Assembly BillChaptered/SignedEvidence
AB 2556: Evidence: credibility of witnesses and evidence affected or excluded by extrinsic policies.
What AB 2556 does, verified August 20, 2026
This bill aims to amend the evidence code to improve the handling of sensitive evidence in rape and other sex crimes cases. The proposed changes would apply to all cases, not just those occurring in local detention facilities or state prisons, and would remove exceptions for such cases. The bill would require a specific procedure for attacking the credibility of a complaining witness, including a written motion and a hearing out of the presence of the jury. Additionally, the bill would prohibit the admission of evidence that could be seen as character-based, such as opinion evidence, reputation evidence, or specific instances of sexual conduct involving the victim and others.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 50, Statutes of 2026. (2026-06-30)Alert me
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| Jun. 30, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 50, Statutes of 2026. |
| Jun. 30, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jun. 24, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:30 a.m. |
| Jun. 15, 2026 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Jun. 15, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 4761.). |
Latest bill textChaptered version, June 30, 2026 · 1,493 words
Assembly Bill No. 2556
CHAPTER 50
An act to amend Sections 782 and 1103 of the Evidence Code, relating to evidence.
[ Approved by Governor June 30, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State June 30, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2556, Boerner. Evidence: credibility of witnesses and evidence affected or excluded by extrinsic policies.
(1) Existing law sets forth the procedure by which, in any prosecution for rape or other specified sexual offenses, evidence of sexual conduct of the complaining witness may be offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness. This procedure involves, among other things, the filing of a written motion by the defendant, accompanied by an affidavit filed under seal stating an offer of proof, and, if the court determines that the offer is sufficient, a hearing out of the presence of the jury regarding the offer of proof. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant. Under existing law, these procedures do not apply if the specified offenses are alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined.
This bill would remove this exception, thereby also applying these procedures to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison.
(2) Existing law provides that evidence of a person’s character or a trait of their character is generally inadmissible when offered to prove the person’s conduct on a specified occasion. Existing law prohibits, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes, the admission of, among other things, opinion evidence, reputation evidence, or specific instances of sexual conduct involving the victim and persons other than the defendant to prove the victim’s consent. This prohibition does not apply to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined.
This bill would additionally remove this exception, thereby also prohibiting the admission of such evidence in the prosecution of specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 782 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:782.
(a) In any of the circumstances described in subdivision (c), if evidence of sexual conduct of the complaining witness is offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness under Section 780, the following procedure shall be followed:(1) A written motion shall be made by the defendant to the court and prosecutor stating that the defense has an offer of proof of the relevance of evidence of the sexual conduct of the complaining witness that is proposed to be presented and of its relevance in attacking the credibility of the complaining witness.
(2) The written motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit in which the offer of proof shall be stated. The affidavit shall be filed under seal and only unsealed by the court to determine if the offer of proof is sufficient to order a hearing pursuant to paragraph (3). After that determination, the affidavit shall be resealed by the court.
(3) If the court finds that the offer of proof is sufficient, the court shall order a hearing out of the presence of the jury, if any, and at the hearing allow the questioning of the complaining witness regarding the offer of proof made by the defendant.
(4) At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds that evidence proposed to be offered by the defendant regarding the sexual conduct of the complaining witness is relevant pursuant to Section 780, and is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352, the court may make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant, and the nature of the questions to be permitted. The defendant may then offer evidence pursuant to the order of the court.
(5) An affidavit resealed by the court pursuant to paragraph (2) shall remain sealed, unless the defendant raises an issue on appeal or collateral review relating to the offer of proof contained in the sealed document. If the defendant raises that issue on appeal, the court shall allow the Attorney General and appellate counsel for the defendant access to the sealed affidavit. If the issue is raised on collateral review, the court shall allow the district attorney and defendant’s counsel access to the sealed affidavit. The use of the information contained in the affidavit shall be limited solely to the pending proceeding.
(b) (1) As used in this section, “complaining witness” means:
(A) The alleged victim of the crime charged, the prosecution of which is subject to this section, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
(B) An alleged victim offering testimony pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c).
(2) As used in this section, “evidence of sexual conduct” includes those portions of a social media account about the complaining witness, including any text, image, video, or picture, which depict sexual content, sexual history, nudity or partial nudity, intimate sexual activity, communications about sex, sexual fantasies, and other information that appeals to a prurient interest, unless it is related to the alleged offense.
(c) The procedure provided by subdivision (a) shall apply in any of the following circumstances:
(1) In a prosecution under Section 261, 264.1, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289 of, or former Section 262 or 288a of, the Penal Code, or for assault with intent to commit, attempt to commit, or conspiracy to commit any crime defined in any of those sections.
(2) When an alleged victim testifies pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1101 as a victim of a crime listed in Section 243.4, 261, 261.5, 269, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, 289, 314, or 647.6 of, or former Section 288a of, the Penal Code.
(3) When an alleged victim of a sexual offense testifies pursuant to Section 1108.
SEC. 2.
Section 1103 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:1103.
(a) In a criminal action, evidence of the character or a trait of character (in the form of an opinion, evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of conduct) of the victim of the crime for which the defendant is being prosecuted is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is:(1) Offered by the defendant to prove conduct of the victim in conformity with the character or trait of character.
(2) Offered by the prosecution to rebut evidence adduced by the defendant under paragraph (1).
(b) In a criminal action, evidence of the defendant’s character for violence or trait of character for violence (in the form of an opinion, evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of conduct) is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is offered by the prosecution to prove conduct of the defendant in conformity with the character or trait of character and is offered after evidence that the victim had a character for violence or a trait of character tending to show violence has been adduced by the defendant under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, and except as provided in this subdivision, in any prosecution under Section 261 or 264.1 of the Penal Code, or under Section 286, 287, or 289 of, or former Section 262 or 288a of, the Penal Code, or for assault with intent to commit, attempt to commit, or conspiracy to commit a crime defined in any of those sections, opinion evidence, reputation evidence, and evidence of specific instances of the complaining witness’ sexual conduct, or any of that evidence, is not admissible by the defendant in order to prove consent by the complaining witness.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), evidence of the manner in which the victim was dressed at the time of the commission of the offense is not admissible when offered by either party on the issue of consent in any prosecution for an offense specified in paragraph (1). For the purposes of this paragraph, “manner of dress” does not include the condition of the victim’s clothing before, during, or after the commission of the offense.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply to evidence of the complaining witness’ sexual conduct with the defendant.
(4) If the prosecutor introduces evidence, including testimony of a witness, or the complaining witness as a witness gives testimony, and that evidence or testimony relates to the complaining witness’ sexual conduct, the defendant may cross-examine the witness who gives the testimony and offer relevant evidence limited specifically to the rebuttal of the evidence introduced by the prosecutor or given by the complaining witness.
(5) This subdivision does not make inadmissible any evidence offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness as provided in Section 782.
(6) As used in this subdivision, “complaining witness” means the alleged victim of the crime charged, the prosecution of which is subject to this subdivision.
Text of AB 2556 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions