Southern California Appellate News

SCOTUS rules update article

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 16:38:00 +0000

Law360 has What To Know About Supreme Court's New Recusal Rules

First, the court revised various existing disclosure rules to provide that parties must now provide the stock ticker symbols of parties involved in the case.
Second, the rules now impose additional duties on respondents to supplement disclosures of involved parties at both the certiorari stage and the merits stage. In a brief in opposition to certiorari, the respondent is newly required to "identify any parties to the proceeding that were not identified in the petition" — "along with their respective stock ticker symbols."
Third, in a change that does not relate directly to recusals, but does reflect the court's increasing embrace of technology, the court will now consider a document timely filed if it is filed electronically on the filing deadline — in contrast to the previous rule, which tied timeliness to paper filings.

Dissent at the 9th Cir.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:48:00 +0000

Read The Volokh Conspiracy's post about the Olympus Spa opinions titled: Judge VanDyke: "This is a case about swinging dicks." The post excerpts the key passages from the various opinions.

Before: McKEOWN, GOULD, and LEE, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge MCKEOWN
Dissent by Judge LEE
Statement Respecting the Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge MCKEOWN
Additional Statement Respecting the Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge MCKEOWN
Statement Respecting the Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge OWENS
Dissent from Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge VANDYKE
Dissent from Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge TUNG
Dissent from Denial of Rehearing En Banc by Judge COLLINS

Law360 has Full 9th Circ. Deeply Divided On Rehearing TPS Vacatur

Professor Martin is rendered effectively speechless: His post on this is simply "OMG."

Law360 has 'Swinging Dicks' Dissent Stirs Uproar Across 9th Circ. Bench

Bloomberg law has VanDyke Uses Crude Phrase in Case Over Spa’s Transgender Policy

The NYT has We Have Reached End-Stage Polarization

Bloomberg law has Manatt Hires San Diego Appeals Lawyer From US Attorney’s Office -- Zach Howe joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a partner in its San Diego office, the firm announced Thursday. Howe joins from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. He will draw on his appellate and trial experience to help build and expand the firm’s appellate capabilities

And Oldest Active Federal Judge Asks Supreme Court for Her Job Back

1st DCA pro tem update

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 01:21:02 +0000

Judge Ann Moorman of the Mendocino County Superior Court will be sitting pro tempore in Division Four until March 31, 2026.

JCC Celebrates 100 years!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:32:00 +0000

The Judicial Council celebrates its centennial this year! Details here.

"Supreme Court Advocacy Project"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:16:00 +0000

Law360 has Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office -- The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's policymaking body, authorized the creation of the Supreme Court Advocacy Project during its biannual meeting Tuesday, Geremy Kamens, the federal public defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, told Law360. The project, which will initially be supported by Kamens' office, will eventually become its own entity that will provide resources and training materials for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys representing clients before the high court. ....

About 25 years ago, Kamens and other appellate lawyers and public defenders realized there was a need for a support structure for defense attorneys seeking Supreme Court review, so they developed the all-volunteer organization Defender Supreme Court Resource and Assistance Panel, which would reach out to attorneys in cases where the justices had granted certiorari and help them prepare for oral arguments by running moot courts and providing litigation assistance.

The project announced Tuesday, also known as SCAP, is a more formalized version of the volunteer organization, Kamens said.

Law360 also has Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

Cautionary note re advocacy

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 23:57:00 +0000

This unpub from 4/3 today denies a motion for appellate sanctions, but contains a cautionary note:

we caution appellate counsel not to overstate or misrepresent the record under the cloak of effective advocacy because it, at the very least, violates court rules. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.204(a)(1)(C).)

Appellate sanctions were denied by 2/2 in an unpub today here. Do there seem to be more sanctions motions these days?

U.S. Courts has issued a press release discussing the plan to replace the aging CM/ECF system in district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts: Judges Outline Accelerated Modernization of Case Management System:

The new system will replace the Case Management/Electronic Case Files system (CM/ECF) that the courts have relied on for nearly three decades to manage heavy caseloads and carry out court operations. It is used by litigants to file cases and related documents, and it provides the public with access to over 1 billion court records.

It is anticipated that the district courts will be the first to start implementing aspects of the new case management system within the next year, followed by appellate and bankruptcy courts. The timeline for completion is two to three years sooner than originally expected.

