2025

We are thrilled to share some incredible news. This week, Governor Newsom signed both NCIP co-sponsored bills, Senate Bill 553 and Assembly Bill 1036, into law. Together, these measures represent major progress toward greater transparency, accountability, and fairness in California’s criminal legal system.

AB 1036 (Schultz) – Postconviction Discovery Reform
Under the previous law, only individuals convicted of a serious or violent felony with a sentence of 15 years or more could obtain access to discovery materials after conviction. AB 1036 expands access to discovery for all felony convictions with sentences of incarceration in prison and broadens the definition of “discovery materials” to include the prosecutor’s jury selection notes, any evidence that tends to negate guilt, mitigate the sentence or offense, or is otherwise favorable or exculpatory, including materials held by any prosecutor on the case. These changes ensure a more complete and fair review of evidence in postconviction proceedings. This reform reduces procedural barriers that have too often blocked wrongfully convicted people from accessing the records they need to prove their innocence, levels the playing field by granting broader discovery rights.

Jury selection notes are central to the bill because they often contain the only direct evidence of racial bias or discrimination during jury selection, evidence that is otherwise impossible to uncover. In Alameda County, access to prosecutors’ jury notes revealed a longstanding pattern and practice of striking jurors of color, information that had been hidden for years under claims of privilege. Once those notes were disclosed, multiple people were able to prove Batson violations and obtain relief.

SB 553 (Cortese) – Statewide Prison Clearance
This new law expands access to California prisons by allowing legal professionals to apply for annual gate clearances to enter all state institutions.  Legal teams working on postconviction cases in California have long faced delays and restrictions that made it difficult to meet with clients, review evidence, and conduct investigations inside prisons. SB 553 removes those barriers by making access more fair, efficient, and consistent across institutions, ensuring that innocent people still fighting for freedom are not left waiting behind unnecessary administrative walls.  This might seem like a small win, but in a state with more than 30 prisons, submitting paperwork to all of them was beyond onerous on our team.

These legislative victories were made possible through the coordinated advocacy of the California Innocence Coalition, comprised of four California  innocence organizations—Northern California Innocence Project, The Innocence Center, Los Angeles Innocence Project, and Loyola's Project for the Innocent.