Criminal
Death penalty cases may speed up, but critics say Prop. 66 will not work
By L.J. Williamson
Californians still want a death penalty, and they want it faster. ...
Twelve new judges were elected statewide in Tuesday's contested contests. ...
A roundup of recent transactions and the California lawyers involved.
State Bar & Bar Associations
State Supreme Court to hold off on rule to release bar exam pass list
By Lyle Moran
The court said it made the decision after receiving public comment and consulting with both houses of the Legislature. ...
Newport Banning Ranch LLC, the developer of a sprawling residential and commercial complex in Orange County, is suing the stat...
A proposed class action filed in the Northern District of California accuses social network Facebook Inc. of employing discrim...
Corporate
More companies using non-attorneys on legal matters, study says
By Paula Lehman Ewing
More chief legal officers are finding unique ways to avoid the increasing fees for outside attorneys, according to a recent su...
Rebecca Fleming comes from Stanislaus County to lead court. ...
Personal styling service brings on in-house veteran Scott Darling. ...
Labor/Employment
Judge clears Virgin America class action for takeoff
By Matthew Blake
Virgin America Inc.'s flight attendants have common grievances under California law even if their work flies them elsewhere, a...
Litigation
Federal Circuit wipes out Oakland judge's $20M verdict in business dispute
By Kevin Lee
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated on Tuesday a $20 million award won by medical device manufacturer An...
Videos subject to previous discovery fight leads to lawsuit's undoing. ...
Litigation
Request for State Bar information denied in SF Superior Court
By Phil Johnson
In a battle of the experts, ruling closely follows arguments presented by State Bar. ...
Letter to the Editor
Death penalty articles highlight conundrum for Californians
By Riley Guerin
Monday's paper contained a pair of articles discussing the death penalty initiatives on Tuesday's ballot which highlight a con...
The Los Angeles County Bar Association will begin phasing out its mediation project. ...
Obituaries
California attorneys, judges hail their old boss, Janet Reno
By Malcolm Maclachlan
Several prominent California attorneys and judges who worked for former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who died Monday, des...
Discipline
Alamada County judicial commissioner responds to misconduct charges
By Banks Albachn
Taylor Culver argues that the Commission on Judicial Performance is basing claims out of context. ...
California Supreme Court
In rare case, state Supreme Court rules for defendant without an appeal
By Kevin Lee
Criminal defendants who seek post-conviction relief retain a legal right to summarily disqualify a reviewing judge for prejudi...
A roundup of recent transactions and the California lawyers involved.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Veteran 9th Circuit executive to retire
By Logan Noblin
Cathy A. Catterson, Circuit and Court of Appeals executive for the 9th Circuit, announced Monday that she will retire in Febru...
Government
With new tactics, death penalty foes pursue initiative to abolish it
By L.J. Williamson
Rather than emphasizing emotions or ethics, the Yes on 62 campaign to abolish the death penalty is stressing dollars and sense...
Advocates of Prop. 66 want to speed up death penalty appeals and executions. ...
An ATV company is being sued for knowingly selling off-road vehicles that suddenly burst into flames ...
Insurance
Plaintiff, once awarded $19M, gets $475K in bad-faith insurance case
By Kevin Lee
The 2nd District Court of Appeal awarded a man $475,000 in punitive damages against defendant Stonebridge Life Insurance Co. i...
The defendant allegedly made $100,000 for work that was never done. ...
Mergers & Acquisitions
Chinese conglomerate to buy Dick Clark Productions
By Banks Albachn
The billion dollar deal is the latest media acquisition by Dalian Wanda Group. ...
The national numbers experienced an incremental down-tick, but the state's losses were more significant, with 1,600 employees ...
Law Practice
Asian Americans make inroads in legal profession, but have a ways to go
By Lyle Moran
Despite overall growth in the industry, the group is underrepresented in the top posts in government and the private sector. ...
Civil Rights
Judge frees man he held on civil contempt for six years
By Meghann M. Cuniff
Judge Andrew P. Banks stuck to his earlier assertions that Zulmai Nazarzai has not proven he's unable to comply with the order...
Government Contracts
Amid guilty pleas and civil settlements, aircraft company keeps defense contracts
By America Hernandez
Air Industries Corp., headquartered in Garden Grove, resolved the latest round of whistleblower allegations against it for $2....