Bench & Bar: May 14, 2026

In This Episode

Courts Ordered to Police AI Without a Budget
William Slomanson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Thomas Jefferson School of Law

In re Domestic Partnership of Campos and Munoz put the problem in sharp relief: California's 4th District reversed a court order built on hallucinated AI citations. Standard 10.80b3 now requires judicial officers to verify AI-generated material -- but no funding or staffing has followed. SB 574 extends parallel restrictions to arbitrators. For attorneys relying on AI-assisted research, the verification obligation now runs both ways.

The Going and Coming Rule When an Employee Has a Hybrid Work Schedule
Michael E. Rubinstein, Law Office of Michael E. Rubinstein

Chang v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group confirms that a hybrid schedule doesn't suspend the going-and-coming rule. A standing calendar entry and pre-collision texts with coworkers weren't enough to bring a physician's personal errand within course and scope of employment. Chang is reliable precedent for employers' counsel -- if the evidentiary record is locked down early.

LA's Perfect Storm of Deferred Maintenance, Crumbling Infrastructure and Stolen Copper Wire
Jason Javaheri, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, J&Y Law; Parham Nikfarjam, Senior Trial Attorney, J&Y Law

Los Angeles is simultaneously funding Willits settlement repairs and absorbing claims tied to conditions those repairs haven't reached. Copper theft now drives 40% of streetlight outages, some lasting more than a year. For attorneys litigating against the city, the structural conditions generating claims aren't resolving -- they're accumulating.

Read all three columns and browse the full Perspectives section at dailyjournal.com.