Senators Thursday unanimously agreed to a debate and vote on May 7 on the nomination of U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen of the Central District of California to the Court of Appeals. The president nominated Nguyen on Sept. 22 to the open seat on the court, and the Judiciary Committee reported her nomination without objection on Dec. 1.

Nguyen was unanimously rated “qualified” by the American Bar Association’s evaluating committee.

The Judiciary Committee on Feb. 2 approved the nomination of Los Angeles attorney Paul J. Watford, who was nominated Oct. 17 for the vacancy created by the death of Judge Pamela Ann Rymer Sept. 21. Watford was unanimously rated “well qualified” by the ABA.

The committee on March 1 favorably reported the nomination of Andrew Hurwitz, vice chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, to succeed Judge Mary M. Schroeder, who took senior status at the end of last year. Hurwitz was nominated on Nov. 2 Hurwitz received a unanimous rating of “well qualified” from the ABA.

There is no nomination pending for the seat of Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004.

The president on April 25 nominated Jesus G. Bernal, deputy federal public defender in charge of the Riverside office, to succeed Judge Stephen G. Larson, who resigned Nov. 2, 2009 to join the law firm of Girardi | Keese. He subsequently joined the firm of Arent Fox LLP.

Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank took senior status March 1. Another vacancy will occur if Judge Jacqueline Nguyen is confirmed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

There are no vacancies.

There are 16 vacancies on the court, all caused by retirements.

Judge Andrew Kauffman retired May 15 of last year, Judge William Birney July 7, Judge John Shook July 15, Judge Martha Bellinger July 31, Judge Judith Champagne Sept. 1, Judge Michael Latin Sept. 5, Judge Maral Injejikian Sept. 6, Judge Peter D. Lichtman Oct. 31, Judge Rita Baird Dec. 30, and Judge Burt Pines Dec. 31.

Judge Marjorie Steinberg retired Feb. 14 of this year, Judge Jacqueline Connor Feb. 24, Judge Carl J. West Feb. 29, Judge Gary Hahn March 7, Judge Rose Hom March 27, and Judge Anita Dymant April 10.

Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani, who was originally scheduled to retire April 27, has postponed her departure until May 11.

Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to the court are Pasadena lawyer C. Virginia Keeny; Irvine attorney James L. Crandall, Deputy County Counsel Julie Ann Silva; Deputy Public Defenders Enrique Monguia, Lee W. Tsao and Johan ElFarrah; Deputy District Attorneys Kathleen Tuttle, Brentford Ferreira and Debra Cole; Montebello attorney and school board member Edwin Chau, who is also running for the state Assembly; Los Angeles attorney Douglas W. Stern; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Court of Appeal staff attorneys Kenneth E. Roberson and Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Lori Behar, Dennis Mulcahy and Kenneth Taylor; Los Angeles attorney Angel Navarro; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.

The Legislature took the following action on bills of interest to the legal community in April.

•AB 2043, by Assemblyman Donald Wagner, R-Irvine, which would allow a defendant to appeal an order denying class certification, at the discretion of the Court of Appeal, and would specify various factors the court would be required to consider in determining whether to allow the appeal. The bill failed passage in the Judiciary Committee April 24 by a vote of 3-7.

•AB 2381, by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, which would extend collective bargaining rights to employees of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 26 by a vote of 4-2.

•AB 2466, by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Van Nuys, which would allow a court to order the preservation of the assets and property by persons charged with human trafficking. The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee April 24 in a 10-0 vote.

•AB 2501, by Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, which would require that all state agencies, including the judiciary, relocate their principal headquarters to the capital by 2025. The legislation would also provide that, beginning in that year, “the Supreme Court shall only hear cases in the Sacramento metropolitan area.” The bill failed passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee April 24.

•SB 1133, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, would prevent persons convicted of sex trafficking minors from retaining any financial benefits from their participation in this crime. The bill authorizes the forfeiture of defendant property upon proof of only one instance of sex trafficking of a minor, as opposed to more than one instance under current law. The bill also expands the scope of property subject to forfeiture and provides a formula to redirect these resources to organizations that provide treatment and services for victims of human trafficking. It passed the Senate Public Safety Committee April 24 on a 7 to 0 vote.

•SB 1186, by Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, which would establish notice requirements for an alleged aggrieved party to follow before bringing an action against a business for an alleged violation of the disability access laws, and would require that the responsible party be allowed 90 days to fix the violation before the aggrieved party could file a treble-damage suit as permitted by existing law. The author reported this month that the bill will be heard by the Judiciary Committee May 9.