Jonathan Friedman used the phrase “unpublished opinion” to describe the decision of the California Appellate court awarding $45,000 against the City of Malibu. The use of the term “unpublished” is a misnomer. The opinion is in fact published on the court’s own website.
Such an opinion should be described as “unmentionable” in any other court action for any reason pursuant to Court Rule 977. Labeling such opinions in that way would alert the public that now 93% of appellate opinions are unmentionable in the courts of California and that the making of precedent no longer exerts any control on decisions of our appellate courts. The operation of our judiciary is now a far cry from what we learned in civics.
More information about this very serious issue can be found at www.nonpublication.com.
Kenneth J. Schimer