End of the Month

Judge Edmund W. Clarke Jr. Seeks Supreme Court Review of Admonishment by Commission on Judicial Performance…Attorney David Tamman, Convicted of Obstructing SEC Investigation, Summarily Disbarred…State Senate Bills to Fund, Reallocate Judgeships Referred to Judiciary Committee

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Edmund W. Clarke Jr.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

Clarke, who was publicly admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance Sept. 29 based on remarks he made to, and about, four potential jurors in a criminal case, petitioned the state Supreme Court on Dec. 27 to review the CJP decision.
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.

David Tamman
Disbarred Attorney

Tamman, a former partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, was summarily disbarred Dec. 29, based on his conviction of crimes involving moral turpitude. He did not contest the disbarment, either in the State Bar Court Review Department or in the Supreme Court.
Tamman left Nixon Peabody while under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and contended in a Los Angeles Superior Court complaint against the firm that he was “thrown under the bus” so that his partners could get their hands on his $1.5 million book of business. The firm contended it acted properly in cooperating with the agency’s investigation, and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis dismissed the suit on Nov. 17.
Tamman is serving a seven-year sentence at Lompoc federal prison, according to Bureau of Prisons records. He was convicted of one count of conspiring to obstruct justice, five counts of altering documents, one count of being an accessory after the fact to his client’s mail and securities fraud crimes, and three counts of aiding and abetting his client’s false testimony before the SEC.
The client, former fund manager and radio personality John Farahi, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for running an investment scheme, which involved false promises that investors’ money—more than $24 million was collected, prosecutors said—would be invested in corporate bonds backed by the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The scheme largely targeted members of Los Angeles’ Iranian-American Jewish community.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

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.
President Obama’s nomination of U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh of the Northern District of California to succeed Pregerson died this month when Congress adjourned.

There are four 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.
The nominations of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Young to succeed Collins and Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams to succeed Pregerson died when Congress adjourned.

There are no vacancies.

Second District

There are vacancies in Div. Three, due to the Oct. 5, 2015 retirement of Justice Patti S. Kitching; Div. Five, due to the retirement of Justice Richard Mosk, who left the court March 30 of last year and died 18 days later; and Div. Seven, due to the retirement of Justice Fred Woods on March 31, 2015.
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.
Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman has been assigned to Div. Two, Superior Court Judge Rupa Goswami to Div. Three, Judge Curtis Kin and Kumar to Div. Five, and Judge Michael Small to Div. Seven. Kumar is assigned through February, and the others through March.
Judge Virginia Keeny’s assignment to Div. Seven has been extended through the end of this week.

Fourth District

Gov. Jerry Brown, on Dec. 23, nominated San Diego Superior Court Judge William Dato to succeed retired Justice James McIntyre in Div. One, and Riverside Superior Court Judge Richard T. Fields to succeed retired Justice Jeffrey King in Div. Two.
Justice Alex McDonald of Div. One died Sept. 8.

Fifth District

The governor on Dec. 23 nominated Fresno Superior Court Judge Kathleen Meehan to succeed retired Justice Dennis Cornell.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

Four judges elected to open seats took office at the beginning of the year. Debra R. Archuleta succeeded Judge Michelle Rosenblatt; Efrain Matthew Aceves succeeded Judge Alan Rosenfield; Susan Jung Townsend succeeded Judge Kathleen Diesman; and Kim L. Nguyen succeeded Judge Elden Fox. The incumbent, in each instance, did not run for reelection.
Judge Soussan Bruguera retired Dec. 15. Vacancies were created earlier last year by the retirements of 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 been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to judgeships are Deputy Alternate Public Defender Tracee May-Brewster; Altadena attorney Cynthia Cannady; Deputy Public Defenders 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.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

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

•AB 3 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, which would appropriate funds to provide expanded legal assistance to immigrants, including unaccompanied minors. The bill was referred to the committees on Public Safety and Human Services Jan. 19.

•HR 5 by Assemblymember Autumn Burke, D-Los Angeles, which declares support for Planned Parenthood and says the Assembly “opposes…all efforts to appoint judges who have a record of opposing equal health care rights for all women.” The resolution passed the Assembly Jan. 17 by a vote of 52-17.

•SB 6 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-El Centro, which would create the Due Process for All Act, and would, among other things, appropriate funds to pay lawyers to represent immigrants facing removal from the United States. The bill was amended Jan. 24 and sent back to the Judiciary Committee, where a hearing is set for today.

•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. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety Jan. 12.

•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 referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 12.

•SB 36 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would authorize the State Bar to impose 2018 dues in the same amounts as in 2016. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 12.

•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 referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 12.