SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA — A decision by a state appeals court that upheld a tax on new development within City of San Ramon may be heading to the California Supreme Court.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Despite the controversial issues darkening the California State Bar, including concerns about the group's expenses, a Senate bill initially anticipated to resolve such matters was not passed by the state legislature.
SACRAMENTO – As the highest taxed and regulated state in the country, California small business owners face many challenges when it comes to starting a business within the area. But one candidate is hoping to change this in the 34th Assembly District.
SACRAMENTO – Siskiyou County officials say that allegations made in the Vang Et Al. v. Lopey Et Al. case filed against the county and its officers for voter intimidation are not completely supported by actual facts. Instead, the allegations were just another distraction from what is really going on, they say.
ORLANDO -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is on the verge of providing a concrete resolution to the contrasting opinions of district courts regarding certification and classification of dietary supplements and the lawsuits related to them.
SAN FERNANDO – A new law signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown will make it a felony for prosecutors to withhold from the defense or falsify evidence in a case.
SANTA CLARA - Efforts to recall a now infamous Santa Clara judge continue while opposition has sprung up against a bill that prevents courts from handing down short sentences like the one Judge Aaron Persky handed down in the Stanford rape case.
SACRAMENTO - Paint manufacturers ordered to abate lead paint inside millions of private residences across the state still await hearing on appeal nearly three years since a trial court entered a $1.15 billion judgment.
SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill appropriating funds for a $36.2 million payment to the Pauma Band of Luiseño Mission Indians after a court found that the Pauma unfairly overpaid for the right to add slot machines to Casino Pauma.
SAN FRANCISCO – A Walnut Creek real estate dispute attorney believes a July 31 ruling entered by the California Supreme Court that reforms legislation to give property owners a right to a trial by jury to determine compensation for pre-condemnation entry and inspection will push the state to try harder to resolve these disputes to avoid costly, time-consuming jury trials.
SACRAMENTO – An upcoming audit of California's only commission responsible for disciplining California judges, the Commission on Judicial Performance, will be objective and credible, state legislators say.
SACRAMENTO – An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union said a California Senate bill that recently died in committee would have provided the public access to information it deserves about possible police misconduct.
SACRAMENTO – California Assembly member Jimmy Gomez is sponsoring legislation that would make it illegal to disseminate a recorded conversation in the state if both parties to the conversation have not given their consent, stirring controversy in connection with the bill’s constitutionality.
SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court declined a petition filed by Stanislaus County to review a disability case involving Deputy Dennis Wallace, who was seeking payment of $468,000 in connection with being placed on unpaid leave by the county for two years after he was injured.
The 2004 law – which gives any private citizen the right to act as an attorney general in any
municipality or county - was enacted to prevent employers from shorting workers’ pay and other labor law violations. But now, its use is “out of control,” according to Kim Stone, president of Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC).
SAN FRANCISCO – A Massachusetts insurance company is seeking a declaration from the court that it is not responsible for covering claims in a class-action lawsuit.
LOS ANGELES – In 2015, President Obama signed into law the bipartisan Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, banning certain types of small plastic pellets used in some exfoliating and cosmetic products beginning in 2017.
