Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people violated the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. About 95% of the population in California, which has had some of the nation's strictest gun-control laws, live in counties of that size.

Reuters

Judge declines to block California antisemitism statute 

A federal judge Wednesday denied an effort by California teachers and parents to block the enforcement of a new state antisemitism statute set to go into effect on Jan. 1, finding the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on their claims that the law is vague and violates teachers’ constitutional rights.

Courthouse News Service

Fines, fees banned for low income defendants after convictions, state Supreme Court rules

Low-income defendants who are convicted of crimes can't be assessed fines and fees they can't afford in order to pay for programs such as electronic monitoring, drug laboratories and court construction, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday. State law already requires judges to consider the financial status of similar costs to defendants in civil suits for damages, and defendants in criminal cases are entitled to equal treatment, the court said in a 6-1 ruling.

San Francisco Chronicle

Party is obliged to adhere to court rule, not be misguided by judge’s statement

A District Court judge’s statement in a wrongful death case that a defendant’s bid for a judgment as a matter of law could be made “at the end of the case” does not excuse the County of San Bernardino’s noncompliance with a court rule saying that any such motion must be made “before the case is submitted to the jury,” the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has declared.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Federal judge rules California teachers are allowed to ‘out’ trans students to parents

A federal judge has issued a ruling earlier this week that strikes down California school policies aimed at preventing schools from revealing a student’s gender identity to their parents. The class action suit, filed by California teachers and parents, hinges on whether TK-12 educators can breach a student’s confidentiality and tell parents that students are using a name or pronoun other than what they have been assigned at birth.

EdSource

Ex-public employee will not be stripped of pension right

Legislation enacted in 2012 proclaiming that a public employee partially loses pension rights by committing a felony tied to official duties does not extend to a former San Francisco deputy sheriff who was convicted in federal court of mail wire fraud by making a partially false insurance claim based on a burglary of her home, Div. One of the First District Court of Appeal held on Friday.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Remarks after trial may be sufficient to deny resentencing

Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal held yesterday that a petition for resentencing, filed under a statutory scheme adopted after the Legislature amended the definition of murder in 2019 to limit implied malice liability, may be denied at the prima facie stage based on judicial remarks made after a bench trial indicating that the defendant personally acted with the intent to kill.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Judge orders plaintiff’s lawyers to pay Walmart $623,000 in avocado oil case

A California federal judge has ordered two attorneys from a Santa Monica based law firm to pay Walmart $623,000 in attorney fees as a sanction in their client’s decertified class action that accused Walmart of falsely labeling its avocado oil as containing only avocado oil despite allegedly containing other oils.

USA Herald

‘Profound disregard for human life’: DA Hochman discusses murder charge for woman accused of killing teen in DUI crash

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman held a press conference Monday to discuss the murder charges a woman faces in connection with a DUI crash that left a high school tennis prodigy dead earlier this year. Jenia Resha Belt was hit with a murder charge last week after she allegedly struck 18-year-old Braun Levi around 12:45 a.m. on May 4.  

KTLA

District attorney's office declines to file charges in 2023 fatal shooting of knife-wielding amputee attempting to flee after committing an attempted murder 

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced today that criminal charges will not be filed against two Huntington Park police officers who shot and killed Anthony Lowe on Jan. 26, 2023. Lowe, a double amputee, had threatened officers with a ten-inch butcher’s knife used minutes before in an attempted murder of another individual. 

L.A. County District Attorney’s Office News Release

LA County prosecutors clear sheriff’s deputies in fatal 2024 West Hollywood shooting

Los Angeles County prosecutors have concluded that sheriff’s deputies were justified in the fatal shooting of a man who threatened them with a knife following an attempted robbery in West Hollywood last year. The shooting occurred on Gardner Street between Lexington Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.

WeHo Times

Federal defendants in Sacramento walked free. The reason: No paid lawyers

Last year at this time, Julian Ortiz faced a possible sentence of life in federal prison for allegedly selling methamphetamine in Sacramento County. But now Ortiz is out of the federal government’s custody, the charge against him dismissed. His case is one of at least eight in U.S. district court in Sacramento that have been delayed or dismissed after judges ruled that a six-month gap in payments to court-appointed attorneys caused partly by the government shutdown deprived defendants of their constitutional right to competent legal representation.

San Luis Obispo Tribune

Officer video raises questions about ICE shooting of TikTok streamer

For more than two months, federal authorities have maintained that immigration officers opened fire on a TikTok streamer in South Los Angeles out of fear for their safety and that of the public. Department of Homeland Security officials accused Carlitos Ricardo Parias of weaponizing his car and ramming a law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee an immigration operation in October. Officers "followed their training and fired defensive shots," a Homeland Security spokesperson said shortly afterward.

