Vol. 25 No. 7 – No Compensation For Donning And Doffing
“NO COMPENSATION FOR DONNING AND DOFFING” March 26, 2010 On March 25, 2010, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require compensating officers for putting on, or taking off, their uniforms IF they are allowed to do so at home. The Court issued its ruling in the […]
Vol. 25 No. 6- Reinstatement of Fired Seattle Officer Blocked
Reinstatement of Fired Seattle Officer Blocked March 5, 2010 On January 26, 2010 we published Client Alert Memo, Vol. 25, No. 2 about a dishonest Seattle officer being reinstated by a Civil Service Commission, despite their finding that he had lied. At least for now, a Superior Court has blocked his reinstatement pending the City’s […]
Vol. 25 No. 5 – “Conduct Credits” Under Penal Code §4019 Apply Prospectively
“CONDUCT CREDITS” UNDER PENAL CODE §4019 APPLY PROSPECTIVELY March 4, 2010 On March 1, 2010, the 5th Appellate District Court of Appeal decided the case of People v. Rodriguez which, among other things, analyzed the application of Penal Code 4019 and how “conduct credit” was to be applied. Penal Code section 4019 was recently amended […]
Vol. 24 No. 22- Investigating a “Recommendation” for Medical Marijuana
INVESTIGATING A “RECOMMENDATION” FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA September 1, 2009 On August 26, 2009, the California Court of Appeal concluded, in Bearman v. California Medical Board et al, 2009 DAR 1417, that, if reasonable suspicion exists that one might be abusing the Compassionate Use Act (CUA), agencies and personnel “should suffer no tort liability for attempting […]
Vol. 24 No. 9- Cities And Counties Can Prohibit Guns On Public Property
CITIES AND COUNTIES CAN PROHIBIT GUNS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY April 21, 2009 On April 20, 2009, a unanimous Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, in the case ofNordyke, et al v. King, et. al, that local governments can regulate the use of public property which, therefore, allows them to ban guns on such property, […]
Vol. 24 No. 8- “Brady” Obligation Imposed On Law Enforcement
“BRADY” OBLIGATION IMPOSED ON LAW ENFORCEMENT March 18, 2009 On December 8, 2008, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in the case of Tennison v. City and County of San Francisco, (2008) 548 F.3d 1293 held that “exculpatory evidence cannot be kept out of the hands of the defense just because the prosecutor does […]
Vol. 24 No. 7- “Federal law upheld barring guns from those convicted of domestic violence”
“FEDERAL LAW UPHELD BARRING GUNS FROM THOSE CONVICTED OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE” February 25, 2009 On February 24, 2009, on a 7-2 vote, the United States Supreme Court, in the case of United States v. Hayes, upheld the provision of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 (Act) which prohibits anyone convicted of a “misdemeanor crime […]
Vol. 24 No. 6- “A personnel commission’s reduction of a penalty must be justified”
“A PERSONNEL COMMISSION’S REDUCTION OF A PENALTY MUST BE JUSTIFIED” February 17, 2009 While a personnel board, civil service commission, or hearing officer has discretion to alter the discipline imposed against a public sector employee, the exercise of that discretion has to be based on reason. On February 10, 2009, in the case of County of Santa Cruz v. […]
Vol. 24 No. 5-Lybarger lives! Spielbauer overturned by supreme court.
LYBARGER LIVES! SPIELBAUER OVERTURNED BY SUPREME COURT. On February 9, 2009, the California Supreme Court unanimously overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Spielbauer v. County of Santa Clara. In so doing, the Supreme Court reaffirmed numerous prior court decisions which held that “a public employee may be compelled, by threat […]
Vol. 23 No. 5- L. A. Times v. Post – Agreement Reached Regarding Procedure
L.A. TIMES v. POST – AGREEMENT REACHED REGARDING PROCEDURE February 11, 2008 As a result of the outstanding efforts of William Pettingill, Senior Deputy County Counsel for San Diego, and Kelli Sager, legal counsel for the L. A. Times, an agreement has been reached which eliminates the need for 500 – 600 law enforcement agencies […]