January
29,
2016

A report on where
things
stand


Judicial Candidate Filing for June Primary to Begin Monday...Former Presiding Judge of Superior Court James Bascue Pleads No Contest in Shooting, Gets Probation....Judges Kussman, Willett and Commissioners Mitchell, Allen to Retire

Judicial Elections

Monday is the first day for the filing of declarations of intent by candidates for the court.
Three non-incumbents—Deputy District Attorney Susan Jung Townsend, Sherman Oaks attorney Stepan Baghdassarian, and Woodland Hills business litigator Michael Ribons—have taken out forms to gather signatures in lieu of paying a filing fee.
Townsend designated the seat of Judge Alan Rosenfield as her target. Rosenfield did not return a MetNews phone call, but sources said he has told colleagues he does not intend to run.
Baghdassarian took out papers for the seat of Judge James Kaddo, but said he has not decided whether to actually run, and declined to discuss his potential candidacy with the MetNews.
Ribons said he chose the number of the seat now held by Judge Gustavo Sztraicher solely at random, because he was told at the registrar’s office that he needed to designate a number, but that he will actually seek an open seat once it becomes clear which incumbents aren’t running.
Others who have filed candidate paperwork with the Fair Political Practices Commission and/or announced their candidacies in social media include Deputy District Attorneys Jeffrey C. Stodel, Efrain Aceves, 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, all of whom have retained David Gould as their consultant; Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen, a client of SG&A Campaigns; 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

Bascue entered a no-contest plea Jan. 8 to an assault charge stemming from his having fired 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.
Orange Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals, specially assigned to hear the case against the onetime presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, placed him on five years’ probation and ordered him to perform 500 hours of community service. The judge insisted that Bascue was not given preferential treatment, and was sentenced appropriately under the unusual facts of the case. Bascue’s attorney said he was acting under the influence of both alcohol and the sleep medication Ambien at the time of the shooting, and that he has since undergone alcohol abuse treatment.

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 recently turned 92 years of age.
Further vacancies will occur when Judge Barry Silverman takes senior status Oct. 11 and Judge Richard Clifton does so Dec. 31.

 

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, 2014 to join the state Court of Appeal.
Judge Margaret Morrow took senior status Oct. 29, and Judge Dean Pregerson did so yesterday. Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams was nominated Dec. 16 for Pregerson’s seat.



There are no vacancies.

Second District

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Martin Tangeman faces a Feb. 22 confirmation hearing. Gov. Jerry Brown, on Dec. 23, nominated Tangeman to Div. Six, which has had a vacancy since Justice Paul Coffee retired Jan. 31, 2012.
There are also vacancies in Div. Three, due to the Oct. 5 retirement of Justice Patti S. Kitching; and Div. Seven, due to the March 31 retirement of Justice Fred Woods.
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 Gail Ruderman Feuer, Ann H. Egerton, 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 Kumar in Div. Five through February. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stan Blumenfeld is sitting in Div. Seven through March.

Fourth District

San Bernardino Superior Court Presiding Judge Marsha Slough faces a Feb. 22 confirmation hearing. She 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

There are currently vacancies resulting from the elevations of Judges John Segal and Luis Lavin to the Court of Appeal in July; 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; the resignation of Judge Jeffrey Winikow Dec. 4; and the death of Judge Ellen DeShazer Nov. 22.
Judge Russell Kussman sat for the last time Jan. 8 and is retiring Feb. 18; Judge Robert Willett is sitting for the last time today and will retire March 9; Commissioner William Allen sat for the last time Jan. 15 and will retire March 5; and Commissioner William Mitchell sat for the last time Dec. 17 and will retire Feb. 19.
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 took the following action on bills of interest to the legal community in January.

•AB 1672 by Assemblymember Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, which would require the Judicial Council to establish and implement a pilot program for the purpose of establishing Veterans Courts in counties adjacent to the County of San Luis Obispo that, as of January 1, 2017, do not have veterans courts or veterans treatment courts, if funds are received for that purpose. The program would sunset Jan. 1, 2020. The bill was introduced Jan. 15.

•ACR 114 by Assemblymember James Gallagher, R-Plumas Lake, which would proclaim the month of February 2016 as Grand Jury Awareness Month in California, recognize those who volunteer in a grand jury, and encourage all Californians to learn about its role in the judicial system. The resolution was introduced Jan. 11 and received unanimous approval from the Rules Committee Jan. 25.

•SB 917 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would require a court, at the conclusion of a hearing conducted pursuant to the Family Code, to provide each party who is present at the hearing with a written order setting forth the basic terms of any orders that were made at the hearing. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2017, to adopt a rule of court to implement these provisions. The bill was introduced Jan. 27.


 

 

 


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