California Retroactively Extends Law for Individuals Who Received Unfair Convictions and Sentences on the Basis of Race, Ethnicity or National Origin (AB 256)

Assembly Bill 256, the Racial Justice Act for All, extends the protections of the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 to those who have already been harmed by convictions or sentences tainted by bias related to race, ethnicity, or national origin.  That prior act made it possible for a person charged or convicted of a crime to challenge racial, ethnic or national origin bias in their case, but it excluded judgments rendered prior to January 1, 2021.  AB 256 makes the law retroactive to ensure that everyone with unfair convictions and sentences has an opportunity to pursue justice.

Further under AB 256, a defendant may file a motion to request disclosure of all evidence related to a potential violation, and upon a showing of good cause a court must order disclosure of the requested records, subject to some limitations.

Finally, non-statistical evidence may be used to prove that a conviction or sentence was unlawfully imposed on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, including systemic and institutional race bias, racial profiling and historical patterns of racially biased policing and prosecution.  Courts are now required to consider the totality of evidence instead of requiring the defense to rely solely on costly and scarce statistical evidence or aggregate data. 

For information regarding AB 256 or other new legislation, contact your legal counsel.