• AI, the bar exam, and the Supreme Court

    At the Lectern
    April 26, 2025

    When the State Bar recently made a by-the-way disclosure towards the end of a press release that some February bar exam questions “were developed with the assistance of” artificial intelligence, it was news to the Supreme Court. Now, the court — which has ultimate authority over attorney licensing — wants answers.

  • Supreme Court will hear eminent domain case

    At the Lectern
    April 26, 2025

    The court granted review in Town of Apple Valley v. Apple Valley Ranchos Water, and it limited review to this issue: “When a public entity files an eminent domain action seeking to take privately held public utility property, and the owner objects to the right to take, what is the proper standard of judicial review for the trial court to apply to determine whether the property owner has rebutted the presumptions under Code of Civil Procedure sections 1245.250, subdivision (b) and 1240.650, subdivision (c)?”

  • First Harvard, now UC Berkeley: Trump administration to probe foreign funds

    Los Angeles Times
    April 25, 2025

    The Trump administration accused UC Berkeley of failing to disclose millions of dollars in foreign funding on Friday, touting muscular new enforcement of an obscure federal rule amid ongoing efforts to bridle America’s top research institutions.

    Related: San Francisco Chronicle

  • California, other states sue Trump administration over anti-DEI funding threat to schools

    Los Angeles Times
    April 25, 2025

    Several states, including California have sued the Trump administration over its demand that public schools eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said the Trump administration has taken a “distorted view” of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to wage a “cultural war” over vaguely defined DEI initiatives.

    Related: Politico, New York Times