Associate Justice
California Courts of Appeal
1st Appellate District, Division 5
Department/Division:
5
350 McAllister St.
San Francisco , CA 94102-3600
(415) 865-7300
Appointed to the 1st Appellate District by Gov. Jerry Brown in November 2018. Brown appointed Burns to the state Environmental Protection Agency in 2011. Prior to that, he was an attorney with the Resources Law Group LLP, a Sacramento environmental law firm. He spent well over a decade at the state Department of Justice as a deputy attorney general and later a deputy solicitor general.
Rulings
| Case | Category | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| People v. McCune affirmed | Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 8, 2024 | 
| Mueller v. Mueller author | Contracts | Jun. 3, 2024 | 
| Modification: County of Alameda v. Alameda County Taxpayers' Assn., Inc. author | Tax | Feb. 26, 2024 | 
| County of Alameda v. Alameda County Taxpayers' Assn., Inc. author | Tax | Jan. 30, 2024 | 
| Mattson Technology v. Applied Materials author | Civil Procedure | Nov. 2, 2023 | 
| Williamson v. Genentech, Inc. author | Business Law | Aug. 7, 2023 | 
| In re A.B. author | Juveniles | Aug. 4, 2023 | 
| Modification: Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of Cal. author | Environmental Law | Mar. 16, 2023 | 
| Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of Cal. author | Environmental Law | Feb. 27, 2023 | 
| State Dept. of State Hospitals v. Superior Court (Jane Doe) author | Immunity | Nov. 3, 2022 | 
| People v. Guillory author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 17, 2022 | 
| People v. McCune author | Remedies | Jul. 26, 2022 | 
| Shoker v. Superior Court (Phangureh) author | Real Property | Jul. 18, 2022 | 
| City of Los Angeles Dept. of Airports v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. author | Civil Procedure | Jun. 16, 2022 | 
| People v. Smith author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 14, 2022 | 
| Hahn v. New York Air Brake LLC author | Civil Procedure | Apr. 27, 2022 | 
| Tola v. Bryant author | Corporations | Mar. 28, 2022 | 
| In re K.M. author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Feb. 22, 2022 | 
| People v. Smith author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Feb. 22, 2022 | 
| Modification: Mission Peak Conservancy v. State Water Resources Control Board author | Water Rights | Dec. 21, 2021 | 
| Mission Peak Conservancy v. State Water Resources Control Board author | Water Rights | Dec. 17, 2021 | 
| Modification: Doe v. Damron author | Civil Procedure | Nov. 11, 2021 | 
| Host International, Inc. v. City of Oakland author | Tax | Oct. 26, 2021 | 
| Doe v. Damron author | Civil Procedure | Oct. 22, 2021 | 
| People v. Sands author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Oct. 14, 2021 | 
| Reddish v. Westamerica Bank author | Civil Procedure | Aug. 31, 2021 | 
| In re M.W. author | Juveniles | Aug. 11, 2021 | 
| Corona v. Superior Court (People) author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 24, 2021 | 
| Banister v. Marinidence Opco, LLC author | Arbitration | May 25, 2021 | 
| The Sonoma Land Trust v. Thompson author | Attorneys | May 5, 2021 | 
| In re Hoze author | statutory_interpretation | Mar. 1, 2021 | 
| Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. v. Superior Court (Fragoza) author | Civil Procedure | Feb. 19, 2021 | 
| Self v. Cher-AE Heights Indian Community author | Government | Jan. 28, 2021 | 
| People v. Estrada author | statutory_interpretation | Dec. 18, 2020 | 
| Tiburon/Belvedere Residents United to Support the Trails v. Martha Co. author | Real Property | Oct. 28, 2020 | 
| In re McDowell author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Oct. 19, 2020 | 
| In re J.W.-P. author | Dependency | Sep. 10, 2020 | 
| Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods v. Regents of the University of California author | statutory_interpretation | Jul. 2, 2020 | 
| Olabi v. Neutron Holdings, Inc. author | Arbitration | Jun. 23, 2020 | 
| People v. Jones author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 17, 2020 | 
| Hernandez v. Dept. of Motor Vehicles concurring | statutory_interpretation | Jun. 4, 2020 | 
| Galeotti v. International Union of Operating Engineers concurring | Civil Procedure | May 8, 2020 | 
| Obbard v. State Bar of California author | Attorneys | Apr. 30, 2020 | 
| Facebook, Inc. v. Super. Ct. author | statutory_interpretation | Mar. 10, 2020 | 
| In re McDowell author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Mar. 3, 2020 | 
| Brome v. Cal. Highway Patrol author | Employment Discrimination | Jan. 30, 2020 | 
| People v. Drayton author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Nov. 27, 2019 | 
| Ghezavat v. Harris author | Torts | Oct. 1, 2019 | 
| People v. Hughes author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Sep. 13, 2019 | 
| Churchman v. Bay Area Rapid Transit Dist. author | Torts | Aug. 29, 2019 | 
| Rel v. Pacific Bell Mobile Services author | Civil Procedure | Apr. 2, 2019 | 
