Attorney job in 4/1

 Division One, San Diego is Recruiting for an Appellate Court Attorney (Level D-Senior) -- Division One in San Diego is accepting applications for an Appellate Court Attorney (Level D – Senior). The job can be found here. The posting is open until October 30, 2025.

Minute Orders & splitting the Ninth

Law360 has:

Justices Won't Decide If 'Minute Entry' Triggers Appeal Clock - Law360 -- "The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday it won't review the Second Circuit's finding that a Connecticut federal judge's oral ruling and follow-up minute entry were formal orders that triggered a 30-day countdown to appeal losses in a sales representation contract dispute worth $1.7 million. BI-QEM Inc. ... asked the high court to resolve what they said was a split between the Second and Ninth circuits over whether an unsigned docket item labeled a "minute entry" is an appealable order."

And

Has The 9th Circ.'s Rightward Shift Ended Bids To Split It? - Law360 --Now, with the court nearly evenly divided among Democratic and Republican appointees — thanks to the 10 Trump nominees confirmed during his first administration — interest in carving up the circuit appears to have died down.

5th District pro tem update

The following are currently sitting on assignment in the 5th District:

• Judge Gregory T. Fain of the Fresno County Superior Court will be sitting pro tempore until November 30, 2025. 

• Judge Wayne Ellison (retired from Fresno County Superior Court) will be sitting pro tempore until October 31, 2025. 

• Judge Amy K. Guerra of the Fresno County Superior Court will be sitting pro tempore until December 14, 2025. 

LASC App Div 2026 Hearing Dates

Appellate Division 2026 Oral Argument Hearing Dates

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County has announced its 2026 oral argument hearing schedule. Hearings will generally be set at 9 a.m. for infraction and misdemeanor cases and at 1:30 p.m. for limited civil cases in the Appellate Division Courtroom Room 615 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill St., Los Angeles, on the following dates, subject to further order of this court:          

• 
  January 8 and 22
• February 5 and 19
• March 5 and 19
• April 2 and 16
• May 7 and 21
• June 4 and 18
• July 2 and 16
• August 6 and 20
• September 3 and 17 
• October 1 and 15
• November 5 and 19
• December 3 and 17

Remote appearances before the Appellate Division will be conducted via LACourtConnect. Participants can access the platform through the LACC welcome page. For more information on the Court’s current programs and services, follow the Court on X (@LASuperiorCourt), Instagram (@LASuperiorCourt), Threads (@LASuperiorCourt) or visit the Court’s website, www.LACourt.ca.gov. 

2d District pro tem update

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

• Judge Stephen Goorvitch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Two until October 31, 2025

• Justice Peter J. Siggins (Retired) of the First District Court of Appeal will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Two from October 8, 2025, until December 31, 2025

• Judge Craig B. Van Rooyen of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Four until November 24, 2025

• Judge Sunjay Kumar (Retired) of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Five until December 16, 2025

• Justice Laurence D. Rubin (Retired) of the Second District Court of Appeal will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Eight until October 31, 2025

• Judge Jessica Uzcategui of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Eight until November 14, 2025

Political rift at the 9th Circuit?

Law360 has 9th Circ. Flouting 'Imperial Judiciary' Warning, Judges Assert

A large contingent of Ninth Circuit judges accused colleagues Friday of ignoring recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions limiting legal remedies in politically charged disputes, adding fresh fuel to a heated debate over the judiciary's handling of suits against the Trump administration.

Nine of the appeals court's judges signed on to Friday's accusation, which pervaded a 20-page dissent in litigation involving the attempted termination of federal funding for immigration counsel. The dissent criticized a legal challenge to that termination, and it portrayed a majority's contrary view as emblematic of broader judicial overreach in lawsuits against White House policies.

The DJ has 9th Circuit keeps legal aid funding for unaccompanied migrant children -- A divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to revisit a lower court order keeping federal funding flowing to lawyers who represent unaccompanied migrant children. The decision preserves a program the Trump administration tried to cut off, with sharp disagreement among the judges over whether the case involves protecting vulnerable minors or judicial overreach into executive spending.

