The state Supreme Court, at its March 15 conference, denied review of the Commission on Judicial Performance’s public admonishment of Clarke, a judge since 2007.

Clarke was admonished by the commission Sept. 29 based on remarks he made to, and about, four potential jurors in a criminal case. The commission found the remarks to be “condescending,” “discourteous and intimidating,” and “manifestly...undignified.” It also found that the judge engaged in retaliatory conduct by ordering one of the four, who had complained about the courtroom clerk, to wait in the hallway after being excused.

Clarke said he intends to seek certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.

There are four vacancies on the 29-judge court. Judge Harry Pregerson took senior status Dec. 11, 2015; Judge Barry Silverman took senior status Oct. 11; and Judges Richard Clifton and Diarmuid O’Scannlain took senior status Dec. 31.

There are five vacancies. Judge Audrey B. Collins retired Aug. 1, 2014 to join the state Court of Appeal; Judge Margaret Morrow took senior status Oct. 29, 2015 and subsequently left the bench to become president and chief executive of Public Counsel; Judge Dean Pregerson took senior status Jan. 28 of last year; Judge Christina A. Snyder took senior status Nov. 23 of last year; and Judge George H. King retired Jan. 6.

Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar is retiring Aug. 31.

Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon is retiring May 5.
Judge Lloyd Nash retired March 3 and Judge David Minning April 6.

Vacancies were created last year by the retirements of Judge Soussan Bruguera Dec. 15, Judge Sally Meloch Dec. 10, Judge Steven Van Sicklen Nov. 1, Judge John Henning Sept. 8, Judge Peter Espinoza May 31, Judge Jane Johnson May 23, Judge Emilie Elias May 9, Judge Robert Willett March 9, and Judge Russell Kussman Feb. 18, and by the death of Judge Daniel Brenner Feb. 15.

Vacancies remaining to be filled from 2015 occurred as a result of the retirement of Judge Tia Fisher Aug. 1 and the resignation of Judge Jeffrey Winikow Dec. 4.

Among those whose names have previously been sent to the governor as possible appointees to the court are West Los Angeles attorney Mark DiMaria; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Tracee May-Brewster; Altadena attorney Cynthia Cannady; Deputy Public Defenders Neetu Singh Badhan-Smith, Jose Colon and Lisa Brackelmanns; Bakersfield attorney Bernard Barrman Jr.; Century City attorney Jonathan Rosenbloom; Deputy District Attorneys Kerry White, Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, and Kathleen Tuttle; retired Deputy District Attorney Brentford Ferreira; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney—and former city attorney candidate—Michael Amerian; attorney/mediator Michael Diliberto; former Superior Court Referee Stephanie Davis; Los Angeles attorneys Angel Navarro and Lisa Mattern; Superior Court counsel Brett Bianco; Beverly Hills attorney Edward Tabash; South Pasadena attorney Mark S. Priver; Court of Appeal staff attorney Kenneth E. Roberson; Superior Court Commissioners Karin Borzakian, Timothy Martella, Pamela Davis, Collette Serio, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Robert Kawahara, Alan Rubin, Emma Castro, Jane Godfrey, Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, Dennis Mulcahy, Terry Truong and Kenneth Taylor; State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn; Deputy County Counsel Julie Ann Silva; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.

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

•AB 3 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, which would appropriate an as-yet unspecified amount to provide expanded legal assistance to immigrants, including unaccompanied minors. The bill was amended in the Assembly Feb. 17.

•AB 360 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, which, as amended, would mandate the State Bar administer a program of pro bono legal services for veterans and their families who cannot afford to pay for legal services.

•AB 638 by Assemblymember Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, which, as amended, would eliminate the right of non-lawyers to work as immigration consultants as of Jan. 1, 2019. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 18 by a vote of 8-3, and was amended April 24 and sent to the Appropriations Committee.

•SB 6 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-El Centro, which, as amended, would create the Expanding Due Process Act, and would, among other things, appropriate $12 million to pay lawyers to represent immigrants facing removal from the United States. The bill would prohibit the use of those funds to assist persons convicted of violent felonies, and would give priority to veterans and their spouses. The bill passed the Senate as an urgency measure April 3 by a vote of 28-11.

•SB 8 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, which would expand mental health diversion, currently available only to misdemeanor defendants, to those charged with low-level felonies. As amended, the bill says the court may consider police reports, preliminary hearing transcripts, witness statements, statements by the defendant’s mental health treatment provider, medical records, or records by qualified medical experts,†among other evidence, to determine whether the defendant’s mental issues substantially contributed to the alleged criminal conduct. The bill was placed on the Appropriations suspense file April 3.

•SB 29 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, which would prohibit local governments from contracting with private entities to detain immigrants facing deportation. The bill was placed on the Appropriations suspense file April 17.

•SB 36 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which, as amended, would authorize the State Bar to impose 2018 and 2019 dues in the same amounts as in 2016. The bill would restructure the State Bar Board of Trustees, replacing the 19-member board with a 13-member board that would include up to six public members (the bill would eliminate the election of attorney members by State Bar members,) and whose chair and vice chair would be appointed by the Supreme Court. The bill would also split off the State Bar’s sections into a separate organization that would not be funded with dues. The bill was amended in the Senate April 6 and is scheduled to be heard by the Judiciary Committee May 2.

•SB 38 by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, which would authorize and fund an additional seat on the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Div. Two, and would fund 10 of the 50 unfunded superior court judgeships previously authorized by the Legislature. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 12.

•SB 39 by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, which would reallocate four vacant superior court judgeships in counties that have more judges than needed, based on Judicial Council methodology, to the counties with the greatest need. The bill was placed on the Appropriations suspense file April 17.

•SB 235 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Redondo Beach, which, as amended, would establish mandatory standards for the use of ballot designations by judicial candidates. The bill, which was referred jointly to the committees on Elections and Constitutional Amendments and Judiciary, is set for hearing May 2.

•SB 298 by Sen. Robert Wieckowski, D-Fremont, which, as amended, would exempt from levy up to $4,800 in a personal bank account, unless the judgment is for child or spousal support. The bill is set for hearing in the Judiciary Committee May 2.

•SB 355 by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, which would eliminate any obligation of a criminal defendant to reimburse the public for the cost of court-appointed counsel, in the absence of a conviction. The bill passed the Senate April 3 by a vote of 39-0 and was sent to the Assembly.

•SB 690 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would prohibit the State Bar from disclosing test results information submitted by an applicant for admission, or any statistical information that would cause the identity of an applicant to be revealed, but would permit the State Bar to publish a list of persons who have passed the bar examination. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 4 by a vote of 6-0 and was placed on the Consent Calendar.