There were no statutory changes to the California Evidence Code in 2025. The courts made up for it. Eileen A. Scallen, Professor of Practice at UCLA School of Law and co-author of the California Evidence Courtroom Manual, walks through the year’s most consequential rulings and what they mean for trial practice. The program covers the retroactivity of Section 352.2 and the admissibility of creative expression evidence. It examines when a criminal defendant’s character becomes fair game to rebut evidence of a victim’s character under Section 1103(b), along with the latest confrontation clause questions arising under Sanchez. On the Court of Appeal side, Scallen addresses hearsay in Domestic Violence Prevention Act and family law proceedings, expert testimony qualification standards, evidentiary privileges, and evidence in Penal Code Section 1172.6 resentencing.
Eileen Scallen
