Courthouses: privilege from civil arrest., the official text

An act to add Section 43.541 to, and to repeal and add Section 43.54 of, the Civil Code, relating to courts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law prohibits a person from being subject to civil arrest in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in a courthouse, except pursuant to a valid judicial warrant. Existing law confers specified powers to judicial officers, including to preserve and enforce order in the officer’s immediate presence and in proceedings before the officer, to compel obedience to the officer’s lawful orders, and to prohibit activities that threaten access to courthouses and court proceedings, including protecting the privilege from civil arrest at courthouses and court proceedings.
This bill would prohibit a person from being subject to civil arrest while traveling to, while present at, or while traveling from a courthouse for any lawful activity, as defined. The bill would authorize a court to issue appropriate judicial orders to protect the privilege from civil arrest. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action to obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory relief if the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of these provisions has occurred or is imminent. The bill would also authorize a person who has been subject to civil arrest to bring a civil action for appropriate equitable and declaratory relief and civil damages, including actual damages and statutory damages of $10,000. The bill would authorize a party in a successful action to recover court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. The bill would exempt a court, judicial officer, or court personnel acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts from any action or proceeding pursuant to these provisions.
This bill would require, when court security personnel are aware that any representative of a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, while acting in an official capacity, enters a courthouse, that court security personnel request the law enforcement representative or representatives identify themselves and state their specific law enforcement purposes and intended enforcement action to be taken, and request from the law enforcement representative or representatives a copy of a valid judicial warrant concerning the intended enforcement action to be taken. The bill would require, if court security personnel are aware there is an attorney representing a person named in the judicial warrant in any capacity, that court security personnel request the law enforcement representative to afford the attorney the right to review the warrant.
This bill would require the Judicial Council to annually prepare a report compiling statistics, aggregated by county, of information related to civil arrests, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to publicly post the report on its public internet website.
This bill would also make related findings and declarations and specify that the provisions of this act are severable.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) California courts are a cornerstone of California’s government, ensuring the right of every person to obtain justice under the California Constitution, and playing an essential role in the peaceful and just resolution of disputes.
(b) Access to courts and the court’s ability to administer justice is, therefore, a matter of statewide concern, fostering fairness while promoting public confidence in, and respect for, the judicial process.
(c) The threat that persons may be subject to civil arrest while in California’s courthouses or attending judicial proceedings is a threat to the proper functioning of California’s government and to the rights enjoyed by all Californians. Protecting persons from civil arrest at or near California’s courthouses or judicial proceedings is necessary to ensure that litigants, witnesses, victims of crime, and others are not deterred from participating in such proceedings so that courts and parties have access to testimony and other evidence critical to factfinding and to ensure the dignity of judicial proceedings is upheld.
(d) Access to courts is necessary to preserve the right to petition government for redress, and to preserve numerous trial rights of individuals, including the right to be present, to present claims and defenses, to testify at trial, to call witnesses, to compulsory process, and to have a public trial. Access to courts also protects Californians’ rights to equal protection of the laws.
(e) Protecting persons from civil arrest while on or near California’s courthouses or judicial proceedings is also necessary to preserve the individual rights of all Californians. Access to courts is also part of the right to free speech enshrined in the California and United States Constitutions.
(f) Public scrutiny of judicial proceedings allows the public to observe the functioning of their government, fostering fairness, promoting public confidence in the judicial process, serving as a critical check on the use and abuse of judicial power, and enhancing the truth-finding function of judicial proceedings.
(g) Civil arrests of persons in California’s courthouses or attending judicial proceedings are unreasonable and unlawful seizures whether undertaken by local, state, or federal officers.
(h) Courts are essential to a republican form of government and to the functioning of California’s government. California has the reserved power under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to protect their proceedings.
(i) The provisions of this act are necessary to protect and preserve the integrity of the proceedings of the judicial branch of California government.

SEC. 2.
Section 43.54 of the Civil Code is repealed.

SEC. 3.
Section 43.54 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
43.54.
(a) A person shall not be subject to civil arrest while traveling to, while present at, or while traveling from a courthouse for any lawful activity. It shall be presumed that persons are traveling to, engaging in, or traveling from, lawful activity while present at a courthouse.
(b) This section does not narrow or in any way lessen any existing common law privilege.
(c) This section does not apply to arrests made pursuant to a valid judicial warrant.
(d) A court may issue appropriate judicial orders to protect the privilege from civil arrest under this section or common law, in addition to the powers available pursuant to Section 177 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the name of the people of the State of California to obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory relief if the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this section has occurred or is imminent.
(f) (1) A person who has been subject to civil arrest in violation of this section or the common law privilege protecting persons from civil arrest while at, or coming to or from, a courthouse may bring a civil action for appropriate equitable and declaratory relief and shall be entitled to civil damages for violation of the privilege from civil arrest, including actual damages and statutory damages of $10,000.
(2) A party in a successful action to enforce liability for a violation of this section may recover court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(g) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), when court security personnel are aware that any representative of a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, while acting in an official capacity, enters a courthouse, court security personnel shall do both of the following:
(A) Request the law enforcement representative or representatives to identify themselves and state their specific law enforcement purpose and the intended enforcement action to be taken.
(B) Request from the law enforcement representative or representatives a copy of a valid judicial warrant concerning the intended enforcement action to be taken.
(2) If court security personnel are aware there is an attorney representing a person named in the judicial warrant in any capacity, court security personnel shall request the law enforcement representative to afford that attorney the right to review the warrant.
(h) No action or proceeding may be commenced pursuant to this section against a court, a judicial officer, or any court employee, as defined in Section 71601 of the Government Code, acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts.
(i) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Arrest” means the taking of an individual into custody.
(2) “Civil arrest” means the arrest of, or a communicated intent to arrest, an individual for an alleged violation of civil law, whether taken by a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, officers, or any other government entity or representative acting in an official capacity.
(3) “Court proceeding” means any matter, hearing, or other judicial business conducted by or under the supervision of a California superior court, court of appeal, or the Supreme Court, including, but not limited to, trials, hearings, arraignments, case management conferences, and clerk’s office transactions.
(4) “Courthouse” means any of the following:
(A) Court facilities as described in Section 70301 of the Government Code.
(B) Any sidewalk, parkway, or street surrounding the court facilities and its premises.
(C) Any public way within one thousand feet of the court facilities including a sidewalk, parkway, or street.
(5) “Lawful activity” means any activity lawfully permitted at a courthouse, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Observation of, attendance at, or involvement in court proceedings.
(B) Any activities related to one’s employment at a courthouse.
(C) Accompanying, supporting, or transporting a person to proceedings or business at a courthouse.
(D) The exercise of any constitutional rights at a courthouse.
(E) Otherwise being lawfully present at a courthouse.

SEC. 4.
Section 43.541 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 43.54, to read:
43.541.
(a) (1) The Judicial Council shall annually prepare a report compiling statistics, aggregated by county, of the information related to civil arrests reported to the Judicial Council pursuant to Rule 10.440 of the California Rules of Court.
(b) The Judicial Council shall publicly post the report described in subdivision (a) on its public internet website.

SEC. 5.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.