California Supreme Court

Re-Potted: Cities Can Now Ban Pot Clubs, But Dispensaries May Still Benefit

CA Supreme Court: Marijuana Dispensaries Can Be Banned, But At Least They're Legal

At least one major roadbloack in the way of medical cannabis reform in California was removed Monday when the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling -- which says that cities and towns can ban pot clubs. For now. At least 200 places across the state -- including San Mateo County an ... More >>

If Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Is Overturned, You Can Thank An Escort Service

In this world, we're blessed and cursed with things, with the things we want but can't get, and the things we want but can't have. In California, of course, we can have most things -- except when we want to have a medical marijuana dispensary in Daly City, Danville, or any of the other estimated 200 ... More >>

Storefront Marijuana Dispensaries Are Definitely Legal

In this uncertain reality of ours, the last place to look for a nugget of truth is the gray area laden world of medical marijuana. But the California Supreme Court gifted us all an unexpected dose of certainty this week by refusing to do anything.Earlier, Attorney General Kamala Harris and other law ... More >>

Arizona Group's Mega-Donation Illuminates Loophole in California's Finance Laws

Yesterday's $11 million disclosure was a mild win for campaign finance transparency. The names of the actual people who spent that money will remain unknown. But, as Attorney General Kamala Harris noted, we do know that the money passed through a group with "an affiliation with the Koch brothers." ... More >>

Secret Donors Behind Arizona Political Nonprofit Group's $11 Million Are Revealed

For two weeks, the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state's campaign finance watchdog, had been trying to get Americans for Responsible Leadership, an Arizona-based nonprofit, to disclose the donors behind the organization's $11 million contribution to an anti-Proposition 30/pro-Proposition ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Gets Prisoners to Vote

We got a little glimpse of what Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has been doing now that he's back on the job: registering inmates to vote. And why shouldn't he want this, considering it was San Francisco prisoners who vociferously backed the embattled sheriff during his domestic violence drama that nearly co ... More >>

Gov. Brown Won't Let Reporters Have Easy Access to Prison Inmates

Assembly Bill 1270, passed by both chambers of the state legislature, would have allowed journalists to set up interviews with specific inmates in state prisons. Eight times over the past two decades a similar bill had passed through to the governor's desk, and all eight times it was vetoed.The stre ... More >>

Cops Called to Marijuana Garden Robbery Seize Crop, Growers Could Be Arrested

Forgive marijuana growers if they're not yet prepared to participate fully in society. The same society asking cannabis cultivators to pay taxes and receive permits has been locking them up for 40 years -- and tearing down their gardens when they call police to assist.A trio of Santa Clara County gr ... More >>

California Supreme Court Dismisses Landmark Medical Marijuana Ban

The courts are a funny thing. A case that caused the sky to fall is six months ago is now being declared irrelevant.A state appeals court case that some feared would cause all medical marijuana dispensaries in California to be banned back in January was dismissed without review on Wednesday by the C ... More >>

State Supreme Court, Legislature Want to Give Juveniles Serving Life Sentences a Shot at Parole

On June 6, 2007, Rodrigo Caballero, a 16-year-old member of the Vario Lancas gang in Los Angeles, jumped out of a green Toyota and opened fire on three Val Verde gang rivals walking down the street. He missed two of his targets, but the third caught a non-fatal gunshot wound near the shoulder blade. ... More >>

California Appeals Court Strikes Down Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bans

Medical marijuana dispensaries are protected under California state law, and cities and counties have no right to ban cannabis collectives outright, according to a state Court of Appeals ruling released Monday.The decision invalidates a ban on dispensaries in Los Angeles County, which was enacted in ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Users Don't Need to be Marijuana Farmers, Court Says

It doesn't take much to join a collective or cooperative in California, be it a grocery store or a medical cannabis dispensary. In the former, perhaps all you need is a small fee; in the latter, a doctor's recommendation and the scrill required to purchase some medical bud.It certainly doesn't requi ... More >>

Restaurants Must Give Employees Breaks Every Five Hours, State Supreme Court Rules

Anyone who's ever waited 20 minutes for a drink refill or an extra cup of ranch sauce understands the frustration of having an overworked waiter. Usually the server takes the brunt of the teeth-grinding, and somebody at the table says something like, "Jeez, where is he at?" or "I guess he doesn't wa ... More >>

The Billion-Dollar Bet: Which Pension Reform Measure Will Pass and Survive Legal Challenge

Supreme Court Ruling Could Encourage More Extensive Plastic Bag Ban in S.F.

​There are many things to be proud of, living in San Francisco. Besides being skinnier than the rest of America -- though unfortunately less stylish -- we were the first city to ban single-use plastic bags. (Never mind that the plastic bag ban doesn't actually help the environment. It still makes ... More >>

'Pimp' Is a Bitch To Define for California Supreme Court

What do you call that?​Talk about pimping justice: The California Supreme Court must agree upon a precise definition for the term "pimp" before it can resolve a case involving a man who tried to recruit an undercover cop to work as a prostitute.Media reports say a lawyer representing Jomo Zambia a ... More >>

Schwarzenegger Dealt Setback In Bid to Rush $1.3 Billion Building Sale

Drag​Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's frantic bid to rush the $1.3 billion fire sale of 11 state buildings before he leaves office suffered a blow this afternoon. A state appeals court in San Jose announced it wouldn't hear arguments until Jan. 26 regarding whether the sale should be allowed. Schwarze ... More >>

What's It Take To Lose Your City Pension?

