June 1, 2026
Supreme Court of California
The Rule of People v. Bankston is that penalty phase proceedings in capital cases that are marked by errors under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (Penal Code section 745, subdivision (a)) require reversal of the death judgment, under circumstances where both prosecution and defense agree such errors occurred.
January 28, 2026
Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division One
The Rule of Maynard Matthews et al. v. Patrick Ryan is that a section 998 settlement offer conditioned on consent by the defendant's insurance carrier is valid, under circumstances where the defendant is defended by an insurer whose consent is necessarily required for any settlement regardless of whether such consent is expressly stated in the offer.