“California Supreme Court In 2015: A Year In Transition”

After presenting a webinar early last year about what to expect from the Supreme Court in 2015, veteran appellate lawyer Kirk Jenkins gives a comprehensive statistical wrap up in Law360 [subscription].  His conclusions:  “(1) the court continues to have a strong interest in government and administrative law; (2) although unanimity at the Court of Appeal is not fatal to one’s chances of persuading the Supreme Court to grant review, an unpublished appellate decision very nearly is; (3) both the court’s unanimity rate and its reversal rate may be edging upward; (4) there is significant evidence that the court may be taking a more liberal approach in criminal law; and (5) although the margin for error for civil defense counsel may have decreased with the retirement of two Republican justices, there remains a viable center on the court, consisting of the chief justice and Justices Corrigan, Chin and Werdegar.”