Cheryl Miller

December 26, 2007 | Law.com

In a state where 25 counties pay private attorneys to defend their poor in court, Richard Ciummo just may be the Sam Walton of California's indigent defense industry. Ciummo is the principal of a private, for-profit law firm that holds contracts for indigent representation in nine counties. While Walton made billions selling products on the cheap, Ciummo has perfected a similar albeit much less profitable business model offering local government a range of professional legal services at an affordable price.

By Cheryl Miller

13 minute read

June 12, 2008 | The Recorder

Maybe some of that porn wasn't his. But back in 2001, the Ninth Circuit judge's fight for unfettered browsing had some in Washington wondering just what he was up to.

By Cheryl Miller and Dan Levine

6 minute read

March 30, 2010 | The Recorder

A Ninth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that lawyers improperly considered race in picking jurors for a suit over whether an employer illegally fiied workers who failed an English exam.

By Cheryl Miller

2 minute read

January 11, 2010 | The Recorder

Capital Accounts: Gov. Schwarzenegger wants red-light cameras to start tagging speeding motorists with hefty fines to fill up the court budget.

By Cheryl Miller

5 minute read

May 04, 2010 | The Recorder

The Second District ruled 2-1 to reinstate a malicious prosecution claim stemming from the firm's representation of Princess Diana's estate.

By Cheryl Miller

2 minute read

August 28, 2009 | The Recorder

While a handful of Democrats, led by S.F. DA Kamala Harris, fight for the nomination, only one contender, State Sen. Tom Harman, wants the GOP ticket.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

January 12, 2007 | Law.com

A little-noticed provision in the governor's budget would re-fund the dormant Industrial Welfare Commission. Labor lawyers say it may portend an end-run on meal break, overtime and other workplace rules.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

November 09, 2007 | Law.com

In an unusual show of unity, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown on Thursday sued to force federal regulators to act on California's request to curb vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions. The suit accused the federal EPA of dragging its feet on California's nearly two-year-old request for a waiver that would allow the state to mandate a 30 percent reduction in global warming emissions from vehicles by 2016. Schwarzenegger said he expected as many as 14 states to join the suit.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

November 19, 2009 | The Recorder

Attorney General Jerry Brown and other regulators reach a deal in which the bank will buy back $1.4 billion of troubled debt from investors, half of them in California.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

September 26, 2006 | Law.com

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