Traynor 2026 winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 23:40:00 +0000

The 57th Annual Roger J. Traynor California Moot Court Competition took place by Zoom this weekend and the winner was Berkeley. Ten law schools sent teams this year; 13 members of the bench and bar served as judges, not including the 3 justices for the final round: Justices Bendix, Stratton and Perren (ret.). More details here.

Beds on communication & reading the room

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:12:00 +0000

Retired Justice Bedsworth's latest column is out: Bedsworth: Listening to Old Folks -- I find that the less people know about me, the more willing they are to listen to me. Mostly these are law students or young lawyers. I encourage them to work hard on their communication skills with old people because they're going to spend much of their career trying to communicate with old people.

This is a lesson I learned in my first months on the Court of Appeal: Don't just do what you'd planned; pay attention and do what the situation calls for.

Congrats to Kent Richland, ALHOF!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:22:00 +0000

CLA has announced that the 2026 inductee to the Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame (ALHOF) will be Kent Richland, founding partner and currently partner emeritus of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP. The award will be bestowed on Thursday evening, May 14 at the CLA Appellate Summit in San Francisco (May 14-15).

Kent Richland has been an appellate lawyer since he graduated from UCLA Law School in 1971. In 1983, Kent was one of the founding partners of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP. Kent has been lead appellate counsel in hundreds of appeals. He has argued in state and federal appellate courts across the country, including many high-profile cases in both the California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. He gained national prominence in 2006 for his United States Supreme Court argument in Marshall v. Marshall, in which he successfully represented the late Anna Nicole Smith.

Kent is a frequent lecturer and author on appellate law topics and is co-author, with Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline of the California Court of Appeal, of West’s California Litigation Forms B Civil Appeals and Writs. He has served as president of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers and multiple terms as president of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. He was selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America.

Among the honors he has received are the California Lawyer Magazine’s California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award in 2007, 2011 and 2019, Best Lawyers®’ Los Angeles Appellate Lawyer of the Year Award in 2015, multiple years’ recognition by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, multiple years’ recognition as one of the top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers and recognition by Chambers USA as one of five “Band One” appellate lawyers in California.

Stare decisis amicus brief

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Law.com has Nearly 200 Ex-Judges Tell Supreme Court: Your Unreasoned Emergency Orders Are Not Binding -- More than 175 former federal and state judges signed an amicus brief responding to the Trump administration's argument that lower courts are "flouting" the Supreme Court's unexplained emergency orders.

The notion that lower courts must treat the Supreme Court's orders on its emergency docket as binding precedent is fairly new and not universally accepted. Often, these orders are issued on tight timelines, or as Justice Amy Coney Barrett once put it, “on a short fuse without benefit of full briefing and oral argument.”
Only recently has the Supreme Court indicated that an emergency order "squarely controlled" the outcome of another case. "Although our interim orders are not conclusive as to the merits, they inform how a court should exercise its equitable discretion in like cases," the court wrote in July 2025.

The following month, Justice Neil Gorsuch made headlines by suggesting that district courts were defying the court's emergency orders. "Lower court judges may sometimes disagree with this Court’s decisions, but they are never free to defy them," he wrote in a partial concurrence joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh in August 2025.

On Thursday, the former judges told the Supreme Court that such unexplained orders should not be considered "binding" on other district courts in different cases.

"Dead data walking"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:16:00 +0000

Justice Raphael's latest in the DJ is titled Dead data walking about how a certain statistic is repeated in "dozens of California opinions." But are courts using this statistic, and facts asserted in opinions generally, correctly? The specific statistic at issue (about how many armed robberies result in death) "originated in a 44-year old" SCOTUS opinion. But there are at least three major problems with this statistic and its use--the most obvious being that stats like this change over time.

the use of this statistic can provoke thoughts about reliance upon empirical data in appellate cases. When an appellate court cites a statistic in a published opinion, that statistic becomes fair game for lawyers and judges to repeat indefinitely. Challenging such a statistic takes work and requires extra-record analysis, which may be impermissible or methodologically unreliable. Law professor Allison Orr Larsen has written on the general subject. In Factual Precedents, 162 U.Penn.L.Rev. 59 (2013), she discussed situations where the United States Supreme Court has cited facts, including statistics, that lower courts then relied on without further analysis. See, e.g., id. at 62 (statistic that a quarter of carpal tunnel cases resolve within a month without intervention). She has explored how factual assertions in Supreme Court opinions could be mistaken or one-sided. Larsen, Confronting Supreme Court Fact Finding, 98 Va.L.Rev. 1255 (2012).

And from dead data to a dead appeal, Law360 has Atty's Scheduling Error Dooms Appeal In AT&T Forfeiture Suit

And check out this decision re appellate sanctions for a frivolous appeal from 2/5.

Because this appeal is both objectively and subjectively frivolous, we exercise our authority to impose sanctions on husband and his attorneys, jointly and severally. ....

In addition to her costs on appeal, wife shall be awarded reasonable fees and costs, in an amount to be determined by the family court, against husband and his attorneys, jointly and severally. Husband’s attorneys and the clerk of this court are each ordered to forward a copy of this court’s opinion to the State Bar upon issuance of the remittitur.

On the AI sanctions front, don't miss this published one from 4/1 here. The MetNews story is C.A. Imposes $1,500 Sanction for Citing Fake Cases -- Then-Court Commissioner, Opposing Counsel Faulted for Not Noticing Fakery

The DJ's story is Commissioner, now judge, approved order with fake AI case citations

Who wants a drink?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This month's Exceptionally Appealing column (appearing the 1st Monday of the month in the DJ) is The Appellate Bar-tender - which "playfully maps appellate law practice to cocktail mixology, using creative drink recipes--each inspired by motions, petitions, or court rulings--to humorously illustrate the challenges, rituals and personalities of appellate advocacy while celebrating the wit and culture of the appellate bar."

What are appellate cocktails? The article provides numerous examples, some based on color (e.g., green for the AOB) some based on puns (the Reversal is a classic cocktail called a flip) some mixing cocktail names with appellate jargon:

The French 918 - Why stop at 75 (gin) or 76 (vodka) when you can go all the way up to 918? Combine Citadelle Gin (from the Cognac region), lemon juice, simple syrup, and champagne, served chilled in a flute and garnished with a lemon twist. This apertivo is a great way to start things off, and ensures your guests will stay (at least temporarily; see Code Civ. Proc. § 918). Best to follow with a bonded whiskey, perhaps Benchmark Bonded, a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Buffalo Trace.

The Limited En Banc - Approach the stocked bar blindfolded; grab 11 random bottles; combine splashes from each and stir vigorously; then shake violently. Serve in a coupe. Attempt to drink while doing jumping jacks. Pray that something good comes out.

3d Dist. Mediation Program 2026 Training - Extension of application deadline
The Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, is pleased to announce that it is again recruiting attorneys and retired judges to join its mediator panel. Attorneys and retired judges throughout the 23 counties served by the Third District Court of Appeal are encouraged to apply. The appellate mediator training course is limited to 24 participants and provided at no cost to the participants. The mediator training will be conducted at the Judicial Council of California located at 2850 Gateway Oaks Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833. Click here to access the announcement regarding the 2026 mediator training. The time for submitting an application to join the mediator training has been extended to March 20, 2026. The application can be found on the Court's Mediation Program page.

2d District pro tem update

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:16:00 +0000

The following are currently sitting on assignment in the 2d District:

Justice Arthur Gilbert (Retired) of the Second District Court of Appeal will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Two through March 31, 2026
Judge Syda K. Cogliati of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Four from March 23, 2026, through May 22, 2026
Judge Sanjay Kumar (Retired) of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Five through April 20, 2026
Judge Von T. Nguyen Deroian of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Six through March 31, 2026
Judge Alexander C.D. Giza of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Seven through March 31, 2026

SCOC productivity and more in the DJ

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 18:13:00 +0000

Friday's DJ had John Roemer's The Doghouse Report: The incredible shrinking Supreme Court about the "low productivity" of the California Supreme Court.

Retired PJ Gilbert's March DJ column is What's in a name? -- Names--whether of institutions, leaders, or individuals--carry lasting influence on reputation, authority and personal identity.

And Myron Moskovitz's column is 'Will AI replae me?' Let's ask AI.

here's how I phrased my query to ChatGPT: "Will AI ever do a better job of writing appellate briefs and arguing appeals than experienced appellate lawyers?" ChatGPT provided a long, detailed answer (quickly!): "Yeah--eventually, in a lot of narrow ways, AI will do parts of appellate work better than most humans. But the full 'better appellate lawyer than the best appellate lawyers' thing is a much harder, messier, slower target. Think of it like this: appellate law is one of the most AI-friendly areas of legal practice and one of the most human-dependent at the same time."

ChatGPT says: "Most appeals are lost because the lawyer picks the wrong hill to die on. AI can list ten issues. A great appellate lawyer knows the one that matters. That's not pattern recognition--it's strategy."

And see LACBA Condemns Personal Attacks on Supreme Court Justices and Affirming Judicial Independence
And see American Bar Association statement on personal attacks against Supreme Court justices

Judicial writing articles

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 20:31:00 +0000

Yale Law Prof. Justin Driver has "The Insignificance of Judicial Opinions" in 113 Cal. Law Review 2181 (2026). Also on judicial writing, see "The Situation: Horsefeathers! - A federal judge with a unique style in punctuation" about the (over)use(?) of exclamation points by Judge Leon (U.S.D.C. D.C.).

Also, Justice KBJ was in Malibu at Pepperdine's Caruso Law School last month, as reported here.

Mock Trial judges needed in Oakland

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:32:00 +0000

Teach Democracy (the nonprofit behind the Appellate Court Experience program) needs volunteer judges for its Mock Trial program in Oakland on March 20-22. Info here.

AI sanctions coming?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:48:00 +0000

Law360 reports Boies Schiller Partner Faces Possible Sanctions For AI Errors about Bixler v. Church of Scientology pending in 2/5 with argument set for March 3 at 9 a.m. See Notice of Potential Sanctions.

Law360 also reports Attys Regret Unnoticed ChatGPT Errors In Conn. Court Filings -- Attorneys ordered to explain errors in two January Connecticut Supreme Court briefs said ChatGPT altered legal arguments that counsel did not notice when they asked the artificial intelligence software to help limit duplicate passages, meet word count rules and format the filings.

J.Alito article / Goldstein convicted

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:29:00 +0000

On Bloomberg Law, David Lat has Justice Samuel Alito Won’t Hang Up His Robes Anytime Soon, which begins:

On Jan. 31, Justice Samuel Alito celebrated his 20th anniversary as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court.
On April 1, he’ll turn 76.
On Oct. 6, he’ll release his first book, “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country.”

Bloomberg Law has Goldstein Convicted on 12 of 16 Criminal Counts After Trial -- Poker-playing former US Supreme Court litigator Tom Goldstein has been found guilty of 12 of 16 counts following a six week trial in Maryland.

2d/6th Circuit Chiefs to go senior

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:17:00 +0000

Appellate news of note: Senior Status announcements from chiefs in in the 2d and 6th Circuits:

2nd Circuit Chief Judge Livingston to Take Senior Status -- Debra Ann Livingston’s departure from active service will give President Donald Trump his first opportunity in his second term to make an appointment to the New York City-based federal appeals court. (Law.com)

6th Circ. Chief Judge To Take Senior Status -- Chief Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton announced on Friday that he will take senior status on Oct. 1 after more than 20 years on the bench. (Law360) Judge Sutton's seat will give Trump the second opening on the Sixth Circuit of his second term.

And Law360 also has 10th, 5th Circ. Stalwarts Step Back From Bench

U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich has announced that he'll take senior status from his seat on the Tenth Circuit, just a day after U.S. Circuit Judge James L. Dennis said he'd step down from the Fifth Circuit.

RIP APJ Kremer

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:08:00 +0000

In Memoriam: Justice Daniel J. Kremer
Retired Administrative Presiding Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Daniel Kremer passed on February 17, 2026. By Brandon Henson

Retired Administrative Presiding Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Daniel Kremer passed on February 17, 2026. Presiding Justice Kremer is a 1960 graduate of Stanford University with a degree in political science and a 1963 graduate of Stanford Law School. He was admitted to the California bar and to practice before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in January 1964. He became a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court in 1969.

From 1964 to 1972 he was a deputy attorney general in the Sacramento office of the California Attorney General where he represented the State of California in criminal trials and appeals including death penalty cases before the California Supreme Court. In 1972 he was named head of the Attorney General’s San Diego office criminal division and in 1983 became Chief Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Attorney General’s criminal division statewide.

In 1983 Governor Deukmejian appointed him to the San Diego County Superior Court. There he served in the court’s civil, criminal, law and motion and juvenile departments. In July 1985, Governor Deukmejian elevated him to the Court of Appeal as presiding justice. The voters of the State of California elected him to a full term in 1986 and reelected him to a second full term in 1998. Presiding Justice Kremer retired in 2003 and was succeeded by Presiding Justice Judith McConnell. Following his retirement, Presiding Justice participated in the Legacy Project, the video of which can be viewed here.

