U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
When Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the denial of certiorari last week in Howard and Karen Baldwin v. U.S., he lamente...
Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Algorithms and the persuadable judge
Algorithms might persuade, but only humans can be persuaded.
The increasing use of arbitration clauses, coupled with class action waivers in standard employment agreements, has led to a d...
Immigration, Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court to consider broad immigration-speech law
The federal government will defend the constitutionality of a law that prohibits “encouraging” or “inducing” undocumented nonc...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Judge Kimberly Mueller issued a detailed written ruling earlier this month in which she stressed that the plaintiffs are “like...
Labor/Employment, Corporate
California’s law dictating the number of women who must be hired to the boards of publicly traded California corporations (whe...
Criminal, Constitutional Law
Face-to-face confrontation: Who should connect the dots?
The Sixth Amendment right to confront entails, among other things, the right to have a witness “physical[ly] presen[t]” in cou...
Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal
The unlikely setting of a depublication request in a recent case reveals the extent to which California lemon law litigation h...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
What do the American Bible Society, Consumer Reports, Girl Scouts of the USA, and Sierra Club have in common? All of them use ...
The judicial career of the recently-passed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Philip Saeta is one that deserves more than...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Taking credit or blame for the future
Consider to what extent an incident, a moment in our past, is significant within the endless chain of what we think is cause a...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Legal Education, Law Practice
Keep California meritocratic
Americans, especially Californians, celebrate meritocracy, the idea that what what we do matters more than where we are from. ...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
At the end of each year, for the past seven years, I have counted the number and type of motions that were decided in Departme...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Government, Constitutional Law
In the almost two decades since 9/11, our nation has slowly started to restore the balance among the three branches of governm...
Recognizing the sea change in information technology in the 21st century, Congress is finally beginning to consider in earnest...
Legal Education, Law Practice
Legal profession surveys consistently show a persistent, systemic inclusivity problem: at 70% male and 88% white it is one of ...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation
As 2019 drew to a close, the National Labor Relations Board issued a number of notable National Labor Relations Act decisions,...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Property rights at US high court in 2019
One leap forward and two missed steps
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
More than 43,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are living under the protection of California courts....
Government
Two new laws restricting the creation and distribution of so-called “deepfake” videos – Assembly Bills 602 and 730 – will beco...
Military Law, Civil Rights
Military sexual trauma is getting worse
The law isn’t doing the job. The #MeToo Movement hasn’t made a difference. What about the movies?
Appellate Practice
Zygote!
New Year’s opening: no resolutions. At my age, it’s too late. And no clichés about it never being too late.
Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
The top 5 9th Circuit civil cases of 2019
With the new year quickly approaching, now is a good time to reflect on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ significant cas...
Government, Constitutional Law
The Feds’ evasion of takings law
Hurricane Harvey. Words that struck fear into many Texans a couple of years ago. The pain still lingers — as does the litigati...
Labor/Employment
2020 laws all California employers should know
The new laws, most of which take effect Jan. 1, 2020, cover a wide area from wage and hour and work classification to hairstyl...
Law Practice, Corporate, Banking
Paths to privacy on the road to real estate transactions
Finding efficient solutions for high profile clients
Civil Rights, Government
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the federal Fair Housing Act with the goal to “guarantee a basic American ...
Judges and Judiciary
Ballot designation blues
In October 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 235, which amended Elections Code Section 13107 to call for the ...
Law Practice
I'll be homeless for Christmas
A veteran’s access to a lawyer can mean the difference between living under a roof or under a bridge
California Courts of Appeal, Family
Conflicting cases on siblings and bypass
A recent case has deepened a split of authority in dependency law. The split concerns one of the most frequently litigated gro...