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65-608: The Universal Life Church Monastery was founded in 1977 as an offshoot of the Universal Life Church . The church first established a website that allowed individuals to apply for ordination in 1995. Universal Life Church Monastery formally split from the Modesto -based Universal Life Church in 2006 following financial and legal disputes between the two bodies. Universal Life Church Monastery then began ordaining ministers through its own website. Universal Life Church Monastery's mantra

130-488: A notary public , justice of the peace , or marriage commissioner . The ULC has occasionally been criticized for its openness and ease of ordination. Some people, usually as a joke, submit ordination requests for their pets. The ULC has tried to curb the ordination of pets, but if the name on the application appears to be legitimate, the application will probably be granted. The ULC website warns against fraudulent ordination requests, including attempts to ordain pets: "No one

195-612: A complete codification, and statutes on subject matter inappropriate for the four codes were simply not codified. In 1929, the Legislature finally established the California Code Commission as a permanent government agency (it had previously existed only intermittently on an ad hoc temporary basis), and it spent the next thirty years slowly codifying the rest of the California Statutes. Upon completing this task in 1953,

260-479: A criminal or civil action generally cannot be cited in any other action in any California court. Because the state supreme court was extremely overloaded with cases during its first half-century (resulting in the creation of the Courts of Appeal in 1904), a few hundred minor opinions that should have been published simply were not. In response, a small group of lawyers later undertook the tedious task of plowing through

325-505: A new section between two existing sections on similar subject matter. For example, the summary judgment statute in California is Section 437c of the Code of Civil Procedure. But alphabetical letters are traditionally used in the U.S. to designate subsections of statutes. To avoid confusion as to whether one is citing section 437c (that is, the section with number 437c) or 437(c) (subsection (c) of

390-516: A party submits a request to that effect. Legal treatises are one of the most important sources of secondary authority about California law. These texts are expressly recognized as a source of 'unwritten law' by California's Code of Civil Procedure. The two most influential treatises are published by The Witkin Legal Institute Summary of California Law and The Rutter Group . Both are divided into discrete volumes about specific areas of

455-529: A powerful tradition of popular sovereignty , which is reflected in the frequent use of initiatives to amend the state constitution, as well as the former state constitutional requirement (repealed in 1966 and enacted as Government Code Section 100) that all government process shall be styled in the name of "the People of the State of California". (Government Code Section 100 also expressly states that sovereignty resides in

520-467: A process that usually requires years of seminary study". Law of California The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional , statutory , and regulatory law , as well as case law . The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the California Code of Regulations . The Constitution of California

585-616: A reasonably intelligent (and suspicious) person could be readily misled by the ULC into believing that by becoming a ULC minister he can legally perform marriages throughout the United States, and beyond." In Canada, ULC ministers are currently not authorized to solemnize marriage in any province or territory. In places where being a ULC minister does not legally authorize a person to solemnize marriages, ULC ministers intending to do so must also meet other requirements, which might include registering as

650-575: A religious affiliation for tax purposes, and whether ordinations legally permit recipients to perform weddings in various jurisdictions. Lewis notes that the American Internal Revenue Service has generally assumed a negative predisposition towards the ULC, and has sought to eliminate the organization's tax-exempt status. A number of legal cases have addressed this question, as well as the ordination question, with varying results. Four U.S. states expressly do not recognize ministers of

715-638: A rising interest in having friends or family officiate weddings, a trend which has attracted a range of celebrities to become ordained including Stevie Nicks , Adele , Benedict Cumberbatch , Ian McKellen , Conan O'Brien , and Steven Tyler . However, courts in Virginia have held that they will not recognize marriages solemnized by ULC ministers, while eight states have specifically held such marriages to be valid, these being Alabama , Indiana , Mississippi , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Texas , Utah , and Washington . The remainder have not addressed

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780-406: A variety of alternative solutions. Even when a prior legal decision does not create a binding precedent, the text of the court's opinion may still help lawyers and judges understand California law. Some types of prior decisions may be cited as non-binding authority in California courts, while others can only be consulted informally. The most powerful form of non-binding authority in California are

845-720: Is "We are all children of the same universe." It also has two core tenets: The monastery's stated mission is to ordain anyone regardless of their spiritual or religious denomination. As of 2019, the church had stated that it is almost finished renovating a physical building to serve as a house of worship, and conducts ordination through its website. According to the church, ordination allows its ministers to perform marriages, funerals, baptisms, and exorcisms. It provides ordination services free of charge. 47°34′44.79″N 122°20′10.26″W  /  47.5791083°N 122.3361833°W  / 47.5791083; -122.3361833 Universal Life Church The Universal Life Church ( ULC )

