NewsLinks is a collection of recent news items relating primarily to the California judicial branch. NewsLinks does not verify or endorse the accuracy or fairness of the news items, and the views expressed in opinions, editorials, and commentaries are those of the writers only. Some news articles linked from this page may require a subscription or be behind a paywall.

NewsLinks

  • C.A. Imposes $1,500 Sanction for Citing Fake Cases

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    March 9, 2026

    A then-San Diego Superior Court commissioner, who has since been appointed to a judgeship, and the attorney for the petitioner in a dissolution of domestic partnership matter failed to notice that cases cited by the lawyer for the respondent were fabrications, prompting Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal to declare them neglectful.

  • Former Southern Calif. Man Who Threatened to Kill Family Law Judge Sentenced to Prison

    The Recorder
    March 6, 2026

    (Subscription required) A former Orange County man who threatened to kill the trial court judge who oversaw his family law case was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Thursday.

  • California youths plead with appeals court to hear how climate change affects their lives

    Los Angeles Times
    March 6, 2026

    Eighteen California youths appealed a court’s dismissal of their climate discrimination lawsuit against the EPA. They argue the agency violates their constitutional rights by treating future climate harms as less important than present economic concerns.

  • Santa Monica Appeals Court Rejects Diversion For Hate Crimes Suspect

    Hoodline
    March 6, 2026

    A state appeals court has once again yanked mental health diversion away from Job Uriah Taylor, the Santa Monica man accused of launching a burst of racially motivated attacks in March 2023, sending his case back on track toward a potential life sentence.

  • Immunity Shields Prosecutors Accused of Wrongful Detention

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    March 9, 2026

    Opinion says decision by Riverside District Attorney's Office to hold man wrongly accused of murder for years after deputy was allegedly instructed to withhold other suspect's confession is protected conduct. 

  • Judicial Profile: San Bernardino County Judge Enrique Guerrero

    Daily Journal
    March 6, 2026

    (Subscription required) Guerrero presides over a criminal trial department handling misdemeanor and felony cases. Some days begin with large calendar calls, while the rest of the week is devoted to trials.

  • Former OC man gets 87 months for threats against family court judge

    Daily Journal
    March 6, 2026

    (Subscription required) A federal judge sentenced a former Laguna Niguel man to more than seven years in prison after a jury found he sent violent threats against the Orange County Superior Court judge who presided over his family law case.

    Related: The Orange County Register

  • Court Has Limited Role in Reviewing Diversion Rulings—C.A.

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    March 6, 2026

    Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal yesterday highlighted the limited role of appellate courts in reviewing a trial judge’s denial of mental health diversion to a defendant seeking to avoid criminal sanctions by seeking treatment for a diagnosed disorder that he says was a “significant factor” in his commission of the charged offense.