The California Supreme Court held yesterday that a conservatee’s due process rights were breached by a delay in the trial on the determination of whether she continued to qualify for involuntary institutionalization that lasted nearly as long as the allowable term of detention under the governing statutory framework but declared that the violation does not qualify as structural error requiring dismissal of conservatorship proceedings.

(Subscription required) Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa P. Magno has spent more than a decade handling serious felony cases in Compton, earning a reputation for meticulous preparation, efficient trials and a courtroom style rooted in respect, empathy and accountability.

(Subscription required) The California Office of Tax Appeals addressed “hallucinated or fictitious citations” for the first time in an opinion released this month, warning parties not to name cases without verifying their existence.

(Subscription required) The lawsuit challenges United Water Conservation District's operation, maintenance and water diversions at the Vern Freeman Dam on the Santa Clara River. The case has remained in federal court while U.S. District Judge David O. Carter presided over a related, decade-long Endangered Species Act action involving the same dam.