Working in a small court in Napa means Judge Rodney G. Stone gets to hear all types of cases.
Criminal
Marijuana classification as controlled substance gets a rare hearing
By Hadley Robinson
In a situation with little precedent, a federal judge is allowing defense attorneys a chance to present evidence that the clas...
Contracts
Arbitration bill will have broader implications than claimed
By Ben Armisteadn
Although portrayed as only affecting hate crime statutes, the Assembly Bill 2617's provisions will have much broader ramificat...
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Guilty verdict overturned by 9th Circuit due to judge's misstatement to jury
By John Roemer
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel held that a defendant deserved habeas relief because of a Los Angeles County judge's...
Environmental
In rare move, state appellate court reverses itself on land dispute
By Fiona Smith
Court rehears a case and rules Coastal Commission overreached when it required a land owner to grant public access to its beac...
California Supreme Court
Former Del Norte County district attorney disbarred
By Saul Sugarman
Former Del Norte County District Attorney Jon M. Alexander has been permanently disbarred, the state Supreme Court ruled. ...
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Theodor C. Albert denied a fee application for $211,000 that Shulman Hodges & Bastian LLP had sought...
Government
Judicial branch heavyweights make case for additional court funding
By Paul Jones
Years of too little funding for state and federal courts have hurt citizens, according to a panel of judicial branch heavyweig...
David H. Brickner, a former Orange County Superior Court judge who's now a mediator with JAMS, is known for his relentless at...
Criminal
Flash incarceration constitutes a 'custodial sanction,' panel tentatively rules
By Vik Jolly
An appeals court has tentatively held that the concept of "flash incarceration" - an immediate and short return to jail for up...
Entertainment & Sports
$250 million ‘Simpsons' suit may have come too late
By Matthew Blaken
A suit by a veteran character actor for misappropriation against Fox may have run afoul of statute of limitations rules. ...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Loan modification lawyer agrees to be disbarred
By Don Debenedictisn
Stephen Lyster Siringoringo stipulated with State Bar prosecutors to be disbarred for taking illegal advance fees in 14 mortga...
An ex-employee at Costco Wholesale Corp. won almost $1.7 million for wrongful termination in Riverside County. ...
Litigation
Suit alleges discrimination of gay, transgender inmates in San Bernardino jail
By Kylie Reynolds
The jail's policy of automatically segregating gay, bisexual and transgender inmates denies these offenders equal access to re...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
McGrane LLP must digorge fees from Howrey bankrupcty
By Joshua Seboldn
McGrane LLP, a bankruptcy boutique involved in the Howrey LLP bankruptcy for years, has been ordered to disgorge more than $30...
Health Care & Hospital Law
Court should affirm 9th Circuit on crisis intervention policing
By Katharine Malonen
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to review a holding that police must take reasonable steps under the ADA to ac...
The traditional bundling of channels by cable television providers was hit with a double-whammy last week courtesy of HBO, and...
Law Practice
Lawyers, staff expected to see 3 percent salary increases next year
By Kibkabe Arayan
Legal professions around the country could see an average increase of 3 percent in starting salaries by next year, according t...
Michael Drobot, a hospital administrator caught up in a federal kickback scheme, filed a $60M defamation suit against several ...
Diversity is key for Harmeet Dhillon of Dhillon Law Group, who's vice chairman of the state Republican party and a former ACLU...
Here are summaries of lawyer disciplinary actions taken recently by the state Supreme Court or the Bar Court, listing attorney...
General Cousel & Executive Vice President of Connexity, Inc. Los Angeles ...
Government
Attorneys challenge agreement between San Diego district attorney, city attorney
By Kylie Reynolds
San Diego deputy city attorneys prosecute misdemeanors in some parts outside of the San Diego city limits under a 1975 agreeme...
When California legislators reconvene, they should move swiftly to join New York and New Jersey and ban ivory sales. It's the ...
A recently issued notice limits "inversion" transactions and their potential tax benefits. By Stanley Barsky and Aaron Pomeroy...
Personal Injury & Torts
Why we should let statutory damages run concurrently
By Ben Armisteadn
The potential for statutory damages to reach astronomical amounts is a well-known problem. So what if we allowed the courts to...
Litigation
Lawyers who successfully challenged NCAA amateurism model seek $50M in fees
By Hadley Robinson
Plaintiffs' lawyers who challenged the NCAA amateurism model this summer and won, asked a federal judge Tuesday night for $50 ...
California Courts of Appeal
Appellate court affirms judge's decision blocking settlement
By Saul Sugarman
A plaintiffs' firm lost its shot Wednesday at collecting roughly $5 million from a settlement that was allegedly procured in s...
Apple scored a patent trial victory in San Jose Wednesday after an eight-person jury unanimously ruled that the Cupertino-base...
Sacramento air pollution regulators rescind a permit for an oil train offloading facility after environmentalists sue claiming...