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At the Lectern

Unpublished-opinion-citation rule proposal still percolating

July 6, 2026

In February, the Supreme Court invited comments on changes it proposes for rule 8.1115 that would expand a bit the allowable citation of unpublished opinions.  At the time, we wrote about the proposal and suggested some tweaking.

The court’s invitation stated a March 25 due date for comments and listed July 1 as the “proposed effective date” for the rules changes.

The effective date is getting pushed back.  A court spokesperson last week said “the matter remains under consideration by the court.”  It looks like, as with certain legal issues, the court is letting the rules proposal percolate a bit.  (See:  Wait for it: issue percolation, right vehicles, and legislative inaction.)

These changes would be made by the court itself instead of by the Judicial Council, which is in charge of most rules, because article VI, section 14, of the California Constitution gives the court jurisdiction over the publication of appellate opinions.

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