(Subscription required) Lopez spent 15 years as a deputy public defender in San Diego County, starting off handling misdemeanors but eventually trying cases of murder, sexual assault and child molestation. One aspect of the job that provided a niche to hone her skills as a trial attorney was negotiating plea deals to make them immigration neutral, allowing her clients who faced deportation for their criminal convictions to remain in the U.S.

About one quarter of Los Angeles Superior Court reporter positions are vacant. Some courts across California, like Los Angeles Superior Court, have ceased to provide reporters in family law and probate matters, rendering appeals in those cases essentially impossible. Meanwhile, many training programs in California have shut down, often over accreditation issues.

(Subscription required) The unanimous three-justice panel held that California law shielding litigants from claims aired in a judicial proceeding immunized Potter Handy from prosecutors’ allegations under the Unfair Competition Law that the firm shakes down retailers through Americans With Disability Act suits. 

Officially open for business Jan. 2, the facility at 650 Wake Ave. is the first new courthouse in California to open in more than two years; the last new courthouse was in Sonora and completed in August 2021, according to a California courts press release.