Supreme Court of California Justia
New on SCOCAL
Ninth Circuit Questions of Certification to the California Supreme Court
August 31 2011

Thanks to the good folks at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, the SCOCAL site now has a terrific new resource.

The 9th Circuit Questions of Certification to the California Supreme Court page contains a detailed list, with links, of all the questions certified to the California Supreme Court by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The practice began in 1998 and we plan to keep this page current.

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Opinions and Annotations Online
July 26 2011

Stanford Lawyer Magazine

May 31, 2011 | Issue 84

Lawyers, scholars, and curious court watchers seeking comprehensive analysis of California Supreme Court opinions can now find just that with SCOCAL, a new online resource launched in december by the Robert Crown Law Library at Stanford Law School. A joint project with Justia, an online legal information company, SCOCAL provides briefs, documents, and news to accompany its full archive of the court’s opinions reaching back to 1934. But what distinguishes this site from sources such as google Scholar is the legal analysis provided in detailed annotations written and edited by students in Stanford Law’s Advanced Legal Research class.

“The most interesting part for me was realizing that all the resources we use are created by people who invest time and effort in researching and analyzing cases, statutes, and other materials. It’s so easy to just go online and think that things appear there by magic. But in creating some annotations myself, I realized that every link, every insight, every connection is put there by a researcher,” says Amy Burns ’12, who took the class. “I also realized that if I made a mistake or cited something inaccurately, other people trying to do research using SCOCAL could be misled, which drove home the point that I should always double- check information that I get from secondary sources.”

“Law students’ involvement with the project provides them with a deeper appreciation of indexing, court reporting, and computer-assisted information retrieval,” says J. Paul Lomio, director of the law library and lecturer in law.

Students in the course, explains Lomio, are required to cover one or two cases; this allows them to gain necessary hands-on experience with legal research sources as they learn how to evaluate and utilize them effectively, a main objective for the course. To stay current with California Supreme Court news and cases, SCOCAL users can subscribe to the website’s court calendar to keep up with recent opinions or subscribe to separate RSS feeds with recent annotations and news. Users can also follow the website on Twitter for real-time updates.

Categories: California Supreme Court, Legal Research, Online Court Opinions, Robert Crown Law Library, SCOCAL

Cantil-Sakauye Wants to Shake Things Up
March 23 2011

Cantil-Sakauye Wants to Shake Things Up
By Cheryl Miller
The Recorder
March 22, 2011

"In the wake of William Vickrey's retirement announcement, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye released a video statement today promising changes to judicial branch governance.

She announced plans to expand the 31-member Judicial Council, although she didn't specify how many seats she would add or whether the new members would reach beyond the judges and court executives who now dominate the panel. She encouraged viewers to offer suggestions."

Full story appears here.

Administrative Director of the California Courts Announces His Retirement
March 23 2011

William C. Vickrey today announced his plans to retire after nearly two decades as Administrative Director of the California Courts. Mr. Vickrey will remain as head of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and secretary to the state Judicial Council until September 9, 2011.

Beyond the Budget: New Directions
March 23 2011

“Now that our proposal to meet our budget reduction is in the hands of the Legislature, I'd like to share some of my other immediate priorities with you,” Chief Justice
Tani Cantil-Sakauye explains in her latest video address.
Among those priorities are a strategic review of the Administrative Office of the Courts, proposals to expand membership on the Judicial Council, and the transition following the retirement announcement of Administrative Director Bill Vickrey.

Prop 8: CA Attorney General's Statement in Support of Motion to Vacate Stay Pending Appeal
March 1 2011

California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals encouraging the Court to lift the stay. It closes with:

“For 846 days, Proposition 8 has denied equality under the law to gay and lesbian couples,” Attorney General Harris said. “Each and every one of those days, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, moments have been missed, and justice has been denied.”

The full filing is available here.

Supreme Court to Decide Prop. 8 ‘Standing’ Question from 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
February 17 2011

Press Release from the Court:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/presscenter/newsreleases/NR04-11.PDF

San Francisco—The California Supreme Court today unanimously voted to decide a question of state law in the Proposition 8 case pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Perry v. Schwarzenegger (Hollingsworth) S189476 (9th Cir. No. 10-16696).
In accordance with the Ninth Circuit’s request, made under California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, the “legal standing” question to be addressed by the California Supreme Court is:
“Whether under Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, or otherwise under California law, the official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so.”
The California Supreme Court shortened the normal briefing schedule to expedite consideration and resolution of the issues in the matter and to accommodate oral argument as early as September 2011.
The briefing schedule set by the court follows:
• The opening brief on the merits is to be served and filed on or before Monday, March 14, 2011. The answer brief on the merits is to be served and filed on or before Monday, April 4.
• A reply brief may be served and filed on or before Monday, April 18.
• Any person or entity wishing to file an amicus curiae brief must file an application for permission to file such brief, accompanied by the proposed brief, on or before Monday, May 2, 2011.
• Any party may serve and file an omnibus reply to any or all amicus curiae briefs on or before Monday, May 9, 2011.
The order states, “The court does not contemplate any extension of the above deadlines.”

Chief Justice Says Judiciary Should Respond with One Voice
February 2 2011

San Francisco Daily Journal
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
by Laura Ernde

Laura Ernde of the Daily Journal met with Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye to "talk about her approach to the job."

Read the full story on the Daily Journal site (subscription required).

In the interview, the Chief Justice states: "We're a judicial branch. We need to understand what that means, and we need to be thinking and acting like a judicial branch, and not 58 twigs on a branch."

Justice Carlos Moreno's departure gives Brown quick pick for high court
January 7 2011

Published Friday, Jan. 07, 2011

Sacramento Bee

"State Supreme Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno will step down next month, giving Gov. Jerry Brown the opportunity to make his first appointment to the high court.

Moreno, the only justice on the seven-member court appointed by a Democratic governor, announced his decision in a Wednesday letter to Brown."

Read the complete story here.

New California Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye Takes Office Today
January 3 2011

Press Release
1/3/2011

San Francisco—Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye took office today as
the 28th Chief Justice of California. She is the first Asian-American and second woman to hold the office in state history.

“Since being nominated for this position last July, I have been humbled
and honored at every step in the process,” she stated. “I now embrace my duties as Chief Justice without reservation. I will honor those who have come before me, and the many others who have expressed high
confidence in me, by not only fulfilling the expectations of this office but doing my best to exceed them.”

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has served as a judge of California trial and appellate courts for the past 20 years. In 1990, Governor George
Deukmejian appointed her to the Sacramento Municipal Court and in
1997, Governor Pete Wilson elevated her to the Superior Court of
Sacramento County. In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
nominated her to the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, and last
July, he nominated her to the highest office in the state judicial branch—Chief Justice of California, succeeding Chief Justice Ronald M. George. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed her nomination last August, and in November, she was confirmed by
California voters in a statewide general election.

Among the Chief Justice’s first duties will be swearing into office
Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. in ceremonies today in Sacramento. She
also will administer the oath of office to Attorney General Kamala Harris, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, and Associate Justice Andrea Hoch, of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District.

Syndicate content