Supreme Court

Alicia Robinson Beginning next week, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Newport Beach case that could call into question decisions made by the California Coastal Commission since it was formed 29 years ago. The court on April 6 will hear oral arguments in a case filed in 2000 by the Marine Forests Society, a Newport Beach-based nonprofit group that created an artificial reef of tires and plastic bags ...

After losing in the local Court of Appeal, Greg Haidl and his two accomplices, who were convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Haidl’s Newport Beach home, are taking their case to the state Supreme Court. Haidl’s attorney, Dennis Fischer, petitioned the court last week to hear arguments on why his client should have his conviction overturned and not have to register as a sex offender for life. Fischer said that the chances of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the petition are “next to none.

The Supreme Court of the United States announced Monday that it will not hear a property rights case petitioned by St. James Church of Newport Beach. The court said it is waiting for a final ruling in the case at the county level before considering whether it will make its own decision. St. James has owned its church property for more than 50 years, and has sought to keep it following its split from the Episcopal Church and its Los Angeles Diocese over theological differences regarding homosexuality.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the fifth in a series of the top stories of each year since 2000. Look for the 2005 story of the year Saturday. In danger of losing its Balboa Peninsula church to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in a heated court battle, St. James Church is keeping its eyes on the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court could take up a similar court case of an Anglican Church in La Crescenta that raises questions about property rights and freedom of religion.

Xavier Alvarez, after being elected in 2007 to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in Pomona, introduced himself at his first board meeting as a wounded war veteran who had received the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest honor. But when it was discovered that Alvarez was never wounded in action, never awarded the Medal of Honor, and never served in the military, he was prosecuted and convicted under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 of a federal misdemeanor for falsely claiming to have received a U.S. military medal.

Re: “That’s Debatable, Jan. 28”: However regrettable, it is hardly surprising that Congressmen John Campbell and Dana Rohrabacher find the Supreme Court decision regarding campaign finance reform to their liking. Campbell supports it on a totally false premise that this was intended to bring equity to an imaginary imbalance between unions and corporations. He is either ill-informed or deliberately misleading. His statement unwittingly exposes his loyalties to big business and not to the fundamentals of a democratic form of government.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the fifth in a series of the top stories of each year since 2000. Look for the 2005 story of the year Saturday. In danger of losing its Balboa Peninsula church to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in a heated court battle, St. James Church is keeping its eyes on the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court could take up a similar court case of an Anglican Church in La Crescenta that raises questions about property rights and freedom of religion.

Deepa Bharath A Supreme Court decision on Thursday to strike down a California law that allows prosecution of old sex crimes may force the Orange County district attorney's office to drop its case against a former pastor of a Costa Mesa church accused of molesting a local boy about 25 years ago. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot retroactively erase statutes of limitations, a...

Deirdre Newman Orange County officials are celebrating because they won't have to absorb a loss of more than $400 million in past and future property tax revenue. The celebration is in response to the state Supreme Court's decision not to review a case originally brought by a Seal Beach couple who addressed how properties should be assessed after they decline in value and then rebound. The court decided on July 21 not to review the case by Robert Pool and Renee Bezaire.

Xavier Alvarez, after being elected in 2007 to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in Pomona, introduced himself at his first board meeting as a wounded war veteran who had received the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest honor. But when it was discovered that Alvarez was never wounded in action, never awarded the Medal of Honor, and never served in the military, he was prosecuted and convicted under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 of a federal misdemeanor for falsely claiming to have received a U.S. military medal.

Supporters of same-sex marriage called Tuesday's federal court ruling negating Proposition 8 a step in the right direction while opponents argued that the will of California voters should stand. "It is incredible, marvelous," Newport Beach Dr. Jorge Rodriguez said of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to overturn the proposition on constitutional grounds. "I'm really reminded of that Martin Luther King quote that I love: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'" Rodriguez, a Laguna Beach resident who works at Orange Coast Medical Group, said that as a doctor he sees health problems, including depression, in patients who do not feel validated.

SANTA ANA - Occupy Orange County took a different turn Friday for the two-year anniversary of theU.S. Supreme Courtruling involving Citizens United. They went for laughs. Still, the day in downtown Santa Ana was all about raising awareness of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the January 2010 decision that prohibited the government from limiting funds from independent parties, such as corporations and labor unions, for political purposes. "People driving by will hopefully see the signs saying, 'Corporations are not people,' and, 'Your voice should not equal a dollar bill,' and take that [message]

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.

The California Court of Appeal rejected a Newport Beach developer's request on Wednesday to rehear its case for why the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds should proceed. A three-judge panel dismissed Facilities Management West's claims that by plugging two holes perceived by the court in the current sale process, the state should be able to carry out the transaction. The court said those arguments were not made before, so they cannot be made now. "We still feel that these flaws that the court found, we disagree that the [state]

COSTA MESA — An appellate court ruling Tuesday blocked the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds to a private investment group. The decision all but kills the state's deal to sell its 150-acre property to Newport Beach-based Facilities Management West (FMW). Only a successful appeal to the state Supreme Court can revive the deal that's been a source of intense debate in Costa Mesa, home to the fairgrounds. "The court's decision today is a great victory for the residents of Orange County," said Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim)

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review a petition by the son of a former Orange County assistant sheriff and his accomplices to have their sexual assault convictions overturned and no longer have to register as sex offenders. Greg Haidl, 25, the son of former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, was convicted five years ago of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2002. Greg Haidl and his two accomplices, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both 25, were minors when they sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl while she was passed out on Haidl's pool table in his garage in Corona del Mar. The boys inserted a pool cue into her anus and her vagina, where they also inserted a Snapple bottle and lit cigarette, among other items.

For nearly 10 years, George and Sharlee McNamee have waged a legal battle against the state on their very own turf. Now, it appears that the Corona del Mar couple has finally lost the case against the California Coastal Commission, which pitted questions about rights of private property owners versus the public's right to beach access. Last week, the California Supreme Court turned down the McNamees' petition to review a lower court's decision in the drawn-out dispute over a picnic area owned by them next to Corona del Mar State Beach.

President Obama this week picked Elena Kagan to replace John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. With the imminent retirement of Stevens, who is a Protestant — and assuming that the Senate’s clears Kagan’s nomination — the high court bench for the first time would have no Protestants on it and would be comprised of six Catholics (Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence...