End of the Month

Encino Attorney Pleads Not Guilty to Stealing From Clients...Judith L. Meyer and Stanley Blumenfield Jr. to Be Sworn in to Superior Court Today...Judgeship Bill Amended to Require Demographic Data on Judicial Applicants

Judicial Elections

There will be four judicial runoff elections on the November ballot (candidate's ballot designations are in parentheses):

• Office No. 8-Deborah L. Sanchez (Criminal Prosecutor) and Bob Henry (California Deputy Attorney-General), for the seat previously held by Judge Charles Rubin, who retired April 30.

• Office No. 18-Daviann L. Mitchell (Criminal Gang Prosecutor)and John C. Gutierrez (Administrative Law Judge), for the seat vacated by Judge Michael E. Knight, who retired in February.

• Office No. 102-Hayden Zacky (Criminal Gang Prosecutor) and George C. Montgomery (Criminal Civil Attorney), for the seat of Judge Marion Johnson, who did not run for re-election.

• Office No. 144-David W. Stuart (Criminal Prosecutor) and Janis Levart Barquist (Deputy City Attorney), for the seat vacated by Judge Paula Mabrey, who retired April 28.

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Manuel Real
U.S. District Judge, Central District of California

House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, has assigned the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee headed by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, to investigate charges of unethical conduct on the part of Real, a federal judge for nearly 40 years.

Real, 82, allegedly seized control of a bankruptcy case involving a defendant he knew, Deborah M. Canter, estranged wife of one of the owner's of Canter's Delicatessen, then allowed the defendant to live rent-free for years in a house she'd been ordered to vacate.
After the landlord, the Canter Family Trust, appealed, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Real lacked good cause for taking control of the case and re-imposing the stay.

A divided Ninth Circuit Judicial Council accepted Real's acknowledgment that he should have explained his reasons for taking jurisdiction over the bankruptcy and staying the eviction, and his assurance that "[h]e does not believe that any similar situation will occur in the future." It took no disciplinary action under a federal law which permits it to so, saying that the purpose of the statute is not to punish judges, but to assure the fair administration of the laws.

A national judicial panel reviewing the decision took no action, saying the Ninth Circuit inquiry was inadequate. Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder then ordered a new probe, but Sensenbrenner declined to await the outcome of those proceedings.

Mervyn H. Wolf
Encino Attorney

Wolf, a lawyer for nearly 40 years, pled not guilty Aug. 22 to charges of embezzling more than $300,000 from his clients.

Wolf is accused of having taken settlement funds from his clients in six personal injury, workers' compensation, and wrongful termination cases between June 2003 and June 2004. He allegedly deposited settlement checks into his clients' trust accounts, and then embezzled the funds.

Wolf was placed on involuntary inactive status by the State Bar Court July 10 and faces discipline in connection with several matters. He was placed on three years' probation in 1995 for misconduct in three matters, was suspended 45 days in 1998 for failing to comply with a condition of the earlier probation, was placed on inactive status for a month in 2002 for failure to comply with MCLE requirements, and spent a month on suspension in 2004 for nonpayment of bar dues.

He is also the subject of a $25,000 sanctions award-much of which remains unpaid, opposing counsel told the MetNews-for failing to disclose a prior settlement with a joint tortfeasor that should have been credited towards his client's recovery in a personal injury case.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

There are two vacancies on the court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 4 voted 10-8 on a party-line vote to send the nomination of N. Randy Smith, a trial judge from Pocatello, Idaho and former chairman of his state's Republican Party, to the full Senate. President Bush nominated Smith on Dec. 16 to fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen S. Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Judiciary Committee, rallied Democratic opposition to the nomination, saying that since both Trott-who moved to Idaho after his appointment-and his predecessor were from California, Trott's successor should come from this state as well.

Smith was unanimously rated "well qualified" by the American Bar Association's judicial evaluating panel.
Judge Thomas G. Nelson took senior status Nov. 14, 2003. The nomination of William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson was sent to the floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2004 on a party-line vote of 10-8.

President Bush resubmitted Myers' nomination on Feb. 14 of last year.

Republican senators tried and failed in July of last year to force a floor vote on the nomination of Myers. The vote on the motion to invoke cloture was 53-44, short of the three-fifths required, with both California senators voting against. No agreement concerning Myers was reached when a bipartisan group of senators reached a compromise to avert filibusters on several other nominees.

Myers, who was first nominated on May 15, 2003, is a former solicitor of the Department of the Interior and now practices law in Boise, Idaho. He was rated "qualified" by a "substantial majority"-meaning at least two-thirds-of the ABA committee and "not qualified" by the panel's other members.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Valerie L. Baker was nominated May 4 to succeed Judge Consuelo Marshall, who took senior status on Oct. 24 of last year. She was unanimously rated "well qualified" by the ABA.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Philip Gutierrez was nominated April 24 to replace Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr., who took senior status on April 22 of last year. Gutierrez drew a unanimous rating of "well qualified" from the ABA.

