March 25, 2026
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District
The Rule of People v. Chang is that imperfect self-defense is unavailable when a defendant's belief in the need for self-defense is based entirely on delusion without any objective correlate that could plausibly relate to a reasonable need for self-defense, under circumstances where the defendant shoots at peace officers based solely on delusional beliefs about CIA persecution without any objective threatening conduct by the officers.
3/6/26
Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Four
The Rule of In re L.G. is that substantial evidence must support a juvenile court's finding that there are no reasonable means to protect a child without removal, and the Bureau must make reasonable efforts to prevent removal before a child can be taken from parental custody, under circumstances where a parent has mental health issues but the Bureau has not explored alternative interventions like family maintenance plans or evaluated available support persons.