Los Angeles Times

Policy/Legal/Politics

A new view of two critical days that set the stage for the devastating Palisades fire

An hour after midnight Jan. 1, as a small brush fire blazed across Topanga State Park, a California State Parks employee texted the Los Angeles Fire Department’s heavy equipment supervisor to find out if they were sending in bulldozers. “Heck no that area is full of endangered plants," Capt. Richard Diede replied at 9:52 a.m, five hours after LAFD declared the fire contained.

Los Angeles Times

How justice changed in California in 2025: Prop. 36 toughened penalties, prisons kept shrinking

A year after Californians voted for a conservative shift in criminal justice policy, they began to see the results. Proposition 36, approved by voters last year, gave prosecutors the ability to charge people convicted of various third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felony - a choice between behavioral health treatment or up to three years in jail or prison.

CalMatters

Immigrant truckers sue California DMV over 21,000 commercial license revocations

A group of immigrant truck drivers has filed a class-action lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles to stop the revocation of 21,000 commercial licenses. The legal challenge comes after the state, facing federal pressure and funding threats, announced it would cancel licenses that outlast a driver's legal stay in the United States.

Fox11

Proposition 36 and the return of felony theft: What Santa Rosa residents need to know

For nearly a decade, California theft laws have been shaped by Proposition 47, a voter-approved initiative that reclassified many theft and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. While the measure was intended to reduce prison overcrowding and refocus resources on rehabilitation, critics argued that it weakened accountability for repeat offenders, particularly in retail theft and organized shoplifting cases.

Law Legal Hub

Lease of federal land to private school rightly voided

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has largely affirmed a judgment entered against a federal agency relating to its use of grounds in West Los Angeles for non-veterans purposes, declaring, in part, that a District Court judge properly voided the agency’s lease with the elite Brentwood School as violative of statute but exceeded his authority in forbidding renegotiation.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Orange County D.A.’s office was mired in snitch scandal. Now DOJ says monitoring no longer needed

More than a decade after a jailhouse snitch scandal rocked the Orange County district attorney’s office and nearly upended the prosecution of the deadliest mass shooting in county history, federal officials announced they’ve ceased overseeing the department’s informant program, citing recent reforms.

Los Angeles Times

Rob Reiner’s death records sealed “until further notice” as LAPD probe into director & Michele Reiner’s murders deepens

Already known details of how Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were killed have now been shuttered by the LA County Medical Examiner under a court order sought by the LAPD. The department wants to keep its findings sealed and away from the prying eyes of the “media and the public” as they try to make substantial progress before a potentially decisive court hearing next week.

Deadline

Man refiles claims against LASD over fight outside bar 

The lawsuit from a Santa Clarita man who claimed he was beaten by off-duty deputies, and then Sheriff’s Department officials tried to cover it up, filed new claims Friday, including new accusations against the former captain of the SCV station. The Sheriff’s Department denied any wrongdoing in its initial response to the lawsuit that was dismissed two weeks ago.  

The Signal Santa Clarita Valley

Southern California

Suspected copper wire thieves disable parking enforcement radios in Los Angeles

Los Angeles city parking enforcement and transportation officers were removed from the field over the weekend after copper wire thieves damaged a key communications tower in Elysian Park, leaving several departments with inoperable radios. The Los Angeles Police Department was not affected by the outage. Police apprehended two suspected thieves Saturday after they attempted to strip the tower of copper wiring, officials said.

Los Angeles Times

LA County's money falls short (Video)

NBC4’s Political Reporter Conan Nolan speaks with LA County Assessor Jeffrey Prang about the impact of last year’s fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades had on the tax revenue in Los Angeles County.

NBC4

Is LA County’s women’s jail still an unsafe place for women to be? A new lawsuit says YES

Six years ago, in February of 2018, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy named Giancarlo Scotti, who was working at LA County’s largest women’s jail, which is located in Lynwood, California, was charged with sexually assaulting six female inmates at the facility. The alleged assaults occurred between March and September of 2017.

Witness LA

LAFD leaders tried to cover up Palisades fire mistakes. The truth still emerged

Pacific Palisades had been burning for less than two hours when word raced through the ranks of the Los Angeles Fire Department that the agency’s leaders had failed to pre-deploy any extra engines and crews to the area, despite warnings of life-threatening winds.

