(Subscription required) Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated three justices to the state Courts of Appeal and appointed seven Superior Court judges in five counties, continuing a reshaping of California's judiciary.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Upinder Kalra received a commendation yesterday from this district’s Court of Appeal based on his alertness in handling a default judgment proceeding. “This case provides an example of an attempted abuse of the default process, only prevented by the diligence of the trial court,” Presiding Justice Helen Zukin of Div. Four said in an unpublished opinion.

(Subscription required) AB 2109 by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, would mandate that the state bar use the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ NextGen Uniform Bar Exam starting in 2029. Another bill by Dixon, AB 1651, would require the bar to disclose any use of artificial intelligence to develop bar exam content or study materials.

“Humboldt County has been particularly successful with its CARE Court implementation,” said Jacob Rosen, Eureka’s managing mental health clinician, during a report. “We have one of the highest referral volumes per capita amongst other counties. We’ve had 55 referrals total. We’ve had one person graduate already since December of 2024.”