California Supreme Court

Marijuana Dispensary Ban Possible In L.A. After High Court Ruling

Could the city of Los Angeles try to ban all pot shops in town again? It's possible. Supporters of a May 21 measure that would let more than 100 marijuana dispensaries in L.A. survive warned voters this week that the City Council could see enough turnover in the election that cannabis opponents cou ... More >>

Marijuana Trial: Brave SoCal Pot Shop Owner Aaron Sandusky Fights Feds

If you run a medical marijuana dispensary, what do you do when federal authorities bust down your door, arrest you, and haul you into court on drug possession and distribution charges, as they've been doing in L.A. lately? U.S. district courts have not recognized California's medical pot laws, so w ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensaries See Hope in California Supreme Court Move on Pack Case

The California Supreme Court this week threw out a court case that was part of the legal rationale for banning medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The court held that Pack v Long Beach is moot. So does that mean L.A.'s pot shop ban, which takes effect Sept. 6, is dead? No ... More >>

Comments: Warring Over War Horse

Armenian Assassin's Parole Pushed as Issue in D.A. Race

The case of Hampig Sassounian has been a cause celebre within the local Armenian community for nearly 30 years. In 1982, Sassounian and an accomplice assassinated the Turkish consul general, in an act of revenge for the Armenian genocide.Sassounian was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in pr ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensary Ban Considered at L.A. City Hall Tomorrow

Updated at the bottom with the committee's momentous moves. First posted at 8 a.m. Hope you're getting your rest this holiday weekend. Because tomorrow's a big day for the medical marijuana scene in Los Angeles. The L.A. City Council's Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee will take u ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Ban in L.A.? City Officials Botched Regulation, Now Want Prohibition

Medical weed ban heads to City Council

Some Marijuana Dispensaries Get Reprieve in Long Beach: Will Los Angeles Give Pot Shops a Second Chance?

Andrew Hecht​Long Beach is giving marijuana dispensaries a second chance. At least some of them. And as the city at the center of a court case that could help decide the fate of pot shops in the cannabis collective capital of America, Los Angeles, that city's decision could offer hope for dis ... More >>

Stephen Glass, Disgraced Journalist, Wants to be a Lawyer in L.A.

His journalistic misdeeds were the subject of the 2003 movie Shattered Glass. In the 1990s he pretty much faked us all out with made-up stories in publications including New Republic, Harper's, and Rolling Stone. Now Stephen Glass says he's a new man. He's been working for a Beverly Hills law fir ... More >>

Teflon Sheriff Lee Baca's Inmate Beatings Problem Puts Him in Hot Seat as County Commission on Jail Violence Meets

David MarklandLee Baca.​We call him the Teflon Sheriff because despite a decade's worth of allegations that deputies sometimes allegedly beat L.A. County Jail inmates (and visitors) for no good reason, Lee Baca keeps getting reelected by you, the people. Well, that nonstick coating will be pu ... More >>

The 10 Most Controversial Laws That California Governor Jerry Brown Just Signed or Vetoed

Like a good procrastinating California politician, Governor Jerry Brown waited until the last possible second to sign over 100 bills still waiting on his desk this weekend. So, as of Columbus Day morning, we have a whole controversy-load of new laws to make sense of. And being the stragglers of the ... More >>

Un-Gerrymandering Los Angeles

Get ready for the brawl of cutting Southern California in pieces, on paper

Starbucks And Marijuana: Lawsuit That Says Starbucks Asked For Job Applicants' Pot Use Records Might Go Up in Smoke

Keila Ribeiro​If ever there was a retail heaven for day trippers, it's Starbucks. Wi-fi, air-con and a cozy armchair to sit in with your shades on: Stoners really couldn't ask for much more when it comes to time-sucks. But as it turns out the Seattle-based chain once asked job applicants in t ... More >>

Med-Heads Rejoice: California Cities Can't Ban Pot Shops Based On U.S. Drug Laws

Anaheim can't outlaw pot shops based on federal drug laws.​Can cities ban medical marijuana shops based on federal law that outlaws pot? A state court essentially said no this week, handing a victory to cannabis-shop advocates. The Fourth District Court of Appeals finalized its order that ove ... More >>

