20 California Legal Definitions | Terms Unique to Cali

California does things differently. Always has. The state that gave us Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and In-N-Out also built a legal system that looks nothing like anywhere else in America. Some of these laws are genuinely useful. Others? They’ll trip you up if you don’t know they exist.

Whether you’re dealing with a traffic stop, signing a lease, or figuring out your rights after an accident, knowing this vocabulary matters. These aren’t obscure legal theories that only lawyers care about. These are the terms you’ll actually encounter living and working in California.

Conclusiones principales

• California has unique traffic laws like lane splitting that don’t exist anywhere else in the country, plus plea bargains like “wet reckless” that only California courts offer.
• The state’s negligencia comparativa pura system means you can recover damages even if you’re 99% at fault for an accident, making it one of the most plaintiff-friendly states for personal injury cases.
• Housing laws like Costa-Hawkins and the Ellis Act create a complex web of tenant protections and landlord rights that every California renter should understand.
• Employment laws like PAGA let workers sue employers on behalf of the entire state, a “bounty hunter” system that exists nowhere else in America.

1. Lane Splitting

You’re stuck in traffic on the 405. Cars aren’t moving. Then a motorcycle zips past between lanes. Perfectly legal here.

California is the only state where motorcyclists can legally ride between lanes of slow or stopped traffic. The law got officially codified in Vehicle Code § 21658.1 back in 2016, though riders had been doing it for decades before that.

The California Highway Patrol recommends keeping speed differentials under 15 mph. What looks terrifying to drivers from other states is just Tuesday in Los Angeles.

2. The Cali Lean (Carolina Squat)

That truck modification where the front sits way higher than the rear? California said no.

Starting January 1, 2023, under AB 1507, it became illegal to operate a vehicle where the front fenders are 4 or more inches higher than the rear. The law targeted this “Carolina Squat” trend because drivers literally can’t see what’s in front of them. Violations mean fix-it tickets and fines up to $250.

3. Wet Reckless

There’s something unique about California DUI law: you can’t be arrested for a “wet reckless.” It isn’t a standalone crime someone commits at the time of driving. Instead, it exists only as a plea bargain or negotiated outcome.

Según California Vehicle Code § 23103.5, prosecutors may reduce a DUI charge to reckless driving with a notation that alcohol was involved. This typically happens when the DUI case has weaknesses, such as a borderline BAC, evidentiary issues, or a questionable traffic stop.

The catch is that a wet reckless is still “priorable.” If you’re convicted of another DUI within 10 years, the wet reckless counts as a prior offense for sentencing purposes.

4. Watson Murder

Most states prosecute drunk driving deaths as manslaughter or vehicular homicide. California can go further.

If a driver with a prior DUI kills someone while driving under the influence, prosecutors may charge second-degree murder under People v. Watson (1981). The theory is implied malice: the driver knew the dangers of impaired driving and consciously disregarded human life.

That knowledge is often established through a Watson admonition, a warning typically given at DUI sentencing that future impaired driving causing death could result in murder charges.

A second-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of 15 years to life.

While other states have similar concepts, California is unique in how explicitly and consistently it has formalized and applied the Watson murder doctrine in DUI cases.

5. Three Strikes Law and Romero Motions

Passed in 1994, California’s Three Strikes Law mandates 25 years to life for a third serious or violent felony conviction. Twenty-eight states have some version of three-strikes laws. California remains the most severe.

But there’s an escape valve. A Romero Motion lets defendants ask judges to “strike” prior convictions in the interest of justice. Named after a 1996 case, this procedural remedy exists nowhere else in American law.

6. Wobblers

Some crimes in California can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Prosecutors decide. These are called “wobblers.”

Common examples include DUI causing injury, domestic violence, and grand theft. Under Penal Code § 17(b), judges can reduce wobbler felonies to misdemeanors at sentencing, at preliminary hearing, or after successful probation.

There’s even a “wobblette” for offenses that can swing between misdemeanor and infraction. The terminology is everywhere in California courtrooms but virtually unknown outside the state.

7. Proposition 47

Voters passed Prop 47 in 2014, and it rewrote the rules for low-level offenses. Simple drug possession dropped from felony to misdemeanor. The felony theft threshold jumped to $950.

That $950 number became culturally significant during debates about retail theft. People already serving time for these felonies could petition for resentencing. Savings were directed toward mental health services, schools, and victim programs.

One of the largest criminal justice experiments in American history, for better or worse.

8. Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act

California’s 1995 state law placed limits on local (municipal) rent control ordinances. The Costa-Hawkins Act exempts single-family homes, condos, and apartments built after 1995 from rent control entirely.

local laws that cap how much landlords can raise rent each year. Say you’re paying $1,500/month. Without rent control, your landlord could raise it to $2,500 next year if the market supports it. With rent control, they might be limited to a 3-5% annual increase.

It also prohibits “vacancy control.” When a tenant moves out, landlords can reset the rent to the market rate. This law represents the ongoing tug-of-war between property owners and tenant advocates. Purely a California policy battle.

9. The Ellis Act

El Ellis Act from 1985 gives landlords the right to evict all tenants and go out of the rental business. But it comes with serious strings attached.

