News & Information

Client Alerts — Law Enforcement


February 13, 2024

Vol. 39 No. 4 DELIVERING EVENING MEAL FOUR HOURS BEFORE PRISONER COULD BREAK RELIGION-BASED FAST WAS A SUBSTANTIAL BURDEN ON THE PRISONER’S FREE EXERCISE

In ruling on a prisoner’s First Amendment free exercise claim in Long v. Sugai,1 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the delivery of a fasting Muslim prison inmate’s evening meal four hours before he could break his fast during Ramadan substantially burdened his free exercise of his religion.  The Court remanded to permit…

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January 25, 2024

Vol. 39 No. 3 TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DETERMINING, AS A MATTER OF LAW, THAT ALL VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM POLICE DRONE PROGRAM WAS EXEMPT FROM PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUESTS AS “RECORDS OF INVESTIGATIONS”

In a case 1 in which petitioner made a request for information pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 7920.000 et seq.; “CPRA”) related to a city’s use of drones, the Fourth District Court of Appeal concluded that a trial court erred in determining, as a matter of law, that all video…

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January 24, 2024

Vol. 39 No. 2 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED RESTRAINING CALIFORNIA DOJ FROM ENFORCING REGULATION MANDATING “GENDER OF OFFICER” REPORTING PENDING PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION HEARING

Background The California Police Chiefs Association (“CPCA”), California State Sheriffs’ Association (“CSSA”), Peace Officers Research Association of California (“PORAC”), California Association of Highway Patrolmen (“CAHP”), Brian Marvel, and Jake Johnson recently filed an action against the California Attorney General and the Department of Justice seeking declaratory relief and injunctive relief preventing the DOJ from enforcing…

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January 5, 2024

Vol. 39 No. 1 RETIRED PEACE OFFICERS AND THE IMPACT OF SENATE BILL 2 (2023-2024)

The passage of SB-2 (2023-2024) has raised a number of questions about the security of retired peace officers and the continued ability to carry a concealed firearm.  The purpose of this Client Alert is to explain the limits of SB-2 and affirm the authority of retired peace officers to carry a concealed firearm. Among the…

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January 2, 2024

Vol. 38 No. 15 DISTRICT COURT ENTERS INJUNCTION CONCERNING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF SB 2 CONCERNING “SENSITIVE PLACES”

On December 20, 2023, United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District Court’s Southern Division issued an order granting a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of certain challenged provisions of Senate Bill 2 against any individuals with permits to carry a concealed weapon.  The Court found the challenged provisions unconstitutional pursuant to N.Y….

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November 27, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 14 NEW LAW AFFECTING CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEES WHO USE MARIJUANA OFF-DUTY RAISES QUESTIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, abridgment, or harassment on account of race, religion, gender, physical or mental disability amongst other protected statuses. On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill…

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November 3, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 13 NINTH CIRCUIT GRANTS CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL STAY PENDING APPEAL OF PENAL CODE SECTION 32310’S BAN ON LARGE-CAPACITY MAGAZINES

Penal Code section 32310(a) creates criminal liability for “any person . . . who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives” a large-capacity magazine (“LCM”), which is defined as “any ammunition feeding device with the capacity…

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August 21, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 12 AN EMPLOYER DOES NOT OWE A DUTY OF CARE UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 TO EMPLOYEES’ HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS

In July 2023, the California Supreme Court in Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc.[1] answered two certified questions from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Supreme Court concluded: (1) if an employee contracts COVID-19 at the workplace and brings the virus home to a spouse, the derivative-injury rule of California’s workers’ compensation law does not…

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