Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Appeals court blocks early release of murderers
A unanimous panel of California’s Third District Court of Appeal has held that state law does not authorize the early release of murderers serving indeterminate sentences in state prison. The court’s July 28 decision in the case of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) invalidates regulations adopted by corrections officials which had allowed the release of convicted murderers years before they had served the minimum term of 15 or 25 years to life in prison.
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
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Appeals court rules Calif. law requiring background checks for ammunition is unconstitutional
A voter-backed California law requiring background checks for people who buy bullets is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday in a blow to the state’s efforts to combat gun violence. In upholding a 2024 ruling by a lower court, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law violates the Second Amendment. Voters passed the law in 2016 and it took effect in 2019. Many states, including California, make people pass a background check before they can buy a gun.
Associated Press
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C.A. finds disentitlement doctrine applies based on non-litigation misconduct
A woman has no right to be heard in her appellate challenge to a restraining order imposed on her, Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has declared, invoking the doctrine of disentitlement based, atypically, on criminal misconduct on the part of the appellant rather than on actions or inaction directly in connection with the litigation. Dismissal of the appeal was ordered in an unpublished opinion filed Wednesday, seemingly precluding a need to address the merits.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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California appeals court rules against property owner in permit fee fight on remand from U.S. Supreme Court
Sometimes, your case makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sometimes, you even win at the Supreme Court. And sometimes, you'll still end up losing when a lower court rules against you on remand. A California state appeals court panel on Wednesday reaffirmed its earlier decision against an El Dorado County resident, ruling that a $23,000 county-issued fee he incurred while building a house on his property did not violate his constitutional rights.
Courthouse News Service
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Doctors opposed to bias training lose at Ninth Circuit
A group of doctors who oppose required implicit-bias training have received a blow from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel on Friday affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a suit filed by Dr. Azadeh Khatibi and Do No Harm, a conservative medical advocacy group. Agreeing with the lower court, the judges said implicit-bias training - included in continuing education courses that physicians must take - isn’t private speech. Instead, it’s government speech and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.
Courthouse News Service
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Ninth Circuit declines relief in kidnap-for-ransom case
A divided Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a habeas corpus petition - asserting that the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to be informed of the nature of the charges against him was violated by a failure to allege in the charging documents facts necessary to the imposition of a heightened sentence - was properly denied in a kidnapping-for-ransom case that left a victim permanently mutilated.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Sony fails to dismiss lawsuit over 'Interview' data hacking
A U.S. judge rejected Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by nine former employees who claimed their personal data was stolen in a 2014 hacking tied to the studio's release of a comedy set in North Korea, "The Interview.” U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said the plaintiffs could pursue claims that the Sony Corp unit was negligent and violated a California confidentiality law by spurning security measures to stop the theft of employees' salary and health data, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information.
Reuters
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Federal judge won’t let Amazon appeal in FTC subscription case
A federal judge on Friday declined to give Amazon permission to appeal several of his orders to the Ninth Circuit in a legal fight with the Federal Trade Commission over accusations that the company tricked customers into signing up for Prime memberships and then made them difficult to cancel. In his 14-page ruling, U.S. District Judge John H. Chun expressed concern for the case’s schedule, especially considering that Amazon filed its motion only four months before the case is scheduled for trial.
Courthouse News Service
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Big win for charter schools as court strikes down L.A. Unified policy
In a victory for Los Angeles charter schools, a judge has struck down a sweeping Los Angeles Unified policy that would have prevented charters - the school of choice for 1 in 5 L.A. public-school students - from using classroom space at nearly 350 campuses. The policy, set to go into effect when the new school year opens in three weeks, had effectively barred charter schools from moving onto campuses with certain designations - including those with a special program for Black students, low-performing "priority" schools, and community schools, which have wrap-around services to address the needs of students and families inside and outside the classroom.
Los Angeles Times
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UCLA violated Jewish students' civil rights with 'deliberate indifference,' feds say
The Department of Justice said Tuesday that UCLA violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students who reported harassment and intimidation during a spring 2024 pro-Palestinian campus encampment, heightening the political tensions between the University of California and the Trump administration.
Los Angeles Times
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LA County DA Hochman swears in new victim services K-9s
Los Angeles County has introduced a new generation of comfort K-9s to support crime victims. On Thursday, Miata, Corbin, and Johnnie were sworn in to provide emotional support to children and vulnerable victims as part of the Bureau of Victim Services within the District Attorney’s office. This new team follows the retirement of Skippy, Nora, and Lennox, who served the county for eight years, helping over 1,600 victims and witnesses across 14 courthouses.
iHeartRadio
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DA Hochman reveals charges against man accused of killing `American Idol’ exec, husband in Encino
Neighbors of the Encinco couple, who were killed in their home by a suspect who was allegedly burglarizing the upscale residence, were speaking out Monday after a loud weekend party was shut down by police at the house next door. The party was held on Saturday night, next door to the White Oak Place home of “American Idol” music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca, both 70. Raymond Boodarian, 22, of Encino has been charged with two counts of murder stemming from the deaths.
