9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, U.S. Supreme Court
High court should hear child rape case
By William Douglas Kari
Already the 9th Circuit’s illogical reasoning has resulted in mistrial of a case involving a defendant who allegedly molested ...
In most cases, a property owner’s view is not protected and, accordingly, buyers unwittingly pay a hefty surcharge for somethi...
Letters, Civil Litigation
Assertion that PG&E discussed $8B settlement is entirely false
By Michael A. Kelly, Frank M. Pitre, Bill Robins III
On Wednesday, the Daily Journal reported on a “split” among plaintiff lawyers over a “proposed PG&E fire settlement.”
Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Happy 60th birthday to Stanley Mosk Courthouse
By Michael L. Stern
When the doors of this fifth principal courthouse opened six decades ago, it was heralded as the "Dream Courthouse" and the "C...
Ruling displays struggle to find homelessness solutions
By Scott E. Huber
The 9th Circuit recently issued an opinion that gives clarity to public agencies which wish to enact regulations related to si...
Civil Litigation, Tax
Monsanto weed killer verdict highlights unfair tax rules, again
By Robert W. Wood
Up until the end of 2017, you could claim a tax deduction for your legal fees. In 2018 and thereafter, there is often no deduc...
Administrative/Regulatory, Entertainment & Sports
Sports Betting in a Post-PASPA World
By Tai Hsia, Jake Williams
The U.S. Supreme Court recently opened the door to legalized sports betting, but its future regulatory framework remains a wil...
California Courts of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Civil Litigation
Strange things are afoot in this takings decision
By Michael M. Berger
Why strange? First of all,the property owners won. In itself, that is noteworthy. The second strangeness is that, notwithstand...
Intellectual Property, Civil Litigation
The Law of Unintended Consequences at Federal Circuit
By Esha Bandyopadhyay
The unintended consequences of the law are familiar to learned attorneys. This is not the product of anyone’s fault, but an in...
Books, Constitutional Law, Government, U.S. Supreme Court
How voter suppression is destroying our democracy
By Marc D. Alexander
This is a puzzle addressed by Carol Anderson, in her new and hard-hitting book. Not surprisingly, much of the story of voter s...
The objective of this article and self-study test is to familiarize readers on impeachment of witnesses’ credibility with prio...
Part II: The Art of War
Books, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
The right to an education in America
By Richard Wirick
Key Supreme Court decisions involving students’ constitutional rights are thoroughly but briskly covered in Justin Driver’s “T...
Administrative/Regulatory, Environmental & Energy
Agencies propose reforms to Endangered Species Act regulations
By Samuel Edward Bivins
These incremental reforms have the potential to make ESA compliance incrementally more efficient and effective for both federa...
California Courts of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Civil Litigation, Education Law
Trilogy of cases leads the way on due process for students
By David Urban
California appellate courts have taken a leading role in developing a body of law for public and private colleges and universi...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice
Mandatory malpractice insurance in the works?
By Kenneth C. Feldman
The State Bar formed a working group to study mandatory malpractice insurance earlier this year, but not many attorneys know w...
Constitutional Law, Criminal, U.S. Supreme Court
High court has chance to weigh ‘separate sovereign’ doctrine
By John H. Minan
For more than 150 years, the Supreme Court has recognized a “separate sovereign exception” to double jeopardy. Justices Ginsbu...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation
Perseverance pays off for employer in class action litigation
By Christopher M. Ahearn
A federal court in Los Angeles just proved that, even after many years of difficult, protracted litigation, and despite severa...
Insurance, Civil Litigation
Court says insurer can’t dodge coverage through ‘technical escape hatch’
By Robert J. McKennon
A recent Court of Appeal opinion said the notice-prejudice rule precluded the denial of life insurance benefits based upon the...
Bankruptcy
Avoiding fraudulent transfers by debtors in bankruptcy cases
By Stuart B. Rodgers
In a bankruptcy context, trustees, debtors in possession, and even creditors, may have the ability to pursue recipients of tra...
Monsanto's high-stakes glyphosate battle is just beginning
By David I. Levine
In the next few weeks, Dewayne Johnson’s lawyers will have to decide whether to accept the judge’s $210 million reduction of t...
State Bar & Bar Associations
State Bar must ensure minorities are not disciplined at a higher rate
By Daniel Everett
Over the years, the State Bar of California has been tasked with ensuring that it does not use its authority disproportionatel...
A Native American treaty rights case up for U.S. Supreme Court review centers on whether an 1855 treaty protects a tribal memb...
As of Jan. 1, 2019, veterans sentenced prior to Jan. 1, 2015 will have an opportunity to go back to court and ask for a senten...
Law Office Management, Law Practice
Mansfield Rule is a start, but law firms must do more
By Cheryl Stephanie Chang, Diana M. Eng
While the Mansfield Rule and Mansfield 2.0 may address some of the concerns about unequal treatment of women in the legal prof...
California Courts of Appeal, Family
Court says child has standing to sue for wrongful death of non-biological parent
By Jeffrey P. Blum
In a victory for children of same-sex parents and children conceived by parents using assisted reproduction, the California Co...
Before leaving office, Gov. Jerry Brown should take the courageous step of commuting the death sentences of the 743 individual...
Why, after four years of education and training (and after I also received a B.A. from UC Berkeley), passing my third test att...
Clients with international interests may need to register under FARA
By Terree Bowers, Craig Engle
If your clients have international interests, you may want to double check whether they need to register under FARA, the Forei...
Entertainment & Sports, Intellectual Property
The biggest update to copyright law in decades
By Matthew Bernstein
The Music Modernization Act is a sweeping update to the U.S. Copyright Act that will bring the law closer to a music licensing...