Published Articles
Every day local governments in California must manage numerous emerging legal issues, as well as carry on the business of operating their cities, counties, districts, and other agencies. One of the ways our attorneys provide superior value is by authoring articles to provide context and insightful analysis on a wide-range of critical issues impacting public agencies today.
Navigating CEQA guidelines and regulating greenhouse gas emissions, addressing ethics and transparency in government, discussing methods to reduce gang violence to make communities safer, and identifying how employers can ensure compliance with labor and employment laws to avoid penalties are a few examples of recently published articles written by our attorneys.
If you work for a newspaper or magazine and would like one of our attorneys to write an article for your periodical, please contact our media relations coordinator Britt Strottman at 510.808.2000 or bstrottman@meyersnave.com. Ms. Strottman is a practicing attorney and formerly worked with the public relations firm, VPG LLP.
Some of our most recent articles are presented below grouped by their practice area. Older articles are available in the Archives, which can be accessed via the links in the left column.
Civil Gang Injunctions: What Can They do for Your City?
Civil gang injunctions are public nuisance actions that city attorneys or district attorneys bring in civil court to curb and disrupt gang-related criminal and noncriminal activities. Cities seek gang injunctions to intervene in, prevent and suppress gang activity in an affected neighborhood. Typically, gang injunctions not only prohibit already illegal activities but also impose restrictions on behavior of gang members that could lead to criminal acts, such as displaying gang colors or symbols or associating in public with other gang members.
San Francisco Chief Orders Cops to Follow Local, not FBI, Guidelines
SAN FRANCISCO - Speaking at a special joint meeting of the San Francisco Police Commission and the Human Rights Commission on Wednesday evening, Police Chief Gregory Suhr issued an order intended to clarify the partnership between the San Francisco Police Department and the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force.
State Retirement Funds Pulled From Iran - Meyers Nave Attorney Michael Sweet Quoted
Nearly four years after the California Assembly ordered the state’s largest public pension fund to divest from companies doing business with Iran, divestment supporters can finally utter the words “mission accomplished.”
Labor and Employment
Public Records Act Requires Disclosure of County Retiree Pension Information
In May 2011, a Court of Appeal clarified for the first time that, like public employee salaries, county retiree names and pension amounts are public records subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
Fixing the Pension Problem: The Latest Public Scrutiny of Public Sector Wage and Benefit Packages
Amidst high-profile scandals and a lagging economy, public sector wage and benefit packages are coming under ever-increasing scrutiny. Overly-optimistic investment forecasts and questionable planning led to long term labor contract commitments that have become unsustainable. Some jurisdictions estimate unfunded liabilities in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Litigation
U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Police Officers are Justified in a Warrantless Entry When Woman Flees Inside After Being Asked Whether She Owns a Gun
Plaintiffs brought an action against police officers under 42 U.S.C. §1983 alleging that the officers violated their Fourth Amendment rights by entering their home without a search warrant. In a closely-watched decision, the U.S.
Legal Immunity: How Court Ruling Impacts Departments
Fire departments are now not liable for injuries caused by vehicles at the scene of a fire in Calif.
Municipal Debt Restructuring and Bankruptcy
Local Governments Need Bankruptcy Option
By Michael A. Sweet & Max Neiman
Local government bankruptcies are rare. Nevertheless, some public employee organizations aim to make the local government bankruptcy option nearly impossible, as evidenced by AB 506. This bill would require a tortuous process before a municipality could even file for federal bankruptcy protection. Other large, complex states, notably New York, Texas and Florida, do not hem in their local governments in anything like the way AB 506 threatens to do.