MyNewsLA
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Orange County wants Andrew Do to repay $10 million, much more than prosecutors seek
What the county wants: The county filed a formal request to the court Friday requesting that Do be ordered to pay more than $10 million in restitution, based on the amounts of COVID relief money he had awarded to the nonprofit Viet America Society. Do has admitted that about $8 million of that money was diverted from feeding needy seniors, and that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes through the group to his daughters. The restitution would be paid to the county, as the victim.
LAist
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Reputed Mexican Mafia member charged in killing of L.A. club owner, B-movie actor
One night nearly 15 years ago, two men broke into the Downey home of Hermilio Franco, an actor and nightclub owner. The scene could have been ripped from one of the low-budget, shoot-em-up Mexican films Franco starred in - or the ballads chronicling the drug trade that were sung at his club. The intruders shook Franco and his wife awake. Franco pulled a chrome-plated .45 from under the mattress. Screams and gunshots filled the bedroom.
Los Angeles Times
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Trump’s LA prosecutor orders cases his staff say lack evidence
In the three-plus months Bill Essayli has run the Los Angeles US Attorney’s Office, he has ignored and overruled the recommendations of senior prosecutors, instructed staff to disregard Justice Department policies, and forced lawyers to redo indictment failures before new grand juries, said multiple lawyers with knowledge of the matters.
Bloomberg Law
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L.A. City Attorney sues Airbnb for alleged price gouging law violations
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced on July 18 that a civil enforcement action has been filed against Airbnb alleging that the home rental platform increased rental prices of at least 2,000 properties in L.A. in the wake of the January wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, in violation of California’s Anti-Gouging Law.
Beverly Press
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California AG will no longer defend lengthy sentences for violent young offenders
Can youths who commit murder or other extremely violent crimes in California be sentenced to spend most of the rest of their lives in prison? The state Supreme Court will decide that issue - but without one of its usual participants, Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has abruptly withdrawn his support for longer sentences.
San Francisco Chronicle
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CA lawmakers to consider change to life without parole
For California prisoners who committed crimes when they were young and received life sentences without parole, few opportunities exist to get a second chance. The possibility of a parole review is slim, while the likelihood of dying behind bars is all but guaranteed. But one bill - which the Legislature is holding for consideration until 2026 - could change that if passed.
CalMatters
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'We'll see you in court': L.A. County wants to bar ICE agents from concealing identity
L.A. County took a first step Tuesday toward barring immigration officers from concealing their identities with neck gaiters and masks, though it’s far from clear they’ll be able to enforce the local ban on federal agents. County supervisors voted 4-0 to ask attorneys to draft a rule that would bar all law enforcement officers - including local sheriff deputies and federal immigration agents - from disguising their identity while working in unincorporated parts of the county.
Los Angeles Times
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How ICE is using the LAPD to track down immigrants for deportation
When Los Angeles police arrested Jose Juarez-Basilio in March on suspicion of threatening his ex-wife's new romantic partner, he was released after spending less than 24 hours in jail. The short stay behind bars was all it took to trigger his deportation roughly three months later.
Los Angeles Times
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Essayli upended US attorney’s office in LA region by pushing Trump agenda. Will he stay on top?
When Bill Essayli was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles region in April, many in the former state assemblyman’s Riverside County district were afraid the ambitious Republican lightning rod would be willing to attack a whole range of California policies to please the MAGA base.
Los Angeles Times
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Trump administration maneuvers to keep Essayli as L.A.'s top federal prosecutor
The White House moved Tuesday to keep interim U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli in power as Los Angeles' top federal prosecutor, marking the Trump administration's latest maneuver to defy norms and keep controversial appointees in positions across the country. Essayli - a former Riverside County assemblyman, staunch conservative and Trump ally - will be named acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, according to Matthew Nies, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Los Angeles Times
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Bondi opens new front in sanctuary state war
Donald Trump has long excoriated California’s sanctuary state immigration law, and now his administration is openly challenging local law enforcement to violate it. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently sent letters to sheriffs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Riverside and San Diego counties saying they have 30 days to share a litany of information about immigrants in their jails. This includes a list of those who aren’t citizens, crimes for which they’ve been arrested or convicted and their release dates.
Politico
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Trump orders crackdown on homeless encampments nationwide
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order urging cities and states to clear homeless encampments and move people into treatment centers - a move that advocates for the homeless said would worsen the problem. The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to overturn state and federal legal precedents and consent decrees that limit local efforts to remove homeless camps. It remains unclear how Bondi could unilaterally overturn such decisions.
