July
31,
2012

A report on where
things
stand


Bill to Limit Length of Depositions Approved by California Senate Judiciary Committee... Two Central District Nominees Gain Approval From U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee... Judges Daigh, Vander Lans Retire


Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Ricardo Torres II
Disbarred Los Angeles Attorney

Torres, a onetime rising star in local politics, faces further proceedings before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George C. Lomeli on Sept. 6. Torres is charged with violating Penal Code Sec. 506 by misappropriating client funds.
Torres reached a stipulation with State Bar prosecutors June 3, in which he agreed to be disbarred for taking almost $90,000 from clients who were seriously injured by a drunk driver in 2005. The criminal case is based on the same incident.
A candidate for the state Assembly and the Los Angeles City Charter Commission in separate 1997 elections, Torres is the son of retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ricardo A. Torres, a former presiding judge, and is a nephew of retired Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner William Torres.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments



Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

There is one vacancy, in the seat of Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004.

 

The Senate Judiciary Committee on July 19 approved the nomination of Magistrate Judge Fernando M. Olguin, nominated May 14 to fill the vacancy created by Judge Jacqueline Nguyen�s elevation to the Ninth Circuit.
On July 12, the committee approved the nomination of Jesus G. Bernal, deputy federal public defender in charge of the Riverside office, to succeed Judge Stephen G. Larson. President Obama nominated him April 25 to a seat that had been vacant since Larson resigned Nov. 2, 2009.
Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank took senior status March 1.


There are no vacancies.

First District

Justice Patricia K. Sepulveda retired March 1 from Div. Four.

Second District

Justice Paul Coffee retired from Div. Six on Jan. 31

Third District

There has been a vacancy since Tani Cantil-Sakauye became chief justice in January of last year.

Sixth District

Justice Wendy Duffy retired in October of last year.

Seats in other districts are filled.
Los Angeles Superior Court

Judge John Shook retired July 15 of last year, Judge Martha Bellinger July 31, Judge Judith Champagne Sept. 1, Judge Michael Latin Sept. 5, Judge Maral Injejikian Sept. 6, Judge Peter D. Lichtman Oct. 31, Judge Rita Baird Dec. 30, and Judge Burt Pines Dec. 31.
Judge Marjorie Steinberg retired Feb. 14 of this year, Judge Jacqueline Connor Feb. 24, Judge Carl J. West Feb. 29, Judge Gary Hahn March 7, Judge Rose Hom March 27, Judge Anita Dymant April 10, and Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani May 11. Judge Gary E. Daigh retired July 16.
Judge Judith Vander Lans sat for the last time July 6 and officially retires today. Commissioner George Kalinski retired at the end of June.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to the court are Irvine attorney James L. Crandall, Deputy County Counsel Julie Ann Silva; Deputy Public Defenders Enrique Monguia, Lee W. Tsao and Johan ElFarrah; Deputy District Attorneys Kathleen Tuttle and Brentford Ferreira; Montebello attorney and school board member Edwin Chau, who is also running for the state Assembly; Los Angeles attorney Douglas W. Stern; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Court of Appeal staff attorneys Kenneth E. Roberson and Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, David Cowan, Lloyd Loomis, Lori Behar, Dennis Mulcahy and Kenneth Taylor; Los Angeles attorney Angel Navarro; 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 July.

•AB 278, by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, and others, which would mandate changes in foreclosure procedures. The bill passed the Assembly July 2 by a vote of 54-26, passed the Senate the same day by a vote of 25-13, and was signed by the governor July 11.

•AB 1021, by Assemblyman Donald Wagner, R-Irvine, which makes procedural changes with regard to motions to set aside and vacate judgments and motions for new trial. The bill was signed into law by the governor July 10.

•AB 1631, by Assemblyman William Monning, D-Santa Cruz, repealing the sunset date on previous legislation setting forth requirements for out-of-state attorneys to appear in California arbitration hearings. The bill was signed into law by the governor July 9.

•AB 1727, by Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach, which will allow a spousal support obligor to seek termination of the order ex parte once the obligation has terminated, subject to exceptions. The bill was signed into law by the governor July 10.

•AB 1875, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Burbank, which would, with exceptions, require leave of court to depose a witness on multiple days or for more than seven hours. Employment cases would be among those exempt under the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee July 3 by a vote of 3-1.

•SB 491, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which, as amended in the Assembly, would bar the inclusion, in a contract of adhesion, of any provision barring class action or private attorney general claims. The bill failed passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee July 3. The vote was 5-4 in favor of the bill, but one member did not vote and six votes were required for approval.

•SB 890, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would regulate buyers of consumer debt. The bill, which passed the Senate in January, failed in the Assembly Business and Finance Committee July 2 on a 3-3 vote, with six members absent or not voting and seven votes needed for approval. Reconsideration was granted.

•SB 1021, by Sens. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, and Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, expanding the list of cases in which a prosecuting witness may have support persons to include, among others, cases involving human trafficking, prostitution, child exploitation, and obscenity, as specified. The bill passed the Assembly July 2 by a vote of 80-0 and was signed into law by the governor July 17.

•SB 1186, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, which would establish notice requirements for an alleged aggrieved party to follow before bringing an action against a business for an alleged violation of the disability access laws, and would require that the responsible party be allowed 90 days to fix the violation before the aggrieved party could file a treble-damage suit as permitted by existing law. The bill, which passed the Senate in May, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee July 3 by a vote of 10-0.

•SB 1528, by Steinberg, which would make it easier for counties to recoup costs of treating injured persons from third party tortfeasors. The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee July 3 by a vote of 6-4.


 

 

 


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