Verdicts & Settlements
| Case Name | Topic | Role | Published | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Kristin M. Perry, Sandra B. Stier, Paul T. Katami, Jeffrey J. Zarrillo, et al. v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., et al. | Civil Rights | Defendant | Aug. 21, 2010 | 
| Case | Category | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| People v. McCune affirmed | Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 8, 2024 | 
| Mueller v. Mueller author | Contracts | Jun. 3, 2024 | 
| Modification: County of Alameda v. Alameda County Taxpayers' Assn., Inc. author | Tax | Feb. 26, 2024 | 
| County of Alameda v. Alameda County Taxpayers' Assn., Inc. author | Tax | Jan. 30, 2024 | 
| Mattson Technology v. Applied Materials author | Civil Procedure | Nov. 2, 2023 | 
| Williamson v. Genentech, Inc. author | Business Law | Aug. 7, 2023 | 
| In re A.B. author | Juveniles | Aug. 4, 2023 | 
| Modification: Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of Cal. author | Environmental Law | Mar. 16, 2023 | 
| Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of Cal. author | Environmental Law | Feb. 27, 2023 | 
| State Dept. of State Hospitals v. Superior Court (Jane Doe) author | Immunity | Nov. 3, 2022 | 
| People v. Guillory author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 17, 2022 | 
| People v. McCune author | Remedies | Jul. 26, 2022 | 
| Shoker v. Superior Court (Phangureh) author | Real Property | Jul. 18, 2022 | 
| City of Los Angeles Dept. of Airports v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. author | Civil Procedure | Jun. 16, 2022 | 
| People v. Smith author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 14, 2022 | 
| Hahn v. New York Air Brake LLC author | Civil Procedure | Apr. 27, 2022 | 
| Tola v. Bryant author | Corporations | Mar. 28, 2022 | 
| In re K.M. author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Feb. 22, 2022 | 
| People v. Smith author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Feb. 22, 2022 | 
| Modification: Mission Peak Conservancy v. State Water Resources Control Board author | Water Rights | Dec. 21, 2021 | 
| Mission Peak Conservancy v. State Water Resources Control Board author | Water Rights | Dec. 17, 2021 | 
| Modification: Doe v. Damron author | Civil Procedure | Nov. 11, 2021 | 
| Host International, Inc. v. City of Oakland author | Tax | Oct. 26, 2021 | 
| Doe v. Damron author | Civil Procedure | Oct. 22, 2021 | 
| People v. Sands author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Oct. 14, 2021 | 
| Reddish v. Westamerica Bank author | Civil Procedure | Aug. 31, 2021 | 
| In re M.W. author | Juveniles | Aug. 11, 2021 | 
| Corona v. Superior Court (People) author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 24, 2021 | 
| Banister v. Marinidence Opco, LLC author | Arbitration | May 25, 2021 | 
| The Sonoma Land Trust v. Thompson author | Attorneys | May 5, 2021 | 
| In re Hoze author | statutory_interpretation | Mar. 1, 2021 | 
| Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. v. Superior Court (Fragoza) author | Civil Procedure | Feb. 19, 2021 | 
| Self v. Cher-AE Heights Indian Community author | Government | Jan. 28, 2021 | 
| People v. Estrada author | statutory_interpretation | Dec. 18, 2020 | 
| Tiburon/Belvedere Residents United to Support the Trails v. Martha Co. author | Real Property | Oct. 28, 2020 | 
| In re McDowell author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Oct. 19, 2020 | 
| In re J.W.-P. author | Dependency | Sep. 10, 2020 | 
| Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods v. Regents of the University of California author | statutory_interpretation | Jul. 2, 2020 | 
| Olabi v. Neutron Holdings, Inc. author | Arbitration | Jun. 23, 2020 | 
| People v. Jones author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Jun. 17, 2020 | 
| Hernandez v. Dept. of Motor Vehicles concurring | statutory_interpretation | Jun. 4, 2020 | 
| Galeotti v. International Union of Operating Engineers concurring | Civil Procedure | May 8, 2020 | 
| Obbard v. State Bar of California author | Attorneys | Apr. 30, 2020 | 
| Facebook, Inc. v. Super. Ct. author | statutory_interpretation | Mar. 10, 2020 | 
| In re McDowell author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Mar. 3, 2020 | 
| Brome v. Cal. Highway Patrol author | Employment Discrimination | Jan. 30, 2020 | 
| People v. Drayton author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Nov. 27, 2019 | 
| Ghezavat v. Harris author | Torts | Oct. 1, 2019 | 
| People v. Hughes author | Criminal Law and Procedure | Sep. 13, 2019 | 
| Churchman v. Bay Area Rapid Transit Dist. author | Torts | Aug. 29, 2019 | 
| Rel v. Pacific Bell Mobile Services author | Civil Procedure | Apr. 2, 2019 | 
| Case Name | Topic | Role | Published | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Kristin M. Perry, Sandra B. Stier, Paul T. Katami, Jeffrey J. Zarrillo, et al. v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., et al. | Civil Rights | Defendant | Aug. 21, 2010 | 
 

 
