Law Practice, Civil Litigation
Settling a case with a penalty
What are attorneys to do if they wish to compromise a case with an incentive to encourage payment on schedule? For starters, t...
Appellate Practice
Legal system without appeals should raise eyebrows
Our legal system presupposes a considerable number of contested hearings and a fair number of appeals. Appellate courts play a...
Health Care & Hospital Law
Reform long overdue for conservatorship process
The conservatorship process for adults with developmental disabilities is broken. By Thomas F. Coleman ...
Law Office Management
Embrace Parentheticals
Concise arguments may be made using the (oft-ignored) parenthetical. ...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Officer mistake opinion raises questions
When the U.S. Supreme Court held that a traffic stop based on a reasonable mistake of law by a police officer does not violate...
Constitutional Law, Criminal, U.S. Supreme Court
When you can rely on anonymous tips
When may an anonymous tip provide the basis for reasonable suspicion to allow a police officer to stop and briefly detain an i...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Justices taking a look at dog sniffs
When officers stop a car for a traffic violation, they may employ a trained dog to sniff the vehicle for drugs. But how long m...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal
Justices consider statutory text limits
Can a person be guilty of federal bank fraud even where his scheme contemplates no deception of a bank? ...
Criminal
In the Supreme Court, plain text means context
In the ordinary criminal case, if an accused's conduct is prohibited by the plain text of a statutory provision, the person is...
Law Office Management
The Urge to Exclaim
In legal writing, don't give in to the urge to exclaim. ...
Law Office Management
Your Own Style
Even in legal writing, find your own style to create compelling communication. ...
Constitutional Law, Books
The Classical Liberal Constitution
Erwin Chemerinsky is impressed and disturbed by Richard Epstein's The Classic Liberal Constitution. ...
U.S. Supreme Court
High court to consider what constitutes a true threat
The case may resolve a split between the 9th Circuit and the California Supreme Court as to whether proof of subjective intent...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Crawford v. Washington's interpretation of the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause made quite a splash when first handed do...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Criminal
When cops make good faith mistakes
What happens if the officer was mistaken about the facts or the law such that, with the proper information considered, the off...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law
Ruling may lead to more lifetime bans on gun possession
A recent opinion by the U.S. high court may significantly expand the class of Californians prohibited for life from possessing...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal
Aiding and abetting ruling destined for case books
The U.S. high court recently issued an opinion explicating the elements of a federal aiding and abetting charge, providing the...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law
On Monday, the U.S. high court granted certiorari in a case in which a litigant's right to a fair trial collides with the law'...
Law Office Management
Where Do We Go from Here?
The U.S. Supreme Court's docket has been filled with blockbuster cases in recent years. Will the upcoming term continue that t...
Books, Constitutional Law
The Great Dissent
Erwin Chemerinsky reviews The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind - and Changed the History of Free S...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Ready, Aim, Mediate
Tips on how to have a successful mediation. ...
Law Office Management
Gay Marriage at the Supreme Court
Erwin Chemerinsky discusses what should we look for at the gay marriage oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in which advoc...
Law Office Management
Prop. 8 Should Be Decided on the Merits
UC Hastings law professor Rory Little on why liberals and and conservatives alike should embrace "standing" in the Prop. 8 sam...
Civil Litigation
Jurisdiction and the Internet
The doctrine of "minimum contacts" takes on a new dimension when applied to a defendant who does business only over the Intern...
Law Office Management
Blockbuster Cases Ahead for SCOTUS
Cases on the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming docket look to be as significant as those on last term's. ...
Law Practice
State Bar discipline: Public reprovals can hurt you
Don't be fooled - a public reproval for attorney misconduct can tarnish your image and hurt your business. ...
Law Practice
Now that I've gotten a State Bar letter, what's next?
Know thy adversary - what the State Bar considers when deciding to close an inquiry or investigation. ...
Law Practice
When Lawyers Collect More Than Clients Receive
Measures lawyers should take to secure client consent of the fee agreement. ...
U.S. Supreme Court
Drama Awaits New Jurist
Our annual U.S. Supreme Court preview focuses on important issues that will confront new Associate Justice Elena Kagan and her...
Judges and Judiciary
A Moral Choice
The moral of the story? Perhaps running against an exceptionally well-qualified judge demonstrates lack of judgment.