Court Ruling

Until last month, the strongest evidence in drug and drunk driving cases in courtrooms across the nation often was a piece of paper. A crime lab or Breathalyzer report would confirm that the defendant indeed had illegal drugs or a high level of alcohol in his or her system. But a Supreme Court decision has sent a jolt through that procedure. Now the prosecution must make a lab technician available to testify in person if the defendant demands it.

The California Supreme Court will reveal its decision on the fate of gay marriage Tuesday morning when it rules on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the court announced Friday. But even before the court acts, gay rights activists -- braced for defeat -- are preparing to use the occasion to jump-start the next political campaign for gay marriage, which could come in 2010. They are planning news conferences, vigils and marches from South Los Angeles to the Oregon border.

Cable TV providers cannot have exclusive rights to provide service in apartment buildings that they wire, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision by the Court of Appeals in Washington upholds a Federal Communications Commission ruling that banned the exclusive agreements as anti-competitive. The National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. and a pair of affiliated real estate groups sued, saying the FCC did not justify the change in policy or have the authority to regulate the deals.