(Subscription required) The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday dismissed California's challenge to a federal ghost-gun rule, holding the state and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence lacked standing to attack a federal agency provision they said leaves a loophole for assembling untraceable weapons at home.

The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for President Trump to continue seeking new limits on the use of mail ballots, though their implementation remains in dispute as the November election rapidly approaches. Trump called for those regulations in a March executive order directing Homeland Security to compile its own lists of eligible citizen voters in each state and the Postal Service to restrict its processing of mail ballots to those submitted by individuals on those Homeland Security lists.

A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has been confirmed to serve as an associate justice for the Second District Court of Appeal in Ventura. Denise Hippach was nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month to serve the appellate court’s Division Six. Last week, the Commission on Judicial Appointments approved the confirmation. 

(Subscription required) Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday the appointment of 12 Superior Court judges across California, including four appointments in Los Angeles County and two in San Diego County. The appointments include attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders and judicial commissioners with experience in state and federal courts.