Presiding Justice Kremer chaired the Judicial Council’s Committee on Criminal Trial Delay Reduction and the Council’s Library Technology Committee. He was later named a member of the California Judicial Council, the policy making body for California’s courts. While a Council member, he chaired the Judicial Council’s Rules and Forms Committee and was co-chair of California’s first Court Technology Committee. Justice Kremer chaired the Task Force on Court Facilities, a body created by the Legislature and charged with evaluating every courthouse in California and recommending steps necessary to bring deficient sites up to acceptable standards. In 2002, Justice Kremer received the Judicial Council's Jurist of the Year award.

Presiding Justice Kremer is preceded by his wife Kathryn of 56 years and survived by his sons Aaron and Brendan.

CAAL Fellowship applications due April 6

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:38:00 +0000

CAAL Fellowship Program

The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers is proud to announce the opening of the application period for the 2026-2027 Fellowship Program.

The Fellowship Program has two main goals:
(1) To increase the diversity of participants in the Academy’s educational and social programs, and
(2) To introduce the Academy to appellate lawyers for future candidacy.

The following qualifications will be considered in selecting participants in the Fellowship Program:
(1) Good character and professional reputation,
(2) Outstanding appellate skills and ability, and
(3) A continuing commitment to quality appellate practice.

To qualify for candidacy, a Fellow must have been a member of the California Bar for at least 3 years, and must spend a substantial amount of time on appellate work in a typical year.

Additionally, the Academy will consider an applicant’s contribution to the diversity of participants in the Academy’s programs, which includes (but is not limited to) geographic location, area of practice, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.

The application period will be open through April 6, 2026. To apply, please go to https://calappellate.org/fellowship-program/fellowship-application

For more information or with questions, please contact Stephanie Finelli at steph@finellilaw.com

3 appellate appointments!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:44:00 +0000

Governor Gavin Newsom announced his nomination of three Court of Appeal Justices: Justice Joanne Motoike as Presiding Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, Judge Stephen Goorvitch as Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two, and Judge Amy Guerra as Associate Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two

Stephen Goorvitch, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as an Associate Justice in the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two. Goorvitch has served as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2015. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California from 2007 to 2015. He was Counsel at O’Melveny and Myers from 2003 to 2007. Goorvitch served as a law clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2002 to 2003 and in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2001 to 2002. He served as a Staff Attorney in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1998 to 2001. Goorvitch received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Judith T. Ashmann-Gerst. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Senior Presiding Justice Francis Rothschild. Goorvitch is a Democrat.
Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three

Joanne Motoike, of Orange County, has been appointed to serve as the Presiding Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three. Motoike has served as an Associate Justice in the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three since 2022. Motoike served as a Judge in the Orange County Superior Court from 2013 to 2022. She served as a Senior Deputy Public Defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office from 2008 to 2013. Motoike worked as a Trial Attorney at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal from 2006 to 2008. She served as a Deputy Public Defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 2006. Motoike received a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Senior Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez. Motoike is a Democrat.
Fifth District Court of Appeal

Amy Guerra, of Fresno County, has been appointed to serve as an Associate Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeal. Guerra has served as a Judge in the Fresno County Superior Court since 2018. Guerra worked as the Chief Defense Attorney at the Fresno County Alternate Defense Office from 2014 to 2018, where she also worked as an Associate from 2007 to 2014. Guerra received a Juris Doctor degree from the San Joaquin College of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Bruce Smith. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Senior Presiding Justice Brad Hill. Guerra is a Democrat.

The compensation for each of these positions is $280,052

Plus, Commissioner Victoria Shapiro has been appointed to LASC. She served as the Lead Judicial Attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal since 2021, where she also served as a Senior Judicial Attorney from 2016 to 2021 and as a Judicial Attorney from 2015 to 2016.

And, Carl Chamberlin, of San Francisco County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Chamberlin has served as the Lead Appellate Court Attorney at the First District Court of Appeal, First Appellate District since 1999.

The DJ has Newsom elevates three to appellate courts, names seven trial judges -- Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated three justices to the state Courts of Appeal and appointed seven Superior Court judges in five counties, continuing a reshaping of California's judiciary.

The MetNews has Newsom Taps Goorvitch for Court of Appeal Seat.

