With a deciding vote from Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court late Friday allowed Gov. Gavin Newsom to restrict attendance at religious services in California to 25% of the capacity of a house of worship because of the coronavirus.The justices voted 5-4 to reject a challenge by a Pentecostal church in Chula Vista (San Diego County) and its bishop, who said the state is discriminating against religious institutions by setting undue limits on attendance.In his first round of reopenings in early May, Newsom allowed some previously closed businesses to resume limited operations, such...…With a deciding vote from Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court late Friday allowed Gov. Gavin Newsom to restrict attendance at religious services in California to 25% of the capacity of a house of worship because of the coronavirus.The justices voted 5-4 to reject a challenge by a Pentecostal church in Chula Vista (San Diego County) and its bishop, who said the state is discriminating against religious institutions by setting undue limits on attendance.In his first round of reopenings in early May, Newsom allowed some previously closed businesses to resume limited operations, such...WW…

Federal prosecutors cannot punish two Northern California marijuana growers for violating U.S. drug laws because Congress has protected pot suppliers who follow the state’s medical marijuana law, a federal appeals court ruled Friday., the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld that two men whose property in Humboldt County was raided by federal drug agents in 2012 had complied with California’s medical marijuana law and could not be sentenced as drug dealers under federal law.Both men had pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2014, a year before Congress barred the...…Federal prosecutors cannot punish two Northern California marijuana growers for violating U.S. drug laws because Congress has protected pot suppliers who follow the state’s medical marijuana law, a federal appeals court ruled Friday., the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld that two men whose property in Humboldt County was raided by federal drug agents in 2012 had complied with California’s medical marijuana law and could not be sentenced as drug dealers under federal law.Both men had pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2014, a year before Congress barred the...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA judge says the University of California can be sued for allegedly discriminating against low-income, minority and disabled applicants by mandating the SAT and ACT as an admissions requirement. The ruling comes as UC prepares to decide whether to stop making standardized tests a mandatory part of the application process.The lawsuit’s allegations, if proven, could show that the university “knew that its policy choice would disproportionately impact minority and low-income students” as well as disabled students, said Alameda County...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA judge says the University of California can be sued for allegedly discriminating against low-income, minority and disabled applicants by mandating the SAT and ACT as an admissions requirement. The ruling comes as UC prepares to decide whether to stop making standardized tests a mandatory part of the application process.The lawsuit’s allegations, if proven, could show that the university “knew that its policy choice would disproportionately impact minority and low-income students” as well as disabled students, said Alameda County...WW…

Zoom, the teleconferencing giant that has replaced in-person meetings for millions of Americans, was sued Wednesday by a 153-year-old San Francisco church whose Bible study class last week was Zoombombed with pornographic images — by someone Zoom described as a “known serial offender,” according to the lawsuit.The incident with Saint Paulus Lutheran Church underscored Zoom’s elevation of “profits and revenue over data protection and user security,” said lawyers for the church and its classroom administrator, Heddi Cundle.seeks damages not only for Cundle and the eight others who attended...…Zoom, the teleconferencing giant that has replaced in-person meetings for millions of Americans, was sued Wednesday by a 153-year-old San Francisco church whose Bible study class last week was Zoombombed with pornographic images — by someone Zoom described as a “known serial offender,” according to the lawsuit.The incident with Saint Paulus Lutheran Church underscored Zoom’s elevation of “profits and revenue over data protection and user security,” said lawyers for the church and its classroom administrator, Heddi Cundle.seeks damages not only for Cundle and the eight others who attended...WW…