Key restrictions include:

• All units in a building must be withdrawn simultaneously
• Tenants get 120 days’ notice (one year for elderly or disabled tenants)
• Landlords must pay relocation assistance
• Re-renting restrictions last up to 10 years

The law came from a California Supreme Court case holding that cities could actually prevent landlords from exiting the market. Only in California.

10. AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act)

AB 1482, effective January 2020, established California’s statewide rent cap. Annual increases are limited to 5% plus local CPI, or 10% maximum. Whichever is lower.

The law also requires “just cause” before evicting tenants who have lived somewhere for 12 or more months. About 4.9 million California households got protections they didn’t have before.

11. PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act)

California’s 2004 “bounty hunter law.” PAGA allows employees to sue employers on behalf of themselves, other workers, and the State of California for labor code violations.

Employees become “private attorneys general” to enforce labor laws. 65% of penalties go to the state. 35% go to workers. Over 5,000 PAGA notices get filed annually.

No other state deputizes private citizens to enforce labor codes on behalf of the government. California stands alone here.

12. The ABC Test (AB5)

California - AB5 from 2019 created the strictest worker classification test in the nation. A worker is presumed an employee unless the hiring company can prove all three conditions:

• (A) The worker is free from control and direction
• (B) The work is outside the company’s usual business
• (C) The worker is independently established in that trade

This law fundamentally reshaped the gig economy. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash responded by pouring over $200 million into Proposition 22 to create exemptions. The fight continues.

13. Prop 65 Warnings

That warning label you see on everything from coffee shops to parking garages to products shipped from other states? Proposition 65 from 1986.

The law requires businesses to warn Californians before exposing them to over 900 chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm. Private citizens can file lawsuits against non-compliant businesses. This created a cottage industry of Prop 65 litigation.

The warnings have become an iconic symbol of California’s consumer protection approach. Some say they’ve become so ubiquitous they’re meaningless now. Others say that’s exactly the point.

14. Prop 13

Prop 13 caps California property taxes at 1% of a home’s assessed value and limits annual increases to 2% until the property is sold or rebuilt.

In practical terms, a home purchased in 1980 for $100,000 may be taxed today at roughly $240,000. An identical home next door, purchased last year for $1.5 million, is taxed at the full $1.5 million. Same house. Very different tax bills.

It’s often called the “third rail” of California politics.

15. CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act)

El California Environmental Quality Act, enacted in 1970, requires agencies to identify, disclose, and mitigate environmental impacts before approving projects. Unlike federal NEPA, which only requires disclosure, CEQA demands actual fixes.

This applies to virtually all development requiring government approval. It’s created an entire industry of environmental consultants and attorneys. Critics argue CEQA gets weaponized to delay housing construction. Supporters say it’s the reason California still has natural resources worth protecting.

16. CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

El California Consumer Privacy Act, effective January 2020, was the first comprehensive consumer data privacy law in the United States.

Your rights under CCPA include:

• Know what personal data businesses collect about you
• Request the deletion of your data
• Opt out of the sale of your personal information
• Equal service and price, whether or not you exercise privacy rights

That “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link you see everywhere? It started here. Over 25 other states have modeled their privacy laws on California’s approach.

17. The Eggshell Skull Doctrine

The principle is simple. Defendants take their victims as they find them.

If you cause a minor fender bender and the other driver has a pre-existing back condition that makes the injury severe, you’re liable for the full extent. Not just what would have happened to an “average” person.

While this common law doctrine exists nationwide, California courts apply it expansively in personal injury cases. Juries get specific instructions on this principle. It comes up constantly.

18. Pure Comparative Negligence

California follows negligencia comparativa pura, established in Li v. Yellow Cab back in 1975. You can recover damages even if you’re 99% at fault.

Here’s the math. You’re 70% responsible for a $100,000 accident. You still recover $30,000. Most states bar recovery if you exceed 50% or 51% fault. Only about 12 states follow California’s plaintiff-friendly approach.

This makes a huge difference for accident victims who might have made mistakes but still deserve compensation for the other driver’s role.

19. MICRA (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act)

MICRA, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, originally capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. That number stayed frozen for 47 years.

AB 35 was finally updated in 2022. The caps now rise annually. By 2026, non-death cases cap at $430,000 and wrongful death cases at $600,000. By 2033, those numbers reach $750,000 and $1 million.

MICRA was the first comprehensive malpractice damages cap in America and became the model for tort reform in other states.

20. Brandt Fees

Según Brandt v. Superior Court (1985), when an insurance company withholds policy benefits in bad faith, policyholders can recover the attorney fees they spent forcing the insurer to pay.

This creates an exception to the usual American rule where each side pays their own legal fees. The term “Brandt fees” appears routinely in California bad faith insurance litigation. You won’t hear it in any other state.

Why Understanding California Legal Terms Matters After an Accident

California’s legal system can work in your favor if you know how it operates. Pure comparative negligence means you can recover something even if you were partially at fault. The eggshell skull doctrine means your pre-existing conditions don’t reduce what you’re owed. And California’s generally plaintiff-friendly courts give accident victims real options.

But navigating this system alone is hard. The vocabulary matters. The procedures matter. The deadlines really matter.

If you’ve been injured in an accident and have questions about your rights under California law, comuníquese con DK Law para una consulta gratuita. We’ll explain how these laws apply to your specific situation.