Div. Two of this district’s Court of Appeal held yesterday that a trial judge erred in considering equitable factors in denying a party’s request for attorney fees under a Family Code provision aimed at ensuring parity in access to legal representation, declaring that the section only permits consideration of disparity in access to counsel and ability to pay.

The Court of Appeal for this district has rejected the contention that a one-year driver’s license suspension for declining to submit to a chemical test for blood alcohol content was invalidly imposed because the arresting officer’s sworn report did not contain “all” relevant information concerning the motorist’s response to a request for compliance with the implied-consent law, but merely contained the statement, “REFUSAL.”

(Subscription required) The 4th District Court of Appeal reversed a conviction after finding the trial court failed to assess whether a juror strike was presumptively invalid under Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7.

Birss was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Feb. 2, 2026, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Monique McKee.