(Subscription required) After nearly 30 years as a civil litigator, Judge Douglas K. Mann chose the unfamiliar terrain of probate, where family conflict, self-represented litigants, and difficult questions demand preparation, patience, and a willingness to hear every side. 

A divided Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a plaintiff’s assertion that she was precluded from taking a COVID-19 shot as mandated by her employer, based on her sincere belief as a practicing Catholic that her body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, does not qualify as “religious” under a California employment discrimination law even if the party provided specific Biblical references as support for her assertions.

(Subscription required) Goodwin H. Liu's determined opposition to racially slanted juries was front and center last month when the California Supreme Court for the first time interpreted a 2020 amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure that tells lower courts how to analyze potentially discriminatory juror strikes. 

A Ninth Circuit panel granted a win to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Monday, confirming a lower court’s finding the conversion of water service contracts from the California Central Valley Project doesn’t require a new environmental review.