A Snapshot of CHANGES to criminal law in 2021

Every New Years brings about a flurry of sometimes small, sometimes substantial, changes to the way in which our criminal justice system works. Here are the notable changes taking effect in 2021: 

​The Adult System

• Capped probation terms: Perhaps the change which will have the greatest impact on the day-to-day lives of most criminal defendants, AB 1950 enacted a maximum one year probation term for most misdemeanor offenses and two years for felony offenses. There are, of course, some exceptions. (Effective Jan. 1)
• Misdemeanor diversion: AB 3234 authorizes judges to offer misdemeanor diversion to most offenders. It is currently under debate whether DUIs will be covered by this change in the law. This change means that if a defendant complies with the terms of diversion the criminal action will ultimately be dismissed and the record erased. Of note, defendants should be aware most domestic violence charges, stalking and registrable sex offenses are not eligible for diversion. (Effective Jan. 1)
• Restoration of a felon voting rights: the passage of Proposition 17 gives approximately 50,000 felons on probation the right to vote.
• Reduced sex offender registration: SB 384 reduces the length of time for which a registrant must register. It established a three-tier hierarchy of offenses (which looks to the severity of the offense,) setting the registration length for PC 290 registration at 10 years, 20 years or lifetime. (Effective Jan. 1)
• California Racial Justice Act: AB 2524 allows defendants who were charged or convicted of a crime to now challenge any racial bias that may have occurred in their case.  Upon challenge, they can now seek a new trial or re-sentencing. (Effective Jan. 1)
• False reports and harassment: AB 1775 creates a new law, criminalizing the making false 911 calls which are based on someone's race, gender, religion or other type of legally-recognized discrimination, and classifying the offense as a hate crime.

The Juvenile System

• Disruptive juveniles in school: AB 901 changes form of punishment of troublesome students, moving away from probation programs to community-based programs, and away from court supervision.
• Phasing out juvenile prisons: SB 823, the Juvenile Justice Realignment bill  will replace the remaining juvenile prisons with the programs related to the Office of Youth and Community Restoration. (Effective July 1)
• Hiding juvenile records: AB 2425 protects the records of juvenile offenders from public inspection. (Effective Jan. 1)

Changes to Law Enforcement Procedures

• Banning chokeholds: AB 1196 bans chokeholds and carotid holds by all law enforcement agencies, statewide.
• Sheriff oversight: AB 1185 allows for the establishment of a sheriff oversight board and inspector general in each county with subpoena power to help oversee the actions of local sheriff departments.