Conference of Delegates

What it would do. Amend Family Code sections 6340 and 6345 so a court can permit alternative service, by publication, first-class mail, or electronic means, when the restrained party is evading service or cannot be located. It would cover both new orders and renewals.

Why we are reading it. Alternative service is already available for civil harassment and elder abuse orders. The Domestic Violence Prevention Act was left out. This closes that gap.

What it would do. Amend Welfare and Institutions Code section 362.4 to require dependency courts to consider a parent's recent history of domestic violence when they terminate jurisdiction and issue custody orders, apply a rebuttable presumption against custody to a parent found to have perpetrated abuse, and require visitation orders specific as to time, day, place, and manner of exchange.

Why we are reading it. The Family Code section 3044 presumption does not reach dependency court, so a survivor can leave dependency with a joint custody order that a family court would not have entered.

What it would do. Add Government Code section 69957.5 to let a court use electronic recording in civil proceedings when a litigant has asked for a verbatim record, cannot afford a private reporter, and no official reporter is available. Courts would have to keep recruiting reporters and report their hiring numbers to the Judicial Council. The section would sunset January 1, 2028.

Why we are reading it. The same question is before the California Supreme Court in Family Violence Appellate Project v. Superior Court (S288176). Litigants who go without a record are disproportionately self-represented, low income, and in family court.

What it would do. Amend Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7 so the presumption that striking a juror for not being a native English speaker is improper would not apply where the lack of fluency would keep the juror from participating fully in deliberations.

Why we are reading it. Section 231.7 is California's anti-bias jury selection statute, and gender and gender identity sit on its protected list alongside national origin. Any narrowing of it deserves a close read.

What it would do. Add Labor Code section 1414 requiring an employee to give the employer written notice and fifteen days to respond before resigning, as a precondition to a constructive discharge claim. Notice would not be required where the employer's conduct was outrageous, which the resolution defines to include sexual assault, threats of violence, or a continuous pattern of unlawful discrimination or harassment.

Why we are reading it. It adds a step for workers who leave hostile workplaces. How wide the outrageous-conduct exception runs is the whole question.

What it would do. Amend Penal Code section 190.5 so neither the death penalty nor life without the possibility of parole could be imposed on a person under 26 at the time of the offense.

Why we are reading it. The proponent is the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, a sister bar. The same proposal failed at the 2025 Conference by a single vote.

What it would do. Repeal and amend a long list of Penal Code sections to decriminalize consensual adult sex work, while keeping the felony provisions for pandering involving minors and for procurement by force or fraud, and add Health and Safety Code section 429.13 obliging operators to provide health information and not discourage prophylactics.

Why we are reading it. It reaches trafficking, survivor safety, and public health at once, and it is likely to be among the most debated items on the floor.

What it would do. Amend Penal Code sections 1054.7 and 1054.10 so a court can find good cause to keep child sexual abuse material under seal while making it reasonably available to the defense for inspection, and replace the term "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material" throughout.

Why we are reading it. It follows the federal Adam Walsh Act approach and the terminology recommended by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.