Jan.
31,
2008

A report on where
things
stand


Filing Opens for Superior Court Contest in June Primary...Sentencing of Attorneys In Immigration Scam Delayed...Bill to Excuse Poll Workers From Jury Service Introduced in Assembly


Judicial Elections

The period in which to file declarations on intent to run for the Los Angeles Superior Court in the June 3 primary began Monday and ends Wednesday of next week, except that there will be a five-day extension for any seat in which an incumbent judge does not file.

It appears that there will be at least eight open seats-those now held by Judges Alan Kalkin, Dzintra Janavs, Daniel S. Pratt, and Wendell Mortimer Jr., who are retiring; Francis A. Gately Jr., who told the MetNews he would not run for another term; and Michael Luros, Michael Duggan, and Gibson W. Lee, whom sources said were not planning to run..

Candidates who have taken out and/or filed papers to run for those seats are:

• Office No. 72-Deputy District Attorney Hilleri Grossman Merritt for the seat now held by Gately;

• Office No. 82-Deputy District Attorney Thomas Rubinson for the seat now held by Mortimer;

• Office No. 84-Deputy District Attorney Pat Connolly for the seat now held by Lee;

• Office No. 94-Deputy District Attorneys Eduard Abele and Michael O'Gara for the seat now held by Duggan;

• Office No. 95-Superior Court Commissioner Patri­cia Nieto and state Deputy Attorney General Lance Winters for the seat now held by Kalkin;

• Office No. 119-Superior Court Commissioner Harvey Silberman, Deputy District Attorney Jared D. Moses, and Redondo Beach attorney Sydnee R. Singer for the seat now held by Janavs;

• Office No. 123-Deputy District Attorney B. Kathleen Blanchard for the seat now held by Luros;

• Office No. 125-Superior Court Commissioner James Bianco for the seat now held by Pratt.
In addition, state Deputy Attorney General Robert Henry, Redondo Beach attorney Pattricia Vienna, and Deputy District Attorney Christian R. Gullon have expressed interest in running, depending on the ultimate configuration of the election.


Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Richard I. Fine
Beverly Hills Attorney

Fine, an attorney since 1973, moved Jan. 15 to disqualify State Bar Court Hearing Judge Richard Honn, who placed him on involuntary inactive status and recommended he be disbarred.

Fine claims Honn has a conflict of interest because he serves on the Board of Governors of Southern California Special Olympics, and another member of that board works for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Because that office is part of county government, and the county is a party to litigation in which Fine is accused of having violated ethics rules, Honn should have disclosed his membership on the board before hearing Fine's case.

Honn recommended in November that Fine lose his license as a consequence of what the judge said was a concerted campaign of harassing litigation targeting judicial officers who had ruled against him, in particular Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Bruce Mitchell.

In a statement, Fine said the high court was guilty of "a refusal to... uphold the integrity of the judicial system." He has charged that Los Angeles County judicial officers have an inherent conflict in hearing cases to which the county is a party because the county pays them benefits that supplement their state salaries.

He has also told the MetNews he believes he is being targeted because he and former State Bar President Sheldon Sloan have been on opposite sides of litigation concerning leases in Marina del Rey, and because Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick, a public member of the State Bar Board of Governors, has received contributions from lobbyists for the developers of Playa Vista, who are involved in litigation with citizen's groups represented by Fine.

Mervyn H. Wolf
Encino Attorney

A Feb. 14 hearing has been scheduled on a Penal Code Sec. 995 motion by Wolf, a lawyer for 40 years, to set aside the information charging him with five felony embezzlement counts.

He was held to answer following a preliminary hearing in September.

Wolf is accused of having taken settlement funds from his clients in multiple 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 of last year and faces discipline in connection with several matters. He has had extensive contacts with the disciplinary system, having been placed on three years' probation in 1995 for misconduct in three matters, suspended 45 days in 1998 for failing to comply with a condition of the earlier probation, placed on inactive status for a month in 2002 for failure to comply with MCLE requirements, and served a month on suspension in 2004 for nonpayment of bar dues.
.

Daniel E. Korenberg, Steven James Rodriguez, and Philip Abramowitz
Immigration Lawyers

Abramowitz, 53, who was a partner at the large immigration law firm formerly known as Korenberg, Abramowitz & Feldun, pled guilty last year to conspiracy and visa fraud. His sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 7, has been continued to March 3.

He tendered his resignation from the State Bar Sept. 28 rather than contest disciplinary charges.

Korenberg, who was a founder of the firm, and Rodriguez, who was a senior associate, were to be sentenced Jan. 18 after pleading guilty to charges arising from a federal investigation into charges related to the filing of fraudulent employment visa applications on behalf of foreign nationals, including at least 14 of the law firm's own workers. Those sentencings have been continued to Feb. 11.

Korenberg, 58, pled guilty Oct. 4 to two counts of visa fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Rodriguez, 40, pled guilty Oct. 5 to one count of making false statements to federal agents. Both have been placed on interim suspension by the State Bar.