910-495: Is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley , under the doctrine: "Do that which is right". The Universal Life Church advocates for religious freedom , offering legal ordination to become a minister free of charge, to anyone who wishes to join. The ULC has ordained ministers from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, including atheists , Christians , Jews , Neopagans and Wiccans . The ULC's popularity stems in part from

975-493: Is compiled and edited by the California Reporter of Decisions . The Reporter maintains a contract with a private publisher (as allowed by Government Code Section 68903) who in turn is responsible for actually publishing and selling the official reporters. The current official publisher is LexisNexis . In addition to the official reporters, published California cases are also printed in two Thomson West unofficial reporters:

1040-592: Is not codified it does not exist), in contrast to the Federal Rules of Evidence , which has allowed a residual exception for continuous development of privileges under the common law. The huge concentration of celebrities in Hollywood has resulted in a large number of statutes custom-tailored to the needs of celebrities, such as the California Celebrities Rights Act , as well as the 1990 enactment of

1105-410: Is noted to have no medical or dietary restrictions , and no specific burial requirements . With respect to military service, the handbook notes that the ULC maintains no doctrinal opposition to military service , but "respects the individual opinion of its members". The legitimacy of ULC ordination has been challenged in legal venues, primarily with respect to the questions of whether it constitutes

1170-460: Is rejected because of their name, but we must protect the integrity of the records against those who fraudulently submit requests for pets, obscene names, etc. Applying for ordination in the name of a fictitious person or animal, or the submission of a person's name without his or her permission is fraud, and may subject you to prosecution!". In 2015, The New York Times wrote that the ULC "pumps out ordinations at an assembly-line pace, almost mocking

1235-511: Is renowned for its innovations in tort law, including strict liability for defective products , insurance bad faith , market-share liability , negligent infliction of emotional distress , and wrongful life . The California three strikes law (codified in the Penal Code) has resulted in severe penalties in some cases and has been somewhat controversial in its application. Proposition 13 , passed by California voters in 1978, created one of

1300-405: Is right". ... The Universal Life Church is open and accepting of people of all religions. It is opposed only to those religions that attempt to deny religious freedom. Any minister in the ULC can ordain new members. ... The Universal Life Church has no specific holidays , though local congregations celebrate a wide variety of them. There are two gatherings (conventions) each year in the spring and in

1365-431: Is that California is the only state that always precedes a citation to statute subsections with the word "subdivision" (abbreviated in some contexts to "subd."). The reason is that the Legislature often failed to leave gaps in the section numbering in the California codes for future expansion, and then occasionally resorted to the shortsighted technique of appending an alphabetical letter to a section number in order to insert

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1430-549: Is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted within the California Statutes , which in turn have been codified into the 29 California Codes . State agencies promulgate regulations with the California Regulatory Notice Register , which are in turn codified in the California Code of Regulations . California's legal system is based on common law , which is interpreted by case law through

1495-780: Is the supreme law of the land. Pursuant to the state constitution, the California State Legislature and the Governor have enacted the California Statutes , which in turn have been codified into the 29 California Codes . The first four codes, enacted in 1872, were the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Penal Code, and the Political Code (which much later would become the Elections Code). However, these did not constitute

1560-563: Is unusual in that like Texas and New York, and unlike 46 other states, it has separate subject-specific codes rather than a single code divided into numbered titles. (Louisiana is a hybrid that uses both.) During the state's first century, the California Legislature was rather sloppy in drafting statutes. This has resulted in two bizarre anomalies in California statutory law. First, some acts are designated as "Acts" and others are designated as "Laws", with no coherent distinction between

1625-614: The Baltimore Sun , 43% of couples in the U.S. in 2016 chose to have a friend or family member officiate their wedding, up from 29% in 2009. Another example of a person becoming ordained through ULC in order to perform a religious ritual is that of a Native American in Cincinnati , Ohio , who needed such an affiliation to perform smudging ceremonies as part of the prayer ritual for other Native Americans in area hospitals. Following Kirby Hensley's death in 1999, an organizational split led to

1690-513: The California Code of Regulations (CCR) and carry the force of law to the extent they do not conflict with any statutes or the state or federal Constitutions. Pursuant to the California Administrative Procedure Act , a "Notice of Proposed Action" is published in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Notice Register) and at least 45 days are required for public hearings and comment before being reviewed and approved by