Prop. 26 Is Emission-Happy Prop. 23's Sneaky, Environmentally Unfriendly Stepsister

indybayA lonely Prop. 26 protestor​While environmentalists get their panties in a twist over Prop. 23, a slicker plan to dodge environmental regulations is making its way past protesters. By changing the definition of "fee" to "tax," Prop. 26 would require a 2/3 majority of the California Sta ... More >>

Young, Gay Dreams of Matrimony

For 20-somethings, Prop. 8's demise is a barometer of equality, not a path to the altar

California Chief Justice Ron George To Retire

​ According to the Associated Press, Chief Justice Ronald George announced Wednesday that he would retire from the Supreme Court of California at the end of his term in January. George, who is known for his opinion in favor of same-sex marriage in 2008, said in a statement that he plans to ret ... More >>

Conservative Ted Olson Stands Up for Gays at Proposition 8 Trial

Attorney Ted Olson​When closing arguments get underway for the Proposition 8 federal trial on Wednesday in San Francisco, a world-famous liberal won't be standing before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker and making the case to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban. Instead, that attor ... More >>

L.A. D.A. Cooley Warns That Pot Delivery, Even By Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Is Illegal

​Responding to reports about a growing number of pot shops that offer home drop-off for medical marijuana patients, some as a way to duck the city's new law limiting the number of dispensaries in L.A., Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said Wednesday that there is no loophole t ... More >>

Video: Alleged Serial Killer Rodney Alcala was Creepy Winning Bachelor on 'The Dating Game'

​Blind dates are always risky. Worst case scenario? You get set up with a serial killer. L.A. Weekly has obtained footage of alleged serial killer Rodney Alcala as creepy Bachelor Number One on an episode of NBC's The Dating Game in 1978 where, yes, he actually won. Authorities believe Alcala ... More >>

Jerry Brown To Challenge Ruling Overturning Ban On Body Armor For Felons

Jerry Brown.​With Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck, San Francisco police Chief George Gascon and Los Angeles police union president Paul M. Weber urging him on, state Attorney General Jerry Brown says he'll petition the state Supreme Court to throw out a lower court ruling that overturned ... More >>

Ruling Allowing Felons To Wear Body Armor Should Be Appealed, Officials Say

LAPPLPaul M. Weber.​The union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police and the chief of the San Francisco Police Department are urging Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a state appellate judge's ruling that overturns a state ban on body armor for violent ex-convicts. They want to see ... More >>

Queer Town: Proposition 8, A Year Later

It's been a long year since Proposition 8 was passed on November 4, 2008, when the existing right to legally marry in California was shockingly taken away from gays and lesbians.Patrick Range McDonaldDays before Prop. 8 was passed, pro-gay marriage supporters took to the streets in West Hollywood.†... More >>

Mayor's Affordable Housing Plan Takes a Hit

​Mayor Villaraigosa's affordable housing plan could be in for some trouble. The California Supreme Court has struck down the city's plea that a developer be forced to include low-income units in his project. Yesterday's ruling, the latest and perhaps final chapter in a two-year legal battle betwee ... More >>

Queer Town: Obama Touts 'Equal Justice' in Vegas, Ignores Prop. 8 Ruling

Last night at a political fundraiser in Las Vegas, President Barack Obama made a pitch for nearly everything under the sun: better education, "change" in Washington, improved national fuel efficiency standards and a host of other things, even a plug for his new U.S. Supreme Court justice pick, Sonia ... More >>

Queer Town: California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 8

Patrick Range McDonaldAnti-Prop. 8 marcher in Westwood in November, 2008.In an unsurprising ruling, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 today. As for the fate of approximately 18,000 legally married same sex couples, the supreme court decided they remain valid. Chief Justice Ronald Geo ... More >>

Queer Town: Prop. 8 Ruling Finally Arrives Next Week

Patrick Range McDonaldProp. 8 protestor at Los Angeles Mormon Temple in November, 2008.Over the past few weeks, a lot of speculation has been floating around the Internet on when the California Supreme Court will rule on Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that took away the right of gay and ... More >>

