There is one vacancy, in the seat of Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004. Judge Raymond Fisher is taking senior status April 1.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Beverly R. O’Connell was confirmed by the U.S. Senate April 15 to succeed Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank, who took senior status March 1 of last year. O’Connell was originally nominated Nov. 14 of last year and her confirmation hearing was held Dec. 12.

The nomination had to be resubmitted Jan. 4 because it was returned to the president when Congress adjourned at the beginning of the year. O’Connell was rated “exceptionally well qualified,” the highest possible rating, by the American Bar Association.

There are no vacancies.

There are vacancies in the seats last held by Judge Rita Baird, who retired Dec. 30, 2011, and by seven judges who retired last year—Carl J. West, who stepped down Feb. 29; Gary Hahn, whose retirement was effective March 7; Rose Hom, who left office March 27, Joan Comparet-Cassani, who last day in office was May 11; Gary E. Daigh, who retired July 16; Lyle McKenzie Jr., who retired Sept. 8; and Charles Sheldon, whose last official workday was Nov. 21.

Judges who have retired this year include Joseph DeVanon Feb. 1, Phillip Hickok Feb. 4, Jan Greenberg Levine Feb. 13, Dudley Gray Feb. 19, Peter Meeka March 29, Richard Adler April 1, Stephanie Sautner and Linda K. Lefkowitz April 5, and Diane Wheatley April 16.

Judge John Reid is retiring June 2. Judge Dewey L. Falcone is retiring but does not have an official date.
Judge Edward Ferns is sitting on assignment in Div. Two of this district’s Court of Appeal and Judge Rex Heeseman in Div. Three through the end of May. Judge Brian Hoffstadt is sitting on assignment in Div. Six through the end of June.

Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible judicial appointees to the court are State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn, Deputy Alternate Public Defender Beverly Bourne; Superior Court Commissioners Robert Kawahara, Alan Rubin, Emma Castro, Jane Godfrey, Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, David Cowan, Lloyd Loomis, Dennis Mulcahy and Kenneth Taylor; Referee Terry Truong; 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 and Brentford Ferreira; Los Angeles attorney Douglas W. Stern; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Court of Appeal staff attorneys Kenneth E. Roberson and Kim Nguyen; Los Angeles attorneys Timothy Martella and Angel Navarro; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.

The name of Ed Chau was sent to the commission prior to his election to the state Assembly.

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

•AB 65, by Assemblymembers Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, and Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Los Angeles, which would extend the rape-by-impersonation statute to include one who deceives the victim into believing the defendant is the victim’s fiancé, fiancée, or cohabitant. As amended Feb. 20 and Feb. 25, the bill would extend to certain other sex crimes. The bill passed the Assembly April 18 by a vote of 76-0.

•AB 134, by Assemblymember Dan Logue, R-Chico, which would amend the California Public Records Act to exempt from mandated disclosure the names, home addresses, and telephone numbers of applicants for firearms licenses. The bill was amended in the Assembly April 10 and April 17 re-referred to the Judiciary Committee, where an April 23 hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 140, by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, which would supplement the definition of “undue influence” in both the Probate Code and the criminal elder abuse statutes. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 2 by a vote of 7-2, and was amended in the Assembly April 10 and re-referred to the Committee on Aging and Long Term Care, which passed it April 23 by a vote of 4-0.

•AB 157, by Assemblymember Nora Campos, D-San Jose, which would allow a court issuing a protective order against domestic violence or harassment to include a provision barring the defendant from impersonating the plaintiff. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee April 2 by a vote of 9-0, was amended April 8, and was approved by the Appropriations Committee April 17 by a vote of 17-0. As amended April 22, the bill would not become operative until July 1, 2014.

•AB 161, by Campos, which would specifically authorize a court in a domestic violence proceeding to issue an ex parte order restraining any party from cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, or disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage held for the benefit of the parties and their child or children, if any, for whom support may be ordered. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 2 by a vote of 9-0, passed the Assembly April 11 by a vote of 75-0, and was sent to the Senate and assigned to the Rules Committee April 25.

