Important Summary of 2025 Cases Decided by California Appellate Courts and the California Supreme Court

From the Classroom
By Ray Hill 
Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College 

Summary of Criminal Law Cases – 2025 

We are familiar with case law that interprets the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Of equal importance are decisions made interpreting the California Penal Code and other statutory sources of law. Keeping legally updated on these decisions is important when making arrests, gathering evidence and pursuing your investigation. 

Here is a brief summary of the 2025 criminal law cases decided by the California District Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. LUPC Ref.#’s are included for further review: 

Update 

• Consent Searches (SB 277) – Two-year bill. This topic is still hanging around in Sacramento. Yet another attempt to restrict police consent searches. This bill would limit asking for a consent search only when there is pre-existing reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Set for review in the Senate Appropriations Committee in January 2026. Regardless of what happens with this legislation, United States Supreme Court decisions and Article I, Section 28 of the California Constitution (Right-to-Truth-in-Evidence) supersede any statute. Case law is the ....