Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins will retire from the California Supreme Court at the end of October after five years with the court and more than 35 years of judicial service.

Subscription required) Taxpayer groups told the state high court that San Jose's $3.5 billion pension obligation bonds required a public vote. Several justices questioned that claim, suggesting the city was merely restructuring an existing debt.

(Subscription required) Appellate advocates urged the justices to require ability-to-pay hearings and shift the proof burden to prosecutors. The state countered that defendants are best positioned to show inability to pay and that the seriousness of the offense is a key factor.

Sergio Covarrubias García, who opened his own law firm with just $30 in his bank account, became the first officially recognized undocumented attorney in the U.S. after a decade-long struggle.