1755-874: The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and codified in the CCR. The Judicial Council of California has also promulgated the California Rules of Court, which includes such publications as the Standards of Judicial Administration and the Ethics Standards for Neutral Arbitrators in Contractual Arbitrations, under the authority of article VI, section 6, of the Constitution of California. California has several different types of local governments throughout

1820-576: The Judicial Council of California identifies a significant defect in California civil procedure, it must lobby the Legislature and the Governor to change the statutes, rather than merely promulgating a simple rule change. This can be problematic as even noncontroversial technical amendments may be stalled due to unrelated disputes between the Legislature and Governor. A recent example is the California Electronic Discovery Act, which

1885-761: The decisions of the Supreme Court of California , California Courts of Appeal , and Appellate Divisions of the Superior Courts of California , and published in the California Reports , California Appellate Reports , and California Appellate Reports Supplement , respectively (among others). Counties and incorporated cities may promulgate local ordinances which are usually codified in county or city codes, respectively. There are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify

1950-505: The "Life Church" in Modesto, California . He first held services in his garage, and incorporated the organization in 1962. The ULC began issuing mail-order ordinations shortly after its incorporation. The church's growth was affected in part by social movements; during the Vietnam War , a widely circulated rumor claimed that ordination would qualify one for a legal exemption from the draft . Ordination requests increased dramatically, but

2015-715: The Code Commission was replaced by the California Law Revision Commission . Strangely, although there is a Code of Civil Procedure, there was never a Code of Criminal Procedure; California's law of criminal procedure is codified in Part 2 of the Penal Code. The newest code is the Family Code, which was split off from the Civil Code in 1994. Pursuant to certain broadly worded statutes, state agencies have promulgated an enormous body of regulations, which are codified in

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2080-423: The Constitution of the United States, or the Constitution or laws of this State, is the rule of decision in all the courts of this State." This statute was signed into law on April 13, 1850, after several months of debate over whether California should adopt common law, civil law , or a hybrid of both. Governor Peter Hardeman Burnett touched off the debate by recommending to California's first state legislature that

2145-636: The Judiciary Committee in its report to the Senate in February 1850. All statutes, regulations, and ordinances are subject to judicial review . They can be overturned by any state court of record if they impermissibly amend an initiative statute, are unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution or the California Constitution, or be overturned by a federal court if they are unconstitutional under

2210-640: The U.S. Constitution. Pursuant to common law tradition, the courts of California have developed a large body of case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court of California and the California Courts of Appeal . The state supreme court's decisions are published in official reporters known as California Reports . The decisions of the Courts of Appeal are published in the California Appellate Reports . Both official reporters are now in their fourth series. The content of both reporters

2275-451: The ULC "has a very loose structure", with those ordained being given "a set of instructions on how to form a congregation", but otherwise operating with complete autonomy. It further notes that those ordained "may perform any of the functions normally associated with the clergy, including the conducting of weddings, funerals, etc.", and that "[g]roup worship is not required, but local congregations are required to hold regular meetings". The ULC

2340-570: The ULC for a free-will offering of twenty dollars, including "ten free lessons explaining how to set up a church". By 1974, the church had ordained over 1 million ministers. Also in 1974, a federal judge declared that the ULC was qualified for a religious tax exemption. The Universal Life Church ran into difficulties as new branches of the ULC were granted charters and began moving off in different directions. The Modesto group struggled to maintain control over these other entities as ULC affiliates grew in number. There are multiple groups operating under

2405-505: The ULC issued more than 18 million ordinations worldwide. A large number of people seeking ULC ordination do so in order to be able to legally officiate at weddings or perform other spiritual rites. A 2007 article noted that "[a]bout 70 percent of people who become ordained through the Universal Life Church do so... to officiate at weddings". According to a 2016 internal survey conducted by wedding website The Knot and reported by

2470-589: The ULC name, most of which are unaffiliated in practice. During this period, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) became suspicious about tax avoidance efforts within the church, eventually determining that Hensley, the Modesto ULC, and affiliated churches chartered under its name were promoting tax avoidance schemes within church periodicals. As a result, the IRS withdrew ULC Modesto's tax-exempt status in 1984. Over

2535-551: The United States Supreme Court. Unpublished decisions from California courts are also an important source of information about state law, even though they cannot be cited in future cases. Technically, the Court of Appeal is obligated to publish any opinion that materially contributes to the development of California caselaw, but this rule is not strictly followed, and the Court of Appeal often fails to publish opinions until

2600-470: The Universal Life Church as wedding celebrants, and in jurisdictions in which Universal Life Church ministers are not authorized to solemnize marriages, the solemnization of a marriage by a minister of the Universal Life Church (who is not otherwise authorized) may result in questioning of the validity of the marriage. Professor Robert Rains, writing in the University of Miami Law Review , has warned that "even

