Cheryl Miller

July 20, 2009 | The Recorder

Critics say making the jurists who hear appeals from people denied unemployment benefits jeopardizes federal funding and makes a bad backlog worse.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

July 06, 2007 | Law.com

The governor's brief on gay marriage argues � as did earlier ones from the AG's office � that the case must be decided under a rational basis test. Jerry Brown doesn't see it that way.No Subscription Required

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

May 02, 2007 | Law.com

Andrea Lynn Hoch's work has shuttled California prisoners to Tennessee, set the table for a massive expansion of Indian gaming and laid the foundation for changing the way the state executes killers. As California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary, Hoch is one of the most powerful people in Sacramento. But for all her influence, Hoch may also be one of the least visible figures in the Capitol. "My job is, 'Let me try to get you there legally,'" Hoch says. "My job is not to say no."

By Cheryl Miller

9 minute read

January 26, 2006 | Law.com

The California union representing 3,000 state-employed attorneys has quietly dropped a controversial provision from its latest contract that would have allowed members to opt out of the state's public pension system. Union leaders aren't saying why, at least not publicly. But a Jan. 18 memo signed by state and union negotiators suggests the small attorneys' union was caught in an ongoing power struggle between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration and labor-backed Democrats in the Legislature.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

September 19, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

A federal judge has dismissed California's global warming lawsuit against six automakers, saying the issues raised in the nuisance claim should be addressed by lawmakers and not the court.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

August 03, 2010 | Law.com

Judges are nervously watching Yolo County, Calif., where local leaders are considering whether to stop providing county-funded benefits to Superior Court jurists, potentially making it the first county in the state to rescind judicial benefits since state legislation addressed the issue in 2009. Judges' groups are pleading with county leaders not to trigger a domino effect, and the Alliance of California Judges has warned that eliminating benefits might discourage "lawyers of the highest caliber" from joining the bench.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

August 14, 2006 | The Recorder

The state public defender's office, now led by Michael Hersek, has a much different mission than it did when founded 30 years ago. Which may explain why it's still around.

By Cheryl Miller

8 minute read

December 13, 2007 | Law.com

A federal judge Wednesday boosted California's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes when he rejected industry arguments that such power rests solely with federal regulators, not individual states. The decision means that, if California receives a long-awaited EPA waiver, the state can mandate lower emissions in cars, SUVs and pickups starting with 2009 models. The state's governor and attorney general sued the EPA last month, arguing that it's dragging its feet on processing the waiver.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

May 01, 2007 | The Recorder

Sacramento's Judge Gary Mullen doesn't miss working in the midst of capital politics. Still, he hasn't escaped politics completely.

By Cheryl Miller

5 minute read

June 26, 2007 | Law.com

Of the 23 lawyers Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed to new bench seats Friday, 18 are white. This isn't what diversity proponents had in mind when they extracted the governor's pledge to name more ethnic minorities to the bench.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read