The Committee on Revision of the Penal Code has released its 2025 Annual Report. The report describes the Committee's work and recommendations for the upcoming legislative cycle.

The recommendations are:

1. Require Heightened Judicial Scrutiny of Gender-Biased Evidence in Criminal Trials

2. Allow Habeas Corpus Relief for People Convicted of Failure-to-Protect Murder Under Pre-Collins Standards

3. Modernize the Statutory Definition of Self-Defense in IPV Cases

4. Require Countywide Use of Child Advocacy Centers

5. Establish a Victimʼs Right to Be Heard and Notified Regarding Criminal Protective Orders

6. Ensure Victims in Serious and Violent Cases Are Notified and Have An Opportunity to be Heard Before Acceptance of Plea Agreements

7. Expand Access to Trauma-Informed “Soft Interview” Rooms

8. Improve the Racial Justice Act

9. Limit Prosecutor Blanket Challenges of Judges Under Code of Civil Procedure § 170.6

10. Modify the Serious and Violent Felony Lists

---