High Court

U.S. Supreme Court declines to take on challenge to Coastal Commission, but fight's not over yet.The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear arguments in a legal case about an artificial reef built years ago in the waters near Newport Beach. In June, the California Supreme Court ruled against the Newport Beach-based Marine Forests Society when it determined the California Coastal Commission -- which the society alleged to be unconstitutional -- is a legal body.

It was her legs. I happened to walk by and practically did a double take. "Dig those crazy gams," I thought, or the 1941 version of that. The rest of the package was just as great, so I managed to get myself introduced and found out that her name was Katy Harris and she worked at Douglas Aircraft Co. Lucky me! One of my best friends, Charlie Oxarart, worked at Douglas, and I decided to visit him at work the next day. As I was being escorted to his office, we passed through a huge room full of rows of women typing.

IRVINE — A panel of law experts and media met at UC Irvine on Wednesday to discuss how the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court has frequently come down on the liberal side of several major issues. The panel — consisting of Slate Senior Editor Dahlia Lithwick, the Los Angeles Times' Supreme Court reporter David Savage, UCI School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Chapman University law professor John Eastman and Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson — spoke in broad themes about the court's direction before diving into specific cases.

Orange County opponents of Proposition 8 planned to celebrate Wednesday evening while those who supported the voter-approved ban on gay marriage vowed to continue fighting. A scheduled rally at Sasscer Park across from the federal courthouse in Santa Ana turned into a celebration after a federal judge threw out the divisive measure, which garnered wide voter support in Orange County. Locals toasted the decision at the Tin Lizzy, a gay bar in Costa Mesa. "This is the next step to our future," said patron Audie Contreras, an Anaheim Hills resident.

Cinnamon Sary found it hard to stand on her own two feet at the end of her final volleyball match on the Newport Harbor High court. The senior needed a hand to get up, yet no one was around at first to help her. The problem was practically everyone else in the gym rushed the court to celebrate an upset win of Mater Dei. The Sailors had just qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA girls' title match and the reason why laid smack...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 this week to overturn a lower court’s decision and allow a Latin cross to continue to be displayed on federal land in the California desert. The cross was placed in 1934 at a spot in the Mojave National Preserve by the Veterans of Foreign Wars to honor fallen World War I soldiers. A lawsuit, filed by a regular visitor to the area who was offended by the display of a religious symbol on public land, argued that this violates the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

CORONA DEL MAR - The first time Deondre Bryant crashed onto the Corona del Mar High basketball court, he cut open the bottom of his chin. Three minutes into the second quarter of Tustin's third game in the Beach Bash tournament, Bryant bled. He left the game, then walked toward the Tustin bench and waited for the athletic trainer. No matter how many times the trainer wrapped a large Band-Aid underneath Bryant's chin, the bleeding never seemed to stop. The Band-Aid never seemed to stay on, either.

News flash! The Obama administration will not be nominating me, or any other Libertarian, to fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court of the United States. Among other things, the reason is that our judicial philosophy is to follow the law, and one of the stated important qualifications for the Obama administration is to employ the concept of “empathy.” Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the movement to “politicize” the judiciary, and this movement is leading us astray.

Deepa Bharath NEWPORT-MESA -- Community members reacted with shock and disbelief at a federal appeals court decision Wednesday that, for the first time ever, declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of the words "under God" added by Congress in 1954. The ruling, if upheld, means schoolchildren can no longer recite the pledge, at least in the nine Western states covered by the court. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal said the phrase amounts to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which requires a separation of church and state.

FLO MARTIN What's the definition for 600,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You're telling me that you already know that joke, huh? Well, I know of several parents in Newport-Mesa who haven't heard yet, so here's the answer: a good beginning. These same parents, featured in the Pilot article "Parents' suit going to the state high court," on Feb. 13, are heading all the way to the state Supreme Court to sue a former director of a now defunct Costa Mesa preschool.