The nation’s 250th anniversary will come with a civics lesson for some San Mateo County students. San Mateo County Superior Court is inviting local educators to schedule visits that will bring judges, attorneys, and other law enforcement leaders into classrooms across the county as part of a statewide civic education initiative.

A divided Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a plaintiff’s assertion that she was precluded from taking a COVID-19 shot as mandated by her employer, based on her sincere belief as a practicing Catholic that her body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, does not qualify as “religious” under a California employment discrimination law even if the party provided specific Biblical references as support for her assertions.

(Subscription required) After nearly 30 years as a civil litigator, Judge Douglas K. Mann chose the unfamiliar terrain of probate, where family conflict, self-represented litigants, and difficult questions demand preparation, patience, and a willingness to hear every side. 

(Subscription required) Anyone with an internet connection will be able to listen to the court’s live audio feed of Meta’s historic legal row, likely featuring testimony from Mark Zuckerberg, with more than two dozen state attorneys general over youth mental health. That makes the US District Court for the Northern District of California a standout among the country’s 94 federal trial courts, thanks to a local rule change that gives judges the discretion to provide live audio-only feeds of civil jury trials. Federal rules of criminal procedure prohibit criminal trial broadcasting.