U.S. District Court

Bush to California: screw you and your ocean

Do Those Bastards Owe You Some Money? Actually, They Probably Do. See How to Get Your Pound of Flesh Right Here.

Feds: Cut-Rate Computer Seller Accused of Cutting Customers' Promised Rebates

In a suit filed yesterday in San Francisco's U.S. District Court, the Federal Trade Commission accused Market Development Specialists of offering $20-to-$150 rebates it won't pay out.The Indiana-based company buys and resells computers and equipment via institutions such as Office Depot, Buy.com and ... More >>

Leader of Down Below Gang blames PTSD for killings

In a suit filed yesterday in San Francisco's U.S. District Court, the Federal Trade Commission accused Market Development Specialists of offering $20-to-$150 rebates it won't pay out.The Indiana-based company buys and resells computers and equipment via institutions such as Office Depot, Buy.com and ... More >>

Battle Lines

Richmond residents take aim at plans to expand a medical center they say is already overbuilt

The Chron Behind Bars

A judge has ordered two Chronicle reporters to serve time unless they divulge their source on Bonds' steroid use. Do you think they should be made to spill the beans?

California Split

Who's winning what at the upcoming S.F. International Film Festival

Dog Bites

Au Couture, Mon Frére! Is It Good or Bad to Be Libeled by an Idiot? Writing Wrongs

Letters to the Editor

Week of April 18, 2001

Craps

A gambling site operator rolls the dice in court, and loses

Unspun

A gambling site operator rolls the dice in court, and loses

Slap Shots

A gambling site operator rolls the dice in court, and loses

Here's a Shock: Cop Sues Taser Over Stun-Gun Safety

Apparently, Taser training's not as fun as it looksThere are times when real-world events conspire overwhelmingly to defeat arguments for a policy or theory. Think about the fate of Soviet-style collective farming, say, or -- to pull an example from the past year's headlines -- the idea that unregul ... More >>

Creators of Emily the Strange assert their character's lack of originality in court

Apparently, Taser training's not as fun as it looksThere are times when real-world events conspire overwhelmingly to defeat arguments for a policy or theory. Think about the fate of Soviet-style collective farming, say, or -- to pull an example from the past year's headlines -- the idea that unregul ... More >>

All that Glitters: Foster City Woman Slapped with SEC Suit Over Alleged Gold Mine Stock Scam

Don't buy itAll you underpaid and unemployed folks trying to get by in today's bad economy can file this one away in the "Why Didn't I Think of That?" category. Don't worry -- most of us wouldn't believe we could successfully sell loads of fake stock in a non-existent Filipino gold-mining corporatio ... More >>

Feds complain that S.F.'s sanctuary city policies impeded investigation of Latino gang

Don't buy itAll you underpaid and unemployed folks trying to get by in today's bad economy can file this one away in the "Why Didn't I Think of That?" category. Don't worry -- most of us wouldn't believe we could successfully sell loads of fake stock in a non-existent Filipino gold-mining corporatio ... More >>

While our hypocritical mayor vows to reduce homeless population, city eyes cutting shelter beds

Don't buy itAll you underpaid and unemployed folks trying to get by in today's bad economy can file this one away in the "Why Didn't I Think of That?" category. Don't worry -- most of us wouldn't believe we could successfully sell loads of fake stock in a non-existent Filipino gold-mining corporatio ... More >>

Judge Dismisses NSA Spying Lawsuit, Asserting Too Many People Were Spied On

You read that right. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker has dismissed a lawsuit in San Francisco's federal courthouse against the U.S. government, stating in his ruling that the plaintiffs' complaint that they were illegally monitored under the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretap pr ... More >>

City Reverses Course, Promises No Reduction in Homeless Beds in 2010

Jacob Riis​San Francisco officials are expected to file documents in federal court this week stating they have reached an agreement with anti-poverty activists on a pledge to not reduce the number of shelter beds available to homeless people this year.This represents an about-face from city policy ... More >>

Obama 'Even Worse' Than Bush On Secret Wiretapping Case, Says S.F. Lawyer

Is 'Mr. Change' listening?​San Francisco attorney Jon Eisenberg thinks he's learned a thing or two about Barack Obama over the past 15 months. Eisenberg, who won a landmark decision against the government in Northern California's U.S. District Court Wednesday on a wiretapping case, says that when ... More >>

Apple Sued for Allegedly Failing to Honor Warranty of 'Wet' iPhones

You're shit outta luck...​A San Francisco woman is suing Apple, Inc. in a class action suit filed in U.S. District Court,  alleging that the company refuses to honor the phone's warranty by telling her the phone's "liquid submersion indicator" showed the phone had been dunked in water when it ... More >>

