Wednesday, September 30, 2026
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Newsom Signs Bill Broadening Privilege Against Civil Arrest at Courthouses
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday signed Senate Bill 873, which bars the civil arrest of anyone traveling to, present at, or traveling from a courthouse for “any lawful activity” and makes a violation of the provision actionable as false imprisonment or false arrest with $10,000 in statutory damages.
The measure, authored by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, and Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, was one of 21 bills in a package the governor touted as a “push back on Trump’s Orwellian immigration tactics.” In a press release published yesterday, Newsom said:
“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families. California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state.”
Senate Bill 873 repeals a former version of §43.54 of the Civil Code, which provided that a person “shall not be subject to civil arrest in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in the courthouse.” The new version extends the ban to cover “traveling to or while traveling from a courthouse for any lawful activity” and provides that such a person is presumed to be “engaging in lawful activity.”
An exception for “arrests made pursuant to a valid judicial warrant” is retained in the new provision. “Courthouse” is defined to include “[a]ny public way within one thousand feet of the court facilities,” and “civil arrest” includes “a communicated intent to arrest an individual for an alleged violation of civil law.”
Subdivision (g)(1) of the reenacted §43.54 specifies:
“Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 43.541, a civil arrest in violation of this section or the common law privilege protecting persons from civil arrest while at, or coming to or from, a courthouse shall constitute the tort of false imprisonment or false arrest if the arresting person or persons knew or reasonably should have known that the person arrested was going to, remaining at, or returning from court for any lawful activity. Each person who violates this section, or assists in its violation, shall be liable for civil damages for false imprisonment or false arrest, including actual damages and statutory damages of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).”
Sec. 43.541(c), in turn, specifies:
“An action or proceeding for the tort of false imprisonment or false arrest pursuant to Section 43.54 shall not be commenced against a court, a judicial officer, or any trial court employee…acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts.”
Under new §43.542, the Judicial Council must annually compile civil-arrest data and post the compilation online.
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