Administrative/Regulatory, Government, Environmental & Energy
Agencies finally begin to address dangers of PFAS
This article provides background on polyfluoroalkyl substances, highlights recent regulatory developments and raises, as yet, ...
Civil Litigation, Constitutional Law
Holding gun manufacturers responsible for reckless ads
Manufacturers may soon find themselves back in the hot seat after a March 14 decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Brenda F. Harbin-Forte, a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court, has researched and written about African-American women ...
Criminal, Government
Gov. Gavin Newsom made history by declaring a moratorium on executions in California and even tweeting out images of the execu...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Government
Ruling is a victory in battle for affordable housing
The 9th Circuit recently upheld a Santa Monica ordinance regulating short-term rentals companies. This decision is a win not j...
California Courts of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal
The schizophrenic Sixth
The Bible may say, “No one can serve two masters.” But do these words of wisdom apply to the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel?
Appellate Practice, California Supreme Court, Civil Litigation
Projected admissibility
A July 2017 paper on quantum mechanics suggests the future influences the present. Our Supreme Court appears to have to come t...
Real Estate/Development, Tax
The new tax law created an incentive program which encourages investors to make long-term financial investments in opportunity...
The opioid problem is monstrous and tentacular. Litigation is a critically important component of the response to the crisis: ...
California Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary
The funds may be used to defray the travel expenses of law students and graduate students needing to access archival materials...
Constitutional Law
In the battle between desire for public access and environmental preservation, respecting property rights is the best solution
Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Take a breath
When I use commas, it’s so the reader can take a break.
Administrative/Regulatory
In September, California became the first state to ban the sale of most cosmetics tested on animals. The passage of Senate Bil...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, State Bar & Bar Associations
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 2)
On Wednesday, in the first part of this series I urged dissolving barriers among members of the legal profession. Here, I note...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Patent Office guidance does not adhere to Alice
The Patent Office’s new guidance aims to upend the Supreme Court’s decision in Alice v. CLS Bank on two fronts.
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Congress never intended to allow these fees to be set so high.
State Bar & Bar Associations, Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Dissolving legal barriers (Part 1)
Trial judges and appellate justices rarely interact across their courts. Judges and lawyers have sporadic, desultory contact a...
Alternative Dispute Resolution, California Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court, Civil Litigation
Heimlich relief for 998 offers
Attorneys may be surprised to learn that there is no clear roadmap when it comes to employing the cost-shifting mechanisms of ...
This conundrum presents these attorneys with a veritable Sophie's Choice: assert their legal claims and disclose privileged in...
Labor/Employment, Military Law
Employing veterans in California
Lawyers might want to keep in mind that what appears to be a run-of-the-mill employment situation may be anything but. When ve...
Law Practice, Civil Litigation
As of Jan. 1, 2019, a key component of settlement agreements in California — the release of unknown claims and waiver of Civil...
Appellate Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Blind as a Bat
On bats and rules for writing opinions, which I violate with agonizing regularity.
Even if Mark Twain never actually said, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over,” nowhere is this maxim better il...
Government, Military Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Sexual trauma in the military
Remedies to the military sexual assault situation require attention by both Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Even a presid...
For the past six years (2013-2018), I have counted the number and type of motions that were heard in Department 15. I then pre...
Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Bookends
This is my first column for the year 2019. It picks up some themes from my last column in 2018. You might consider the two col...
Law Practice
The Judicial Council has just released for public comment a set of new educational requirements for court-appointed attorneys ...
Administrative/Regulatory, Environmental & Energy
Slaughter-free meat comes with regulatory challenges
It is all but certain that the USDA and FDA will play a role in regulating various aspects of slaughter-free meat, but the det...
Law Practice
When it comes to the movement to reform abusive guardianship and conservatorship systems, there is an advocacy void when it co...
Many civilian lawyers in California join the California State Military Reserve to serve and support the people of California.