Northern District of California (Oakland)
On a spring afternoon in 2008, U.S. District Judge Saundra B. Armstrong took her seat on the bench in a third floor courtroom of Oakland’s federal building for a hearing she intended to cancel.
The judge was overseeing a class action accusing Walmart of shortchanging terminated employees in their final paychecks. She had recently granted class certification and was considering whether to halt proceedings until a federal ... (continued)