2665-521: The appellate divisions of the superior courts (which hear appeals from infractions, misdemeanors, and "limited civil" cases) occasionally certify opinions for publication, which appear in a "Supplement" to the California Appellate Reports . The California Court Case Management System (CCMS) is the court case management and electronic court filing (e-filing) system intended for use by the several courts, though development has been stalled since 2012. Since then, all courts not yet on CCMS have resorted to

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2730-683: The celebrities whose marital disputes were litigated before the Supreme Court of California. Celebrities' spouses often attempt to establish California jurisdiction over marital disputes, since the state's community property system (under which a 50/50 split of marital assets is strictly mandated by statute) is more favorable to the noncelebrity spouse who earned less during the marriage than the celebrity spouse. The widespread distribution of Hollywood motion pictures and television shows has given millions of media consumers worldwide some degree of superficial familiarity with California law. For example,

2795-671: The creation of the ULC Monastery (ULCM, also using the name Universal Life Church Ministries; now based in Seattle ), which remains unaffiliated with the Modesto group. The ULCM formally split from the ULC in 2006 following financial, legal, and philosophical disputes between the two bodies and began ordaining ministers independently. The U.S. Department of the Army publication, Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains , summarized

2860-510: The doctrines of the ULC as follows: The Universal Life Church has only one belief. They believe in that which is right and in every person's right to interpret what is right. The Universal Life Church has no creed or authoritative book such as a Bible. Those wishing to learn about the Church can obtain its periodical Universal Life and other materials that it publishes from its international headquarters. No specific ethical guidelines except to do "what

2925-558: The fall, at which the members and ministers meet for celebration and to conduct business. According to Lewis, Hensley personally believed in reincarnation , in a merely human Jesus , and "in the reunification of all religions and governments under the Universal Life banner during thirty years of turmoil around the year 2000"; however, none of these beliefs were doctrinal to the ULC, which allowed members to follow their own doctrines. The U.S. Army's Handbook for Chaplains also notes that

2990-504: The first anti- stalking law anywhere in the United States (which inspired the enactment of similar laws across the country). Celebrities' marital problems (and their ability to pay to litigate them thoroughly) have resulted in a very detailed Family Code, a rich corpus of family case law, and a large number of family law specialists officially certified by the State Bar of California. Lee Marvin , Barry Bonds , and Frankie Valli are among

3055-435: The first in the United States to begin carving out exceptions to at-will employment , in 1959. The California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Sec. 21000, et seq. ) (CEQA) has far more lenient standing requirements than the federal National Environmental Policy Act , with the result that it is much easier for California landowners to sue each other than comparable landowners in other states. California

3120-548: The issue. The Universal Life Church was founded by Kirby J. Hensley , "a self-educated Baptist minister who was deeply influenced by his reading in world religion ". Religious scholar James R. Lewis wrote that Hensley "began to conceive of a church that would, on the one hand, offer complete freedom of religion , and could, on the other hand, bring all people of all religions together, instead of separating them". With this aim, he established "a new religion that would emphasize what all religions have in common", creating in 1959

3185-421: The law, and each of the volumes is authored by a panel of judges and lawyers with special expertise in the particular topic. Collectively, these volumes have been cited thousands of times in judicial opinions. Because California law is enormous, it is necessary to focus only on a few features which are unique to California law, when compared to the laws of its sister states as well as federal law. California has

3250-522: The majority of states, contract law is fully codified in the Civil Code (which even includes details such as a definition of consideration ). However, the Restatement of Contracts (Second) is also used by California courts. Non-compete clauses are automatically void except for a small number of exceptions. Evidence privileges are fully codified in the California Evidence Code (meaning if it

3315-538: The next 16 years, Hensley and his family battled the IRS in court over disputed tax payments. The matter was eventually settled in 2000 when the Modesto group agreed to pay $ 1.5 million in back taxes. By 1999, the ULC had begun offering ordinations online. News coverage about journalists and celebrities getting ordained to perform weddings helped boost the popularity of online ordination. As more people became aware of non-traditional officiants presiding over wedding ceremonies, ULC membership rolls rose. Between 1962 and 2008,

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3380-401: The ordinances are misdemeanor crimes, unless otherwise specified as infractions . California's legal system is based on common law . Like all U.S. states except Louisiana , California has a reception statute providing for the "reception" of English law . California Civil Code Section 22.2 is as follows: "The common law of England, so far as it is not repugnant to or inconsistent with

