As we’ve noted, sometimes the Supreme Court takes a long time to decide a case and sometimes it acts with lightning speed (see also here).  Litigation involving initiatives and election issues often falls in the latter category.  So, it’s not surprising that a challenge to Proposition 14 – the top-two-primary-election measure approved in June – is getting immediate attention. [...]

There are times when seeking review in the Supreme Court that it is also necessary to ask for an immediate stay of trial court proceedings.  For example, if your client has been ordered to produce privileged documents immediately and the Court of Appeal has summarily denied your writ petition challenging that order, you may want [...]

The Supreme Court—and, indeed, all California courts—will be launching a redesigned website in January.  Once launched, you can access the new website at www.courts.ca.gov.  Those accessing the current website will automatically be redirected to the new website.

The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on Tuesday, November 23, 2010. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted (not including grant-and-transfers), (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for [...]

The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on Wednesday, November 17, 2010. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted (not including grant-and-transfers), (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for [...]

The Legislature and Governor approved a plan to sell a number of state buildings to, and then lease them back from, private firms.  Some of those buildings house state courts, including the Supreme Court’s home in San Francisco and where the court sits in Los Angeles.  (Those buildings and courtrooms are also home to the First and Second District [...]

This month’s California Lawyer has an article by Horvitz & Levy partner David M. Axelrad, in which he analyzes Brown, Winfield & Canzoneri, Inc. v. Superior Court (2010) 47 Cal.4th 1233, the Supreme Court’s recent 4-3 decision upholding the validity of so-called “suggestive” or “coercive” Palma notices.  As the article explains, a typical Palma notice [...]

Some commentators are probably making too big a deal of last week’s Supreme Court order publishing a Third District opinion about Proposition 25, the recently approved initiative that allows the Legislature to adopt a budget by a majority, instead of a 2/3, vote. The pre-election opinion concerned the ballot title and summary prepared by the Attorney General.  In its opinion, the Court of Appeal stated [...]

Supreme Court decisions are by definition important, but they don’t always gain widespread attention.  One opinion that likely will be in the mainstream news files Monday morning.  In Martinez v. Regents of University of California, the court will decide the validity of a state statute allowing undocumented aliens and other nonresidents to pay in-state tuition for postsecondary education if they [...]

Soon-to-be Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye was interviewed recently on KPCC radio.  Talking about the “daunting task” of leading California’s judiciary, Cantil-Sakauye said she was exhilarated by the job, but also nervous and intimidated by it.  She also pleaded guilty to being polite, saying that “politeness is a threshold for robust conversation.”

The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted (not including grant-and-transfers), (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for [...]

As noted by the Southern California Appellate News, the Second District Court of Appeal recently became the first California appellate court to allow the electronic filing of briefs via a portal on its website.  See the Second District’s news release.  Given the inevitable advance of technology, this prompted us to wonder whether the California Supreme [...]

If you want the Supreme Court to decide a California legal issue, it helps a lot to have the Ninth Circuit make the request. Since 1998, the Supreme Court has been authorized to decide questions of California law at the request of the United States Supreme Court, a United States Court of Appeals, or a [...]

As mentioned, while California voters were confirming or retaining three state Supreme Court justices by wide margins, the Iowa electorate removed three justices from its Supreme Court as revenge for the justices’ votes in a unanimous opinion overturning a same-sex marriage ban. The Iowa result has been condemned both in the state — a Des Moines [...]

Rule 8.512(d)(2) of the California Rules of Court provides that “[o]n or after granting review, the court may order action in the matter deferred until the court disposes of another matter or pending further order of the court.”  This rule permits the California Supreme Court to exercise one of its often used, but rarely discussed, [...]

The Court held no conference on November 3, 2010 because it was hearing oral argument in San Francisco.  Accordingly, no action was taken on petitions for review and no opinions were ordered published or depublished.

Our sister-blog, California Punitive Damages, features a post today about whether Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye’s addition to the California Supreme Court is likely to bring about major change in our state’s punitive damages law.  (Short answer: no.)

The State Bar Board of Governors has finally settled on 67 proposed ethics rules revisions.   According to the Cal Bar Journal, the rules were last revamped in 1987, since which time the rules revision commission has held numerous public hearings and reviewed hundreds of responses to the commission’s requests for public comment.   (The State Bar’s [...]

With over 95 percent of the ballots counted, the voters have confirmed Tani Cantil-Sakauye as California’s new Chief Justice and have retained Ming Chin and Carlos Moreno as associate justices of the Supreme Court.  They all received between 65 and 68 percent “yes” votes. Three Iowa Supreme Court justices were not as lucky.  They were voted off [...]

There is an aspect of practice before the California Supreme Court that is often overlooked, especially by the occasional appellate practitioner.  That is the simple or complicated, fascinating or mind-numbing (depending on your perspective) matter of citation form.  By itself, it won’t win your case.  But it can help set the right tone.  Let us [...]