California

Judge who took 2 business-card holders while at lawyer dinner agrees to resign

A California family court judge who admitted taking two business card holders from the City Club of San Francisco has agreed to resign. The California Commission on Judicial Conduct censured the judge, Michael S. Williams of Napa County, as part of an agreement in which the judge will resign in…

Jul 17, 2017 3:07 PM CDT

California Supreme Court asserts its authority to determine passing bar exam grade

The California Supreme Court, not a board of the State Bar of California, will determine what constitutes a passing score on the state’s bar exam.

Jul 12, 2017 2:10 PM CDT

Federal judge holds lawyers in contempt for posting links to banned videos by anti-abortion group

A federal judge in California said on Tuesday he is holding two lawyers in civil contempt for posting links to undercover videos recorded by an anti-abortion group. U.S. District Judge William Orrick said he would hold in contempt lawyers Steve Cooley and Brentford Ferreira, the Associated Press and Courthouse News…

Jul 12, 2017 1:09 PM CDT

One bit of good news for immigrants in detention

In contrast to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, one federal protection for immigrants has been quietly expanded in recent months. A growing number of courtrooms are providing free legal representation for detainees who have a serious mental illness or disability. As of March 2017, 21 immigration courts across the…

Jul 10, 2017 2:26 PM CDT

Judicata adds color to case law, highlights artificial-intelligence barriers

When doing legal research, most lawyers first must figure out what cases are relevant and which precedents judges still enforce.

Jun 15, 2017 4:37 PM CDT

Does California make it too difficult to pass the bar? Two profs link low scores to ethics issues

In California, would-be lawyers have to receive a score of 144 on the multistate portion of the bar exam to pass. That’s a higher threshold than in every other state except Delaware. Law schools in California say the state’s so-called “cut score” is too high, the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Jun 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Judge who made ‘reckless’ Facebook allegation about prosecutor is admonished

A California judge has been publicly admonished for claiming on Facebook that a prosecutor running for a judgeship was in a sexual relationship with a defense lawyer who opposed her in court. The allegations by Superior Court Judge Jeff Ferguson of Orange County, California, were made with a knowing or…

Jun 2, 2017 12:41 PM CDT

Are blogs commercial speech? California bar gives advertising guidance

If you’re blogging about your successful representation of a client and linking back to your law firm website, you may be crossing an ethical line. Read about a recent State Bar of California ethics opinion.

Jun 1, 2017 2:20 AM CDT

DA goes on Facebook to protest light sentence given to confessed rapist

A California judge suspended most of the three-year sentence for a 20-year-old man accused of raping his younger sister, saying the stigma of the conviction and sex offender registration would be a sufficient deterrent to the defendant and others, according to the outraged district attorney in the case. Judge William…

May 25, 2017 10:31 AM CDT

Judge in child porn case tosses pictures found after Geek Squad contacted FBI

A federal judge in California has tossed pictures collected in a search of a physician’s home that was conducted after Best Buy’s Geek Squad discovered an image of a nude child on the doctor’s computer. The lawyer for gynecologic oncologist Mark Rettenmaier had maintained his client’s Fourth Amendment rights were…

May 17, 2017 2:31 PM CDT

Judge allows suit claiming Conan O’Brien and his team stole comedy writer’s jokes

A federal judge in San Diego has refused to dismiss a copyright infringement suit filed by a comedy writer who claims talk-show host Conan O’Brien and his writing team stole his jokes. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino allowed freelance comedy writer Robert “Alex” Kaseberg to pursue claims over three of…

May 16, 2017 2:26 PM CDT

California will audit Airbnb hosts for racial discrimination

California’s housing regulator will audit Airbnb hosts for racial discrimination under an agreement the company made with the state, the Guardian reported Monday. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing announced the voluntary agreement Thursday, putting an end to its 10-month investigation of Airbnb, an online private accommodation rental…

May 1, 2017 2:27 PM CDT

California may toughen rule on sex between attorneys and clients

Sex with clients is forbidden under the rules of professional conduct in most states. The rules exist to ensure that the lawyer’s independent professional judgment is not clouded or conflicted by the emotions encircling intimate relationships. The rules also exist to protect clients from lawyers, as often there is an unequal balance of power between the people in those roles.

May 1, 2017 1:50 AM CDT

Republican students sue UC Berkeley for rescheduling speech by Ann Coulter

Updated: After two recent protests that turned violent, the University of California at Berkeley said they thought it would be safest to cancel and then reschedule a talk by conservative pundit Ann Coulter. But according to the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, the Berkeley College Republicans and national…

Apr 26, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Judge 'tone deaf' to the impact of comments from the bench, panel concludes

A California judge had a sincere desire to connect with people in his courtroom, but he was “tone deaf” to how his comments could be offensive to some people, according to a report by a three-judge ethics panel. The panel concluded Judge Gary Kreep violated ethics rules when he made…

Apr 25, 2017 7:30 AM CDT