IN THE NEWS

Tom Umberg: California’s fentanyl crisis demands a strong legislative response

107,500 people died last year of drug-related deaths — over 21,000 in California alone. Illegal drugs are now the number one cause of death for those between ages 24-45. To put that into perspective, more people died of drug-related deaths last year than the number of service members lost in the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. This is a level of death and destruction that should frighten every parent, teacher, health professional, cop and lawmaker.


Californians want to use Zoom for court appearances. Will lawmakers let them?

Each year, California lawmakers pass temporary extensions to COVID-era rules that allow people to attend court remotely via video conferencing services. One of the state’s most powerful unions has been a barrier to making the popular feature permanent.


LEGAL ETHICS California State Bar Proposes Rule Requiring Lawyers to Report Ethical Violations

In a move aimed at enhancing lawyer oversight and addressing concerns of professional misconduct, the State Bar of California’s board of trustees has voted in favor of a new ethics rule that would require lawyers to report fraudulent activities, misappropriation of funds, and other criminal acts committed by their fellow attorneys.


Sacramento Snapshot: Senate wants influencers who post for campaigns to disclose payments

Maybe you’ve scrolled through your Facebook feed during an election season and stumbled upon an influencer’s post encouraging you to get out the vote for a certain candidate. Or you’re on TikTok and the algorithm let through a celebrity’s snappy video advocating for a specific campaign.


Families who lost loved ones from fentanyl demand action

"Families who lost loved ones from Fentanyl..."


Fentanyl crisis: Should California throw the book at opioid dealers?

Bills proposed by Republican and moderate Democratic officials seeking to impose stricter penalties on fentanyl dealers have floundered as fractures emerge in the legislature


Advocates Rallying for California Voters to Decide Fate of Fentanyl Dealers

Frustrated by what they say is a lack of action in the California legislature, child advocates and parents of fentanyl victims are taking action of their own, and they tell the NBC4 I-Team they want active registered voters in California to help.


California Democrats spar over response to fentanyl crisis

After the California State Senate Public Safety Committee once again blocked a bill that would require courts to notify convicted fentanyl dealers they’re eligible for murder charges should they sell


Key Lawmaker Threatens to Eliminate State Bar Licensing Fees for 2024

The chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday threatened to nix the state bar’s authority to collect licensing fees in 2024 in response to damning reports documenting the influence Tom Girardi wielded at the agency that declined to discipline him for decades.


New push to force California lawyers to report misconduct by fellow attorneys

An influential Sacramento lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require California’s 266,000 lawyers to report misconduct by colleagues to the State Bar, the agency that regulates the legal profession.