President Obama on Jan. 5 renominated UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to fill an open position on the court. His previous nomination was returned to the president when the Senate adjourned Dec. 22.

Liu was unanimously rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the American Bar Association’s evaluating committee, but Republicans object that he is too liberal.

There are two other vacant seats, previously held by Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004, and Judge Andrew Kleinfeld, who took senior status June 12 of last year. Judge Mary M. Schroeder is taking senior status Jan 1.

On March 10, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Kronstadt. The president renominated Kronstadt Jan. 5 to succeed Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, who died Jan. 15 of last year. Kronstadt was previously nominated Nov. 17, but no action was taken on the nomination before Congress adjourned.

Another vacancy remains because Judge Stephen G. Larson resigned Nov. 2, 2009. to join the law firm of Girardi | Keese.

Judge A. Howard Matz is scheduled to take senior status July 11.

Bankruptcy Judge Geraldine Mund retired Feb. 9, but continues to sit as a recalled judge. Sandra R. Klein was named this month to serve as a bankruptcy judge, effective April 22, suceeding Judge Kathleen H. Thompson, who retired in January but continues to serve on recall..

Justice Carlos Moreno retired Feb. 28..

Judge Dennis Aichroth retired Feb. 17 and Judge Conrad Aragon Feb. 18. Judge Jerry E. Johnson sat for the last time on Nov. 18 and retired March 3.

Judge Harvey Silberman is disqualified while under felony indictment.

Commissioner Patrick Larkin is on medical leave. Retired Commissioner Kenneth H. Taylor has been filling in at Metropolitan Court.

Commissioner Nicholas Taubert retired June 30 of last year. There are also commissioner vacancies as a result of the judicial appointments of Michael Convey on June 30 of last year and of Lia Martin Dec. 6.

Commissioner Ralph Amado died Oct. 17. Commissioner Martin Goetsch is retiring today and Commissioner Cathrin DeVoe April 26.

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

•AB 60, by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Murrieta, which, as amended Jan. 31, would add felony battery on certain sworn officers—including police, firefighters, and custodial officers—to the list of “serious felonies” for purposes of the Three-Strikes Law and other enhancement statutes. The bill was re-referred to the Committee on Public Safety Feb. 1, and a committee hearing scheduled for March 22 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 67, by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, which would create a presumptive minimum sentence of 180 days in jail for sale of methamphetamine. The bill failed in the Public Safety Committee March 15. The vote was 3-2 in favor, but four votes were needed for approval.

•AB 126, by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, which would require the governor to disclose the names of all persons outside his administration whom he has consulted with respect to potential judicial appointments, and would require members of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation to undergo two hours of annual anti-bias training. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for March 15 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 141, by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, which would specifically mandate that jurors be instructed that the ban on communications about a trial extends to text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee March 15 by a vote of 10-0 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 142, by Fuentes, which would require that a criminal defendant who pleads guilty or no contest be advised that if he or she is deported as a result of the plea, and returns to the United States illegally, he or she could be charged with criminal reentry by the federal government. The bill passed the Committee on Public Safety March 15 by a vote of 4-2.

•AB 173, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, which would extend the statute of limitations for suits to enforce insurance policies on the lives of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which approved it March 22 by a vote of 10-0.

•AB 190, by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, which would impose an additional $3 assessment on certain traffic violators to fund spinal cord research. The bill was amended March 15 to permit trial courts to deduct their administrative costs before forwarding the collected amounts forward to the state, and then re-referred to the Committee on Public Safety, where a hearing scheduled for March 22 was cancelled at the author’s request.

•AB 238, by Huber, which would codify the procedure for submission of privilege logs in discovery disputes. A Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for March 15 was postponed by the committee.

•AB 239, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would increase state oversight of local crime laboratories. A Public Safety Committee hearing scheduled for March 15 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 265, by Ammiano, which would require a residential landlord to wait 14 days, rather than the current three, before demanding that a tenant who has defaulted on rent either pay or quit the premises. A hearing scheduled for March 15 was postponed by the Judiciary Committee.

•AB 271 by Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Springs, which would allow an appeal as a matter of right from an order granting class certification. The Judiciary Committee rejected the bill March 22 by a vote of 7-3.

•AB 354, by Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach, which, as amended, would provide that a person who has taken, concealed, or disposed of property belonging to a trust, conservatee, estate, or minor by use of undue influence in bad faith or through the commission of elder or dependent adult financil abuse, as defined, shall be liable for double damages. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee March 17 by a vote of 10-0, was amended in the Assembly March 21, and was ordered to third reading March 22.

•AB 433, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would eliminate the procedure allowing objections in superior court to a petition to issue a new birth certificate to a person who has undergone sex change surgery. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 3.

•AB 520, by Ammiano, which would provide that an upper term sentence may not be imposed under the Determinate Sentencing Law, except on the basis of facts in aggravation found by the trier of fact. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety March 3.

•AB 556, by Assemblyman Donald Wagner, R-Irvine, which would provide that judges, rather than juries, determine the amount of punitive damages. The bill was rejected by the Judiciary Committee March 22 by a vote of 7-3.

•AB 572, by Wieckowski, which would set State Bar dues for 2012 in the current amount. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 3.

•AB 622, by Assemblyman Dan Dickinson, D-Sacramento, which would amend civil grand jury procedures. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 7.

•AB 803, by Wagner, dealing with registration of court reporters. The bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee March 10.

•AB 934,, by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, which would limit the application of the litigation privilege; it would expressly invalidate the holdings in Action Apartment Ass’n v. City of Santa Monica. (2007) 41 Cal.4th 1232 and Feldman v. 1100 Park Lane Associates (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 1467 by making the privilege inapplicable to eviction notices and similar documents served by landlords on tenants. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee March 22 by a vote of 7-0, amended Tuesday, and sent to second reading.

•AB 973,, by Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, which would require that every trial court hold a public hearing prior to submitting its annual budget request to the Judicial Council. The bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee March 10.

•AB 990,, by Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, dealing with court transcripts. The bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee March 10.

•AB 993,, by Wagner, which would immunize family law mediators and counselors against liability for damages resulting from their performance of their duties in court-ordered mediation or counseling. It would also provide that they are not subject to professional discipline resulting from such services unless the court finds they acted improperly. The bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee March 10.

•AB 1017,, by Ammiano, to reduce penalties for marijuana cultivation. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety March 14.

•AB 1062,, by Dickinson, which would make orders dismissing or denying petitions to compel arbitration non-appealable. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 14.

•AB 1082,, by Gatto, dealing with powers of attorney. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 14.

•AB 1089,, by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, which, as amended March 25, would authorize a bilingual judge, notwithstanding any other law, to provide an unofficial translation of preliminary court procedures that do not bear on any substantive right of a party when a court interpreter is not immediately available. The bill was re-referred Tuesday to the Judiciary Committee.

•AB 1111,, by Assembly members Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, and Holly Mitchell, D-El Segundo, which would prohibit a court from garnishing wages or levying a bank account for the enforcement and collection of fees, fines, forfeitures, or penalties imposed by a court against a person under 25 years of age who has an outstanding unpaid citation for truancy, loitering, curfew violations, or illegal lodging if the court obtains information that the person is homeless. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 21.

•AB 1133,, by Silva, which would require recusal of a civil grand juror if such person was employed, within the preceding three years, by the agency that is the subject of an investigation. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 17.

•AB 1284,, by Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, which would permit a court to require a probationer to post bond as a means of guaranteeing compliance with probation conditions. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety March 21.

•AB 1316, by Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita,, which would expand the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 21. .

•SB 129, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified medical marijuana patient based on such person’s qualified patient status or a positive drug test, unless the employee uses the drug on the employer’s premises or the employment is to be “safety-sensitive.” A Judiciary Committee hearing was held yesterday.

•SB 182, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which, would require the governor to collect and release data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of judicial applicants, in addition to the data on race and gender that must be released under current law. As amended March 10, the bill would require a departing governor to provide the data for the governor’s last year in office to his or her successor.

•SB 308, by Sen. Anthony Canella, R-Modesto, which would increase the limitations period for prosecution of an accessory to murder to 10 years. A committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled at the request of the author.

•SB 405, by Corbett, which would create up to 10 new judgeships during the 2011-12 fiscal year in order to convert subordinate judicial officer positions in family law or juvenile law only. This would be in addition to the 16 annual conversions already authorized for the superior courts generally. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee March 22 by a vote of 3-1 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•SB 647, by the Judiciary Committee, which would make omnibus changes in civil law. The bill was amended in the Senate March 24. •SB 671, by Sen. Curren D. Price, D-Inglewood, relating to continuing education requirements for shorthand reporters. The bill was referred to the Committee on Business, Professions and Employment Development March 3.

•SB 731, by the Judiciary Committee, which would allow a vexatious litigant subject to a prefiling order to apply, no more than once annually, for an order vacating the prefiling order, and which would extend the time in which to request trial de novo following judicial arbitration from 30 days to 60 days. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee March 3 and amended March 29.

•SB 780,, by Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Riverside, which would increase drunk driving penalties by eliminating the 10-year “wipeout” period beyond which prior convictions can no longer be used to enhance sentences, increasing the minimum sentence for a third offense from 120 days in jail to 180 days, and adding drunk-driving-related murder to the list of offenses for which a defendant who flees the scene is subject to a five-year sentence enhancement. The bill was referred to the Public Safety Committee March 10.

•SB 883, by Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana which would, in enforcement actions brought by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, permit a defense of good faith compliance with or reliance upon an applicable employment statute or regulation. The bill was referred to the Judiciary and Labor and Industrial Relations Committees and scheduled for hearing April 13.

•SB 890, by Leno, which would regulate the business of buying delinquent consumer debt and establish specific procedures applicable to court actions by persons engaged in such business. The bill was amended in the Senate March 24.

•SB 927, by Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Palmdale, which would authorize certain persons who are participating in criminal or juvenile proceedings involving a sibling of a dependent child to inspect the case file. The bill was referred to the Judiciary and Public Safety committees March 10 and has been scheduled for hearing April 26.