Gov. Gavin Newsom has nominated two local superior court judges to become associate justices on the San Diego-based appeals court, and he has also appointed two court commissioners to fill the open seats of retiring superior court judges. Nominated to the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 1 are San Diego Superior Court judges Marsha Amin and Lisa Rodriguez. 

In thousands of court hearings and trials every day in California, no stenographic reporter is available to prepare a transcript. If the losing side can’t afford to hire a reporter, they may lack the record needed for an appeal. That’s neither fair nor legally acceptable, the state Supreme Court said Monday, ordering courts to tape-record all proceedings that take place without a court reporter and provide transcripts to the parties.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments will hold public in-person hearings in San Francisco on Aug. 19-20 to consider eight appointments to California’s Courts of Appeal in Sacramento, San Jose, Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego.

(Subscription required) The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that litigants may make settlement offers under Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 that present opposing parties with a choice between alternative settlement terms, rejecting the Court of Appeal's conclusion that such offers are categorically invalid.