• California High Court Reverses Death Sentence, Questions Defendant's Ability to Act as Own Attorney

    The Recorder
    April 20, 2026

    (Subscription required) California’s Supreme Court on Monday reversed a 26-year-old death penalty sentence, concluding that a trial judge should not have allowed a defendant suspected of mental incompetence to represent himself in the penalty phase. The unanimous court held that a California legal standard adopted in 2012—well after a jury sentenced Jeffery Lee Hronis to death—outlining when a judge can deny defendants’ requests to act as their own attorneys is retroactive.

    Related: Metropolitan News-Enterprise

  • Governor appoints Judge Bermudez to Court of Appeal

    Imperial Valley Press
    April 18, 2026

    Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced the nomination of Imperial County Superior Court Presiding Judge Eran Marie Bermudez to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, signaling a continued effort to elevate veteran trial jurists to the state’s higher benches.

  • Suit Accusing Brita of Overstating Filtration Properly Axed

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    April 17, 2026

    The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a District Court judge properly dismissed, without leave to amend, a putative class action complaint alleging violations of California consumer protection laws by the The Brita Products Company based on labels on filters promising “healthier” water while asserting that the products fail to remove the presence of common contaminants like arsenic and certain so-called “forever chemicals.”

  • Judicial Council to Consider Mandatory Reporting of Civil Arrests in Court Facilities

    California Courts Newsroom
    April 17, 2026

    Judicial Council members will consider a new rule at their April 24 business meeting that would require courts to report civil arrests—such as those related to federal immigration enforcement actions—that happen in superior court facilities.