A recent California Supreme Court decision reinforced that judges must consider a defendant's ability to pay and weigh nonfinancial release options before imposing money bail. The ruling builds on earlier reforms aimed at reducing pretrial detention based solely on a person's financial circumstances.

(Subscription required) Over two days of friendly hearings, the Commission on Judicial Appointments approved of eight of Gov. Gavin Newsom's candidates for California's courts of appeal.

(Subscription required) After more than three decades as a civil litigator, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald F. Frank sought out one of the court system's busiest assignments -- unlawful detainers -- where a compressed calendar, self-represented litigants and competing hardships demand quick preparation and careful judgment.

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a suppression motion was properly denied in a case where a man exchanged sexually explicit images with a 15-year-old and was caught after Snap, Inc., located in Santa Monica, and Google, headquartered in Santa Clara County’s City of Mountain View, provided records, in obedience to a search warrant, leading to ascertainment of the defendant’s identity.