California Case Law News

No Liability for Passengers That Liquored-Up Underage Driver

2013-05-23T13:01:44Z

Drunk driver? Don't blame the underage suppliers. This is the tale of five young girls, who did what many under-21 girls do: convinced strangers at a liquor store to buy them booze and helped supply a house party. (Think McLovin'...

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SCOTUS to Hear Fernandez, a Calif. 'Warrantless Search' Case

2013-05-22T13:01:01Z

In 2009, the search for a robbery suspect led police to the doorstep of convicted-felon Walter Fernandez. Police were investigating nearby when they heard the screams of his girlfriend and cohabitant, Roxanne Rojas. Once backup arrived, they knocked on the...

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Boyfriend's 'Search Terms' Means OK to Search Girlfriend's Purse

2013-05-15T17:03:24Z

Protip: If you are in the habit of using or possessing illegal drugs, don’t reside with a probationer — especially one subject to “search terms”. Ronald Williams was on probation. An officer showed up to conduct a search incident to...

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Cal. Supr. Court Upholds Riverside Medical Marijuana Zoning Ban

2013-05-07T13:01:08Z

Local governments have a traditional land use and police power to allow, restrict, limit, or exclude certain types of businesses. For example, they might ban strip clubs within 100 feet of a school. This inherent power is granted wide deference...

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Local Ordinance Isn't a Statute. Thanks for the Clarification.

2013-04-29T22:11:16Z

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that a Long Beach ordinance couldn’t save the seaside city from a tax refund lawsuit. Long Beach resident John McWilliams sued the city on behalf of himself and similarly-situated individuals, challenging the city’s...

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California Supreme Court Clarifies 'Accessory' Status

2013-04-25T22:24:43Z

Every episode of the ‘Law & Order’ begins with the same explanation: In the Criminal Justice System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the District Attorneys who prosecute the...

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Creepy (Losing) Defense of the Day: Consensual Incest Is Okay

2013-04-18T22:14:06Z

Just so we’re all on the same page, California’s law banning incest doesn’t violate due process rights. And even if it did, Daniel McEvoy would still be in trouble. McEvoy had sex with his adult sister. They both agree that...

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Have You Agreed Upon a Verdict?

2013-04-15T23:17:07Z

Christina Marie Anzalone was accused of an odd assortment of crimes. She reportedly threatened a motel owner with a knife, threw a bagel and an open knife at another man, and broke the side mirror and radio antenna on the...

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Perez Hilton Prevails in Email Privacy Arbitration

2013-04-11T22:11:17Z

After five years of legal wrangling, Perez Hilton (real name: Mario Lavandeira) has won an email privacy battle in arbitration, The Hollywood Reporter reports. A disgruntled reader sued Perez after he published a nasty email she sent him, along with...

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Trial Courts Required to Instruct on Aiding and Abetting

2013-04-09T18:55:04Z

Mildred Delgado was convicted of robbery and kidnapping for purposes of robbery on evidence from which a jury could have determined that an accomplice — not Delgado — “performed the act of asportation necessary to the offense of kidnapping.” He...

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Don't Fence Me In: Larry Hagman and Adverse Possession

2013-04-04T22:02:01Z

A California Appellate Court clarified that it's easier to steal acquire land from a religious organization than from some other private entity. That's because an adverse possessor snagging a religious organization's property doesn't have to meet the standard five-year tax...

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Court Reconsiders Howard K. Stern Appeal, Reaches Same Conclusion

2013-04-01T23:13:12Z

Nothing is ever simple when it comes to Anna Nicole Smith. Smith, (real name: Vicki Lynn Marshall) spent years tangled in legal battles over late husband J. Howard Marshall’s fortune. That case went all the way to the Supreme Court....

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DIG v. Standing? Prop 8 Outcome Would Be the Same

2013-03-29T16:18:19Z

In November 2011, the California Supreme Court decided that ProtectMarriage, the conservative coalition that sponsored Proposition 8, had standing to defend the ballot initiative in the federal appellate process. The answer wasn’t obvious to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals...

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Cal. Supreme Court Affirms SVPA Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege

2013-03-25T21:59:11Z

The Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA) allows the state to keep sexually violent predators (SVPs) locked up even after they complete their prison sentences. It’s not an automatic lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key ordeal, but it’s pretty close. SVPs get a civil commitment trial,...

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5 Things to Know About FBI National Security Letters

2013-03-18T21:39:01Z

Here at FindLaw, we understand the pressures of being a legal professional -- most of us are recovering lawyers -- so we want to help by tossing you that preferred life preserver of the legal profession, the short list. Today's...

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