San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman is presiding over hearings to address the strain on the city's indigent defense system, as the Public Defender's Office and the conflict defense panel struggle to ensure timely and qualified legal representation for felony defendants.
Orange County was ordered to pay $1.54 million in attorneys' fees in addition to a $3 million verdict in favor of former Orange County senior assistant district attorney Tracy Miller, who was awarded damages after alleging harassment and retaliation by District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Judge Shawn Nelson.
The district's school closure plan is based on a flawed method that excludes 15.7% of the students, resulting in an inaccurate enrollment projection and potentially leading to the closure of schools that serve a large number of interdistrict transfer students.
A new proposal to build 768 housing units in downtown San Jose adds to California's growing housing development pipeline, demonstrating that large, high-yield projects are needed to close the state's housing production gap.