California is known for its numerous propositions that allow voters to approve or reject measures that citizens or State government officials want to appear on ballots. Between 1910 and 2022, 1,293 such measures have appeared. The most famous of these is likely Proposition 13 (Prop 13) which passed in 1978... Read More »
Anchored Tiny Homes, a Fair Oaks, California-based building company that once touted itself as a $100 million company, is now exploring bankruptcy options. The news of bankruptcy comes on the heels of hundreds of clients complaining they have been left holding the bag after the building company failed to deliver... Read More »
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 15 that California’s election laws do not violate either the Due Process or Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case, initiated by the Election Integrity Project of California, Inc. (EIPCa) and ten unsuccessful 2020 candidates for Congress found plaintiffs... Read More »
In response to concerns that many social media purveyors are exploiting the online experiences of minors for their own profit, California’s legislature amended its Parent’s Accountability and Child Protection Act in 2022 to require online businesses to better protect children. The new law titled “The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act”... Read More »
Earlier this month, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the City of Los Angeles is immune from liability for actions by the Los Angeles Police Department that sent an innocent woman to jail for 12 days because a Texas grand jury made an error when it... Read More »
The federal government enacted the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to assure that homeless children have the same educational rights and protections as those with places to live. The law requires all local educational agencies to ensure the rights of those without a roof over their heads. But when La Dell... Read More »
If there is any lesson that businesses should learn from the recent pandemic, the most important one is probably this: Read your insurance policies carefully to make sure they are specific enough to cover all potential risks. The California Supreme Court has ruled that commercial property policies that cover losses... Read More »
The California Supreme Court has provided new guidance on when a recent amendment to the state’s Penal Code applies to defendants whose judgments are not yet final. From now on, an "upper term" sentence must be reversed on appeal and remanded back to the trial court unless the reviewing court... Read More »
In California, a juror may not be dismissed on the basis of race. A prosecutor in Riverside County failed to abide by this rule when he excused one of only two Black jurors in the jury pool because she was “too opinionated.” An appellate court found this to be a... Read More »
There is no question that children who suffer sexual abuse experience both immediate and long-term consequences. It can alter their perceptions of the world, their relationships, and their place in society for their entire lives. Recognizing the harm adults suffer from childhood sexual abuse, California has changed its statute of... Read More »
When Eric Thomas Mesi appealed the renewal of a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) that would keep him from abusing Vanessa Battaglia, a California appellate court unanimously reaffirmed the DVRO against him. Among the reasons he appealed from Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Stuart Scott’s ruling was his allegation that... Read More »
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) proposed a “Vaccination Roadmap,” that would mandate that all students, aged 16 and above, get vaccinated against the coronavirus if they want to attend classes in person and participate in sports or any other... Read More »
The label for “Huggies Natural Care® Baby Wipes” displays “nature-based imagery” of plants and contains words like “natural care” and “plant-based ingredients with 99% purified water.” No doubt these pictures and phrases are likely to appeal to parents who want to protect their babies from harmful chemicals. In reality, the... Read More »
The First Amendment has a “ministerial exception” that prevents those in religious roles at their institutions from being sued under anti-discrimination laws. Alexander Behrend v. San Francisco Zen Center (Zen Center), Inc. makes it clear that those who work in non-ministerial roles in religious communities are also covered by the... Read More »
William Rouser is a practicing Wiccan, or a male “witch” that, according to modern language, no longer distinguishes between males and females. He has also been an inmate at the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, for 30 years. He asked the prison to provide him with candles, incense,... Read More »
