The Sixth District ordered a trial court to reinstate blood-alcohol evidence in a DUI murder case, holding that a defendant’s breath-test request is irrelevant to blood-draw warrant probable cause and that the implied consent statute does not override a valid warrant.
The Second District upheld LA’s post-COVID eviction-threshold ordinance as a valid exercise of city police power, but struck down its relocation-assistance mandate as preempted by the Costa-Hawkins Act.
California appeals court holds that Humboldt County can be sued for failing to enroll a 40-year court reporter in CalPERS and losing her personnel records, establishing that pension enrollment and record-keeping are mandatory duties enforceable under Government Code section 815.6.
California’s Fourth District holds that check memo-line annotations labeling payments as “loan payment” are not sufficient written acknowledgments to revive a debt already barred by the statute of limitations.
The Ninth Circuit holds that when a racially biased juror is discovered and removed before a verdict is accepted, courts must apply the Remmer framework’s heavy presumption of prejudice—and reverses a tax-fraud conviction because the government could not rebut that presumption.
The Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment for Orange County on a Monell claim and vacates a jury verdict for a jail nurse, finding the trial court’s rigid three-hour time limit prevented the plaintiff from presenting his case after a stroke was misidentified as intoxication during booking.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a law firm accused of conspiring with a private judge who failed to disclose multiple concurrent retentions, but a concurrence warned that private judging creates growing ethical risks that state courts should address.
Fourth District holds that a property company’s declaratory relief claim challenging tax assessments arose from the county assessor’s protected speech and petitioning under the anti-SLAPP statute, reversing the trial court’s denial of the county’s motion to strike.
Second District reverses $19,285 in sanctions because the movant’s notice of motion lacked a hearing date, holding that LA County’s electronic filing system does not excuse noncompliance with section 128.7’s mandatory safe harbor provisions.
The Ninth Circuit affirms a Central District of California grant of summary judgment to the Secretary of the Air Force on a federal civilian employee’s discrimination and hostile work environment claims, restating the demanding ‘specific and substantial’ pretext standard on circums