Vol. 27 No. 8 – Ninth Circuit Says It’s OK To Take DNA From Felony Arrestees

NINTH CIRCUIT SAYS IT’S OK TO TAKE DNA FROM FELONY ARRESTEES On March 1, 2012, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, in the case ofHaskell v. Harris, held that requiring persons, arrested on felony charges, to provide a DNA sample was not unconstitutional. In 2004, California’s DNA and Forensic Identification […]

Vol. 27 No. 14 – More Changes to PERS Rules Regarding Retired Annuitants

MORE CHANGES TO PERS RULES REGARDING RETIRED ANNUITANTS Pursuant to the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL), once one retires from PERS, he/she can no longer work for a PERS agency, unless an exception applies.  California Government Code 21220 states, in part, that “(a) A person who has been retired under this system, for service or for disability, may […]

Vol. 27 No. 13 – Constitutional Law (Pitchess Motions)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW- PITCHESS MOTIONS Case Name – Rezek v. Superior Court (California Court of Appeal—2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 630—May 25, 2012) Summary –   When a defendant seeks statements of witnesses to the charged incident that are contained in a peace officer’s personnel file, the officer’s privacy interests are implicated less than when the information sought pertains […]

Vol. 27 No. 12 – County Property, Gun Shows, and the Second Amendment

COUNTY PROPERTY, GUN SHOWS, AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT On June 1, 2012 the Ninth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeal, in a unanimous en banc decision, ruled in Nordyke v. Alameda County Board of Supervisors, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11076, that Alameda County’s (modified) ban on guns being sold on county property did NOT violate the Second Amendment to […]

Vol. 27 No. 11 – Ninth Circuit: Medical Marijuana Use Constitutes “Illegal Drug” Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

NINTH CIRCUIT: MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE CONSTITUES “ILLEGAL DRUG USE” UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT  Recently, Jones & Mayer were successful in urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the denial of a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the City of Costa Mesa’s prohibition of medical marijuana dispensaries. On May 21, 2012, the […]

Vol. 29, No. 17 Supreme Court Denies Review on California Prison Case

U.S. SUPREME COURT DENIES REVIEW ON CALIFORNIA PRISON CASE On June 9, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied California’s petition for review of the decision in Armstrong v. Brown, which had held that California’s prison officials failed to monitor and protect former inmates who were returned to county jails instead of state prisons for parole […]

Vol. 29 No. 6 – CCW PERMITS, THE NINTH CIRCUIT RULING, AND CONFUSION

CCW PERMITS, THE NINTH CIRCUIT RULING, AND CONFUSION On February 13, 2014, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in the case of Peruta, et al. v. County of San Diego and William D. Gore, Sheriff, ruled 2 -1 that “San Diego County’s ‘good cause’ permitting requirement [to issue a […]