(Subscription required) In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court clarified on Monday that courts must “closely scrutinize the terms of difficult-to-read contracts for unfairness or one-sidedness,” but the “illegibility”—font size, placement, prominence, etc.—of agreements do not themselves indicate that it is unconscionable.

The defendants, who were all 19 years old at the time, were initially charged with felony assault. As part of a plea agreement for a reduced sentence, they agreed to participate in a gun violence prevention program and engage in LGBTQ+ community education. This restorative justice approach focused on accountability, healing and connection, rather than punishment alone.

(Subscription required) Hearings and matters scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, in Superior Court departments at the Spring Street Courthouse may be continued, conducted remotely, or moved to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

From the 2000-01 term through the 2015-16 term, the court routinely issued between 15 percent and 30 percent of its decisions during the period from October to January. Earlier decisions were often straightforward cases. Beginning around 2016, the number of early-term decisions began to fall.