I thought judges were to rule based upon the law, not likelyhood. Oh, foolish me.
Like most reporting on legal matters, the article is not very informative. Sounds like it was discovery or injunctive proceedings requiring the production of the emails. Articulation of the standard for ruling on these interim orders is correct. In CA state court the formulation would be “reasonable likelihood of prevailing on the merits.”
The judge is “Likely” a commie!