Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the Public Guardian, an office under the Monterey County Health Department, will use the expanded definition of “gravely disabled” as referring to those unable to provide basic care and safety for themselves, because of chronic alcoholism or substance use disorder.

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas Republicans to redraw their state’s House districts in next year’s elections with the intention of adding five seats for their party, rejecting a lower-court ruling that the new map was racially discriminatory. 

(Subscription required) From a family story marked by flight from gang violence to a childhood spent absorbing Old World Sicilian values, Judge Christopher Frisco's journey to the Long Beach bench draws from tradition, discipline and a commitment to fairness he traces to his father.

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kenneth K. Lee yesterday decried the extent to which the writ of habeas corpus has been expanded and questioned the wisdom of remanding a murder case to the District Court for an explanation by the prosecutor as to why he challenged a prospective juror who is Black when the trial took place 30 years ago.