There are two vacancies and one scheduled future vacancy on the 28-judge court.

The Senate tomorrow may take up the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 8 approved Kuhl by a vote of 10-9. Kuhl was tapped by Bush in 2001 to succeed Judge James Browning, who took senior status Sept. 1, 2000.

The president nominated San Francisco Superior Court Judge Carlos Bea April 11 for the seat left vacant when the late Judge Charles Wiggins took senior status on Dec. 31, 1996. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein both signed "blue slips," with Feinstein indicating support for Bea, while Boxer indicated that she favors a confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee but "reserves judgment" on the nomination itself.

The American Bar Association reported that a "substantial majority," meaning at least two-thirds, of its evaluating committee rated Bea "qualified" for the court, with the remaining member or members voting him "not qualified."

President Bush on May 15 nominated William G. Myers III of Idaho, currently solicitor of the Department of the Interior, to succeed Judge Thomas G. Nelson, who takes senior status Nov. 14.

 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dale Fischer was nominated May 1 for a new seat created by the Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. Sen. Dianne Feinstein submitted a blue slip on June 17, endorsing the nomination. Sen. Barbara Boxer signed her blue slip in May.

The American Bar Association this month amended a prior announcement and said that Fischer had been unanimously rated "well qualified," the highest possible rating, by its evaluating panel. The ABA said last month that a "substantial majority," meaning at least two-thirds of the 15 members, had voted for the highest ranking and that the remaining member or members voted Fischer "qualified."

There are no vacancies, but one would be created if the Senate confirms Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to which she was nominated July 25.

There is a vacancy in Div. Seven as a result of Justice Dennis Perluss' elevation to presiding justice, and a seat in Div. Eight that has been vacant since the division's creation in 2001.

The names of Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Emilie Elias and Marvin Lager have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as potential appointees. Among those whose names were sent to the commission earlier were Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Charles Lee, Richard Rico, Aurelio Munoz, Thomas Willhite Jr., Laurie Zelon, Ralph Dau, Madeline Flier, and Gregory Alarcón.

Third District

There is a vacancy resulting from former Justice Consuelo Callahan's appointment to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fourth District

Presiding Justice Daniel Kremer of Div. One retires today. Gov. Gray Davis is expected to nominate Justice Judith McConnell for elevation to presiding justice.

Sixth District

There is a vacancy resulting from the elevation of Justice Conrad Rushing to presiding justice Jan. 21.

Seats in other districts are filled.

There are two vacancies on the court. Judge Marilyn Hoffman retired June 6, and Judge James Sutton retired June 30.

Gov. Davis appointed four judges to the court July 24. Commissioner Joseph Shiro Biderman replaces Judge Robert Mackey, who retired Feb. 25. Holly Kendig of O'Melveney & Myers replaces Judge J. Michael Byrne, who retired March 8. James D. Otto of Altman, Otto & Kong replaces Judge S. James Otero, who took the federal bench Feb. 28. Brian Yep of Walsh, Delaney & Yep replaces Judge Raymond Mireles, who retired April 1.

Judge William C. Beverly Jr. is retiring Sunday. He stepped down as presiding judge of the Appellate Division this month, with Charles Lee becoming the new presiding judge and Robert Sandoval named associate judge in place of Lee.

Judge Michelle Rosenblatt is out ill.

There is currently one commissioner vacancy, created by the elevation of Biderman, and another will occur Aug. 11 when Commissioner Robert H. McIntosh retires. More than 400 applications for the new list of commissioner candidates were received before last month's deadline.

The following legislation related to the legal profession was acted upon in July:

•AB 862, by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-Los Angeles, which would require state agencies to notify certain unions when hiring private lawyers to provide representation in any judicial proceeding. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-1 vote July 10 and was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

•AB 1055, by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Anaheim, which would limit the use of special appropriations by district attorneys to expenses that are lawfully incurred. The bill was signed by the governor July 7.

•AB 1095, by Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which would require the Judicial Council, using its own money and county funds, to create a task force on county law libraries, to make recommendations to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2005. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 7-0 vote July 7 and was sent to eh Senate Appropriations Committee.

•AB 1101, by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, which would create an exception to an attorney's duty to maintain a client's confidence if the lawyer reasonably believes the disclosure of a confidence or secret is necessary to prevent the commission of a criminal act likely to result in death or substantial bodily harm to an individual. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-1 vote July 9, passed the Senate on a 33-1 vote July 24 and was sent to the Assembly floor for possible concurrence with Senate amendments.

•AB 1708, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would authorize the State Bar to continue collecting its current level of annual dues, a maximum of $390, in 2004. The bill would make changes to the dues "scaling" provisions for lower-income lawyers in order to raise more money for State Bar operations. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-0 vote July 14 and was sent to the Senate floor.

•ACR 44, by Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, which requests that bronze bas relief memorials be installed in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., in the memory of Chief Justice Earl Warren. The Assembly Appropriations Committee recommended that the resolution be adopted, on a 23-0 vote July 2, and ACR 44 then was sent to the Assembly Rules Committee.

•SB 337, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which would add the crime of the unauthorized practice of law to the list of offenses for which the statute of limitations does not commence until discovery of the offense. The bill was approved by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a 7-0 vote July 2, was approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a 22-0 vote July 17, passed the Assembly on a 71-1 vote July 24 and was sent to the governor's desk.

•SB 660, by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, which would establish procedures for keeping the Social Security numbers of parties in dissolution proceedings in the confidential portion of court files. The bill was approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a 23-0 vote July 3, passed the Assembly on a 75-0 vote July 10, passed the Senate on a 35-0 vote July 21 and was sent to the governor's desk.

•SCA 1 , by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, which would amend the state Constitution to establish that "the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business," and could require superior court executive committees to open their meetings to the public. The proposed amendment passed the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee on a 18-0 vote July 16 and was referred to the Assembly Elections, Redistricting and Constitutional Amendments Committee.