Discipline
Public Defender's Disqualification of Judges Rebuffed
By Tamara Koehler
VENTURA - A Santa Barbara judge has rejected a defense attempt to disqualify four Ventura County judges from hearing certain ...
Litigation
SLAPP Plaintiff Can't Evade Fees
By Anna Marie Stolley
A state appeal panel has ruled that a plaintiff who files a meritless strategic lawsuit against public participation suit and...
Appellate Practice
Court: Policyholders Have to Prove Exceptions
By Philip Carizosa
SAN FRANCISCO - In a significant victory for insurers, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a policyholder -- not...
Government
AG Clears DA in Voter Fraud Probe
By Tori Richards
SANTA ANA - While the attorney general's office has found that the Orange County district attorney's investigation into alleg...
Government
Homeless Vet Is Jailed for Talking At Public Meeting
By Mathew Heller
SAN BERNARDINO - A self-styled government watchdog has begun serving an 18-month jail sentence after the judge - who earlier ...
Appellate Practice
Public Has Right to Disclosure of Mental Reports
By Pamela Mac Lean
SAN FRANCISCO - In the first ruling of its kind, a federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a common-law right of public acce...
Government
New Lawmaking Battles Await a Chastened Clinton
By Daniel Shaw
WASHINGTON - The president has testified, verified and skipped town, leaving the media and its ever-revolving roster of pundi...
Public Interest
Legal Aid Group Contests Verdict
By Dennis Pfaff
SAN FRANCISCO - A lawyer for California Rural Legal Assistance said Tuesday he will attempt to persuade a Sonoma County judge...
Litigation
Harassment Led Legal Secretary to Quit, Suit Claims
By Denise Levin
A legal secretary says she was forced to quit her job with a Van Nuys law firm because of ongoing harassment by one of the fi...
Criminal
Bad Check Program Nets $4 Million in Restitution
By Tori Richards
SANTA ANA --- Thanks to a program that operates without any help from taxpayers, the Orange County district attorney's office...
Government
Baca's Role in Settlement Questioned
By Lauren Blau
A former high-ranking Los Angeles County law enforcement official trying to unseat Sheriff Sherman Block is being investigate...
Family
Father's 'Toy' Seized by County
By Jason Armstrong & Sean Windle
ALTA LOMA - For sale: a 1997 Chevrolet Z-71 aqua-blue extended cab truck with leather interior loaded with gadgets and gizmos...
Family
Kids in the Halls
By Cheryl Romo
Courtroom day-care facilities that can keep restless children occupied while their parents appear as litigants, witnesses or j...
Government
Efforts to Boost HMO Liability Seem Doomed
By Tom Dresslar
SACRAMENTO - This year's major legislative proposals to strengthen consumers' ability to fight health maintenance organizatio...
Judges and Judiciary
Judge Censured For Lying About Childhood Event
By Pamela Mac Lean
SAN FRANCISCO - In its first public reprimand, the Judicial Council of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals openly censured ...
Civil Rights
Environmental Racism Claim Is Off the Docket
By David Pike
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday summarily dismissed an important "environmental racism" case it had agreed to review...
Government
AG's Opinion Sought in Election Dispute
By Craiq Anderson
SAN JOSE - Santa Clara County Counsel Ann M. Ravel has asked the state attorney general's office for a written opinion to cle...
Judges and Judiciary
Lawyer Questions Rio Hondo Judge's Residency
By Denise Levin
Rio Hondo Municipal Court Judge Peter J. Meeka spent Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court defending his seat on the bench fro...
Judges and Judiciary
Glendale Commissioner Is Placed on Leave
By Denise Levin
Glendale Judicial District Commissioner Dona Bracke has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation int...
Criminal
Federal Prosecutor's Departure Does Not Mean End to Duties
By Pamela Mac Lean
SAN FRANCISCO - A day after his resignation takes effect Aug. 24, U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi faces a head-on confrontati...
Insurance
AIDS Coverage Ruled Out Under Policy
By Anna Marie Stolley
A state appeal court on Monday allowed insurers to deny coverage to people who have even minor symptoms of serious illnesses ...
Criminal
Judge Denies DA Request for Bail for Teens
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego Superior Court judge Monday unsealed an 11-week-old indictment charging three 15-year-old boys with th...
Judges and Judiciary
Ex-Civil Attorney Enjoys Working in New Areas of Law
By Cassandra Smith
She jokes that she is just trailer trash. But Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White - who does work out of a...
Appellate Practice
Disabled Workers Win Right to Seek Higher Damages
By Philip Carizosa
SAN FRANCISCO - In a long-awaited victory for disabled workers, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that employees who ...
Judges and Judiciary
Confusion Over Prior Convictions Envelops Courts
By Michael Harris
Recent modifications to a California Penal Code section have created confusion in the state's courtrooms as to whether defend...
Immigration
Kenyan Blast Rattles Hopes of Immigrant
By B. Scott Bortnick
OXNARD - For Jimmi Juma Shua, midnight was far more than the turn of another day. It also marked his birthday - and the differ...
Judges and Judiciary
Governor Fills Vacant Appellate Court Seats
By Philip Carizosa
SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Pete Wilson filled the last two empty spots on the 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday, elevating t...
Criminal
San Diego Teen-agers to be Tried as Adults
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego Superior Court judge Thursday ruled that three 15-year-olds charged with murder in the death of a 12-...
Insurance
Critics Assail Commissioner's Actions
By Denise Levin
Glendale Judicial District Commissioner Dona Bracke, who ordered the arrest of dozens of defendants for perjury and filing fa...
Appellate Practice
The Duke of Dissent
By David Pike
WASHINGTON - When Ronald Reagan appointed Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court in 1986, many observers predicted the conservat...