(Subscription required) The Commission on Judicial Performance on Tuesday publicly admonished Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Susan Bryant-Deason for comments to two prospective jurors that the commission said were rude, discourteous and created the appearance of bias or prejudice.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected the proposition that doctors at a veteran’s hospital should be subjected to a heightened standard of care in light of ex-soldiers being at a higher risk of committing suicide than the general populace, affirming a defense judgment in a wrongful death case brought by the parents of a man who served in the Army, experienced post traumatic stress disorder, and killed himself.

More than a dozen “friend of the court” briefs have been filed with the state Supreme Court debating whether a local judge erred when he ordered that enough water be kept in the mostly dry Kern River bed through Bakersfield for fish.

Pretrial release is the general practice, while detention before conviction is intended to be limited under the law. The Supreme Court has noted that monetary conditions of release must be set at a reasonable amount. A California bail case involving Gerald Kowalczyk examined the practice of setting bail beyond an individual’s ability to pay, resulting in the accused remaining incarcerated before trial.