Judge Gary Taylor took senior status Dec. 8, 2004 and retired to become a private judge with JAMS on June 30 of last year. Judge Nora Manella left the court in May following her appointment to the Court of Appeal for this district.

Judge Ronald S.W. Lew will take senior status September 19.

There are no vacancies.

First District

Justice Laurence T. Stevens of Div. Five retired Feb. 28.

Seats in other districts are filled

Los Angeles Superior Court

Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer will be sworn in tomorrow to succeed Judge Stephen Petersen, who retired June 26. Meyer won the seat in the June primary, but what was appointed by the governor Aug. 11, allowing her to take office four months early.

Also scheduled to take office tomorrow is Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., who was named in June to succeed Judge John H. Sandoz, who retired May 15.

There are vacancies on the court resulting from the retirements of Judge Michael Knight Feb. 21, Judge Paula A. Mabrey April 28, and Judge Charles Rubin April 30, as well as from Judge Stephen Suzukawa's elevation to the Court of Appeal June 9.

Candidates whose names have gone to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation for possible appointment include
Successors to Knight, Mabrey, and Rubin are being elected in November runoffs.

Judge Marion Johnson is sitting for the last time today, and is retiring Oct. 17. His successor, Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Daniel Lowenthal, was elected in June to a term beginning Jan. 8.

Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Susan Lopez-Giss was elected in June to succeed Judge Larry Knupp, who did not seek re-election. Lopez-Giss' term begins Jan. 8.

Judge Morris Jones did not run for re-election. He will be succeeded by Commissioner Bobbie Tillmon, who was unopposed for election.

The governor announced June 9 he would re-appoint Judge Dzintra Janavs, who was defeated in the June 6 primary election, "as soon as she completes the paperwork." Janavs' current term expires Jan. 8.

Judge Tammy Chung Ryu is on leave after giving birth. She is scheduled to return Nov. 15.

Lori Behar took office as a commissioner Aug. 1, succeeding Beverly Mosley, who retired in June. Commissioner Roberta Lee also retired in June; her successor, Martin Campos, will be sworn in tomorrow. Commissioners Martin L. Goestch and James Copelan are on long-term medical leave.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The following legislation of interest to the legal community was acted on in August:

•AB 1995, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-Los Angeles, which would expand trial court employees' access to their personnel files. The bill passed the Senate Aug. 10 by a vote of 28-9 and was signed by the governor on Aug. 28.

•AB 2875,by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, which would eliminate confidential settlements in cases where the conduct giving rise to the claim could be prosecuted as a felony sex offense. The parties could agree to maintain confidentiality as to the amount of the settlement. The Assembly concurred in Senate amendments Aug. 7, and the governor signed the bill on Aug. 23.

•AB 2927, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, would require any state agency that publishes an Internet Web site to include on the site certain information, including the terms of litigation settlements, and would authorize any person to bring an action to enforce the duty of a state agency to post this information and would provide for penalties, including monetary awards to successful plaintiffs, to be paid by state agencies in specified circumstances. The bill would also allow the requesting party to obtain a second opinion from the attorney general when an agency denies a California Public Records Act request. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Aug. 21 by a vote of 13-0 and the Senate on Aug. 29 by a vote of 40-0.

•SB 56, by Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, which, as amended, would authorize creation of 50 superior court judgeships statewide and direct the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature every two years on the need for additional judgeships. The bill was amended in the Assembly Aug. 21, reducing the number of judges to 25 after Speaker Nunez raised concerns regarding the lack of ethnic and racial diversity of the governor's appointments. The bill was amended again on Aug. 24 reinstating the number to 50. It was further amended on Aug. 29 to require the governor to disclose aggregate statewide demographic data provided by all judicial applicants relative to ethnicity and gender, the State Bar to collect and release statewide demographic data provided by judicial applicants reviewed and the statewide summary of the recommendations of the designated agency by ethnicity and gender, and Administrative Office of the Courts to collect and release the demographic data provided by justices and judges relative to ethnicity and gender by specific jurisdiction.

•SB 1015, by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would require that certain financial information in divorce cases be "redacted." The provisions would have replaced provisions of a two-year-old law held unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds by Div. Seven of this district's Court of Appeal in its Jan. 20 ruling in Burkle v. Burkle. Sources this month said the bill is dead in its present form.

•SB 1281, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which would require all state contractors with more than 100 employees to pay their employees for the first week of jury duty. A previous version of the bill was vetoed by the governor. The bill, which passed the Senate May 30 by a vote of 22-14, passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee Aug. 9 by a vote of 13-5, and the Assembly Aug. 28, and was sent back to the Senate.

•SCA 16, by Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, and Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, which would require that Los Angeles Superior Court judges be elected by district, with each district to elect no more than 36 judges. The proposal, which drew strong opposition from the Judicial Council, was withdrawn Aug. 8 by its sponsors. Runner said another effort will be made next year.