The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branches:the executive,consisting of the governor of California and the other constitutionally elected and appointed officers and offices;the legislative,consisting of the California State Legislature,which includes the Assembly and the Senate;and the judicial,consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. There is also local government,consisting of counties,cities,special districts,and school districts,as well as government entities and offices that operate independently on a constitutional,statutory,or common law basis. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative,referendum,recall and ratification.
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building,but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts. Since 1850,the court has issued many influential decisions in a variety of areas including torts,property,civil and constitutional rights,and criminal law.
Morey Stanley Mosk was an American jurist,politician,and attorney. He served as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court for 37 years (1964–2001),the longest tenure in that court's history.
Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa,California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College,a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States based on bar passage rate and job placement,Whittier Law School announced in April 2017 that it would no longer be admitting students and would discontinue its legal program,becoming the first law school with full accreditation by the American Bar Association (ABA) to shut down in at least 30 years. Since the school's closure,transcript requests are now handled by Whittier College.
Stephen Lawrence Cooley is an American politician and prosecutor. He was the Los Angeles County District Attorney from 2000 to 2012. Cooley was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2008.
Wiley William Manuel was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1977 to 1981 and the first African American to serve on the high court.
Ming William Chin is an American attorney and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California,serving from March 1,1996 to August 31,2020.
A Pitchess motion is a request made by the defense in a California criminal case,such as a DUI case or a resisting arrest case,to access a law enforcement officer's personnel information when the defendant alleges in an affidavit that the officer used excessive force or lied about the events surrounding the defendant's arrest. The information provided will include prior incidents of use of force,allegations of excessive force,citizen complaints,and information gathered during the officer's pre-employment background investigation. The motion's name comes from the case Pitchess v. Superior Court.
Kathryn Jocelyn Mickle Werdegar is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California,serving from June 3,1994,to August 31,2017.
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
M. Gerald Schwartzbach is an American criminal defense attorney.
Frank Kellogg Richardson was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court.
I. Nelson Rose is an internationally known author and public speaker,and is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on gambling and gaming law. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at Whittier College and a visiting professor at the University of Macau. Rose is best known for his internationally syndicated column and 1986 book,Gambling and the Law. To further educate and inform on the subject,he also maintains a comprehensive website,"Gambling and the Law," which can be found at www.gamblingandthelaw.com.
Marshall Francis McComb was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from January 1956 to May 2,1977.
The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court,the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top,California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts,and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.
Leondra Reid Kruger is an American judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California.
Louis Harry Burke was an American lawyer who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from November 20,1964,to November 30,1974.
City of Los Angeles v. Patel,576 U.S. 409 (2015),was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a Los Angeles law,Municipal Code §41.49,requiring hotel operators to retain records about guests for a 90-day period,is facially unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution because it does not allow for pre-compliance review.
Yorty v. Chandler,13 Cal.App.3d 467 (1970),was a decision by the California Court of Appeals,2nd District involving how strictly an editorial cartoon needed to be interpreted in lawsuits for libel. It is a significant decision in the case law of applying the First Amendment to editorial cartoons and has been cited as a persuasive authority by other U.S. courts.
Daniel K. Tabor, is an American politician who served as mayor of Inglewood,California,the third African-American to hold the position.
