(Subscription required) The state high court will consider whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco had the authority under a judicially-approved warrant to seize 650,000 local ballots cast in California’s statewide vote on its Proposition 50 redistricting measure. Bianco intended to investigate voter fraud allegations — even after Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) ordered him to stop.

The court will continue its practice of hearing oral argument in courtrooms around the state. In addition to a special outreach session, oral argument will be held in San Francisco (in January, March, May, September, and November); Sacramento (in February); and Los Angeles (in April, June, and December).

(Subscription required) After 30 years on the bench, Superior Court Commissioner Brad M. Fox draws on decades of criminal law experience to manage Torrance's Early Disposition Program, where dozens of misdemeanor cases can be resolved in a single morning.

(Subscription required) Two plaintiffs slated for the next round of Los Angeles bellwether trials against social media companies survived summary judgment, as a judge again rejected arguments from Meta that federal law and the First Amendment bar claims over allegedly addictive platform features.