Reuters
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Access denied: L.A. County sheriff, watchdog clash over deputy killing investigations
It was just past 12:30 a.m. on June 9 when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a burglary in progress at a home in Lynwood. Upon arrival, according to the department’s incident summary, they saw Federico Rodriguez, 45, through a window, holding what appeared to be a pair of scissors. Hearing screams inside, deputies forced a door open and entered the home, where they found Rodriguez repeatedly stabbing a woman.
Los Angeles Times
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Feds ask Ninth Circuit to lift limits on SoCal immigration raids
The Trump administration asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday to stay a federal injunction restricting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from using certain tactics during its immigration sweeps in Southern California, including the targeting of people based on their ethnicity, accent, language or location.
Courthouse News Service
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Feds charge SoCal surgery center staff who confronted ICE agent
The Justice Department brought criminal charges against two Southern California surgery center staff members who tried to help a landscaper who was pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and fled inside the clinic. Jose de Jesus Ortega, 38, and Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, are charged with assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties, according to an announcement Friday by the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.
Courthouse News Service
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Sacramento man charged by federal prosecutors in Border Patrol vehicle vandalism
Federal prosecutors say they have charged the man suspected of puncturing a Border Patrol vehicle's tire during an immigration enforcement operation in Sacramento. The July 17 incident unfolded in the parking lot of the Home Depot along Florin Road. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California say Customs and Border Protection agents were carrying out an immigration enforcement operation when the suspect - 31-year-old Sacramento resident Jose Manuel Castillo, Jr. - allegedly tried to interfere.
CBS13 Sacramento
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Van Nuys towing scam busted: Police seize over 140 vehicles in major crackdown
An illegal towing scheme has come to light in Van Nuys, Los Angeles with more than 140 vehicles being recovered. Tow truck operators are being accused of targeting drivers after minor collisions and then charging outrageous fees. This situation affects countless vehicle owners and sends a clear warning to everyone on the road. The probe got underway after the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), working alongside the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and other agencies, received plenty of tips about odd towing behavior.
The News Wheel
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Man ejected from Knott’s Berry Farm for alleged racial slur loses job
A man who was reportedly caught on camera calling someone at Knott’s Berry Farm a racial slur and later allegedly being involved in a physical altercation appears to have lost his job at the Riverside County water district. The incident, according to reporting from The Orange County Register, unfolded on July 12. In the widely circulated video, which was posted to both Instagram and TikTok, the man and a woman that appeared to be with him were standing in line when some sort of verbal altercation occurred.
KTLA
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LA Times skewers LA County fire evacuation plans
This weekend’s Los Angeles Times investigative report says neither the City of LA nor the County of LA have run studies to examine how quickly any given geographic area can be evacuated. Such studies are required by a six-year-old state law … which requires cities and counties to evaluate whether quick and safe evacuations are feasible. The Times reports that the city of L.A. has failed to publicly report such an analysis. L.A. County listed evacuation routes for unincorporated areas by simply listing every road that is paved, public and not a dead end.
Radio Malibu
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LA County Sheriff Oversight Commission elects new leadership
The Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission has unanimously elected Commissioner Hans Johnson as its new chair, along with reelecting Commissioner Luis S. Garcia and electing Commissioner Arthur Calloway II as co-vice chairs for fiscal year 2025-2026. Johnson replaces former Chair Robert C. Bonner, who served since the commission's inception in 2017 until his term ended this month when Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger opted not to renew it.
Santa Monica Daily Press
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Bruin alum and former LAPD veteran named new UCLA police chief
Bruin alum and long-time member of the Los Angeles Police Department Craig Valenzuela has been named UCLA's new police chief, the school announced Monday. Valenzuela, who grew up in Harbor City, will start his new job on the Westwood campus in September. Valenzuela joined the LAPD in 1996 after earning his bachelor's degree at UCLA in political science.
NBC4
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Gilbert Arenas, former NBA star, arrested for running illegal gambling ring
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas and five other people, including "a suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime group," were arrested Wednesday, July 30 on a federal indictment alleging they operated an illegal gambling business in Encino, California, according the U.S. Department of Justice’s Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.
USA Today
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Neighbors of Encino victims speak out following weekend disturbance
Neighbors of the Encinco couple, who were killed in their home by a suspect who was allegedly burglarizing the upscale residence, were speaking out Monday after a loud weekend party was shut down by police at the house next door. The party was held on Saturday night, next door to the White Oak Place home of "American Idol" music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca, both 70.