•AB 167, by Assemblymember Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, which would limit class actions under the Unfair Competition Law to those in which each class member suffered at least $500 in economic damages. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for April 2 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 176, by Campos, which would provide that where there are both civil and criminal protective or restraining orders regarding the same parties in effect, the more restrictive order takes precedence, whereas under current law, the criminal order takes precedence. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for April 9 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 223, by Assemblymember Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, which would provide local governments with new protections from disability access suits. A committee hearing scheduled for April 16 was canceled at the request of the author.

•AB 246, by Assemblymember Steven Bradford, D-Inglewood, which would amend the Brown Act to allow local legislative bodies to meet with the governor in secret to discuss issues of “public security.” The bill passed the Committee on Local Government April 3 by a vote of 9-0, passed the Assembly April 15 by a vote of 69-5, and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on Government and Finance.

•AB 251, by Assemblymember Donald Wagner, R-Tustin, which would allow electronic reporting in a family law case if an official shorthand reporter is not available. The bill was rejected on a 6-3 vote of the Judiciary Committee April 9, but reconsideration was granted.

•AB 296, by Wagner, which would permit a military spouse or domestic partner to receive a provisional license permitting the practice of law as long as the spouse or partner remains on active duty in the state. The bill was re-referred to the committees on Judiciary and Veteran’s Affairs April 17 and is scheduled for hearing in the latter committee today.

•AB 307, by Campos, which would expand the list of crimes that may result in a 10-year protective order, in addition to penalties provided by law upon conviction, to include specified sex crimes, including rape, spousal rape, and crimes for which a person is required to register as a sex offender. The bill passed the Assembly April 25 by a vote of 76-0.

•AB 363, by Assemblymember Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, which would bar former legislators from serving on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board for two years after leaving office. The bill was amended April 18 to eliminate a separate provision that would have cut board members’ pay so that it could not exceed that of members of the Legislature.

•AB 365, by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, which would clarify certain provisions relating to court reporters. The bill was amended April 2 and passed the Judiciary Committee April 9 by a vote of 7-3.

•AB 381, by Assemblymember Ed Chau, D-Alhambra, which would expand the definition of elder of dependent-adult financial abuse and add reasonable attorney fee awards to the remedies available in civil actions regarding such abuse. The bill was amended in the Assembly and re-referred to the Judiciary Committee April 2, passed the Assembly April 15 by a vote of 77-0, and was sent to the Senate and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

•AB 499, by Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, would permit an anti-harassment injunction to be entered, or renewed, for a maximum of five years, rather than three years as under current law. It would also provide that such an injunction is valid for five years if the court does not specify a shorter period. The bill passed the Assembly April 18 by a vote of 76-0.

•AB 1401, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would allow aliens lawfully present in the country to serve on juries. The bill passed the Assembly April 25 by a vote of 45-26.

•SB 55, by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, which would establish requirements regarding installation of ignition interlock devices by repeat drunk drivers. The bill passed the Committee on Public Safety April 23 by a vote of 7-0.

•SB 59, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which, as introduced, would extend the rape-by-impersonation statute to include one who deceives the victim into believing the defendant is the victim’s “intimate sexual partner.” As amended in the Senate Feb. 14, the bill would be expanded to other crimes involving sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration and would apply to any person who impersonates the victim’s “sexual partner,” defined as any individual with whom the victim has had consensual sexual contact. The bill passed the Appropriations Committee April 8 by a vote of 7-0, passed the Senate April 22 by a vote of 38-0, and was sent to the Assembly.

•SB 166, by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, which would establish standards for the appointment of counsel in juvenile court. The bill passed the Public Safety Committee April 2 by a vote of 5-1 and was placed on the Appropriations suspense file April 15.

•SB 225, by Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands, which would amend the Criminal Justice Realignment Act by requiring that all aggregate sentences in excess of three years be served in state prison. The bill failed in the Public Safety Committee April 23 by a vote of 3-2, but reconsideration was granted.

•SB 226, by Emmerson, which would amend the Criminal Justice Realignment Act by requiring that offenders designated as suffering from severe mental illness serve their sentences in state prison. The bill failed in the Public Safety Committee April 23 by a vote of 4-2, but reconsideration was granted.

•SB 649, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would reduce penalties for possession of some controlled substances. The bill was amended April 17 and re-referred to the Public Safety Committee, where it was approved April 23 by a vote of 5-2.