Ninth Circuit holds that a court must rule on the merits of a pending anti-SLAPP motion—and the defendant’s right to statutory fees—even after the plaintiff voluntarily dismisses the lawsuit.
Ninth Circuit revives a Section 1983 deliberate fabrication claim against a Garden Grove detective whose police report significantly mischaracterized recorded witness statements on a critical issue in the case.
California’s Second District Court of Appeal holds that a plaintiff who sues a public entity before the 45-day claims-response period expires cannot cure the defect by voluntarily dismissing and refiling after the claim is denied.
The California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the death sentence of a Los Angeles father convicted of the torture-murders of two young children, holding that months of deliberate beatings, starvation, and medical neglect provided sufficient evidence of premeditated torturous intent, and that con
The California Supreme Court reverses a death-row defendant’s convictions entirely because his attorney conceded guilt over the client’s explicit objection — a structural constitutional error requiring automatic reversal — while affirming the co-defendant’s death sentence and vacat
The California Supreme Court affirms a death sentence for the 1999 rape-murder of an Oakland 11-year-old, holding that a suspect who voluntarily accompanies police to the station and is briefly placed in a lockable interview room has not been seized under the Fourth Amendment — and clarifying when v
The First District holds that San Francisco has discretion to develop a fishing program and complete CEQA review before applying for a water supply permit to open the Calaveras Reservoir to public fishing.
The Fifth District reverses a 19-year wage-and-hour class action over improper judicial reference and flawed statistical sampling, reinforcing Duran’s rigorous requirements for misclassification class trials.
The California Supreme Court overrules Solberg and holds that courts may now scrutinize alleged blanket peremptory challenges to judges under CCP section 170.6, adopting a Batson-like three-step procedure to protect judicial independence.
The First District reverses the denial of compassionate release for a prisoner whose severe medical deterioration — complete loss of lower extremity function, fused spine, and incontinence — made any realistic possibility of future harm impossible.