electronic recording cannot be applied to deny indigent litigants meaningful access to an official record — and courts have no discretion to refuse.
State Supreme Court Orders Recordings of Hearings Lacking Stenographer — San Francisco Chronicle, August 2026Supreme Court of California · Criminal procedure · immigration
filed August 13, 2026 · Justice Joshua Groban · 6–1 · reverses Court of Appeal
Three days after the recording mandate, the court held that initialing a standard immigration advisement form does not prove a noncitizen defendant "meaningfully understood" deportation consequences under Penal Code section 1473.7. Angela Hernandez, a lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty to drug charges in Kern County in 2013, initialed the alien-status warning, and later obtained probation permission to travel to Mexico — only to be barred from reentry.
"Her decisions to seek and obtain permission from the probation department to leave the United States, to travel to Mexico, and to attempt to lawfully reenter through a port of entry support an inference that she did not meaningfully understand the immigration consequences of her conviction," Justice Groban wrote for the majority. The court directed vacatur and remand. Justice Carol Corrigan concurred and dissented in part, urging a fuller presentation on remand.
CA Court Dismisses Plea of Woman Who Didn't Know Immigration Risk — CalMatters, August 2026Trial and appellate courts rejected Hernandez's section 1473.7 motion, treating her initialed advisement and interpreter certification as dispositive proof she understood deportation risk.
Totality
of circumstances
Courts must examine subjective understanding — including subsequent conduct — not merely whether boxes were checked. SB 281's January 2026 verbatim advisement requirement applies prospectively; Hernandez clarifies the standard for past pleas.
California Rules Guilty Plea Forms Don't Prove Noncitizens Grasped Deportation Risk — TechTimes, August 15, 2026Legislature · follow-up since last edition
Last week's edition previewed August 13 as the kill-or-survive event. On Thursday, both Appropriations committees convened their final suspense-file hearings: the Assembly heard 293 Senate bills in a single afternoon; the Senate processed Assembly bills from its own suspense file. Bills held in committee are effectively dead for the 2025–26 session absent extraordinary procedure.
Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal's bipartisan measure prohibits covered platforms from providing addictive features to users under 16 and requires reasonable age-assurance measures. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the bill 4–0 on August 13, creating an e-Safety Advisory Commission to advise the Attorney General on enforcement. Companion bill AB 2, allowing civil lawsuits for platform harm to minors, also advanced.
Antitrust · COMPETE Act · suspense amendment
Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry's COMPETE Act would modernize the Cartwright Act to reach single-firm conduct. On August 13, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the bill but removed the private right of action — limiting enforcement to the Attorney General, county counsel, and other public prosecutors after business groups warned of a litigation wave.
Technology regulation · AI · children's safety
Senator Steve Padilla's SB 867 received a do-pass-as-amended vote from Assembly Appropriations on August 13, clarifying the definition of "toy" for purposes of prohibiting AI companion chatbots in children's products. The bill passed the Senate 39–0 in June; it now heads to the Assembly floor alongside dozens of other AI measures that survived or died on Suspense Day.
Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations — August 13, 2026 — Digital DemocracyPAGA · Labor Code § 2699(e)(2)
$516,965
penalties awarded vs. theoretical maximum
In Taduran v. James R. Glidewell, Dental Ceramics, Inc., filed August 11, the Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court's award of $516,965 for four Labor Code violations — holding that section 2699(e)(2) prescribes no formula for reducing the maximum civil penalty and trial courts may use any reasonable method, whether per pay period, per employee, or by percentage.
PAGA Penalties Don't Have to Break the Bank — Sheppard Mullin, August 11, 2026First District · Corporations Code · under the radar
A173959 · filed July 31, 2026 · Justice Richman · reverses stay
A unanimous First District panel held that Delaware forum-selection clauses cannot be enforced to stay California books-and-records proceedings under Corporations Code sections 1600 and 1601 when a Delaware corporation's principal operations are in California. Enforcement would be barred as against California public policy — preserving the state's broader shareholder-inspection regime.
California Court of Appeal Holds Delaware Corporation Subject to California Inspection Demands — Mondaq, August 12, 2026Employment law · FEHA · EFAA exemption
In Decloedt v. Radnet Management, Inc., the Second District Division One affirmed denial of arbitration, holding that harassment based on sexual orientation is harassment "because of sex" under FEHA — invoking the U.S. Supreme Court's Bostock v. Clayton County reasoning to trigger the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act's exemption.
California Court Holds Sexual Orientation Harassment Claims Exempt From Arbitration Under EFAA — Mondaq, August 12, 2026Legislative tracker · court reporters
Assemblymember Diane Papan's union-sponsored recording bill returned briefly this summer but was pulled before a Senate vote after the Judicial Council complained of overly burdensome restrictions. The Supreme Court's August 10 mandate now supersedes that legislative stalemate statewide.
The Week Ahead · August 17 – August 23, 2026
The floor-only period begins, bills race toward August 31 sine die, and the Supreme Court's summer opinion cycle continues.
No committee hearings except conference and rules committees. AB 1709, AB 1776, and SB 867 head to floor votes.
Legislative Deadlines — California State SenateMonday publication cycle — remaining summer grants may issue before the court's schedule shifts.
Published/Citable Opinions — Judicial Branch of CaliforniaThursday publication cycle — second weekly release of the month.
Published/Citable Opinions — Judicial Branch of CaliforniaBills that have not cleared their second house by this date generally cannot advance this session.
California Legislative Deadlines — GovBuddyFinal day for the Legislature to pass bills before adjournment. Surviving measures go to Governor Newsom, who has until September 30 to act.
Five End-of-Session Deals California Lawmakers Are Tackling — CalMatters, August 2026Statewide ballot measures and local initiatives — including transportation measures placed by urgency bills signed earlier this session.
California Elections — Secretary of State