(Subscription required) A dog custody dispute, a blogger named Sassafras Patterdale, and $5,000 in sanctions. A lesson about fabricated citations that applies to every courtroom in California.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a longstanding San Diego law that has helped fund thousands of units of affordable housing, a decision advocates hope will deter future legal challenges.

(Subscription required) A California man sentenced to death for the murder of a female co-worker had his habeas petition challenging his conviction denied by a Ninth Circuit panel, which said a lower court had sufficient reason to prevent his arguments from moving forward. 

Until recently, jail and prison inmates were excluded from Medicaid coverage, despite their elevated rates of mental and physical illness. Now, as a result of changes in federal law made with overwhelming bipartisan support, Medicaid has begun paying for a narrow set of services beginning up to 90 days before an inmate is released and continuing afterward.