Cheryl Miller

June 03, 2009 | The Recorder

James Mize, the PJ in Sacramento, told lawmakers he's "pleased" that other judges are arguing against closures. But he'd be more pleased with a modern computer system.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

February 26, 2007 | Law.com

Crime victims can tap their assailants' pension funds for restitution despite federal laws that offer broad protections for retirement accounts, a split en banc panel of the 9th Circuit has held. The ruling marks the first time an appellate court has spoken on the inherent conflict between the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, which authorizes the government to seize personal assets of a convicted criminal, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which shields private pension funds from creditors.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

February 24, 2006 | Law.com

State lawmakers will help reach a compromise over a proposed initiative that would give contractors and property owners time to make construction repairs before facing lawsuits.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

May 29, 2008 | The Recorder

Robert Jones, the Schwarzenegger official who fired Miles Locker for insubordination, was terminated by Senate Democrats on Wednesday.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

May 03, 2006 | The Recorder

Democrats killed two bills Tuesday that aimed to undo last year's Supreme Court decision. But one lawmaker wants a compromise.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

December 01, 2008 | The Recorder

Alsyon Huber, an associate running for a state Assembly seat, had trailed her opponent ever since Election Day. To just about everyone's surprise, she's now expected to be sworn in Monday.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

June 14, 2006 | Law.com

A California judge with a sharp tongue was publicly admonished Monday by the state Commission on Judicial Performance. Judge Bruce Mills was accused of browbeating several lawyers in his court and suggesting in front of their clients that their actions constituted "malpractice." In one case, Mills berated a public defender and dismissed his behavior as "stupidity and arrogance." Investigators also said Mills engaged in a series of improper ex parte communications with attorneys in a misdemeanor theft case.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

October 13, 2009 | The Recorder

In a weekend of signing or vetoing a tall stack of bills, Gov. Schwarzenegger OK'd a "civil Gideon" program and said out-of-state gay marriages performed before Prop 8 passed are valid here.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

August 22, 2007 | The Recorder

On the same day Jerry Brown announced a settlement of his global warming suit against San Bernardino County, lawmakers agreed to a spending plan that bars him from bringing similar suits over state projects funded with bond money.

By Cheryl Miller

5 minute read

September 26, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

In a huge victory for organized labor, a split en banc panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a controversial California law that prohibits state contractors from spending state dollars on union-busting efforts. The 12-3 decision overturns a district court's ruling from 2003 -- and a subsequent three-judge 9th Circuit panel -- that struck down the law on the grounds that it violated employers' First Amendment rights and conflicted with federal labor regulations.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read