Los Angeles Times

Homeless drivers off the hook in California as RV encampments spread in Los Angeles 

A new state law that kicked in on New Year’s Day lets homeless and indigent drivers wipe away parking tickets - pitched as compassion to keep minor fines from snowballing into debt and car loss. On the ground, critics say it drops into cities where parking enforcement is already gutted - and vehicle dwelling has quietly hardened into a de facto policy, not a stopgap.

New York Post

Public Safety

CHP arrests more than 21, impounds dozens of vehicles in street racing crackdown

California Highway Patrol officers made more than 21 arrests and impounded dozens of vehicles following a large street racing incident reported late last night on the southern portion of the 110 Freeway. According to CHP, dispatchers received multiple calls reporting a large group of vehicles racing at high speeds on the freeway. 

Long Beach Local News

Major cities see violent crime surge as national rates plummet significantly in 2025: survey

Violent crime declined nationwide in 2025, but a new survey shows several U.S. cities moving in the opposite direction, reporting increases in homicides, rapes, robberies or aggravated assaults even as the national trend improved. A survey from the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) covers violent crime reporting between January and September 2025 and the same period in 2024.

Fox News

LAPD seeks help identifying young boy found in car with dog after attempted theft

Los Angeles police are seeking the public's help in identifying a young child who was left behind, along with a dog, following an attempted car theft. It all unfolded Sunday morning after a victim reported that a man tried to steal his car on North Avenue 52 in Highland Park, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

ABC7

Investigation finds lack of law enforcement action despite thousands of fireworks-related calls across Los Angeles

A CBS News California Investigation found data from the Los Angeles Fire Department showing that hundreds of fires were ignited by illegal fireworks across Los Angeles in 2025, as well as the lack of action taken by law enforcement when they were called for the dangerous pyrotechnics.  

CBS News

Off-duty ICE officer allegedly kills man firing gun outside apartment complex: DHS

An off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer allegedly shot and killed an armed man outside of the federal agent's Los Angeles apartment complex, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The shooting occurred late New Year's Eve in the Northridge neighborhood, DHS said. ICE is under the supervision of DHS.

ABC News

California drops lawsuit seeking to reinstate federal funding for the state's bullet train

California this week dismissed a lawsuit officials filed against the Trump administration over the federal government's withdrawing of $4 billion for the state's long-delayed high-speed rail project. The U.S. Transportation Department in July slashed funds for the bullet train aimed at connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. 

Associated Press

California has sued Trump 52 times this year. Here's what those suits have accomplished

With little prospect of fending off President Donald Trump's agenda in Congress or at the ballot box, California has turned, once again, to the courts. With considerable success so far. In lawsuits filed or joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, federal judges have blocked the Trump administration's freeze on virtually all domestic federal funding and mass layoffs in agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education and the AmeriCorps volunteer program.

San Francisco Chronicle

Doctors' effort to end bias training won't get Ninth Circuit rehearing

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on Monday, declined to rehear a petition filed by a group of doctors and a conservative advocacy group that were suing California over a 2019 law requiring doctors to take 50 hours of ‘implicit bias’ training courses every two years. Dr. Azadeh Khatibi and the nonprofit advocacy group “Do No Harm” sued the state’s medical board in 2023, arguing that new training requirements violated the First Amendment.

Courthouse News Service

How the CHP is drawing a flood of new recruits when the LAPD, other agencies struggle to hire

For all the talk of recruitment struggles at the Los Angeles Police Department and other law enforcement agencies nationwide, some local agencies are finding that hiring new officers has gotten easier. Take the California Highway Patrol, which in November graduated a class of 146 officers from its academy in West Sacramento. 

Los Angeles Times

New California 2026 laws include plastic bag ban, food delivery refund

New laws will take effect in California on Jan. 1 that can change hiring practices and the way we shop for groceries, cars and food on online platforms. Many new laws will affect Californians daily, while some will apply to specific fields or situations. Renters, shoppers, employers and employees should also look out for new rules that could save them money.

Ventura County Star

These 8 new California laws for 2026 are on CHP, DMV's radar

A new year is bringing a host of new California-wide public safety-related laws to Redding, Shasta County and the rest of the North State. Laws dropping or reducing parking penalties for people who are unable to pay, boosting consequences for intoxicated drivers convicted of vehicular manslaughter and adding new requirements for users of off-highway electric motorcycles are among the new provisions passed by legislators and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Redding Record Searchlight

New California law expands Newsom’s mental health court

In 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a new program intended to revolutionize the way counties provide mental health care to some of their most vulnerable residents. CARE Court provides a new pathway for the courts to coordinate mental health and substance use treatment, medications and housing placements for people in the grip of psychosis, including those sleeping outside on the street.

