The state’s highest court found that Samreth Sam Pan’s attorney “made the strategic choice to concede Pan’s guilt of second-degree murder in an effort to avoid the death penalty,” despite “Pan’s express wish to maintain his innocence.”The panel noted that the defense attorney “deprived Pan of his right to choose the fundamental objective of his defense,” finding that his conviction must be reversed and that the case has to be sent back to a courtroom in Los Angeles County.

(Subscription required) A Los Angeles judge kept the next social media addiction bellwether pool intact and suggested multiple judges could hear cases simultaneously as coordinated litigation moves forward.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal has affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the City of Palo Alto in an action brought by six police officers who claim that the municipality created a hostile work environment by commissioning a mural and placing it on temporary display, with the artwork including a likeness of Assata Shakur who was convicted of the 1973 first-degree murder of a New Jersey state trooper.

(Subscription required) Under the ruling issued Thursday, presiding judges can no longer be forced to reshuffle calendars simply because a repeat litigant decides to disqualify the same judge from all cases in a particular category or department. The ruling preserves Section 170.6 challenges but makes it easier for courts to rule that such motions have been brought in bad faith.