(Subscription required) A lesson from an appellate reversal early in her career continues to shape Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laura A. Seigle's approach to the bench: efficiency matters, but rulings must stand up on review. 

(Subscription required) A dog custody dispute, a blogger named Sassafras Patterdale, and $5,000 in sanctions. A lesson about fabricated citations that applies to every courtroom in California.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a longstanding San Diego law that has helped fund thousands of units of affordable housing, a decision advocates hope will deter future legal challenges.

(Subscription required) A California man sentenced to death for the murder of a female co-worker had his habeas petition challenging his conviction denied by a Ninth Circuit panel, which said a lower court had sufficient reason to prevent his arguments from moving forward.