The court’s unanimous decision upholds a 2024 decision that found that the Riverside Unified School District’s 2016 bond measure listed the construction of new schools as a possible use for the money.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law three bills relating to the legal system in California, one requiring the Committee of Bar Examiners to provide a report weighing the benefits of adopting a uniform bar exam designed for nationwide use rather than administering one tailored for California.

(Subscription required) When Judge Christopher B. Harmon stepped away from high-profile civil trials -- including the nation's first wrongful death case involving Tesla's Autopilot -- for the quieter yet emotionally charged probate calendar, it was by choice, he said. After six years on the civil bench, he said he missed the direct interaction with litigants that had defined his earlier work.

(Subscription required) In legal terms, mercy might be closest to equity because both seek to find a remedy beyond the structures of what the justice system would otherwise provide.