Table of Contents

LATEST SUMMARIES

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE
• People v. Cage

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Belaire-West Landscape, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, EVIDENCE, GOVERNMENT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Demps v. San Francisco Housing Auth.

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, INJURY AND TORT LAW, JUVENILE LAW, REMEDIES
• In re Imran Q.

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, TAX LAW, TRAVEL & LEISURE
• Kumar v. Superior Court of Sonoma County

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW, MEDIA LAW, RETAIL
• Savaglio v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, JUVENILE LAW, SENTENCING
• People v. Alexander L.

LATEST SUMMARIES

Supreme Court of California

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE
People v. Cage, No. S127344
In a case raising post-Crawford confrontation clause issues, defendant's conviction for aggravated assault upon her 15-year-old son is affirmed where: 1) the victim's statements to a deputy, in a hospital emergency room and on tape at a sheriff's station, were testimonial for purposes of the confrontation clause; 2) the victim's statement to a doctor in the course of a physician's medical evaluation was not testimonial; and 3) consequently, the error regarding admission of the statements to the deputy was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Read more...   PDF version

California Appellate Districts

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Belaire-West Landscape, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, No. B194844
In a putative class action lawsuit against plaintiffs' former employer, a landscaping company, alleging wage and hour violations, defendant's petition for a writ of mandate challenging an order adopting an opt-out notice to putative class members is denied as the opt-out notice adequately protects the privacy rights of the current and former employees involved. Read more...   PDF version

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, EVIDENCE, GOVERNMENT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Demps v. San Francisco Housing Auth., No. A112815
In the summary judgment context, a trial judge’s failure to rule on properly presented objections results in their being impliedly overruled, the effect of which is that the objected-to evidence is in the record for purposes of appellate review. Read more...   PDF version

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, INJURY AND TORT LAW, JUVENILE LAW, REMEDIES
In re Imran Q., No. B188613
In a juvenile hit and run case, a juvenile court’s order requiring that juvenile defendant pay over $17,000 in restitution to the victim is reversed and remanded for the trial court to recalculate the pro rata share of attorney’s fees and costs for which defendant must provide restitution. Read more...   PDF version

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, TAX LAW, TRAVEL & LEISURE
Kumar v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, No. A114803
In proceedings arising from an order requiring petitioners-inn operators to comply with legislative subpoenas issued by a city for the production of business records necessary for auditing their compliance with city’s transient occupancy tax, operators' petition for extraordinary relief is denied as: 1) the definitions in the city's ordinance are not vague; 2) petitioners' equal protection argument was without merit; and 3) the city ordinance is not preempted by state law. Read more...   PDF version

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW, MEDIA LAW, RETAIL
Savaglio v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. A110120, A111606
In a statewide class action involving claims that Wal-Mart denied meal and rest breaks to thousands of employees, partial grant of Wal-Mart's belated motion to seal records under California Rule of Court 2.551 is reversed in part where Wal-Mart waived its right to file such motion, and, in any event, the trial court lacked discretion to entertain it. Denial of newspaper organization's request for attorney's fees in the matter is affirmed. Read more...   PDF version

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, JUVENILE LAW, SENTENCING
People v. Alexander L., No. G036595
In a juvenile case involving vandalism charges, a judgment finding the vandalism allegations true is affirmed, but a street gang enhancement is reversed and the matter is remanded for resentencing where the prosecution presented insufficient evidence of the gang's "primary activities" within the meaning of the relevant statute. Read more...   PDF version