Bloomberg Law has Reagan Judges Are Unrestrained Critics of Trump’s Legal Moves, referencing judges from various districts and circuits.

Distinguished Service Award for PJ Gilbert

Judicial Council Announces 2025 Distinguished Service Award Recipients

The Judicial Council of California today announced three recipients of its 2025 Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes people and organizations for their extraordinary leadership and contributions to the administration of justice in California. This year’s recipients are Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert, Judge Jonathan Conklin, and Court Executive Officer Rebecca Fleming.



Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert
Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Six (Ventura)

Throughout his 50 years on the bench, Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert has sought to improve the statewide administration of justice. He has served on many Judicial Council committees, including the Court Interpreters Advisory Panel, Advisory Committee on Legal Forms, and the Center for Judicial Education and Research Governing Committee.

Having a passion for judicial education and raising the public’s awareness of the courts, Presiding Justice Gilbert has served as faculty for many judicial education programs, lectured frequently at State Bar events, and participated in moot court sessions at law schools. His long-time monthly Daily Journal column “Under Submission” also serves to spread his knowledge of the courts and the rule of law to fellow judges and attorneys. In addition, his “Gilbert Submits” blog features popular legal commentary from his Daily Journal columns—more than 300 pieces spanning two decades, compiled into two books.

Presiding Justice Gilbert began his judicial service at the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1975, was appointed to the Court of Appeal by former Governor Jerry Brown in 1982, and became presiding justice of his division in 1999. He has served on several Governors' judicial selection committees to help recruit and evaluate qualified applicants for judicial appointment, helping to diversify the applicant pool to communities that have been underrepresented.

Myron on Moots

The last two DJ columns by Myron Moskvitz has focused on moot courts (Sep. 22, 2025 -- Setting up a moot court: Common pitfalls and how to avoid them - Moot courts can sharpen appellate skills, but only when designed to measure persuasion rather than polish & Oct. 13, 2025 -- How to set up a useful moot court: Part 2 - Traditional moot courts, whether for students or practicing lawyers, often fall short of preparing attorneys to win real appeals, but a more candid, private, and strategically timed approach can turn them into powerful tools for success.)

• An effective oral argument is not one that looks good, but one that changes the judges' minds -- from "leaning against you" to "leaning towards you." Very difficult to accomplish, but occasionally it happens.
• do the moot court in private
• "Assume that you have drafted an opinion against the attorney we're helping. Grill the attorney on the reasons you did so. During the feedback session, be prepared to advise the attorney on how she might overcome your reasons."
• try to hold the moot court after [counsel has] prepared a draft of their final brief (appellant's reply brief or respondent's brief) -- but before they file it. This might require some planning to squeeze the moot court into a narrow time window. But it allows the lawyer to use the moot court feedback to improve that final brief before filing. That's when it counts most, and it might well turn a loser into a winner.

For a lesson on "plain error," see J.Graber's dissent here:

In short, in assessing whether an error is “plain,” we must consider the views of other circuits even if no binding precedent is on point. Our objective is to determine whether the issue at hand is “subject to reasonable dispute,” Puckett, 556 U.S. at 135, not to determine simply whether the issue is controlled by binding precedent. And, as the cases above illustrate, how other circuits have decided the issue can inform our analysis as to the existence—or not—of a reasonable dispute. ....

This approach to plain-error review also comports with how at least seven other circuits analyze the question of plain error. ....

Our old formulation of the test, as well as its variants, is thus doubly wrong: asking a question about the wrong time (at the time of trial rather than at the time of appeal) and about the wrong subject matter (the district judge’s perspicacity rather than the obviousness of the error). .... The proper inquiry is simply whether, at the time of appeal, an error is “clear” or instead is “subject to reasonable dispute.”

