The California Supreme Court this week reversed the death sentence of a Los Angeles Bloods gang member convicted of killing a rival Crip in the early 1990s because a prosecutor compared him to a dangerous animal, the first reversal of a death sentence by the California Supreme Court because of violations of the Racial Justice Act. 

(Subscription required) Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a slate of judicial appointments and nominations Tuesday, naming four Court of Appeal nominees and 11 new Superior Court judges across seven California counties.

The two cases were among four appeals ruled upon by the court this week that focused on the Racial Justice Act, a first-in-the-nation state law that took effect in 2021 and invalidated criminal convictions or sentences in which any participant — lawyers for either side, the judge, jurors or an expert witness — showed racial bias or used discriminatory language, even unintentionally.

(Subscription required) After nearly two decades handling toxic torts and corporate litigation at a major firm, Yang now presides over the custody disputes and fractured families of Pasadena's family court -- work she says suits her personality far better.