Federal Judge Skeptical About S.F. Fishermen's Oil Spill Lawsuit

Next year's catch?​U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston has expressed some misgivings about the strength of a class-action lawsuit against the owners and operators of the Dubai Star, a Panamanian tanker that leaked up to 800 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay last October.In a written decis ... More >>

Google Sued For Collecting Payload Data In Street View Debacle

You can trust Google, right? Right? ​Two more plaintiffs have filed yet another class action lawsuit against Google for collecting private data as its cars drove around photographing every corner in the country -- and several other countries as well -- for Google Street View. The British governmen ... More >>

Jurist, Teabagger, Porn King: The Ravings of Conservative Nutjobs Against Vaughn Walker

Photo illustration | Audrey FukumanRight-wing loons likened Judge Vaughn Walker to a porn impresario​U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's decision overturning Proposition 8 is, by the reckoning of most sensible observers, a masterpiece of judicial prose and reasoning. As such, it has been ... More >>

Judge Refuses to Halt Gay Weddings - But Don't Celebrate Yet

Rod Wood and Roger Hunt, ready to wed.​UPDATE (12:45 pm): Hold everything. Now we're told that the judge's ruling doesn't go into effect until Aug. 18. There's a press conference being held now to explain the ramifications of the latest decision. We'll update you when we know more.   UPDATE ( ... More >>

Kenny Mehlman is a Fudgepacker: The Week in Gay

Oh my god, they killed the right-wing Kenny. ​ Ken Mehlman must be in love. Why else would he subject himself to the slings and arrows of the gay universe and come out of the closet? Isn't that wonderful? Aren't you happy for him? It's a theory that's not too far fetched. In an interview with The ... More >>

Adult Dating Site Sued for Fraudulently Seducing Lonely Men

Not everyone takes kindly to fake sex partners​A group of self-described "lonely and vulnerable men" has filed a class-action lawsuit against the adult-dating site amateurmatch.com, [warning: link NSFW] claiming they were fraudulently seduced with fake e-mails from nonexistent horny singles.The su ... More >>

Judge Smacks Down Challenge to San Francisco's Ranked-Choice Voting

​A federal judge has rejected a legal challenge to San Francisco's system of "ranked-choice voting," in which voters can select their three preferred candidates in a race. The lawsuit, filed by failed supervisorial candidate Ron Dudum, had asserted that the system was flawed insofar as it did not ... More >>

Airlines Accused of Price-Fixing in Class-Action Lawsuit

​A hangar-ful of airlines is facing a class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco that alleges an "international conspiracy" to fix prices and bilk travelers.The suit was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court by San Francisco resident Caroline Joy, who is represented by the law firm Moscone Embli ... More >>

Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro Debut Ranked-Choice Voting After Judge Upholds S.F. System

​In the wake of a federal court ruling that upheld San Francisco's system of ranked-choice voting, three East Bay cities are moving ahead with plans to adopt "RCV" in this fall's elections.Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro will be using the balloting system -- which allows voters to cast up to th ... More >>

Lawsuit Over Bungled City Housing Program Moves to State Courts

You can't go home again​Following a setback in federal court, a lawsuit over a badly managed affordable-housing program has been refiled in San Francisco Superior court, where the lawyers for aggrieved residents enrolled in the program say they hope they'll have better luck.The troubled housing pr ... More >>

Executions Stalled Across Country Due to Drug Shortage

​It turns out that California isn't the only one making life-or-death-penalty decisions based on the availability of the drug sodium thiopental -- the first of three drugs used to render the inmate unconscious before injecting other drugs that stop the heart and breathing. (The manufacturer's desc ... More >>

Juvenile Probation Department Sued Over Alleged Pattern of Racism

Racial Injustice at Juvie Hall?​Asian and Pacific Islander employees of the city's Juvenile Probation Department filed a class-action lawsuit complaining of a pattern of racial discrimination. The suit, which the employees filed last week without representation by an attorney, claims that hiring, ... More >>

Zynga Scams Lawsuit to Move Forward

Treacherous ground?​A federal judge has found that Zynga is responsible for allegedly misleading business offers marketed to players of its popular Facebook games, setting the stage for a class-action lawsuit against the San Francisco-based company to move ahead.The plaintiff in the case, Rebecca ... More >>

New Questions Raised About State's Imported Lethal Injection Drugs

​Newly released documents raise questions about the quality of drugs imported from abroad by state corrections officials to carry out lethal injections, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.The documents, obtained by the ACLU through Freedom of Information Act (FO ... More >>

Man Threatens to Kill California Senator Over Wolf Legislation

San Francisco's own wolfman ​It's like a scene straight out of The Wolf Man. A fanatic of the carnivorous beasts was charged in federal court today with sending e-mails to a California senator, threatening to kill her if she didn't oppose legislation that would scrap environmental protections for ... More >>

Whistleblower Sues Family Court over Firing

​A former mediator in Nevada County Family Court is suing court administrators over her dismissal after a labor arbitrator decided she raised valid concerns about whether the courts were operating properly and following state law.Emily Gallup, a Stanford graduate, was fired after her superiors cri ... More >>

Barry Bonds Trial: A Lesson in Human Anatomy

​Most of us found federal prosecutors' decision to present evidence of former Giants slugger Barry Bonds' allegedly shrunken testicles a bit gauche. Granted, the size of Bonds' balls is relevant: The government hopes to prove that he used performance-enhancing steroids that diminished his private ... More >>

Get Ready, Facebook: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss Will See Another Day in Court

The Winklevii just love to litigate.​The Winklevoss twins, of Facebook history fame, have just delivered what is essentially a giant "JK" to the social networking site.Aaron Sorkin, we hope you're paying attention to this. By all accounts, Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, the identical twins who say ... More >>

Oakland Cops Illegally Strip-Searched Black Men in Traffic Stop, Must Pay $205,000

​A federal judge has ruled that Oakland police officers performed unconstitutional strip-searches of two black men they pulled over as part of an unnecessary traffic stop, and must pay $100,000 to each victim as a result.U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel found that Ofc. Ingo Mayer, in t ... More >>

Sugar Sues Corn Syrup for False Advertising. No Joke.

Sugar: going on the offensive. Yesterday the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles began hearing arguments over an odd lawsuit filed by a group of sugar producers against a group of producers and marketers of high-fructose corn syrup. The charge? False advertising. Big Sugar is mad that Big HFCS -- u ... More >>

Another Student Suspended for Dissing Teacher on Facebook

​We've seen a few times over the past year that the casual contact facilitated by Facebook is proving to be a sticky wicket for teachers and their students. Now a Louisiana high-school senior is arguing in federal court that he's the latest victim of unfair policing of online social space.The stud ... More >>

FBI to Announce Development in Case of Daniel Andreas San Diego, Vegan Bay Area Bomber

Doesn't like meat​Authorities say they have some big development in the unresolved case of Daniel Andreas San Diego, the vegan animal liberationist who is wanted for the 2003 bombings of a biotechnology firm and a nutrition and cosmetics company in the Bay Area. FBI officials told reporters that S ... More >>

Alameda Gun Ordinance to Go Before Full 9th Circuit Appeals Court

​The quest for the rights of ordinary, hardworking Americans to carry bazookas and roll Abrams tanks across government property continues its slow advance. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has  agreed to revisit an Alameda County couple's claim that a law banning guns on county land ... More >>

Pot Club Crackdown Continues, Judge Rejects Demands to Stop Feds

Up in smoke ​A judge has ruled that she would not interfere with the feds' efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries across California. Oakland U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled on Monday that pot clubs failed to show that  the federal government was violating their ... More >>

Mayor Ed Lee Vetoes Supes' Bill Closing Sharp Park Golf Course

​Sharp Park Golf Course will remain open for now -- despite legislation closing the course and handing the land on which it is built over to the federal government that passed the Board of Supervisors last week -- thanks to a veto from Mayor Ed Lee.The veto was expected in light of the Lee's past ... More >>

Marion Zimmer Bradley Trust Sues over 'Inferior' Book Set in Imaginary Universe

​The San Francisco-based trust of beloved fantasy and science fiction author Marion Zimmer Bradley is suing another author for publishing allegedly poor novels set on an imaginary planet that Bradley created.At issue is the Darkover series, which chronicles the history of a world colonized by spac ... More >>

Former Hells Angels President Sentenced to Jail for Pot-Growing Mortgage Scheme

​Raymond Foakes, a former Hells Angel, was sentenced yesterday to 70 months in state prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup also ordered Foakes, 48, to pay $1,085,000 in restitution. On Oct. 25, 2011, Foakes, the former president ... More >>

Porn Company Hunts for Illegal Downloaders of 'My Little Panties #2'

​As the tech and media industries slug it out over laws governing copyrighted material online, one original content producer has won a small victory in its effort to staunch intellectual-property theft. The California-based porn-video producer Digital Sin [NSFW] has won the right to obtain persona ... More >>

Prop. 8 Appeals Court Ruling: Inside the Dissenting Opinion

​Same-sex marriage advocates rejoiced today as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision that Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative banning gay marriage, is unconstitutional.The decision is almost certainly destine ... More >>