In its conference on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, the Court granted no petitions for review in civil cases, no petitions were denied with dissenting justices, and no opinions were ordered published or depublished.

In this recent New York Times article, Adam Liptak discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s increasing citation to dictionaries in its opinions.  Liptak notes that, in recent years, the Court has turned more and more to dictionaries to define not only technical terms but also everyday terms.  He observes that the Court has “used dictionaries to [...]

This Thursday, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye delivers her first State of the Judiciary address to the Legislature.  The two branches of government are not on the best of terms, so this is not the optimal atmosphere for this initial speech. The Chief has criticized the Legislature’s budget (which Governor Brown vetoed) because it made drastic cuts in [...]

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, June 22, 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 [...]

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who assumed the post of Chief Justice in January, has authored her first opinion as Chief Justice.  As discussed in this article by Kate Moser in The Recorder, the case, People v. Maikhio, S180289, concerns whether state game wardens have the authority to stop and search fishermen and hunters without suspecting that they [...]

The Supreme Court has been without a seventh justice since Justice Carlos Moreno retired in February.  Since then, speculation about Moreno’s replacement has been rampant.   For the sake of an ethnically and geographically diverse bench, the Chief Justice has suggested that, like Moreno, his replacement should be a Latino from Southern California.  As noted by [...]

Governor Brown’s veto of the budget may have put him at odds with the Legislature, but the head of the Judicial branch is backing his move.  Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said she was “relieved” by the acton.  She doesn’t like the budget that was passed because it reportedly would have cut court funding by an additional $150 million [...]

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, June 15, 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 April, the Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court another question of state law.  Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to answer, as it usually does.  The court restated the question it will answer in Doe v. Harris:  “Under California law of contract interpretation as applicable to the interpretation of plea agreements, does the law in [...]

Proposition 25, which the voters passed last year, allows a simple majority vote of the Legislature to pass a state budget, but also provides that legislators will not be paid if they fail to pass a timely budget.  Democrats in the Legislature are presently working to fashion a budget that they can pass with a [...]

The California Court Case Management System (CCMS) is a project of the Administrative Office of the Courts that, when implemented, promises to provide all California courts with a single, integrated statewide case management system.  As we previously discussed here, the CCMS has drawn a good deal of flak from critics, especially after the State Auditor [...]

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, June 8, 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 [...]

Employing proper citation form is a primary way to demonstrate that you’re a careful and astute appellate practitioner.  As we discussed here, for decades the preferred citation style in California appellate courts has been found in the California Style Manual, colloquially referred to as the “Yellow Book.”  We therefore read with interest this proposal by [...]

As we noted here, appellate justices around the country are swiftly coming to rely on iPads and other tablet computers when reviewing briefs and draft opinions.  The justices of the California Supreme Court appear to be no exception.  But this is not the only way that iPads are likely to impact practice before the Court.  [...]

As we mentioned here, Assembly Majority Leader Charles Calderon (D-Whittier) caused quite a dust-up last month when, in the course of introducing AB 1208, the Trial Court Rights Act, he referred to Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye as “nice” and “attractive.”  Earlier this week, the Chief shared her views about Calderon’s comments.  In the course of [...]

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Reporter of Decisions, Frank Wagner, retired last fall, we have been thinking we should spotlight California’s own long-serving and much-admired Reporter of Decisions, Edward W. Jessen, who has occupied the post since 1989.  However, there is far too much to say about Ed Jessen and his job for us to [...]

When a party files a petition for review in the Supreme Court, an answer to the petition is normally optional.  (See rule 8.500(e)(4) [specifying the time for filing "[a]ny answer to the petition” (emphasis added)].)  Occasionally, however, the court takes away that option.  At the beginning of the year, the court specifically requested an answer in [...]

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.