GO LA: Gay Fusion, Jackie Kashian and the Gold Standard Food Festival

Plus, lots more to see, hear and consume in town, March 6-12

Queer Town: Prop. 8 Hearing Forces Religious Heavyweights into the Limelight

Last fall, when gay marriage opponents from the Mormon and Catholic churches were funding an extraordinarily expensive campaign to sell Proposition 8 to California voters, the "Yes on 8" campaign, headed by political strategist Frank Schubert, adopted a distinctly secular tone. Every now and then th ... More >>

GO LA: Lewis Black, German Cinema, Sheryl Crow for the Congo, and more

Where to go in L.A., February 13-19

Proposition 8 Gives Rise to New Generation of Gay Leaders

Failure to prevent passage of same-sex-marriage ban shifts political landscape

L.A. Slams Residents With Stiff Fees and Taxes

In "City of Los Angeles vs. All Persons," downtown pols play dirty

Best Views

L.A. from the top and bottom

Queer Town: Brad Pitt Challenges Hollywood on Prop. 8 Fight

This morning, Queer Town reported that wealthy folks in Los Angeles County weren't donating as much as they could to fight Proposition 8. Karen Ocamb, news editor of In and Frontiers magazines, also wrote a top notch story about A-list gays missing from action. But now actor Brad Pitt may have chan ... More >>

Queer Town: The Cold Winds of Gay Marriage

It had been a relatively quiet summer for gay marriage supporters and their opponents, and people hit the beach or flew out of town without any real cares other than the high cost of gasoline...and some people may have forgotten about Proposition 8 altogether. But now things are most definitely chan ... More >>

Queer Town: Gay Marriage Promises

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to take Proposition 8 off the November ballot. The anti-gay marriage measure will now go to the voters...and gay rights activists will need the state's political stars to follow through on their promises. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is importan ... More >>

Queer Town: Day into Night at Outfest

On Saturday afternoon, inside theater number two at the Directors Guild of America building on Sunset Boulevard, California State Senator Sheila Kuehl sat on a panel with other gays and lesbians for a "special event" at Outfest called "Queer State of the Nation." Kuehl was feeling feisty. "Tell th ... More >>

Queer Town: McCain Plays Small Ball in California

On the evening of June 26, with the right kind of ears, a steady, collective groan could be heard from thousands of gay Republicans throughout California…followed by an eerie silence. Their man, Senator John McCain, decided to play small ball in his quest for the White House, and came out with a ... More >>

Queer Town: Gay Marriage and the Religion Card

By the end of last week, the gays got married...even in San Diego County. But things turned a little weird for San Diego County Clerk Greg Smith, who was confronted with at least 14 employees who said same sex weddings and their religious beliefs did not mix. It was the first time gay marriage oppon ... More >>

Queer Town: Villaraigosa's Disappearing Act

On June 17, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be missing in action. Instead of standing on the steps of City Hall, reading vows to Chuck and Mike or Deb and Julie, he will be visiting with airport security experts in Israel...far, far away from the TV camera crews that will be filming ever ... More >>

Queer Town: No Time For Gay Losers

On Monday, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen officially certified the anti-gay marriage ballot measure. If passed, the initiative would overturn last month's California Supreme Court ruling--which legalized same sex marriage--and insert one sentence into the state constitution. It would re ... More >>

QUEER TOWN: Obama and the Gays

On Tuesday, the Democratic Party will finally wrap up its long, hard fought primary season. There will be a lot of talk about who will ultimately be the best candidate to defeat Senator John McCain on Election Day, but gays and lesbians--in California and anywhere else--may want to consider somethin ... More >>

See You In court, Donald

(Sterling’s lawsuit highlights)

Lawsuit Sweepstakes at LAFD

He said, she said

Gay Marriage Squabble

Why California’s Supreme Court ruling was a lost battle, not a lost war

What They Said

More from the interviews with Stanley 'Tookie' Williams and prosecutor Robert Martin

Remembering Rose

Rose Bird, 1936–1999

Salivating SoccerEse

Then This Priest Says. . .

Friendly Fire

Conservative state justices targeted by far right