Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations
The California primary election takes place on June 5. The state’s general election follows on Nov. 6. This includes the elect...
For now, unless I have reason not to do so, all incumbent judges have my vote.
Now that it is election season, the legal community once again will turn part of its focus upon the upcoming elections for sup...
California Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law, California Courts of Appeal
A penny for your thoughts
“The only constant is change.” Heraclitus may have been talking about life. But he might as well have been talking about the c...
People clamored onto the courthouse steps in the case of the baker who declined to make a cake for a gay couple’s nuptials — o...
Civil Rights, Criminal, Government, Judges and Judiciary
‘Public defender’ isn’t just another job
The Los Angeles public defender has the potential to be the most influential public defender in the nation — and the office mu...
Administrative/Regulatory, U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Drone Searches: A New Frontier for the Fourth Amendment
The use of drones spurs reassessment of time-honored privacy concerns.
Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations
The Golden State should reform unnecessary, out-of-date and overly protectionist bar admission policies in federal district co...
The ruling is the first to hold an internet service provider liable for copyright infringement by its customers, making it a c...
Judges are required to be fair, neutral and impartial and to be perceived as such at all times.
Suffice it to say, when addressing Siri, I did not use the four-letter word, the first letter of which appears toward the last...
A Riverside case involves the right of people with developmental disabilities to marry as well as the right not to be pressure...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Rights
Sex work ruling isn’t the end of the line
The Constitution protects an adult’s personal decision to engage in intimate, sexual activity with another adult, whether the ...
Securities, Administrative/Regulatory, U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
SEC ALJs and the accumulation of power
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission's use of administrative law judges violates ...
California Supreme Court, Administrative/Regulatory, Year in Review Column, U.S. Supreme Court, Environmental & Energy
Cases provide insight into shifting environmental policy
With the appointments of Scott Pruitt (administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), Ryan Zinke (secretary of the Int...
Government, Labor/Employment, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
The New Parent Leave Act expands access to 12 weeks of job-protected baby bonding leave to qualifying workers who work for emp...
Civil Litigation, Year in Review Column, Judges and Judiciary
New law is driving down motions
The Legislature enacted of Code of Civil Procedure Section 430.41 in 2016, and earlier this month a new set of changes took ef...
Civil Rights, Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary
Access to justice for the disabled
Current court rules are vague and flimsy. It is time for the Judicial Council to flex its rulemaking muscles and protect vulne...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Why leave Mississippi's discrimination law in place?
When a new pope is selected by the assemblage of cardinals at the Vatican, the papal conclave releases white smoke into the sk...
Ninth Circuit and the Department of Labor clarify when an intern is entitled to minimum wages and other employment benefits. ...
Jack Walker's powerful, insightful and moving "Eye Corps: Coming of Age at the DMZ," details his experiences as a recon patr...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
When the high court handcuffed student journalists
High school journalism has been losing ground since the 1970s due to education budget cuts -- and rulings of the U.S. Supreme ...
The Federal Communications Commission defied the facts, flouted the law, and ignored the will of millions of Americans when it...
Constitutional Law, Criminal, U.S. Supreme Court, California Supreme Court
Justices should uphold DNA collection law
People v. Buza provides an opportunity to ensure that fewer people in the state are convicted of crimes they did not commit an...
Administrative/Regulatory, Tax, Government, Corporate
Attorneys: Get up to speed on Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Here, we have tried to provide an early and high-level overview of federal income tax issues with which California attorneys s...
Two weeks ago, body camera footage of the police killing of Daniel Shaver flooded news outlets across the country, along with ...
Contracts, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Beware boilerplate settlement agreement language
A cautionary tale on the perils of "plugging in" those standard settlement terms when more careful drafting is warranted.
Constitutional Law, Government, California Supreme Court, Administrative/Regulatory
Justices should uphold state Reproductive FACT Act
Imagine that you're one of the more than 350,000 women in California who becomes unexpectedly pregnant every year. Maybe you f...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary, Civil Rights
Leading us out of the cultural divide
Can court outreach inspire the public to dialogue with opposing factions on contentious social issues? It did just that with a...
Appellate Practice, U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary
How do you spell ‘G-U-I-D-A-N-C-E’?
Although the courts' hesitancy to give guidance for future cases seems maddening at first blush, there is some method to that ...