New SCOTUS rules re stock ticker symbols etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:20:00 +0000

Law360 has Supreme Court Adopts Rule To Suss Out Stock Conflicts

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday that litigants will soon be required to include companies' stock ticker symbols in court documents as part of new rules aimed at helping the justices identify potential conflicts of interest.
The new rules, which take effect March 16, call for litigants to list all involved parties, along with their respective stock ticker symbols, in the "Parties to the Proceeding" sections of their briefs, even if the party's name appears in the case caption. A new software developed by the Supreme Court will use those lists to run automated recusal checks against a list of conflicts provided by each justice, the court said in a news release.
In addition to the new disclosure requirements, the Supreme Court announced new rules about filing deadlines Tuesday. The court changed Rule 29, which governs the filing of documents, to add that a filing is considered timely if "it is properly submitted to the court's electronic filing system on or before the last day for filing." If a document is submitted electronically, paper copies must be delivered or mailed to the Supreme Court within three days, the court added.
See the rules here and the revisions here

Bloomberg Law's article is Supreme Court Embraces Tool to Flag Stock, Other Conflicts

Proposed amendments to CRC 8.1115, 8.1125

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:49:00 +0000

The Supreme Court has issued an invitation to comment on amendments to rules 8.1116 and 8.1125:

The amendments would:
(1) allow unpublished appellate opinions to be cited for certain purposes in addition to those presently allowed under rule 8.1115(b);
(2) remove language from rule 8.1115(e)(2) providing for the restoration of the precedential status of a Court of Appeal opinion in a review-granted case that has been “held” for another review-granted matter immediately upon the Supreme Court’s decision on review in the “lead” case;
(3) incorporate within rule 8.1115 principles presently articulated only in that rule’s comment regarding the citation and precedential status of published Court of Appeal opinions when review is pending before the Supreme Court, or after a decision on review by the court; and
(4) add to those who must be served with a request for depublication in the Supreme Court (see rule 8.1125(a)(5)) any person who had successfully requested that the authoring court certify the opinion for publication.

All comments must be emailed to the court at CSC2026-Comments@jud.ca.gov no later than Wednesday, March 25, 2026.

Who will be next SCOCA justice?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Shatz (SCAN)) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:32:00 +0000

The DJ has David Carrillo, Brandon Stracener, and Stephen Duvernay's Gov. Newsom will probably go to the appellate bench for the next SCOCA justice

As the clock ticks away days with an empty California Supreme Court seat, all eyes turn to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Who will he appoint? ... Considering history and the widely reported indications of the governor's future aspirations, the most likely choice is a centrist Court of Appeal justice who will bang out lots of opinions and generate zero headlines, doing no harm to any future political campaigns.
Past governors have used a wide variety of selection considerations. For his lone appointment to the state high court Gov. Gray Davis tapped federal district court judge Carlos Moreno to replace Stanley Mosk. According to Chief Justice Phil Gibson, Gov. Goodwin Knight had only politics and money in mind when he made his one appointment (Marshall McComb) to the court. Gov. Jerry Brown stands out with his intentional efforts in the 1970s to shake up the court with academics in particular and generally people from outside the traditional track. And Gov. George Deukmejian's mission in his eight appointments was to undo all that Gov. Brown had done.
Our prediction is that a Court of Appeal justice, with unquestioned bona fides and wide respect, probably male, maybe Hispanic, perhaps not from the Bay Area, goes to the Commission on Judicial Appointments by summer.

The Recorder has As Newsom Makes His Name Out of State, California's Supreme Court Awaits New Justice -- Associate Justice Martin Jenkins left office last year. Will his replacement be chosen through the lens of presidential ambitions?

Jenkins left the Supreme Court at the end of October. In the nearly four months since the veteran jurist’s departure, Newsom has given no indication that his next appointment is on the horizon or even a priority.

See also in the SF Chronical Top court vacancy impacting case flow

The DJ also has Myron Moskovitz's Will AI replace me? -- Although AI can speed up legal research and handle routine analysis, the human intuition and judgment required to persuade appellate judges remain uniquely human strengths.

Bloomberg Law has Solicitor General Pushing Justices to Take More Cases Uninvited

Law.com has Can AI Give You a Seat Inside the Supreme Court? -- A new website, "On he Docket," provides AI-generated videos of justices reading their Supreme Court opinions from the bench.

Next Thursday, Feb. 26, LACBA 's Appellate Section presents an Overview of Appellate Motions (by H&L's David Axelrad and Melissa Whalen) at noon, and also at noon LACBA's Litigation Section presents Protecting the Record on Appeal (by PJ's Edmon and Zukin).