End of the Month

Confirmation Hearing for Ninth Circuit Nominee Judge Carolyn Kuhl Set for Tomorrow... Judge James Selna Confirmed to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California... Boxer, Feinstein Urge Hearing on Nomination of Justice Consuelo Callahan to Ninth Circuit

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Patrick B. Murphy
Attorney and former Superior Court judge

Murphy, who resigned from the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2001 while on the verge of being removed from office, responded in pro per Jan. 7 to disciplinary charges filed in November.

The proceeding largely tracks the action taken against Murphy by the Commission on Judicial Performance, which censured him and barred him "from receiving any assignment, appointment, or reference of work from any California state court."

Murphy denied "committing acts involving moral turpitude, dishonesty or corruption," in violation of Business & Professions Code Sec. 6106, as charged by the State Bar.

The charges parallel those which were found by the commission to be true: excessive absenteeism over a four-year period, engaging in outside activities when he should have been on the bench, lack of candor with the presiding judge of the Citrus Municipal Court (on which he sat prior to unification), creating administrative problems by virtue of his absences, and malingering.

The notice recites that Murphy was absent from Sept. 20, 1999, until April 3, 2000; stopped working as of June 8, 2000; and resigned on May 4, 2001. Largely drawn from the commission's May 10 decision, the notice chronicles Murphy's activities during the time he was supposedly too sick to work: teaching one or two night law classes a week, completing pre-med physics and chemistry courses at Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, and attending classes at a school of medicine on the island of Dominica in the West Indies from January to April of 2000.

Murphy does not deny those allegations, but claimed in his response that he was indeed ill, suffering from various maladies including a "phobia" regarding judicial service. His outside activities were a diversion he hoped would eventually enable him to return to the bench, he said.

Murphy also denied lying about his state of health to Rolf Treu, the presiding judge of the Citrus court.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, was confirmed March 12 by a vote of 74-19. He fills the seat left vacant when Judge Procter Hug Jr. took senior status Jan. 1 of last year.

Bybee, a former law professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, was nominated on May 23 of last year. He did not receive a hearing in the 107th Congress, and the nomination was resubmitted on Jan. 7 of this year.

There remain three vacancies on the 28-judge court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, which was resubmitted on Jan. 7. Kuhl was tapped by Bush in 2001 to succeed Judge James Browning, who took senior status Sept. 1, 2000.

Third District Court of Appeal Justice Consuelo M. Callahan was nominated Feb. 12 to succeed Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez, who took senior status June 1 of last year. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein this month signed "blue slips" requesting that the Judiciary Committee hold a hearing on her nomination.

The president is reportedly considering San Francisco Superior Court Judge Carlos Bea for the seat left vacant when the late Judge Charles Wiggins took senior status on Dec. 31, 1996.

There will be another vacancy when Judge Thomas G. Nelson of Idaho takes senior status Nov. 14.

Orange Superior Court Judge James V. Selna won confirmation Thursday as the newest judge of the court. The Senate vote was 97-0.

Selna was nominated on Jan. 29 to fill a vacancy resulting from Judge J. Spencer Letts taking senior status Dec. 19, 2000.

One vacancy remains in the district.

A confirmation hearing was held March 12 for Orange Superior Court Judge Cormac J. Carney, nominated on Oct. 10 of last year to fill the vacancy resulting from Carlos Moreno's confirmation as a California Supreme Court justice on Oct. 17, 2001. The nomination was resubmitted on Jan. 70.

Carney was rated "qualified" by the American Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Committee, with a minority of the members abstaining, the committee reported.

A new judgeship was created by the Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act signed into law last year, but it cannot be filled before July 15.

There are no vacancies.

This District (Second District)

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 Charles Lee, Richard Rico, Aurelio Munoz and Thomas Willhite Jr. 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 Laurie Zelon, Ralph Dau, Madeline Flier, and Gregory Alarcon.

Fourth District

Presiding Justice Daniel Kremer of Div. One will retire July 31.

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.

Los Angeles Superior Court

Deputy Attorney General Robin Miller Sloan, Deputy District Attorney Lisa Mangay Chung, and civil litigators Donna Fields Goldstein and Nancy L. Newman were named to the court last week by Gov. Gray Davis.

Sloan succeeds Judge R. Gary Klausner, who was appointed to the federal bench and took office Feb. 3. Goldstein, a partner in Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, fills the vacancy created by the January retirement of Judge Keith L. Groneman.

Chung succeeds Judge Reginald Yates, who retired December 11. Newman, a partner with the firm of Knapp, Petersen & Clarke, will fill the vacancy created by Judge Pamela Rogers' December 11 retirement.

Three vacancies remain. Judge J. Michael Byrne retired March 8, Judge S. James Otero took the federal bench Feb. 28, and Judge Robert Mackey retired Feb. 25. Another vacancy will occur tomorrow with the retirement of Judge Raymond Mireles.

The court is also without the services of Judge Aurelio Munoz, on assignment to Div. Seven of this district's Court of Appeal through May. Also, Judge David Workman has scheduled back surgery and will be out in May and June.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

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

•SB 328, by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would correct erroneous references in the provisions for the Court Facilities Trust Fund. The bill was amended March 24 to include a $2 increase in criminal fines in Fresno County, to pay for courthouse construction.

•AB 2 , by Assemblyman Russ Bogh, R-Yucaipa, which would allow crime victims to submit statements to parole boards on CD-Rom, DVD or any other recording medium acceptable to the court. The bill was amended March 5 to include the "any other recording medium" provision, was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a 6-0 vote, and passed the Assembly on a 71-0 vote March 17. It was sent to the Senate for further committee hearings.

•AB 155 , by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, which would provide that there is good cause for a continuance in a homicide or forcible sex crime case if there is a temporary unavailability of forensic DNA analysis results and reports, when the DNA evidence at issue is pending analysis at a laboratory at the time a motion for continuance is made. Technical amendments were made to the bill March 5, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the measure 7-0, and the Assembly sent the bill to the Senate with a 72-0 vote March 13.