(Subscription required) The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association lacks final authority to set job classifications and salaries for its own staff, holding that the county board of supervisors retains ultimate control over compensation for pension system staff. The dispute began in 2018 after the county rejected classifications and salaries approved by the pension board for its own employees, ending a longstanding practice under which the county routinely adopted the board's recommendations.

Rejecting claims by 24,000 AIDS patients, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences acted legally by marketing a drug for years that was effective but had potentially harmful side effects, while withholding another product that was equally effective but less harmful. “A manufacturer cannot be held liable for injuries caused by a nondefective product,” Justice Joshua Groban said in a 6-1 decision overturning a lower-court ruling that had allowed the patients to sue the Foster City-based company.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s mass deportation project Thursday, ruling alongside the 7th Circuit that most immigrants cannot be held without bond while fighting to remain in the U.S. The issue now appears likely to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Since California courts began tracking civil arrests at courthouses June 1 under a new statewide reporting rule, Stanislaus County Superior Court has reported seven — all made by ICE, Court Executive Officer Hugh Swift told The Bee.  The actions are part of what attorneys, prosecutors, and court officials describe as renewed courthouse immigration enforcement that is raising questions about court access, public safety and the administration of justice.