A federal appeals court allowed California to enforce its voter-approved requirement of background checks for purchasers of ammunition on Thursday and said the state was likely to win reversal of a judge’s ruling that the law violated the constitutional right to bear arms.The checks, similar to those required nationally for firearms bought from a licensed dealer, were part of Proposition 63, a gun-control initiative sponsored by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and approved by 63% of the voters in 2016. It did not take effect until last summer, and was promptly challenged by the California Rifle...…A federal appeals court allowed California to enforce its voter-approved requirement of background checks for purchasers of ammunition on Thursday and said the state was likely to win reversal of a judge’s ruling that the law violated the constitutional right to bear arms.The checks, similar to those required nationally for firearms bought from a licensed dealer, were part of Proposition 63, a gun-control initiative sponsored by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and approved by 63% of the voters in 2016. It did not take effect until last summer, and was promptly challenged by the California Rifle...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAt first glance, requiring federal agencies to guarantee equal rights for LGBTQ Americans seemed like just a recognition of the status quo. After all, the Supreme Court — in a 6-3 decision by Justice Neil Gorsuch, an appointee of former President Donald Trump — that the labor law banning sex discrimination also prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.But that’s not how the Trump administration saw it. In a memo issued Saturday, the Civil Rights Division of Trump’s Justice Department said the ruling...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAt first glance, requiring federal agencies to guarantee equal rights for LGBTQ Americans seemed like just a recognition of the status quo. After all, the Supreme Court — in a 6-3 decision by Justice Neil Gorsuch, an appointee of former President Donald Trump — that the labor law banning sex discrimination also prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.But that’s not how the Trump administration saw it. In a memo issued Saturday, the Civil Rights Division of Trump’s Justice Department said the ruling...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe state Supreme Court rejected the Warriors’ appeal Wednesday of a ruling requiring the team to pay Oakland and Alameda County for construction work on the arena where they played for decades before leaving for San Francisco last year.The construction began in 1996, 25 years after the team moved from San Francisco to Oakland. Oakland and Alameda County dismantled and redesigned the interior of the 19,000-seat arena, now known as Oakland Arena, and issued $140 million in bonds to pay the costs over 30 years.The agreement allowed...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe state Supreme Court rejected the Warriors’ appeal Wednesday of a ruling requiring the team to pay Oakland and Alameda County for construction work on the arena where they played for decades before leaving for San Francisco last year.The construction began in 1996, 25 years after the team moved from San Francisco to Oakland. Oakland and Alameda County dismantled and redesigned the interior of the 19,000-seat arena, now known as Oakland Arena, and issued $140 million in bonds to pay the costs over 30 years.The agreement allowed...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA San Francisco amateur hockey player who was slammed to the ice and badly injured by an opposing player can sue him for damages, a state appeals court says, overturning a judge’s ruling that such collisions are part of the ordinary risk of the game.Michael Szarowicz was playing in the finals of the San Francisco Adult Hockey League’s tournament at the Yerba Buena ice rink in January 2017 and was about to flick the puck to an Icehounds teammate when Jeremy Birenbaum, playing defense on the opposing Thousand Eyes team, crashed into...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA San Francisco amateur hockey player who was slammed to the ice and badly injured by an opposing player can sue him for damages, a state appeals court says, overturning a judge’s ruling that such collisions are part of the ordinary risk of the game.Michael Szarowicz was playing in the finals of the San Francisco Adult Hockey League’s tournament at the Yerba Buena ice rink in January 2017 and was about to flick the puck to an Icehounds teammate when Jeremy Birenbaum, playing defense on the opposing Thousand Eyes team, crashed into...WW…

Californians can go to their local Superior Court to challenge the state Energy Commission’s approval of large new power plants that use natural gas or other fuels, a state appeals court has ruled, overturning a state law backed by energy companies.The law, passed in 2001 during an energy crisis, required opponents of thermal power plants approved by the commission to file their objections with the state Supreme Court. That court decides which cases to review, and, environmental groups say, has not granted review of any challenges to power plants since 2001.But the First District Court of...…Californians can go to their local Superior Court to challenge the state Energy Commission’s approval of large new power plants that use natural gas or other fuels, a state appeals court has ruled, overturning a state law backed by energy companies.The law, passed in 2001 during an energy crisis, required opponents of thermal power plants approved by the commission to file their objections with the state Supreme Court. That court decides which cases to review, and, environmental groups say, has not granted review of any challenges to power plants since 2001.But the First District Court of...WW…

A Bay Area man's lawsuit over a Picasso painting that was once owned by his German Jewish grandmother and was stolen by the Nazis has been settled for $6.5 million, his lawyer said Tuesday.The money will be paid by a Chicago woman who, with her now-deceased husband, bought "Femme en Blanc" from a Manhattan art gallery for $345,000 in 1976, said E. Randol Schoenberg, lawyer for Tom Bennigson of Oakland. The woman, Marilynn Alsdorf, and her husband, James, made the purchase "completely in good faith, with no idea of its history or background," Schoenberg said.The 1922 painting, a somber...…A Bay Area man's lawsuit over a Picasso painting that was once owned by his German Jewish grandmother and was stolen by the Nazis has been settled for $6.5 million, his lawyer said Tuesday.The money will be paid by a Chicago woman who, with her now-deceased husband, bought "Femme en Blanc" from a Manhattan art gallery for $345,000 in 1976, said E. Randol Schoenberg, lawyer for Tom Bennigson of Oakland. The woman, Marilynn Alsdorf, and her husband, James, made the purchase "completely in good faith, with no idea of its history or background," Schoenberg said.The 1922 painting, a somber...WW…