The firm, which is now known as ASK Law Group, is based in Sherman Oaks, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas.

The government alleges that the attorneys, along with a paralegal, hired undocumented workers for various jobs at the firm, then filed fraudulent employment-based visa petitions for temporary work authorization or permanent residency in the United States and paid them "off the books" in cash until the visas were approved.

 

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments



Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

There has been a vacancy on the court since Judge Stephen Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004. Another vacancy, in a newly created position, will be created on Jan. 21 of next year.

 

There is one vacancy on the court.

Orange Superior Court Judge James E. Rogan a former congressman and Commerce Department official, was nominated Nov. 15, 2006, and re-nominated in January of last year, to succeed Judge Nora Manella, who resigned to become a justice of this district's Court of Appeal.

Rogan has been unable to secure a confirmation hearing because Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has a "blue slip" policy under which a hearing will be held only if both of the nominee's home state senators approve. Sen. Barbara Boxer's spokesman recently said the senator opposes Rogan's nomination, in part because of his role as one of the prosecutors at the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.


There are no vacancies.

First District

Justice Joanne C. Parrilli retired July 31. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's nominee for her seat on Div. Three, U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins, faces an April 4 confirmation hearing. Justice Linda Gemello of Div. Five retired Jan. 4.

Second District

Presiding Justice Vaino Spencer of Div. One retired Sept. 1 after 27 years on the court and a total of 46 years on the bench; Justice Robert Mallano is serving as acting presiding justice. Justice Paul Boland of Div. Eight died Sept. 5 after more than 25 years of judicial service. Justice Earl Johnson Jr. retired from Div. Seven Oct. 17 after nearly 25 years on the court.
Los Angeles Superior Court


Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Andria K. Richey retired at the end of September, Judge Haley Fromholz retired Nov. 29, Judge Charles Peven retired Dec. 15, and Judge Bradford Andrews retired Jan. 7, leaving four vacancies on the court.

Judge Alan Kalkin is retiring Feb. 19, Judge Barry Taylor Feb. 20, Judge Daniel S. Pratt March 2, Judge Dzintra Janavs March 20, Judge Wendell Mortimer Jr. April 30, and Judge S. Patricia Spear June 3. A newly created position on the court will be funded as of June 1.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are former Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden, now in private practice; former Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Vaughn, now a managing director of the litigation and consulting firm FTI Consulting, Inc.; criminal defense specialist Steven Cron of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorneys Richard Kraft and Edward J. Perez; state Deputy Attorneys General Steven D. Matthews, E. Eugene Varanini IV, Victoria Wilson, Paul Roadarmel Jr., Robert S. Henry and Kenneth Byrne; Administrative Law Judge Robert Helfand; Deputy District Attorneys Thomas Rubinson, Shellie Samuels, Jeffrey Gootman, Karla Kerlin, Ricardo Ocampo, and Laura Laesecke; Com­mis­sioners Michael Convey, Tamila Ipema, Victor Greenberg, Amy Pellman, Maren Nelson, Dennis Mulcahy, Harvey Silberman, Ronald Rose, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Mary Lou Katz Byrne, and Loren DiFrank; Referee Steven Ber­man; U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew; Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown; Deputy Federal Public Defender Angel Navarro; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jerome J. Haig; Los Angeles attorneys John L. Carlton, Adrienne Krikorian, Mark A. Borenstein, Eulan­da Matthews and Lawrence P. Brennan Jr.; Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman; Pasadena attorney Warren Gilbert; and Westlake Village attorney Michael Nebenzahl.

Commissioners Martin L. Goestch, James Copelan, and Gerald Richardson are on long-term medical leave.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The following bills of interest to the legal community were introduced in February:

•AB 1340, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacra­mento, which as amended would alter hearing procedures in guardianship cases. The bill cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee Jan. 15 by a vote of 10-0.

•AB 1648, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which as amended would add current and former registered domestic partners to the categories of persons protected by domestic violence laws. Prior to its amendment this month, the bill would have abrogated the holding in Copley v. Superior Court (2006) 39 Cal.4th 1272, allowing a peace officer's civil service disciplinary hearing and the records thereof to be closed from public view. The bill was scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Public Safety Committee Jan. 15, but the hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 1828, by Assemblyman Robert Huff, R-Diamond Bar, which would excuse poll workers from jury service for a period of one year. The bill was introduced Jan. 22.

•SB 110, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would establish a 20-member sentencing commission chaired by the chief justice, with power to determine the sentences for various crimes, subject to rejection by the Legislature. The bill, which passed the Senate June 6 by a vote of 24-15, was amended in the Assembly Aug. 31 to change the vote required to reject the commission's decisions from two-thirds to a simple majority. The bill as amended failed on Sept. 7 by a vote of 34-38, but was awaiting reconsideration yesterday.

•SB256, by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, which would add a number of sex crimes to the list of offenses for which there is no statute of limitations. The bill failed in the Senate Committee on Public Safety Jan. 15; the vote was 2-1 in favor, but three votes were needed to clear the five-member committee.


 

 

 


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