In February, the new exam led to complaints after many test-takers were unable to complete their bar exams. The online testing platforms repeatedly crashed before some applicants even started. Others struggled to finish and save essays, experienced screen lags and error messages and could not copy and paste text, the Times reported earlier.

To increase access to justice for residents of the vast county, the Public Defender’s Office created its Mobile Defense Program. The program dispatches legal service RVs to isolated areas of the county so defendants can more easily appear in remote hearings related to low-level criminal cases.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was on trial for the 2023 death of his wife Sheryl, 65, in their Anaheim Hills home. Ferguson took the stand in his own defense, admitting to shooting his wife but saying it was an accident.

(Subscription required) As the first person in his extended family to attend law school after growing up in modest circumstances in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights, Onishi said it did not come naturally to him to have such lofty ambitions. But he went on to a career that saw him work for Attorney General Kamala Harris, President Barack Obama and Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom.