There has been a vacancy on the court since Judge Stephen Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004. There is also a newly created position as of Jan. 21, and Judge Michael Daly Hawkins is scheduled to take senior status Feb. 12, 2010.

There are three vacancies on the court.

Judge Nora Manella resigned to become a justice of this district's Court of Appeal in 2006. Judge George Schiavelli resigned Oct. 5 of last year. Judge Alicemarie Stotler took senior status Jan. 5.

There are no vacancies.

Los Angeles attorney Mark A. Borenstein and Deputy District Attorney Christian R. Gullón were appointed judges of the court March 26 to fill vacancies created by the Sept. 15 retirements of Judges Coleman Swart and Suzanne Person.

There remain vacancies as a result of the retirements of Judge Kathryn A. Stoltz Feb. 20, Rodney Forneret Dec. 5, Kenneth Black Nov. 5 and Darlene Schempp Sept. 30, and as a result of the decision of the Judicial Council to convert the seat formerly held by Commissioner Ronald Rose to a judgeship. Rose was among the 17 new judges named by Schwarzenegger in November.

A newly created position on the court was to have been funded as of last June 1, but legislation in response to the state budget crisis postponed the effective date to June 1 of this year. However, the Judicial Council has indicated legislation enacted last month-again in response to the budget crisis-has further postponed funding.

Judge Aviva K. Bobb said she expects to retire in May or June. Judge William Pounders previously indicated he would retire at the end of this year, or sooner if county-paid judicial benefits were cut off pursuant to the Court of Appeal ruling in Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles, a possibility now foreclosed by legislation. Judge Robert O'Neill is retiring April 6. Judge Alice Hill's last working day is May 29; she is resigning effective June 12 to become counselor to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are former Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden, now in private practice; former Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Vaughn, now a managing director of the litigation and consulting firm FTI Consulting, Inc.; criminal defense specialist Steven Cron of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Gary Geuss; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorneys Timothy R. Saito, Richard Kraft and Edward J. Perez; state Deputy Attorneys General Steven D. Matthews, Emilio E. Varanini IV, Victoria Wilson, Paul Roadarmel Jr., Robert S. Henry and Kenneth Byrne; Administrative Law Judge Robert Helfand; Deputy District Attorneys Steven I. Katz, Alison S. Matsumoto, Shellie Samuels, Jeffrey Gootman, John D. Harlan II and Laura Laesecke; Commissioners Cynthia Zuzga, Henry Hull, John Slawson, Rocky L. Crabb, Michael Convey, Joel Wallenstein, Dennis Mulcahy, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Mary Lou Katz Byrne, Steven Berman, and Loren DiFrank; U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew; Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown; Deputy Federal Public Defender Angel Navarro; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jerome J. Haig; Deputy Public Defender Lisa Brackelmans; Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Martin Joseph Murphy; Los Angeles attorneys Howard Fields, Michael Wilner, Shan K. Thever, John L. Carlton, David Fields, Adrienne Krikorian, Eulanda Matthews and Lawrence P. Brennan Jr.; Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman; Pasadena attorney Warren Gilbert; Glendale attorney Mark J. MacCarley; and Westlake Village attorney Michael Nebenzahl.

Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Matthew C. St. George and Deputy Public Defender Kenneth H. Taylor were elected commissioners earlier this month, succeeding Victor Greenberg and Maren Nelson, who were appointed judges.

Commissioner H.M. "Trip" Webster III retired yesterday and Commissioners Gretchen Taylor and Harold Vites are retiring today. Court officials said that successors to Taylor and Webster will be elected soon, and that the Vites seat is being converted to a judgeship.

Commissioner William Dodson is on long-term medical leave.

The following bills of interest to the legal community were acted upon in March:

•AB 5, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would enact the Electronic Discovery Act. A similar bill was vetoed last year by the governor. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee March 3 by a vote of 10-0, passed the full Assembly March 12 as an urgency measure by a vote of 74-0, and was referred to the Senate Rules Committee that same day.

•AB 16, by Assemblywoman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, which would make it a felony for any person to solicit another person who is under 18 years of age to engage in an act of prostitution in return for money or other consideration or to agree to give another person who is under 18 years of age money or other consideration in return for the other person committing an act of prostitution. The bill is set for hearing today in the Public Safety Committee.

•AB 17, by Swanson, which would impose mandatory fines on persons convicted of soliciting prostitution, or of pimping, pandering, or procuring of a minor; authorize the court to impound any personal property used in the course of that unlawful conduct for a period of up to 60 days or to declare it forfeited if the person has a prior conviction for a similar offense; require each county to establish a sexually exploited minors fund into which shall be deposited the proceeds of those fines or forfeitures, with the proceeds divided between local law enforcement and assistance to sexually exploited minors; and authorize local law enforcement agencies to make public or make available to media outlets the name and photograph of any person who is convicted pursuant to the bill. The bill is set for hearing today in the Public Safety Committee.

•AB 27, by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, which would increase the amount of damage required for a person to be guilty of aggravated arson from $5.65 million to $6.5 million, and extend the sunset date for existing provisions relating to property damage from Jan. 1, 2010 until Jan. 1, 2014. The bill was approved by the Committee on Public Safety March 17 by a vote of 6-0 and re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 58, by Jeffries, which would reduce to an infraction, punishable by a fine of no more than $250, the offense of participating in a sports betting pool, when the offender is not being paid to operate the pool, the pool is not being operated online, and the amount at stake is no more than $2,500. A similar bill was vetoed last year by the governor. The bill is scheduled for hearing tomorrow before the Governmental Organization Committee.

•AB 83, by Assemblyman Michael Feuer, D-West Hollywood, which, as amended Feb. 5, would amend the existing "Good Samaritan" law by providing that medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel who in good faith, and not for compensation, render emergency medical care at the scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission. The bill would also provide that any person, not including medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel, who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission, as long as that act or omission does not constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. The provisions would only apply to actions filed on or after Jan. 1, 2010. The bill was amended March 5 to add an urgency clause, which would make the bill effective upon being signed into law rather than on Jan. 1. The stated reason for the urgency is that "the state has long encouraged Californians to assist others facing danger in an emergency, and the ability to do so without fear of potential suit has been thrown into question by the recent California Supreme Court decision of Van Horn v. Watson, (2008) 45 Cal.4th 322."

•AB 90, by Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, which would amend the Good Samaritan law by providing immunity for good faith, uncompensated rendering of emergency care, either medical or non-medical, at the scene of an emergency. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 4. .

•AB 168, by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, which would authorize access to some sealed juvenile court files where the offender later becomes the subject of a commitment proceeding under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee March 17 by a vote of 6-0 and was amended March 19 to explicitly require a court order to access the files. It is scheduled for hearing in the Public Safety Committee today.

•AB 170, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, which would tighten the rules restricting use of court reporters' rough drafts in place of official transcripts. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee March 17 by a vote of 10-0 and by the full Assembly March 23 by a vote of 77-0.

•AB 590, by Feuer, which would create a right to appointed counsel for some indigent civil litigants under pilot programs to be established by the Judicial Council and funded through increases in some court fees. The bill was amended March 12 to add that funding mechanism and was re-referred to the Judicial Committee.

•AB 680, by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, which would increase some fees for the services of sheriffs and marshals. The bill was approved by the Public Safety Committee March 17 by a vote of 6-0, amended March 19, and re-referred to the Judiciary Committee March 23.

•SB 39 by Sen. John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, which would, as amended, enact the Good Samaritan Protection Act which would provide that medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel who in good faith, and not for compensation render emergency care at the scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission, and that any person, not including medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel, who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission, as long as that act or omission does not constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for March 23 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•SB 59, by Sen. Robert Huff, R-Diamond Bar, which would provide that good cause exists to continue a trial for violation of the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act when the assigned prosecutor has another case in progress, within specific limitations. A hearing is scheduled before the Public Safety Committee April 21.

•SB 108, by Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, which, as amended, would add charter schools to the list of public agencies covered by the California Tort Claims Act. The bill was amended in the Senate March 23 and sent back to the Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to hold a hearing April 14.

•SB 150, by Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, which would amend provisions related to sentence enhancements to eliminate the requirement, the validity of which is in question as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cunningham v. California, that when there are three possible terms for the enhancement, the judge must select the middle term in the absence of aggravating or mitigating factors. The bill would amend Proposition 21, and thus requires a two-thirds majority. The Committee on Public Safety is set to hold a hearing April 14.

•SB 151, by Sen. Diane Ducheny, D-San Diego, which would require, until January 1, 2015, the Judicial Council to establish a pilot program for the operation of up to 10 court-based reentry programs for parolees who would benefit from community drug treatment or mental health treatment. The bill is set for hearing before the Committee on Public Safety April 21.

•SB 154, by Benoit, which would grant the Department of Motor Vehicles the authority, which the Court of Appeal ruled last year it does not have under existing law, to suspend the license of any driver convicted of operating a boat under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A committee hearing scheduled for today was postponed to April 14.