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, April 27, 2011.  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 [...]

In a chart published with a September 2009 article in California Lawyer magazine, Supreme Court watcher Professor Gerald Uelmen surveyed the Court’s affirmance rates by appellate district and division for the periods 1996 to 2004, and 2004 to 2009.  (Uelmen’s chart is not available online, but we have summarized his results for civil cases here.)  [...]

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, April 20, 2011.  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 [...]

An e-brief disc is a CD-ROM that contains the record on appeal in searchable form as well as all of the appellate briefs in the case, with hyperlinked citations to authorities and the record.  They are one of the best tools we know for handling the large record case.  They make it a cinch to [...]

As we have blogged about here and elsewhere, critics of the centralization of California’s courts have focused their ire on the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).  One of the key focal points in this dispute is the California Court Case Management System (CCMS), a centralized case management system designed to [...]

Contrary to what is misleadingly implied in the title of this post, we have no gossip to report.  But we do note the TV show “Ghost Adventures” will today be “investigat[ing] historically ravaged Sacramento,” including “scouring the underground tunnels, phantoms of the theatre and haunts from the original California Supreme Court.”  (Emphasis added.)  Apparently, “eyewitnesses have confessed to . [...]

As we’ve noted, rule 8.548 of the California Rules of Court allows the United States Supreme Court, a United States Court of Appeals, or a state, territory, or commonwealth court of last resort to ask the California Supreme Court to answer California legal questions, and the California high court more often than not agrees to answer [...]

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, April 13, 2011.  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 post from our “exemplary” sister blog, California Punitive Damages, discusses a pending motion to dismiss review in a fully briefed case.   The motion illustrates some of the pressures confronting the shorthanded Supreme Court in this period of rapid change. Exxon Mobil has asked the California Supreme Court to dismiss review in Nelson v. Exxon [...]

Rule 8.512 of the California Rules of Court concerns the procedures for the California Supreme Court to follow when ruling on a petition for review.  No portion of the rule causes us to receive more questions than rule 8.512(b)(1), which provides:  “The court may order review within 60 days after the last petition for review [...]

The Supreme Court announced its early-May calendar.  Even though the court is still short-handed (it’s been over 90 days since Carlos Moreno announced his retirement from the Supreme Court and, thus, over 90 days without Governor Brown appointing a successor) and even though May is the only month in which the court has two calendars (during the [...]

The Court is holding no conference today because it is hearing oral argument in Los Angeles.  Accordingly, this week no action will be taken on petitions for review and no opinions will be ordered published or depublished.

Here, for your listening pleasure, is a recent lengthy interview with the Chief Justice, conducted by Scott Shafer of Bay Area NPR-affiliate KQED.  In the wide-ranging interview, the Chief discusses such topics as her judicial philosophy, the impact of budget cuts on California courts, and the pending challenge to Proposition 8.  Of particular interest, she [...]

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, March 30, 2011.  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 [...]