CalMatters

Mexican authorities seized $40 million in motorcycles belonging to fugitive Ryan Wedding, FBI says

Authorities in Mexico have seized $40 million (U.S.) in high-end motorcycles believed to be owned by fugitive and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding, the FBI said on Monday. Mexican authorities announced last week that the 62 high-end motorcycles were seized in raids at four homes in Mexico City and the nearby state of Mexico as part of the sprawling investigation into the former Olympic snowboarder.

Toronto Star

Democrats' redistricting win sparks a new party war in California

When Zohran Mamdani’s lead media strategist slipped out of town and flew west to cut an ad for a little-known progressive in the heart of California’s Central Valley, he was opening a new front in the Democratic Party’s civil war. Democrats at the time were on their way to gerrymandering the state’s congressional districts to flip five seats - a nationally watched effort central to winning back control of the House.

Politico

Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole

Judge grants diversion in former CHP officer's perjury case

A former California Highway Patrol officer accused of falsifying multiple speeding tickets may undergo mental-health diversion to resolve her perjury case, a Yolo Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday. Michelle Reinert, 52, will undergo a two-year diversion process, during which she must engage in outpatient therapy, complete 240 hours of community service, and write letters of apology and pay restitution to her three victims, Judge Sonia Cortés ruled.

McNaughton Media

Man pleads guilty in SoCal store robberies; feds say he returned after deportation

A man who federal authorities say was deported during a string of robberies - only to return and continue targeting liquor and convenience stores across Southern California - pleaded guilty to several charges Tuesday. Jesus Soto-Parada, 26, was arrested along with his alleged accomplice, Daniel Pavon, early last year.

Los Angeles Times

Southern California behavioral therapist sentenced to prison for molesting young girl with disabilities

A behavioral therapist in Southern California was sentenced to 17 years in prison for molesting a young non-verbal girl with disabilities who was under his care. Mitchell Akira Takata, 23, of Los Altos, had pleaded guilty to the crimes in October, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In May 2024, Riverside police began investigating reports of sexual abuse involving a child who authorities described as “severely handicapped and non-verbal.”

KTLA

The rise of DTLA: Car crashes, surgeries and a $4-billion settlement

Sereen Banna said the partners of Downtown LA Law Group called her “Erin Brockovich” for her work helping hundreds sue over noxious fumes spewing out of a landfill in northern Los Angeles County. An ambitious paralegal, Banna said she embraced the role she had in empowering residents to take on companies suspected of polluting their neighborhoods. Her bosses were proud, too, she said.

Los Angeles Times

L.A. supervisors were slow to foresee and prevent fraud

In 2019, the California Legislature enacted AB 218, a law that allowed individuals to seek compensation against institutions and individuals for alleged child abuse dating as far back as the 1950s. It was predictable that once AB 218 was enacted, law firms would be incentivized to gather as many alleged victims as possible to file complaints within the three-year window provided by the statute. 

Joseph Charney/Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

New Executive Order aims to preempt state AI regulation: Top points

On December 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled, “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” The EO is part of a White House effort to streamline artificial intelligence (AI)-related laws and create a national standard. The order notes that a patchwork of state laws could lead to burdensome compliance regimes and harm innovation necessary for global AI leadership. Congressional attempts to preempt or impose a legislative moratorium on state AI laws have faced bipartisan criticism, as well as pushback from some governors.

DLA Piper

Disgraced former Centinela Valley schools Superintendent Jose Fernandez dies

Jose Fernandez, the embattled former Centinela Valley School District superintendent accused of manipulating his pay and benefits one year to nearly $750,000, has died, according to an attorney representing him during criminal proceedings. His attorney, Vicki Podberesky, confirmed Friday, Dec. 26, that Fernandez had died, but could not confirm the date. 

Southern California News Group

Federal court blocks California’s attempt to oversee labor disputes: What employers need to know about win for NLRB

A federal judge just temporarily blocked California from extending its labor board’s authority into private-sector labor disputes traditionally handled by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The December 26 decision blocks key portions of a 2025 California law designed to allow state intervention when the federal labor agency is stalled or inactive.

Fisher Phillips

How Vince McMahon’s 2022 WWE comeback was anticipated by Endeavor executives

When Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE in July 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, a top executive at Endeavor was already telling colleagues that very day that McMahon’s departure would be temporary, he would return, and that a company transaction of WWE could then be imminent, forecasting the eventual merger with Endeavor’s UFC.

Post Wrestling