Law Practice
When clients choose their attorneys, they place faith in the attorney to handle the matter effectively and consistently with t...
Civil Rights
Three California civil rights enforcement agencies are effectively missing in action when it comes to protecting people with d...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
In Caniglia v. Strom, 20-157, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether there is a “community caretaker” exc...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal
Revelations II
The intriguing title of my February column “Revelations” was an intimate look (not exposé) on how appellate opinions are “proc...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Legal Education, Law Practice
Does consumer debt correlate to moral character?
Most state bars incorrectly think so.
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court has the opportunity to bolster free speech
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in a case asking whether you have the right to privacy when you make charitab...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal
Law Day 2021: A celebration of the law and lawyers
As presiding justice of the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 2, in Riverside, I come into contact with the men and women...
Tax, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
State-licensed marijuana businesses have high IRS audit rates and face big challenges to minimize their federal tax burden. On...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Lawyers must help protect judges
Our duty to uphold the rule of law includes supporting judicial safety.
U.S. Supreme Court
An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case is highlighting the need to pay greater attention to the justices’ conflicts of interest a...
Law Practice
The board of trustees of the State Bar of California will be reviewing the Annual Discipline Report on Friday. During the meet...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice, Immigration
The State Bar of California is pushing forward a set of proposals that would license nonattorneys to practice law and further ...
Military Law, Law Practice
How California attorneys can help our veterans
The veteran community has unique needs as a client base which differ from civilian clientele. Consider some examples: A vetera...
Judges and Judiciary, Covid Columns
OC courts safely conducted 170 jury trials during COVID
When U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed charges against defendants in the Central District of California for the fail...
Judges and Judiciary, Covid Columns
Los Angeles County Superior Court’s restraining order courts in a year of emergency.
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law
At the Mountains of Madness
The Supreme Court is poised to review the standard for a defendant to successfully show that an error in federal constitutiona...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Letters, Law Practice
Ralph Baxter and Zachariah DeMeola believe the legal system is broken. Their arguments for why and how nonlawyer ownership of ...
Military Law
Class actions arrive at the VA
Wanna bet which proves more effective in speeding up justice for veterans… more government regulations or class action lawyers?
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
April, not the cruelest month
Public officials, even judges, may sometimes give voice to social issues
Law Practice
A grand jury method for conservatorship reform
The top-down approach to conservatorship reform has been tried for nearly 15 years with very little success. Perhaps it is tim...
Before gifting to foreign charities (through checks, credit cards or Venmo), consider that charitable giving outside this coun...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
The experience of managing a law firm during the 12-plus months since California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his March 19, 2020, ...
U.S. Supreme Court
As the administrative state has expanded, so too has the importance of the Freedom of Information Act. FOIA ensures public scr...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
A fundamental aspect of private property is that the owner can choose whom to let onto the property and who to exclude as a tr...
Military Law, Civil Rights
Gender issues in the ranks
Does the military really want women in its ranks?
Constitutional Law
One step closer to professional freedom
A recent 9th Circuit decision was the first appellate ruling to permit a lawsuit to proceed on a challenge to forced membershi...
Law Practice
A measure relating to appointed legal counsel in probate conservatorships was recently introduced into the California Assembly.
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
San Francisco lost sight of a simple truth when it decided that condo conversions presented an opportunity to require property...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Expedition vs excellence
To follow up on last month’s column “Revelations,” this column centers on, not centers around, opinion writing.
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Books
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a vexing decision in Castle Rock v. Gonzales. There, the Co...