You must also assume the auditor is the Lord Almighty. If you do not believe in the Lord Almighty, substitute the phrase “an o...
Government, Civil Rights
Invoking Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
By Erwin Chemerinsky
The Fourteenth Amendment, enacted in 1868 after the Civil War, includes a provision that has received relatively little attent...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Subject matter eligibility for obtaining patent protection
By Dariush Adli
Litigation & Arbitration
Can arbitration be forced on indigent parties?
By Gary A. Watt, Erica Kelley
Like it or not, corporations and other financially able parties may, in some cases, have to decide whether the desire to arbit...
U.S. Supreme Court, Education Law, Civil Rights
Pay to Pray or Pray to Play?
By Mitchell Keiter
The Supreme Court decided Carson v. Makin (20-1088) yesterday, holding Maine violated parents' Free Exercise rights by excludi...
Some of my colleagues from the plaintiff’s bar have been quick to point out a potential silver lining in the outcome. I think ...
Insurance, Data Privacy
Third-party email fraud covered by insurance policies
By Peter S. Selvin
Three recent cases have affirmed coverage where a vendor has been impersonated and as a result the company sustained a loss.
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Appellate delay: the Judicial Council moves forward
By Jon B. Eisenberg
It is a common misconception that someone who submits a complaint to the Commission on Judicial Performance must maintain conf...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration
U.S. Supreme Court hands immigrants a rare victory
By Eli M. Kantor, Jonathan D. Kantor
One of the most daunting issues for non-citizens seeking to become permanent residents or green card holders has been: whether...
In the hands of the right producer, it would garner Oscars, a legacy and big bucks.
U.S. Supreme Court, Government, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
What the Jan. 6 Committee should ask Ginni Thomas
By Gabe Roth
Ginni is not a justice, of course, but this saga presents a test for the Supreme Court. Do these ceaseless revelations spur Ch...
Labor/Employment
SCOTUS strikes significant blow to employees PAGA claims
By Brian E. Koegle
Needless to say, this will likely not be “the last word” on the issue of arbitrability of PAGA claims under California law.
U.S. Supreme Court, California Supreme Court
The secret to SCOCA’s consensus
By David A. Carrillo, Stephen M. Duvernay
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
California’s End of Life Option Act in Alito’s cites and sights
By Arthur G. Svenson
Litigation & Arbitration
The mandatory arbitration wall is starting to crack
By V. James DeSimone
Mandatory arbitration clauses have become a fixture of employment agreements, buried in the numerous forms that need to be sig...
Labor/Employment
The fight against PAGA continues despite big Supreme Court victory
By Tom Manzo
PAGA has long been exploited by money-hungry trial attorneys to the detriment of California’s business owners.
The Viking decision may look big and scary, but it has no staying power. There will be a lot of bluster from the defense bar o...
If you are behind in taxes, or especially if you are crying poor to the IRS, watch out.
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Attorney Oath is more than a ritual
By William W. Bruzzo
My criminal practice causes me to appear in court almost every day. Those experiences have led me to believe that judges and l...
Government, Civil Litigation
Uvalde could be the latest chink in gun makers’ armor
By Allen Patatanyan
Daniel Defense’s weapons include a Star-Wars-themed rifle clearly targeted at teen buyers. On the day of the Uvalde massacre, ...
Given the history of United States Supreme Court decisions on arbitration generally, and of this one in particular, it seems f...
Labor/Employment
Viking River Cruises v. Moriana decision not what employers were looking for
By Cynthia L. Rice
While this is being touted as a major victory for employers. It is not that. The Court makes clear that the State may deputize...
Legal Education
Word interpretation: Hastings and genocide both on the cutting board
By Kris Whitten
Advocates of using the term “genocide” seem to depend on the stark horror depicted in their presentations of the events to kee...
U.S. Supreme Court, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
A sensible Supreme Court is facing threats from within
By A. Marco Turk
The challenge now is one of stemming the tide and reversing the growing public perception that SCOTUS no longer commands respe...
Government, Criminal
The Watergate scandal 50 years later: a personal story
By Bruce Givner
Twenty-four year old Frank Wills and I crossed the street to the restaurant on the Howard Johnson’s ground floor to get cheese...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Courts of Appeal
The Commission on Judicial Performance speaks on the 3rd District Court of Appeal: What have we learned?
By Kevin K. Green
It is not a good precedent for the most capable among us, however salutary the goal, to lob repeated verbal grenades at the ju...
Mergers & Acquisitions
de-SPAC mergers facing increased scrutiny
By Charlotte K. Newell, James Heyworth
Over the last year and a half we have seen an increased volume of complaints filed against SPAC boards in the Delaware Court o...
Technology, International Law
Take two: Australia Is actually not ready for AI inventors
By David V. Sanker Ph.D, Jianbai "Jenn" Wang Ph.D
Jurisdictions are substantially consistent that current patent laws allow only natural persons as inventors. However, no juris...
Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Handguns and assault rifles not equal under the 2nd Amendment
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
It does not make a lot of sense to have a rule that permits a young adult to purchase an assault weapon, which can be used to ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Bankruptcy
Siegel v. Fitzgerald: the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the meaning of the bankruptcy clause
By Victor A. Sahn