SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A double murderer whose case became part of California's renewed debate over capital punishment died Wednesday in a hospital long before his death sentence could be...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The death penalty system in the nation's most populous state is dysfunctional and expensive, and a ballot measure approved by voters to speed up executions will not make it...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California Supreme Court justices on Wednesday peppered an attorney representing state workers with tough questions in a closely watched lawsuit over a change to public employee pensions that has the potential to upend California's long-held rule that retirement benefits can never be taken away once promised.

The case stems from a 2012 pension reform law backed by Gov. Jerry Brown that sought to rein in costs and end practices viewed as abuses of the system.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit Thursday that sought to block an unusual law requiring new models of semi-automatic handguns to stamp identifying information on bullet casings when shots are fired to make it easier to solve crimes.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A divided California Supreme Court on Monday struck down sentences that fail to give juveniles a chance at parole for 50 years or more for crimes other than homicide, saying such punishments are unconstitutional because they don't recognize the defendant's youth and ability to change.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Goodwin Liu joined the seven-member California Supreme Court in 2011, he became its fourth sitting member of Asian descent. The number is remarkable.

The other state supreme courts in the U.S. combined have a handful of Asian-American justices. And Asian-American representation on other state courts, the federal bench and among the country's top prosecutors is similarly scant.