Cal Supreme Court seat: Let the speculation begin!

The DJ has 2028 ambitions loom over Newsom's next state Supreme Court pick -- Civil rights advocates urge a second Latino justice on the seven-member court, while others say the bench is already highly diverse. Potential nominees include appellate Justices Gonzalo C. Martinez, Jose S. Castillo, Tracie L. Brown and Lamar W. Baker.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom has nominated three justices to the California Supreme Court during his two terms in office, including Justice Martin J. Jenkins, his former judicial appointments secretary. But his selection this time will be different in one significant way.
• there are several sitting Latino judges, including many appointed by Newsom, who would be qualified candidates. One who was mentioned by several lawyers is 2nd District Court of Appeal Justice Gonzalo C. Martinez, a former deputy judicial appointments secretary who worked for Newsom before the governor appointed him to the bench in 2023.
• Another Latino candidate who won praise is 4th District Court of Appeal Justice Jose S. Castillo, who was born in Mexico, moved to the United States as a child, then joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 17, serving four years.
• Another popular candidate is 1st District Court of Appeal Justice Tracie L. Brown, a former associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Cooley LLP who was an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco for more than a decade. Brown, whose mother was born in Japan, was appointed as a San Francisco County Superior Court judge in 2013 until Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her to the 1st District five years later.
• Justice Lamar W. Baker on the 2nd District Court of Appeal, a former special assistant in the Obama White House, previously was a prosecutor in the Central District of California. Baker, who is Black, graduated from Yale Law School.

Gopher's out of the hole! Anti-SLAPP appeals not allowed...

A sad day for slapp-happy appellate lawyers? Today the Ninth Circuit issued Gopher Media v. Melone:

Overruling Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003), and dismissing an appeal for lack of jurisdiction, the en banc court held that a district court’s denial of a motion to strike under the California anti-SLAPP statute does not satisfy the requirements for an interlocutory appeal under the collateral order doctrine.

The MetNews has Anti-SLAPP Motion Denials Are Not Immediately Appealable -- En Banc Court Overrules Case Finding That Such Orders Qualify for Interlocutory Relief

Law360 has 9th Circ. Changes Stance On Appeals Of Anti-SLAPP Denials

Mongan to WilmerHale

Bloomberg Law reports Ex-California Solicitor General Joins WilmerHale’s Trial Group

Former California Solicitor General Michael Mongan is joining WilmerHale, just more than two months after he stepped down from the role he described as the “job of a lifetime.” Mongan, who will be based in the law firm’s San Francisco office starting in December, will advise clients on complex state and federal appeals, WilmerHale said in a statement Thursday. He will work closely with the firm’s crisis management and state attorneys general practice groups.

The Recorder has Former California Solicitor General Michael Mongan Joins WilmerHale

Law360 has Former California Solicitor General Joins WilmerHale In SF - Law360

J.Jenkins to retire

California Supreme Court Associate Justice Martin Jenkins to Retire
Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins will retire from the California Supreme Court at the end of October after five years with the court and more than 35 years of judicial service.

Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins will retire from the California Supreme Court at the end of October after five years with the court and more than 35 years of judicial service.

“I could not imagine a better capstone to my career on the bench than serving on the California Supreme Court,” said Jenkins, who was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 and is the first openly gay justice and the third African-American man to serve on the court. “Having been a judge at every level of the state court system and with the federal district court, I have seen firsthand how judges and justices at each stage of the judicial process faithfully apply the law in a fair and empathetic manner,” said Jenkins. “I have strived to do the same as a trial judge, at the First District Court of Appeal, and finally, at the California Supreme Court.”

