JURIST - California

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on Monday released summary findings concluding that the use of the death penalty in California and Louisiana violates human rights. The report concludes that the way the death penalty is used in Calif....... [more]

On June 13, 2012, the Rhode Island Senate passed legislation aimed at protecting the rights of homeless persons. This "homeless bill of rights" included the rights to vote and to move freely in public spaces and on public transportation, among others. Governor Lincoln Chaffee signed the bill, which....... [more]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Horne v. Department of Agriculture that the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction to review petitioners' takings claim. The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) and the California Raisin Marketing Order require rais....... [more]

On June 5, 2007, the California State Assembly approved a measure restoring the state's marriage definition to its pre-1977 gender-neutral language. The measure was in response to the passage of Proposition 22, which changed that definition in March 2000. The bill eventually passed in the State Sena....... [more]

A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled that Google Inc. must follow the FBI's warrantless requests for user information through national security letters (NSLs). The ruling, which was issued on May 20, was released to the public on Friday. Under 18 USC....... [more]

California Governor Jerry Brown and various state prison officials on Monday filed a notice of appeal to the US Supreme Court from an April order requiring the governor to reduce California's prison population. In their April order, a panel of federal judges refused to vacate or modify their 2010 or....... [more]

The Supreme Court of California ruled unanimously Monday that local governments may outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries, upholding a ban enacted by the city of Riverside in 2010. The court concluded that California's medical marijuana statutes, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA) and Medical M....... [more]

On May 3, 2007, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill with bipartisan support that designated $7.7 billion to remedy the state's overcrowded prisons. The Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 attempted to streamline the prison infrastructure system b....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday considered California's ban on psychotherapy practices intended to convert gay teenagers into straight teenagers. The three-judge panel heard arguments on whether the First Amendment right to free speech extends to the controversial psychoth....... [more]

On April 3, 1957, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agreed to defend Allen Ginsberg's poetry collection Howl and Other Poems against any obscenity charges brought against it. Publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti planned to publish in the US, but lacked the funds to challenge existing and future o....... [more]

Apple on Tuesday requested that the US District Court for the Northern District of California grant a new trial on damages in its ongoing patent infringement dispute against Samsung Electronics. Judge Lucy Koh earlier this month reduced the jury's damages award by $450 million because she found tha....... [more]