Div. Eight of this district’s Court of Appeal has held that the Los Angeles Unified School District violated a California labor law by excluding two job applicants from employment based on background checks that revealed now-expunged misdemeanor convictions, rejecting the view that the defendant is entitled to filter out candidates with any criminal history in light of its general obligation to protect the children entrusted to its care.

(Subscription required) California lemon law filings fell 31% in the first half of 2026 after reaching a record high last year, as attorneys cite early settlements, procedural reforms and shifts among high-volume plaintiffs' firms.

(Subscription required) The proposal would allow trained community justice workers to provide limited legal services under the supervision of approved legal aid organizations, an effort to narrow California's persistent access-to-justice gap.

The Honorable Joni T. Hiramoto, the Court’s current Assistant Presiding Judge, will become Presiding Judge, and the Honorable Benjamin T. Reyes II has been elected to serve as Assistant Presiding Judge. Their terms run from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2028. Judge Hiramoto will succeed the Honorable Christopher R. Bowen, whose term as Presiding Judge ends December 31, 2026.