City News Service
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Tesla camera captures video of suspects stealing safe from Woodland Hills home
Cameras on a Tesla captured the moments that two suspects allegedly took off with a safe they stole from a home in Woodland Hills on Sunday. Los Angeles police say that the burglary was reported just after 7 p.m. in the 4800 block of Canoga Avenue. The video shows two men, one wearing a black hoodie and black jeans, and the second wearing a gray sweatshirt with red pants, as they hurry away from a block of homes towards a black Mercedes-Benz with blacked out license plates.
KCAL News
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Encino burglars copying tactics used by international crime rings (Video)
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said burglars in the west San Fernando Valley are using sophisticated techniques. Investigative Reporter Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
NBC4
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California may soon ban selling new Glocks like the one Kamala Harris owns
The Democrats who control California’s Legislature are poised to ban the sale of one of the most popular types of handguns, like the one owned by arguably the state’s most recognizable Democrat, Kamala Harris. Assembly Bill 1127 aims to prohibit gun shops from selling new Glock-brand handguns and various off-brand imitators, because the guns can become fully automatic if a criminal inserts a converter, commonly known as a “Glock switch,” into the weapon.
CalMatters
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California sues after Trump demands access to sensitive data about food stamp recipients
California, 18 other Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C. are suing the Trump administration to halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture from collecting sensitive information about people who receive federal food vouchers, known as SNAP. The Trump administration told states to provide the data by July 30 or risk losing federal funding to administer the program.
CalMatters
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San Quentin corrections officer’s throat cut while trying to break up inmate attack
As the state prison system was preparing to hold a procession for a parole officer who was killed last week, a corrections officer’s throat was slashed here in an alleged attempted murder. The officer suffered a cut on his throat while attempting to stop one prisoner at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center from attacking another, authorities said. He was hospitalized but survived, according to prison officials.
Bay Area News Group
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2 guards allegedly stabbed by inmate in Los Angeles County state prison
Two guards from the Los Angeles County state prison were hospitalized after an inmate allegedly stabbed them Sunday night. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said prisoner Shuantae R. Taylor, 43, attacked the two officers while they were inspecting his cell. Investigators said he allegedly used an improvised weapon, which they found in the cell. Prison staff quickly stopped the attack. No one else was injured.
KCAL News
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences | | |
A drunk driver who killed a Riverside County correctional deputy and his 19-year-old daughter nearly three years ago was sentenced on Thursday.
A drunk driver who killed a Riverside County correctional deputy and his 19-year-old daughter nearly three years ago was sentenced on Thursday. Scott Bales pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing great bodily injury. A superior court judge sentenced Bales to two 15-year prison terms to be served consecutively.
ABC7
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Inmates in infamous San Diego murder, rape cases up for parole
Two prison inmates serving life sentences in high-profile San Diego County crime cases will go before the state’s Board of Parole Hearings Wednesday. One, Robert Dean Rustad, dubbed the “Del Mar Rapist,” is serving a 326-years-to-life prison sentence for raping multiple women between 1992 and 1996. Aerith Asora, meanwhile, was convicted, along with sister Brae Hansen, of killing their stepfather, local attorney Timothy MacNeil. They are eligible for parole hearings due to recent changes to state law.
Times of San Diego
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Plea deal ends hate crime case from attack on pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA
A man charged with a hate crime for his role in a wild mob attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA last year has entered a diversionary program to avoid jail time, marking the end of the first and only felony case filed in connection with the violence. Malachi Marlan-Librett, 28, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and a hate crime for two different incidents on the UCLA campus last year, court records show.
Los Angeles Times
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Developer pleads guilty to financial fraud to buy ex-Palm Springs mayor’s votes
A businessman involved in arrangements to illegally procure support from a former Palm Springs mayor for downtown development projects was sentenced Monday to a year of probation. Richard Hugh Meaney, 59, pleaded guilty in 2023 to a misdemeanor count of financial conflict in a government contract.
MyNewsLA
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Former SLO County officer accused of embezzling $160,000 is denied diversion
The former San Luis Obispo County probation officer who took at least $160,000 from the department's union was denied mental health diversion - meaning she won't have the opportunity to erase the embezzlement charges from her record. Fallyn Rollins, 31, was charged with nine felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement in February. The former probation officer is accused of stealing funds while she was acting as treasurer for the agency's union.
San Luis Obispo Tribune
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He confessed to a killing at 21. Is it time for California to give him a second chance?
Nathan Gould wakes up in a California state prison cell every morning at 6 a.m. He stirs a cup of instant coffee, prays with his Bible and reflects on the day in 1994 when he killed a man in Bakersfield. Homeless and drifting from one drug score to the next, Gould and his wife holed up with another transient in an abandoned warehouse. Gould attacked him with a knife, beat and tied him up, and proceeded to rifle through his belongings for a wad of cash he’d flashed earlier. When the man began yelling, Gould stuffed a sock in his mouth.
CalMatters
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