I have been asked what are the most important appellate decisions of 2023, either in Federal or California courts.
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard held equal protection under the law prohibits racial preferences in university and graduate school admissions. To learn more, please see our discussion of Justice Thomas' concurrence, which focuses on the history of racial equality (and inequality) in our country as he writes in support of the majority.
California Opinions of 2023
Choosing just one California opinion is difficult because 2023 has perhaps had fewer blockbuster opinions from the California Supreme Court than in prior years. Therefore, the answer lies in choosing an opinion that may have the most import for future legal disputes, not only in California but in other jurisdictions as well. We have therefore chosen the Fourth District, Division Three opinion holding a website is not a "public place" for purposes of disability access, as this opinion is important to attempts to define the scope of a digital "place."
As we explained in a prior post, Acting Presiding Justice Sanchez wrote for the majority in Martin v. Thi E-Commerice, and interpreted the phrase "place of public accommodation" as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The majority thus held the wording of the act excluded websites that have no relation to a physical location. Consequently, a website not required for entrance to a location (in contrast to a website which, for example, might be used to make reservations for an actual physical location) is not subject to the provisions of the ADA as "the ADA unambiguously requires [such] a physical location." (Martin, p. 2.)
Please let us know if you have a contrary opinion as to the most important decisions of 2023.
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