Judges and Judiciary
There Are Federal Judges Who Won't Compromise Inmates' Rights
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
There are so many instances of federal courts disregarding meritorious prisoner rights claims, especially those brought by inm...
Judges and Judiciary
Paternity Ruling Shows Judicial Restraint About Mix-Up at Fertility Clinic
By Paul D. Fogel , David J. de Jesus
Forum Column - By Paul D. Fogel and David DeJesus - As we face the prospect of a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, the subject of ju...
Civil Rights
Diverse Solutions to Admissions Would Provide Better Social Outcome
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
The reaction to UCLA professor Richard H. Sander's recent study of preferential university admission is freighted with more em...
Law Practice
Justice Requires Judges to Put Bill of Rights Before Beliefs of Most People
By David A. Lash
Forum Column - By David Lash - The Bill of Rights is basically an anti-democratic document. And for that reason, it has done m...
Administrative/Regulatory
'Phillips' May Decide Conflict In Patent Claim Construction
By Jennifer R. Bush
Focus Column - Administrative Law - By Jennifer R. Bush - For the past five years, and arguably longer, the U.S. Court of Appe...
Many people fondly remember Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, though such memories do not concern any significant legislation. ...
Labor/Employment
Knowledgeable Attorneys Need to Talk About Sex in the Workplace
By Mark E. Terman
Employment Column - By Mark E. Terman - For years, employment lawyers have been advocates for training supervisors as a practi...
Law Practice
'Callas Forever' Teaches Lessons That Apply to Practice of Law
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
Franco Zefferelli's recent movie, "Callas Forever," is primarily about artistic integrity. But it offers deeper insight and le...
Insurance
Insurers Should Be Barred From Using After-Acquired Evidence
By Timothy D. Reuben
All too often, insurers respond to a request for help from their insureds with a knee-jerk denial of coverage. Reasons provide...
Government
Voters Ignored Key American Value: Caring for One's Neighbors
By David A. Lash
Forum Column - By David A. Lash - The now-infamous exit polls from the most recent presidential election tell us that voters v...
Judges and Judiciary
Separation of Church and State May Not Hold Under Bush
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Forum Column - By Erwin Chemerinsky - When constitutional historians look back at the Rehnquist court, they will say that it d...
Family, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Parties in Divorce, Custody Cases Crave Perception of Fairness
By Franklin R. Garfield
Forum Column - By Franklin R. Garfield - It is widely believed that justice or even fairness is not available in the Los Angel...
Insurance
Will 'This Plaintiff Only' Usurp Place of 'Pattern-and-Practice'
By Rex Heeseman
In Permanent General Assurance Corp. v. Superior Court , 2004 DJDAR 12515 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Oct. 12, 2004), the insurer app...
Government
High Anxiety: Democrats Won't Be Out-Lawyered as They Were in 2000
By Diane L. Karpman
Everyone is anxious about today's election because of what happened in 2000. Many believe that the Democrats were out-lawyered...
Contracts
State Bar Exam Should Test on All Sources of Contract Law
By William S. Dodge
Forum Column - By William S. Dodge - The State Bar Exam aims to ensure that new lawyers have a basic knowledge of a range of l...
Judges and Judiciary
A Name Is Merely a Label and Should Not Be Confused With the Real Thing
By Arthur Gilbert
What was a great present for a bright kid in 1953? A Gilbert chemistry set. My name happened to be Gilbert. It still is. When ...
Constitutional Law
Congress Has No Authority to Preclude Judicial Review
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Forum Column - By Erwin Chemerinsky - Can Congress enact an unconstitutional law and preclude federal courts, including the Su...
Jurist's Cat Rules on Cases Through Litter-Box Behavior
By Arthur Gilbert
The other day, Boz, my cat, "took a giant dump" on the living room rug. (The colloquial expression in quotes puzzles me. He di...
Education Law
High Court Needs to Overturn Ban On Suspicionless School Searches
By Robert Ross Dekoven
Forum Column - By Robert DeKoven - The tragedy in Russia a few weeks ago, where terrorists seized a school, has now become a p...
The beat goes on with punitive damages in the wake of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. ...
Law Practice
Youth in Inner-City Schools Support Democracy, Feel Ignored
By David A. Lash
Forum Column - By David A. Lash - In a Los Angeles inner-city high school, this year's observance of the anniversary of the Se...
The state Supreme Court in Jonathan Neil & Associates v. Jones, 33 Cal.4th 917 (2004), reaffirmed one of its prior ...
Government
Political Campaigns Ignore Plight of America's Working Poor
By David A. Lash
Forum Column - By David A. Lash - This is an especially tough time to be poor in the United States. Conditions are worsening, ...
Appellate Practice
Criminal Justice System Regresses Under 'Gementera'
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Forum Column - By Erwin Chemerinsky - A recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding punishments imposed solely f...
Judges and Judiciary
Can Demeanor Provide a Clue to a Witness's Veracity?
By Arthur Gilbert
What you hear the trial judge say at the conclusion of the witness's testimony: "Thank you. You may step down ..." ...
Criminal
Death Sentences Always Must Include Reasonable Doubt
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
ABC News bills the first two parts of its seven-part documentary "In the Jury Room" as an unprecedented and historic look at ...
Criminal, Civil Rights
Mistreatment of Minorities in L.A. Extends to Courtroom Proceedings
By Konrad Moore
Sensational reports of minority beatings by police aside, African-Americans in Los Angeles have more reason to fear the county...
Civil Rights
Ruling Shows Internet Requires Great Judicial Protection
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Forum Column - By Erwin Chemerinsky - In the flurry of decisions at the end of the Supreme Court's term in late June, not near...
Judges and Judiciary
Federal Judges Must Make Prisons Meet Minimum Standards for Inmates
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
Former Gov. George Deukmejian's independent review panel proposes 239 specific reforms to improve California's $6 billion cor...
Judges and Judiciary
Unwritten Rule of Survival: 'Judges Should Be Seen and Not Heard'
By Arthur Gilbert
In the Victorian age, when I was a child, a popular grownup adage was "children should be seen and not heard." ...