The Supreme Court has scheduled a special January 10 oral argument for the Redistricting writ petition.  It’s been only 19 days since the court agreed to decide the petition and set an “extremely expedited briefing schedule” that will allow “oral argument in this matter as early as the first two weeks in January 2012, and the filing of [...]

The Supreme Court announced it will file its opinion tomorrow in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos, the case that will decide the fate of the state’s redevelopment agencies.  The court is early:  when the court agreed in August to hear the redevelopment writ petition, it said that the expedited briefing schedule it then set was “designed to facilitate oral argument [...]

The Court is holding no conference this week.  Accordingly, no action will be taken on petitions for review and no opinions will be ordered published or depublished.

Kate Moser in The Recorder recaps the Supreme Court’s year and looks ahead to 2012.

In her end-of-the-year interview with the press on a number of topics, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said that “the death penalty is no longer effective in California and suggested she would welcome a public debate on its merits and costs.”  So reports the Los Angeles Times in “California chief justice urges reevaluating death penalty.” Related post:  [...]

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, December 21, 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 [...]

Over lunch at La Fogata (one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants), we were recently musing about why the Supreme Court rarely denies review by a 4-3 vote, and why most grants of review are unanimous. This article (Daily Journal subscription required), by Steven Levine—a former staff attorney for Justice Moreno—suggests answers to both questions. [...]

With last night being the first night of Chanukah, the holidays are officially upon us.  We will write an occasional post between now and the new year but, like many others, we will be traveling and attending to family obligations.  Not only that, but the Court and its staff will be doing the same, which [...]

In its conference on Wednesday, December 14, 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.

Last week, we noted that the Court took the somewhat unusual step of permitting the filing of a post-oral argument amicus brief in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, S166350, which was argued on November 8.  The brief addresses whether the Court’s imminent decision can be applied only prospectively, an issue first raised at oral argument.  [...]

We’ve been following the progress of AB 1208.  The proposed legislation, backed by the Alliance of California Judges, takes aim at California’s centralized system of court administration and challenges the authority of the Judicial Council and its administrative arm, the Administrative Office of the Courts.  In the latest development, according to this article in the [...]

As we discussed at length in this post, the Supreme Court’s resources are heavily devoted to the resolution of death penalty appeals.  This is because the California Constitution confers mandatory appellate jurisdiction on the Court when a judgment of death has been handed down.  (Cal. Const., Art. VI, § 11.)    This situation has persisted for [...]

Just when we thought January was going to be a relatively easy month at the Supreme Court, the court issues an order today that will make the new year a lot more eventful.  The order regards the writ petition filed only a week ago seeking to stay implementation of the newly certified State Senate district [...]

The Supreme Court today posted its first oral argument calendar for 2012, and it’s a light one.  “Light,” of course, only in the sense of the number of cases to be heard.  The court will be considering rather heavy issues relating to sexual abuse of children and a death penalty appeal. The court will hear just three cases [...]

The Court is holding no conference this week 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.

Last Friday, the Court took the unusual move of accepting an amicus brief filed after oral argument.   As discussed in this article by Kate Moser in The Recorder, nearly a month after the closely watched oral argument in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, S166350, the Court granted the California Employment Law Council’s (CELC) application [...]

If you mention “redistricting” and “Supreme Court” to election law insiders, they will probably think only of the Texas dispute now before the United States Supreme Court.  But California’s Supreme Court is now back in the redistricting business itself. A little over five weeks after the court summarily denied writ petitions challenging legislative district maps drawn by the [...]

The Supreme Court did something today it rarely does anymore — it reversed a death penalty judgment.  And it reversed not only the penalty phase verdict, but the guilt phase verdict as well. In People v. Allen and Johnson, the court unanimously concluded that the trial court improperly dismissed a juror.  Under a heightened standard of review [...]

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 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 [...]

Earlier this week, we noted that Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotech billionaire, had offered to give the judicial branch $20 million to begin to implement the controversial and over-budget Court Case Management System (CCMS).  Soon-Shiong and the judicial branch have signed a letter of intent and entered into discussions to explore the possibility.  But in an [...]