Jenkins, 71, spent almost two years advising Governor Newsom on judicial appointments prior to filling the vacancy on the court created by Associate Justice Ming Chin’s retirement. Before joining the Newsom administration, Jenkins served as an associate justice on the First District Court of Appeal from 2008 to 2019 and as a federal district judge at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1997 to 2008. Earlier, Jenkins served as a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court (1992–1997) and on the Oakland Municipal Court (1989–1992). Jenkins’s prior experience as a practitioner included three years as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and three years a prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

“It has been an honor to work with Justice Jenkins at the court,” said Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. “His collegiality, and the thoughtfulness and care with which he has approached his work, have provided a constant source of inspiration. I speak for all of my colleagues when I thank Justice Jenkins for his many contributions to the court, to the public, and to the law.”

The MetNews has Supreme Court Justice Martin Jenkins to Retire

Bloomberg Law has California Justice Jenkins to Retire from State’s High Court

Law360 has Calif. Supreme Court Justice Martin Jenkins To Retire - Law360

KO to JAMS

The DJ reports Former presiding justice of 4th District joins JAMS -- Kathleen O'Leary will handle appellate, business and commercial, civil rights, government, employment, insurance, personal injury and real estate disputes as an arbitrator, mediator, neutral evaluator, and court-appointed special master or referee.

• O'Leary served on the California Court of Appeal from 2000 to 2025, including 13 years as presiding justice. She heard thousands of civil and criminal matters and authored roughly 2,600 opinions, nearly 200 of them published.

CAAL welcomes two new members!

California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Announces Two New Members

The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers is pleased to announce that it admitted two new members at its September, 2025 meeting: Lisa Ells and Matthew D. Zinn.

Ms. Ells is a partner at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP.  Ms. Ells, who is a Ninth Circuit Appellate Lawyer Representative, received her B.A. cum laude from Duke University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, as a James B. Kent Scholar and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.  After law school, she clerked for James R. Browning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and David O. Carter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Mr. Zinn is a Partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. Mr. Zinn received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, his M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, he clerked for John M. Walker, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Founded in 1972, the Academy is the nation’s oldest lawyers’ organization dedicated to appellate practice. Members are California lawyers with substantial appellate experience, who are elected to membership after rigorous scrutiny of their reputation, character, and appellate advocacy skills. Academy members are frequently counsel of record in the most complex and highest-impact cases before the California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, and federal appellate courts. For further information, contact CAAL President Sean SeLegue. More information about the Academy appears on its website at www.CalAppellate.org.

Advice from Fed. Cir. judges

Law360 has Fed. Circ. Talks Judge Denzel Washington, AI Susan Sarandon -- More than half of the Federal Circuit's judges were in Boston on Tuesday conducting out-of-town oral arguments, and afterward they discussed the most concerning and most promising elements of artificial intelligence, how to write a good brief, why en banc hearings are rare and which celebrities they'd love to see on a panel.

The Federal Circuit judges each stressed the need for briefing and oral arguments to be used as a way to help them, rather than to just put everything and anything out there.

• "When you narrow the issues that are in dispute, you're infinitely more credible than the person that is arguing every single thing," Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore said in the fireside chat. "It makes us want to fight for you because you're being honest."
• During the full court panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Kara Stoll suggested limiting appeals to three issues.
• U.S. Circuit Judge Todd Hughes stressed the benefit of direct briefing on judges when they're doing an incredible amount of reading each week.
• "The point of the brief is to help us and tell us what we need to know to decide the case in your client's favor," he said, adding soon after that "I want to be able to sit down and read it and understand it from page one."
• U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard Stark similarly said oral arguments are not for prepared speeches, but to answer questions.
• "It's important to understand that oral argument time is the court's time," Judge Stark said. "You want us to interrupt you. You want to have that hope for some insight into what it is about your case that's bothering us and what it is we need to be persuaded to come to your side."
• "Don't fight the questions," he continued. "Don't act as if you're bothered with us interrupting you. And try your best to be in a conversation with us that together we have a problem we're trying to solve."
• Judge Moore, in her later discussion, said attorneys need to actually answer hypotheticals, even if they don't exactly align with the facts of the case.

