The following cases are examples of Jonathan’s past work:

Obtained a California Supreme Court decision holding that the California Department of Forestry’s approval of a plan to log vast portions of California’s redwood forests violated the California Forest Practice Act’s requirements for a sustainable yield plan.

Obtained a California Court of Appeal decision holding Amazon.com responsible for sales on its website of so-called skin whitening creams that contain mercury. Learn more about Lee v. Amazon.com Inc. (PDF)

Secured the use of early voting in the November 2008 election in the predominantly African-American and Latino communities of Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago, Indiana.

Obtained a Fifth Circuit decision invalidating portions of three Houston ordinances that restricted the right to protest via parades, public gatherings in public parks, and the use of sound amplification equipment.

Represented University of California students in two class actions, which each resulted in multi-million dollar awards against the University for improperly raising student fees.

Argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in a National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Air Act challenge to pollution from cross-border trucking.

Obtained an affirmance from the Ninth Circuit of a dismissal for lack of federal jurisdiction of an oil company’s defamation action against Communities for a Better Environment, which had engaged in free speech about air pollution issues.

Prevented enforcement of an unconstitutional state statute that would have permitted incarceration of non-violent drug offenders contrary to California Proposition 36, which requires probation and drug treatment.

Prevented the federal government from violating the First Amendment by revoking or threatening to revoke the prescription drug licenses of California physicians on the basis of their confidential communications with their seriously ill patients regarding medical marijuana.

Represented the County of Santa Clara in intervening to defend against the State of Alabama’s attempt to prevent the 2020 Census from counting undocumented immigrants.

Obtained court-ordered changes to the wording of a local ballot initiative.

Represented the California Reinvestment Coalition in obtaining a $100 million settlement with a bank that the Department of Housing and Urban Development approved.

The appellate cases Jonathan has argued include:

• Lee v. Amazon.com, Inc., 76 Cal.App.5th 200 (Cal.App. 2022)
• Service Employees Intern. Union, Local 5 v. City of Houston, 595 F.3d 588 (5th Cir. 2010)
• EPIC v. California Dep’t of Forestry and Fire Protection, 190 Cal.App.4th 217 (Cal.App. 2010)
• Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. v. Napolitano, 558 F.3d 856 (9th Cir. 2009)
• Curley v. Lake County Bd. of Elections and Registration, 896 N.E.2d 24 (Ind. App. 2008)
• EPIC v. California Dep’t of Forestry & Fire Protection, 44 Cal.4th 459 (Cal. 2008)
• AFL-CIO v. Hood, 885 So.2d 373 (Fla. 2004)
• Dep’t of Transportation v. Public Citizen, 541 U.S. 752 (2004)
• Public Citizen v. Dep’t of Transportation, 316 F.3d 1002 (9th Cir. 2003)
• Service Employees International Union v. Superior Court, 89 Cal.App.4th 1390 (2001)
• Tosco Corp. v. Communities for a Better Environment, 236 F.3d 495 (9th Cir. 2001)