San Francisco’s public defender sued San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of nearly 400 people languishing in jail after being denied a speedy trial because of COVID-19 restrictions.

(Subscription required) An appellate court overturned the convictions of three men in a murder case after finding the prosecutor's reason for striking a juror was "plainly tied to race."

This is a sign that, before Justice Cuéllar’s last day at the end of October, the court will likely file its opinions in the three cases that were argued in September with Cuéllar on the bench (remotely).  Those somewhat-faster-than-usual filings would avoid the need to have Cuéllar himself sit pro tem on those cases after he leaves the court.  It would also avoid the alternative:  if any of the cases were to remain undecided after October 31 without Cuéllar sitting by assignment, the court would have to issue opinions by just six justices or, if the justices were evenly divided, the cases

The Supreme Court today granted in part the Citizens Redistricting Commission motion, filed a month ago, to further extend the constitutional and statutory deadlines to release for public comment and to then certify and approve Congressional, state legislative, and Board of Equalization district maps for the 2022 election.  The extensions are a bit shorter than the Commission asked for, however.