California Courts of Appeal, Real Estate/Development
Real estate exactions – again
By Michael M. Berger
It is time for either the California Supreme Court to revisit its earlier decisions in light of the clear holdings and analysi...
Criminal, Health Care & Hospital Law
MICRA does not apply to death due to elder abuse
By Stephen M. Garcia
Plaintiff’s attorneys should guard closely against improper attempts by the defense to sweep wrongful death actions based on e...
Civil Rights, Education Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Yeshiva University and the doctrine of ‘one last chance’
By Gregory Dolin
This Court understands that once someone is compelled to violate their religious precepts, is precluded from speaking, or is p...
Entertainment & Sports, Intellectual Property, Torts/Personal Injury
NIL’s continuing impact on college sports and the law
By Frank N. Darras
The Big Ten conference has always been a major draw in college sports, so it is no surprise that prestigious schools have rece...
Appellate Practice, Law Practice
The balance between “possible” causes and rampant speculation
By Jesse Creed
Trial courts are likely to and should impose real limits on expert opinions regarding “possible” alternative causes under well...
Appellate Practice, Law Practice
Third-parent claims require careful navigation
By Patti C. Ratekin
In 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law SB 274, granting California’s family and juvenile courts the discretion to recognize...
Entertainment & Sports
Stream it Tonight! Town Without Pity (1961)
By Paul Bergman, Michael Asimow
Even with rape shield laws in place, defense lawyers frequently argue that the victim consented. Such trials can be a harrowin...
Health Care & Hospital Law, Labor/Employment
Leave to care for nonrelatives may now be job-protected
By Kamran M. Shahabi
When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1041 into law, he made it possible for California employees to take leave to care ...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Technology
The ethics of ordering videoconference arbitration over a party’s objection, redux
By Christopher David Ruiz Cameron
Are arbitrators actually compelling virtual hearings over the objection of resistant parties?
Letters
Bonta was right, over-taxation of cannabis is spurring illegal crops
By Eugene M. Hyman
Data Privacy, Labor/Employment, Technology
Work at home or office, human error still top reason for data breaches
By Anita Taff-Rice
Cyber attacks are also an issue, where the largest number of attacks are launched against professional organizations, includin...
The rule will help to stop criminal actors, including oligarchs, kleptocrats, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and those w...
Judges and Judiciary, Labor/Employment
Everyone benefits when judges have more retirement options
By Dario Higuchi
The law opens the door for judicial professionals who meet the law’s criteria to step into new and important roles, such as wo...
Health Care & Hospital Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Privately enforceable rights under spending clause on Supreme Court docket
By Anne Schneider
The outcome of this case will have real-world implications on the fate of individual beneficiaries of programs such as Medicai...
Data Privacy, Technology
Work at home or office, human error still top reason for data breaches
By Anita Taff-Rice
Cyber attacks are also an issue, where the largest number of attacks are launched against professional organizations, includin...
Letters
Judge Karnow’s opinion piece is long on words but short on legal reasoning
By Brook White
Constitutional Law, Education Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Affirmative action in jeopardy
By Erwin Chemerinsky
The effect of the Court having two cases on the docket this term is that it is likely to end affirmative action in both public...
Books, Judges and Judiciary
The Best Beloved Thing is Justice- The Life of Dorothy Wright Nelson
By M.C. Sungaila
Nelson was in the second class at UCLA Law School; it was the 1950s, and she was one of two women in her class.
Appellate Practice, Criminal, Law Practice
Was it a hate incident or a crime? There’s a difference.
By Sandy K. Roxas
The distinction between a hate incident and a hate crime is an important one.
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
California’s pork law is on SCOTUS’s chopping block
By Adi Dynar
The case is poised to test whether the Constitution's structure and the separation of powers protect all states' policy choice...
Health Care & Hospital Law
A personal story of depression and the long road towards recovery
By Ryan Griffith
My profile did not fit the societal view of someone that would find themselves in a psychiatric hospital. However, there were ...
A lot of what goes on at the IRS is computer matching – the endless correlation of taxpayer identification numbers and payment...
Suppose one of the signing Justices did have qualms, but swallowed them in order to accommodate a Chief who seeks "grea...
Family, Government
California’s attack on parental rights endangers children
By Emilie Kao
The law treats parents who do not support gender transition as presumptively unfit.
Torts/Personal Injury
Loss of consortium in personal injury litigation
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
Counsel handling a personal injury for a married person or person in a registered domestic partnership must be aware of the po...
Land Use, Real Estate/Development
New laws pave way for more residential development in California
By Steven Otto
While in the long term they could increase the availability of housing and rejuvenate underutilized commercial properties, not...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Judges and Judiciary
Central District Local Rule 37-1 – laudable in intent; problematic in practice
By Keith J. Wesley
Things rarely go according to plan, especially when dealing with an opponent who dabbles in the dark arts of discovery gamesma...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Truth be told: why honesty is the best policy
By Charles H. Dick Jr.
The Gallup Organization asked respondents to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in different vocations. Only 19%...
Civil Litigation
Linking settlement payments to future sources of funds
By Denise Madigan
Parties sometimes choose to secure a settlement payment by linking it to a specific future source of funds. If so, counsel sho...
Pushing back on federal agencies’ attempts to immunize themselves from subpoenas