Yeah, he's bad. But is he lose-his-pension bad? ​Last week, we reported that ex-San Francisco cop Paul Makaveckas is facing bribery charges for allegedly shaking down cabdrivers hoping to pass their permit tests. We also noted that the 65-year-old is earning a pension of $101,650 a year. If convic ... More >>

Village Voice Media Response to Ruling in California Below-Cost Pricing Suit

​For more than a century, the California Supreme Court has interpreted antitrust law as protecting consumers from high prices, not protecting the profits of entrenched market leaders who fear competition. The Supreme Court's refusal yesterday to follow Justice Joyce Kennard's wishes and hear ... More >>

Court Rules Undocumented Students Can Pay In-State Tuition. Great, But a Job?

Waiting tables, Ben. Waiting tables. Wave of the future. ​ The California Supreme Court upheld a law yesterday that allows illegal immigrants who've attended California high schools for at least three years to pay in-state tuition at the state's public universities. Well, that's great news for the ... More >>

Don't Ask Don't Tell Told Off

​The Week In GayLate yesterday, another radical hippie judge in California ruled that queers are protected by the U.S. Constitution. A lawsuit against the military ban on gay service members, Don't Ask Don't Tell, was ruled to be a violation of the First Amendment rights of gay people. The suit wa ... More >>

Supreme Court Rules State Not Required to Appeal Prop. 8 Ruling

​The California Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a right-wing group's suit that would have compelled the state to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have come down in favor of Walker's ruling ... More >>

Supreme Court Kills Michela Alioto-Pier's Campaign to Run for Supe Again

Luke ThomasThe wheels of justice have not turned in Michela Alioto-Pier's favor​The California Supreme Court denied to hear a petition from Michela Alioto-Pier, killing her chances to run once more for District 2 supervisor. While Superior Court Judge Peter Busch ruled that Alioto-Pier was eligibl ... More >>

SF Weekly Appeal Finally Heard, But No Decision Yet from the Court

​ Twenty-seven months after a San Francisco jury levied a gargantuan $16 million judgment against SF Weekly and its parent company for allegedly trying to "injure" the Bay Guardian, the California Court of Appeal heard oral arguments in the case Friday morning. The brief session before a thr ... More >>

Report: Plan to Sell off State Buildings Will Cost Taxpayers Billions

But there are many bad ideas to go 'round...​Investigation reveals plan to patch budget shortfall by selling California buildings includes hidden deal-sweeteners that gouge taxpayersIn March we reported that the state of California fired a San Francisco official who protested a plan to raise money ... More >>

Distressed Properties

The state's quick budget fix of selling off public buildings is a horrible idea.

Medical marijuana growers score a defense

Dead Tree Digest: Police Brutality, Porn from the Past, and SF's *Other* Teabaggers in This Week's Print Edition

The Obi-Wan Kenobi of police brutality. A Tea Party Republican in lefty San Francisco. Pot smokers who fought the law -- and won. They're all crowded into the latest edition of SF Weekly.​Ever wonder who teaches cops to manhandle street punks? In this week's cover story, Matt Smith profiles Don Ca ... More >>

State Supreme Court To Homeless Sex Offenders: Tough Luck, For Now

Same old, same old...​The California Supreme Court dealt a smackdown to the state's sex offenders today, ruling it is constitutional to enforce the residency restrictions of Jessica's Law on sex offenders released on parole. The law passed by voters in November 2006 states sex offenders can't have ... More >>

A Big Fat Bowl of Nothing: What the Pot Limit Strike Down Really Means

What exactly did the California Supreme Court do Thursday, when it struck down a 2003 law limiting the amount of pot a medical marijuana patient can possess to eight ounces? A big fat bowl of nothing, says Dale Gieringer, who as director of the state office of National Organization for the Reform of ... More >>

Court Ruling Can't Save L.A. Pot Dispensaries

Win some, lose some​A victory for medical marijuana here, a defeat there. While the California Supreme Court this morning struck down limits on the amount of medical marijuana a licensed user can posses or cultivate, it seems Los Angeles users will soon have a smaller selection of places to&n ... More >>

Perverting Justice

Jessica's Law prevents paroled sex offenders from residing near schools or parks. That means they can only live one place in S.F.: on the streets.

Prop 8 Advocates: Grandfathering Gay Marriages Akin to Letting Landowners Keep Slaves After Abolition

One problematic book.Press releases gloating over today's California Supreme Court 6-1 decision upholding the constitutionality of Prop 8 (and lamenting the grandfathering in of marriages already performed) have poured from Prop 8 proponents into the inboxes of the media. ... More >>

Extremely Civil Disobedience: Prop. 8 Protests Peaceful So Far

Peaceful demonstrators shut down the intersection of Van Ness and Grove"Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face," Martin Luther King Jr. said in 1956. "But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime. ... More >>

Campaign for California Families' Efforts to Intervene in Prop 8 Litigation Denied

By Ashley Harrell The California Supreme Court's reentry into the Prop 8 war satisfied almost everybody. Yes on 8 and its supporters figure that the three new court cases, which challenge the legality of a same-sex marriage amendment to the state constitution, don't stand a chance. No on 8 and it s ... More >>

State Supreme Court To Review Gay Marriage Ban

The Supreme Court of California just announced that it will consider the constitutional challenge to the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8, but it will not issue a stay, which means the state considers gay marriages illegal pending the outcome of the constitutional challenge. San Francisco, San Jos ... More >>

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Summer of Love Redux Party @ CAV Wine Bar

The Gay Divorcees

Gay marriage is new. Gay divorce isn't.

Last Night: Harvey Milk Bust Unveiling at City Hall

Medical pot can get you fired, court says

Lawyers Behaving Badly

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