The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reaffirmed that federal courts reviewing state criminal proceedings relating to petitions for habeas corpus must apply a highly deferential standard, rejecting an inmate’s assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled jurisprudence demanding that agency interpretations be given weight, calls the principle into question.

(Subscription required) Enderton-Speed, a former Judicial Council executive, has held the bar’s top administrative post since November. She received bipartisan support from the Senate Rules Committee at an April 30 hearing, and her appointment drew no debate on the Senate floor Thursday.

(Subscription required) Under state rules, a nominee will come from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), whose second term concludes in January. And while the state’s coming June and November elections are likely playing into Newsom’s calculation on timing, the extended opening on the seven-member tribunal has largely left legal experts stumped.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge who made disparaging remarks and interrupted litigants in court was recently publicly admonished by the state’s judicial disciplinary body for the second time.