Bloomberg Law has Willkie Taps Ex-DOJ Appellate Lawyer Ross for DC Litigation Team; Law360 has

Willkie Adds Ex-Asst. Solicitor General As Group Head

Law360 also has Calif. Court Has Change Of Heart On Juror Challenge Question -- A California state appeals court has changed its mind on its own precedent governing when prosecutors can use a peremptory challenge to dismiss a non-white juror from a case, finding a "lack of life experience" can be good reason to dismiss a juror and affirming a man's life sentence.

And NBC national news covered an AI-assisted self-represented appellate victory; story here.

“I can’t overemphasize the usefulness of AI in my case,” White said. “I never, ever, ever, ever could have won this appeal without AI.”

6th DCA takes credit cards!

The Sixth District announces: Credit Card Payments Now Accepted

The Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, is pleased to announce that it now accepts credit cards as a form of payment. The Court accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Debit cards with a MasterCard or Visa logo are also accepted. For additional information regarding the various payment methods accepted by the Court, please visit: https://appellate.courts.ca.gov/district-courts/6dca/rules-forms-filing/fees

Appellate tidbits

The MetNews has Court of Appeal to Hold ‘Public Meeting’ about how the 2d District "has posted a public meeting agenda containing a single item unlikely to evoke controversy: whether a research attorney is to be kept on the job for a spell after retirement. On the agenda for Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. is a “[r]esolution to approve the appointment of Jeffrey Blackie as a retired annuitant to fill a critically needed Senior Appellate Court Attorney position within the 180-day period after retirement, as authorized by Government Code sections 7522.56(f)(1) and 21224(a).”"

Yesterday's DJ had PJ Gilbert's column titled I.A. invidious alternative -- A.I. sparks both alarm and utility ... raising questions about clarity, judgment and how future lawyers will use it.

Today's DJ has the monthly installment of Exceptionally Appealing, titled Not taking it to the Max, about "the 1940 rejection of eminent scholar Max Radin by the Commission on Judicial Qualifications" marking "an unprecedented and politically charged failure to confirm a gubernatorial nominee."

See also Law.com's Willkie Hires Former Assistant Solicitor General to Lead Appellate Group -- Erica Ross, a former assistant to the U.S. solicitor general from 2017 through earlier this year, has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner and will head up the firm’s appeals and strategic motions practice, the firm said Tuesday.

And see here, where appellate sanctions are not imposed on a pro per.

Trailblazer award to J.Bumatay

The DJ has Filipino American lawyers honor trailblazers, mark 60 years since 1965 immigration reforms -- The Filipino American Lawyers of Orange County gathered at the Irvine Marriott for their eighth annual gala on Friday, an evening that blended ceremony with reflection.

The Trailblazer Award went to Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, the first Filipino American appointed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "The Declaration of Independence is more than a founding document--it's a statement of shared values," he told the crowd. "The promise that all are created equal, endowed with the same rights, is what allowed families like mine to build a future here." He spoke about his grandfather, who arrived in the United States in the 1920s to work as a farm laborer, and about his parents, both doctors who immigrated in the 1970s. "The American dream struck my family three times," he said. "It's not perfection we inherit-- it's possibility. And every generation has to protect it."

1st Monday is coming...

Law.com has An Unrested Supreme Court Begins Contentious New Term -- A stream of divisive Trump cases kept the justices busy during the summer recess. On Monday, the court reconvenes for the start of its October 2025 term to tackle fundamental questions about presidential power, voting rights and the First Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2025 term begins Monday, with the justices set to confront key questions about presidential power, LGBTQ rights, the Voting Rights Act and more.
Over the next nine months, the nation’s nine most powerful judges will spend their days debating these questions at oral arguments, behind closed doors at their private conferences and eventually in written opinions that will become the law of the land.

More AI sanctions in CA

4/1 publishes People v. Alvarez and sanctions appellate counsel $1500 for failing to verify cases provided by AI. One citation was for a quote that does not exist in the cited case; one cited case did not exist at all; and two cases did not address issues for which they were cited.