(Subscription required) From prosecuting methamphetamine cases in 1990s San Diego to presiding over Veterans Treatment Court, Superior Court Judge Laura Birkmeyer applies the same investigative rigor to recovery that she once brought to dismantling drug supply chains--measuring progress in sobriety milestones and structured accountability.

(Subscription required) San Francisco conflict panel director Julie Traun told Judge Harry Dorfman that record-low felony clearance rates--not higher filings--are driving the county's defense lawyer shortage, warning the criminal justice system "cannot survive if everything goes to trial."

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A 30-year-old California law that makes it a crime to file a knowingly false complaint against a police officer, and requires those who file complaints to be told they could face charges under the law, violates freedom of speech by deterring people from reporting police misconduct, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.