• Berkeley law school adopts sweeping restrictions on student AI use

    Daily Journal
    May 22, 2026

    (Subscription required) Beginning this summer, Berkeley law students will be barred from using AI tools not only to draft papers, but also to brainstorm ideas, organize arguments, revise prose, correct grammar and translate written work into English. The policy also prohibits students from uploading class materials -- including readings, slides and recordings -- into generative AI systems.

  • ‘Anti-Vaxxer’ Mother Was Rightly Denied Pseudonymity

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    May 22, 2026

    A divided Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a judge rightly denied a mother’s bid to proceed anonymously in a lawsuit against the Ventura Unified School District based on her child’s expulsion for failure to submit proof of inoculations required for attendance at California schools despite asserted religious objections, saying the parent had failed to show the requisite level of harm to justify withholding of her name.

  • Five Justices Confirmed to California Courts of Appeal

    The Recorder
    May 22, 2026

    (Subscription required) California’s judicial vetting committee on Friday confirmed five courts of appeal candidates, approving what could be some of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s final appointments to the state’s mid-level appellate courts. The new justices endorsed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments will fill vacancies on three courts, including three empty seats in Fourth District divisions in Santa Ana and San Diego.

    Related: Daily Journal, California Courts Newsroom

  • [U.S.] Supreme Court dismisses death penalty case on people with mental disabilities

    Washington Post
    May 21, 2026

    The majority ruled the court should not have accepted the case, which revolved around how to assess multiple IQ scores that fall above and below the cutoff allowing execution. The case was significant because many capital punishment defendants fall into this borderline territory in the 27 states that have the death penalty.

    Related: Reuters