Gordon Ringer, Judge Who Heard High-Profile Trials, Dies at Age 69
By Michael Harris
Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gordon Ringer, who sat on the criminal courts bench for a quarter-century, presiding...
Defense Lawyers Win Big Victory from High Court
By Anna Marie Stolley
A criminal defendant must prove he was innocent of the charges against him to win a malpractice suit against his lawyer, the ...
Hahn Agrees to $312M to Settle Claims by City
By Lauren Blau
The city of Los Angeles will accept its $312 million portion of the multistate settlement with the tobacco industry, while the...
Rules Changed for State Commissioners, Referees
By Philip Carrizosa
SAN FRANCISCO - After voicing concerns about creating a "bill of rights" for court commissioners and referees, the state Judi...
Commissioner's Fate Still a Mystery
By Anne La Jeunesse
A decision is expected within the next 10 days regarding the professional fate of Glendale Municipal Court Commissioner Dona ...
Panel's Decision May End Clash of Dueling James Bonds
By Garry Abrams
In a decision that may bring a quick end to a bitter clash between two Hollywood studios, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appea...
Lawyer to Put Up Own House to Bail Out Client
By Jason Armstrong & Sean Windle
SAN BERNARDINO - The attorney for the parents of a 15-year-old boy accused of killing a classmate and dumping his remains in ...
Executive Decision
By Pamela Mc Clintock
For many years, Phyllis A. Gardner wandered the cubicles and hallways of the U.S. Department of Justice, introducing lawyers ...
Arbitration Award OK'd Based on State Rule
By Anna Marie Stolley
Making it more difficult to overturn arbitration awards in state court, a state appeal panel has held that California's strin...
Council Approves 28 Outside Law Firms for Cases
By Lauren Blau
To handle cases that present conflicts for the Los Angeles city attorney's office, the City Council approved a list of outsid...
Split Decision
By Jean Guccione
Six years after the precedent was established, the state's appellate justices remain widely divided over the wisdom of a state...
Hard-Charging Prosecutor Experiences Setback
By Mathew Heller
RIVERSIDE - One mother is now serving three consecutive 15-years-to-life sentences in a precedent-setting case of murder by m...
Tough Guidelines for Punishment Rejected by Court
By Pamela Mac Lean
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court has given judges sweeping new power to reject federal sentencing guidelines and impos...
Wilson Appoints San Diego Judge Despite Criticism
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO - Terry O'Rourke, a controversial San Diego Superior Court judge, was nominated Thursday to fill a nearly 2-year-ol...
Verdict in Cannabis Club Case a Mixed Bag
By Tori Richards
WESTMINSTER - The founder of an Orange County cannabis club was convicted Thursday of seven counts of selling marijuana and o...
TRO Bars Disruption by ABC Workers During Strike
By Denise Levin
A judge has issued a temporary restraining order against labor unions representing striking ABC workers who the broadcast com...
Judge Won't Dismiss Cigarette Makers from Suit
By Lauren Blau
Rejecting an argument that federal law supersedes state law, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a request Thursday by ...
Paralegals Charged With Bankruptcy Fraud
By Martin Bergn
Criminal charges have been filed against the operators of several Southern California paralegal firms as part of what federal...
DAgostino Loses Retaliation Claim Against Garcetti
By Michael Harris
A Los Angeles County civil service hearing officer concluded Thursday that District Attorney Gil Garcetti's administration wa...
Starr-Crossed Lubbers Reign In the House
By Daniel Shaw
WASHINGTON - In a marathon House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday that ranged from raucous to rote, and stretched well in...
Politicization of Legal Services Decried
By Stephanie Francis Cahill
In a speech at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles' annual awards luncheon Tuesday, John McKay, president of the Legal Se...
Teen Accused in Killing Tried as Adult
By Michael Harris
Joseph William Davidson was only 14 years old when he allegedly shot to death his mother in 1996. Despite his age, however, p...
Rare Court Suit Against HMO Set to Begin
By Jason Armstrong & Sean Windle
SAN BERNARDINO - A Redlands woman is suing the nation's largest health maintenance organization in a case that is one of the f...
Judge: Defense Attorney Was Ineffective
By Tamara Koehler
VENTURA - A Ventura County Superior Court judge set aside the 1996 guilty verdict and subsequent life sentence of a gang-rela...
U.S. Wants La Bella Silent on Campaign Finance
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO - U.S. Attorney Charles La Bella, who as head of a Department of Justice campaign finance task force recommended th...
Fight Over Attorney Fees Is Brewing in Light of Proposed Tobacco Deal
By Tom Dresslar
SACRAMENTO - A major fight is brewing in California over fees paid to lawyers under the proposed national settlement of tobac...
Westlaw Severs Link to Shepard's
By Anthony Aarons
For more than 100 years Shepard's has been the standard method for lawyers to check case law citations, but in the future, it...
L.A. Attorney Accused of Slander Settles Lawsuit
By Denise Levin
A $15,000 settlement has been reached in a lawsuit arising out of last year's Carroll O'Connor trial in which the attorney re...
Old Fashioned
By John Roemer
SAN FRANCISCO - An Alameda County probate-court debate over the death of a loved one wasn't what Priscilla Camp's client had i...
Starr Likely to Be Cut on the Bias in Hearing
By Daniel Shaw
WASHINGTON - When independent counsel Kenneth Starr appears before the House Judiciary Committee in today's impeachment heari...