(Subscription required) A 1st District Court of Appeal panel issued an order April 10 temporarily staying the penalty imposed by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman after Raju was found in contempt for ignoring a court order to accept new clients. Raju's office claimed unsustainable workloads prevented it from accepting new clients, arguing that inadequate counsel would threaten defendants' constitutional due process rights.

District attorneys throughout California are pushing for legislative reforms that would tighten up the requirements under which a judge can grant mental health diversion. Defense attorneys argue that the bill would make it too difficult for defendants to receive diversion, destroying a mostly successful program.

The Court of Appeal for this district has reinstated a cause of action for nuisance against the City of Los Angeles for cutting the power line to a building in southeast Los Angeles, despite bills for electrical services being paid up-to-date, allegedly causing the property to become unrentable and depriving the owner of the benefits of a five-year lease that had been expected to soon go into effect with the operator of a cannabis business.

Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that a trial judge erred in modifying sentences imposed on misdemeanor counts during a post-judgment hearing held to correct purely clerical errors relating to the amount of prison time imposed on felony charges, saying the jurist exceeded her authority by effectively resentencing the defendant without statutory authority.