Prosecutor Stodel Joins Crowded Field Seeking Superior Court Judgeships…Judge Jeffrey Winikow Resigns From Superior Court After Three Years…Superior Court Judge Stan Blumenfeld Assigned to Court of Appeal for January

Judicial Elections

Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey C. Stodel Jr. told the MetNews this week that he has retained the services of campaign consultant/treasurer David Gould and will seek a seat on the Los Angeles Superior Court. Stodel is currently prosecuting white collar crimes and has held a wide variety of assignments during his 16 years in the office. He previously practiced with a civil firm in Santa Monica.

He joins a stable of candidates represented by Gould, including Deputy District Attorneys Efrain Aceves, Susan Jung Townsend, Debra Archuleta, David Berger, Steven Ipson, Taly Peretz, Steven Schreiner, Javier Perez, and Philip Marshall; Santa Monica attorney Susan Jerich of Silver, Hadden, Silver, Wexler & Levine; and Superior Court Commissioner Cynthia Zuzga.

SG&A Campaigns is the consultant for Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen. Her husband, Mike Shimpock, is a member of the firm.

Also running are Van Nuys attorney Naser N. Khoury, business litigator Aaron Weissman, and Sydne S. Michel, a lawyer in the Redondo Beach City Attorney’s Office.

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

James Bascue
Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

Orange Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals, specially assigned to hear the assault charge against Bascue, a former presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, this month ordered a pre-plea report.
Further proceedings are scheduled for Jan. 8. Bascue’s attorney, Richard Hirsch, said negotiations to resolve the case are continuing.

Bascue, 75, pled not guilty Sept. 4 to a single count of assault with a firearm for allegedly firing a shot at police officers who came to his home in the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles in June after a call that Bascue himself made.

The former jurist served on the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1990 to 2007 and was presiding judge in 2001 and 2002.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where Bascue served as chief deputy in the 1980s, has recused itself from the case, which is being prosecuted by the state attorney general.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

A vacancy was created when Judge Harry Pregerson took senior status on Dec. 11, the day he completed 44 years of active service on the federal courts. The judge turned 92 years of age last month.

Another vacancy will occur when Judge Barry Silverman takes senior status Oct. 11 of next year.

The nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Young was reported favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee Nov. 5. He was nominated by President Obama on July 16 to succeed Judge Audrey B. Collins, who retired Aug. 1 of last year to join the state Court of Appeal.

Judge Margaret Morrow took senior status Oct. 29, and Judge Dean Pregerson is doing so Jan. 28.

There are no vacancies.

Second District

Gov. Jerry Brown, on Dec. 23, nominated San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Martin Tangeman to Div. Six, which has had a vacancy since Justice Paul Coffee retired Jan. 31, 2012.

There are vacancies in Div. Three, due to the Oct. 5 retirement of Justice Patti S. Kitching; Div. Seven, due to the March 31 retirement of Justice Fred Woods; Div. Six.

Among those whose names have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are Los Angeles attorneys Kent Richland and Bradley Phillips; Ventura Superior Court Judge Tari Cody; Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Rita Miller, Richard Rico, Helen Bendix, Ann Jones, and Sanjay Kumar; and Southwestern Law School professor Christopher Cameron.

Jones is sitting on assignment in Div. Three, and that assignment has now been extended through February. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stan Blumenfeld is sitting on assignment in Div. Seven next month.

Fourth District

San Bernardino Superior Court Presiding Judge Marsha Slough was nominated Dec. 23 to fill a vacancy in Div. Two resulting from the retirement of Justice Betty Richli.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

Gov. Jerry Brown, on Dec. 23, nominated Deputy Alternate Public Defender Francis B. Bennett II, Deputy Public Defender Joel L. Lofton, Nossaman LLP partner Thomas D. Long, and Rose, Klein and Marias LLP partner David A. Rosen to fill vacancies on the court.

Bennett fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patricia M. Schnegg; Lofton succeeds Judge Rand S. Rubin, who retired; Long fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronald H. Rose, and Rosen fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patrick J. Hegarty.

Judge Jeffrey Winikow resigned Dec. 4. Judge Ellen DeShazer died Nov. 22.

Previous vacancies resulted from the elevations of Judges John Segal and Luis Lavin to the Court of Appeal in July, and the retirements of Judges Arthur Jean, Owen Kwong, and Ronald Skyers April 30; Leland Harris May 8, Alan Goodman July 30; Thomas McKnew July 31; Tia Fisher Aug. 1; Richard Stone Aug. 28; and Reva Goetz Sept. 21.

Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to judgeships are 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; Deputy Public Defenders Lisa Brackelmanns and David Hazami; Superior Court counsel Brett Bianco; Beverly Hills attorney Edward Tabash; South Pasadena attorney Mark S. Priver; Deputy District Attorneys Kerry White, Karen Borzakian, Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, Kathleen Tuttle and Brentford Ferreira; Court of Appeal staff attorney Kenneth E. Roberson; Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners 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.

There is a commissioner vacancy as a result of Catherine Pratt’s appointment as a judge.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The Legislature was not in session during December.