3445-722: The out-of-state decisions disagree with one another. However, this occurs less in California than in smaller jurisdictions, because the state's tremendous size guarantees that most legal issues have already been decided by some prior California court. Decisions from federal courts are also frequently cited as a source of persuasive authority about California law, even by the California Supreme Court. Although California courts have no obligation to follow federal precedents about matters of state law, they generally follow federal decisions on issues of federal law, even though they are only required to do so when an issue has been settled by

3510-585: The people. ) This means that all criminal prosecutions and all enacted laws are done in the name of "the People", rather than "the State" or "the Commonwealth" as in much of the United States. The preambles of the state's two open meeting laws, the Brown Act and the Bagley-Keene Act , both contain the sentence: "The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them." California

3575-439: The portions of appellate opinions known as dicta , in which a court discusses legal issues that it is not obligated to decide in the case before it. Dicta from the California Supreme Court is entitled to great weight, and the Court of Appeal rarely exercises its power to disregard the high court's gratuitous statements about California law. Cases from other states are often cited in California appellate opinions, particularly when

3640-516: The regional Pacific Reporter and the state-specific California Reporter (both now in their third series). All Supreme Court decisions are published, but less than 10% of Court of Appeal decisions are published. "Unpublished" decisions handed down after 1980 are generally available through the LexisNexis and Westlaw databases, but are useful only for academic researchers or as an aid in finding relevant published decisions. An unpublished decision in

3705-568: The rumor proved to be false. The ULC and its founder, Hensley, were also featured in several publications during this time, including Rolling Stone , which further increased public awareness of the church. In the late 1960s, Hensley "became something of a folk hero among the young", particularly with college students, whom he would mass-ordain at speaking events. In accordance with the Law of California that exempts religious schools from accreditation, he offered an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from

3770-420: The section numbered 437), the "subdivision" prefix must be used when citing any subsection of all California statutes. Similar to New York, but unlike most other states and the federal judiciary, nearly all of California civil procedure law is located in the Code of Civil Procedure (a statute) rather than in the California Rules of Court (a set of regulations promulgated by the judiciary). Therefore, whenever

3835-567: The section numbers of the California Penal Code have become familiar to viewers around the world. Section 187 (murder) is probably the most well-known. The Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act are among the most powerful civil rights laws in the United States. Both offer much broader coverage and more generous remedies than their federal equivalents. California appellate courts were

3900-482: The state archives to recover and compile such opinions, which were published in a separate reporter called California Unreported Cases starting in 1913. Despite the reporter's name, those decisions are also citable as precedent, since they would have been published but for the court's severely disorganized condition at the time they were issued. The orders and decisions of the Superior Courts of California in their capacity as trial courts are never published. However,

3965-469: The state of the law. These include opinions by federal courts on state law, and opinions of other state courts on relevant issues. The foremost source of state law is the Constitution of California , which like other state constitutions derives its power and legitimacy from the sovereignty of the people . The California Constitution in turn is subordinate to the Constitution of the United States , which

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4030-405: The state should borrow Louisiana's Civil Code and Code of Practice (that state's name for a code of civil procedure) and use the common law for everything else. A minority of lawyers led by John W. Dwinelle wanted to adopt the civil law, but the majority of lawyers and Senate Judiciary Committee chair Elisha Oscar Crosby wanted to adopt the common law, and the latter position was duly adopted by

4095-973: The state. California is divided into 58 counties , including San Francisco (a consolidated city–county with the powers of both types of entities) and municipal areas incorporated as cities . All of the state's territory is within one of the counties, but not all of it is within the boundaries of a city; the areas not under city control are called unincorporated areas and are directly managed by county governments. School districts , which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts , which include municipal utility districts , transit districts , vector control districts, and geologic hazard abatement districts. Counties and incorporated cities may promulgate ordinances which are usually codified in county codes and city codes, respectively. Every act prohibited or declared unlawful, and every failure to perform an act required, by

4160-540: The two. A typical example of this problem was in California consumer law, where an injured consumer previously could attempt to sue on behalf of all similarly injured consumers under the Unfair Competition Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act until 2004 when voters enacted Proposition 64 requiring the person filing suit to claim to be aggrieved by the alleged violation(s). The second oddity

4225-470: Was vetoed in October 2008 (along with many other bills) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger simply as his expression of disgust with the Legislature's inability to fix the state's dysfunctional budget, rather than because of any substantive defect in the bill itself. The Electronic Discovery Act had to be reintroduced in the next legislative session and was finally signed by the Governor on June 29, 2009. Unlike

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