End of the Month

Field of Candidates for Judicial Elections Finalized...Preliminary Hearing Setting for Ricardo A. Torres II Continued to April 5...Justice Patricia Sepulveda Retires from First District Court of Appeal

Judicial Elections

The field of candidates for the June 5 primary was finalized on March 9, the last day to file nominating papers. There are six contests on the June 5 ballot. The candidates, with occupational designations that will appear on the ballot, are:
Office No. 3—Sean Coen, Gang Homicide Prosecutor; Joe Escalanate, Attorney/Legal Commentator; Craig Gold, Criminal Trial Prosecutor; and Lawrence Kaldor, Domestic Violence Litigator, for the seat now held by Judge Deborah Andrews.
Office No. 10—Sanjay T. Kumar, Judge of the Superior Court, and Kim Smith, Criminal Prosecutor.
Office No. 38—Lynn D. Olson, Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 38, and Douglas Weitzman, Consumer Rights Attorney.
Office No. 65—Shannon Knight, Gang Homicide Prosecutor; Andrea Thompson, Child Molestation Prosecutor; and Matt Schonbrun, Criminal Prosecutor, for the seat now held by Judge Judith VanderLans.
Office No. 78—James D. Otto, Judge of the Superior Court, and Kenneth R. Hughey, Retired Criminal Prosecutor.
Office No. 114—Eric Harmon, Gang Homcide Prosecutor; Ben M. Brees, Consumer Attorney; and Berg Parseghian Environmental Lawyer, for the seat now held by Judge Anita Dymant.

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Ricardo Torres II
Disbarred Los Angeles Attorney

Torres, a onetime rising star in local politics, faces a April 5 preliminary hearing setting before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Bork. Torres is charged with violating Penal Code Sec. 506 by misappropriating client funds. The setting was continued from March 6.
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

The court’s newest judge, Morgan Christen of Anchorage, Alaska, received her commission Jan. 11.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 2 approved the nomination of Los Angeles attorney Paul J. Watford, who was nominated Oct. 17 for the vacancy created by the death of Judge Pamela Ann Rymer Sept. 21. Watford was unanimously rated “well qualified” by the from the American Bar Association’s evaluating committee.
The committee favorably reported the nomination of U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen of the Central District of California on Dec. 1. The president nominated Nguyen on Sept. 22 to the open seat on the court. Nguyen was unanimously rated “qualified” by the ABA.
The committee on March 1 favorably reported the nomination of Andrew Hurwitz, vice chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, to succeed Judge Mary M. Schroeder, who took senior status at the end of last year. Hurwitz was nominated on Nov. 2 Hurwitz received a unanimous rating of “well qualified” from the ABA.
There is no nomination pending for the seat of Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004.

The Senate on March 15 confirmed Michael W. Fitzgerald, tapped by the president on July 20 to succeed Judge A. Howard Matz, by a vote of 91-6. Matz took senior status July 11. Fitzgerald received a unanimous “well qualified” rating from the ABA.
No nomination has been made to succeed Judge Stephen G. Larson, who resigned Nov. 2, 2009 to join the law firm of Girardi | Keese. He subsequently joined the firm of Arent Fox LLP.
A vacancy will occur if and when Judge Jacqueline Nguyen is confirmed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Nguyen is one of a number of judicial nominees included in an agreement between Democratic and Republican senators to schedule confirmation votes in the coming weeks.

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.

Forth District

Justice Kathleen O’Leary was confirmed and sworn in Feb. 10 as presiding justice of Div. Three, succeeding the late David Sills. O’Leary’s elevation leaves an associate justice vacancy on the court.

Sixth District

Justice Richard McAdams retired Feb. 28 of last year. Justice Wendy Duffy retired in October of last year.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

There are 14 vacancies on the court, all caused by retirements.
Judge Andrew Kauffman left the court May 15 of last year, Judge William Birney July 7, Judge John Shook July 15, 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, and Judges Marjorie Steinberg and Burt Pines Dec. 31.
Judge Jacqueline Connor retired Feb. 24 of this year, Judge Carl J. West Feb. 29, Judge Gary Hahn March 7, and Judge Rose Hom March 27.
Judge Anita Dymant has set retirement for April 10 and Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani April 27.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to the court are Pasadena lawyer C. Virginia Keeny; 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, Brentford Ferreira and Debra Cole; 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 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 March.

•AB 159, by Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, R-Fresno, which, as amended, would generally preclude an award of punitive damages in a products liability case where the product was manufactured or applicable warnings given in compliance with state or federal safety standards. The bill as originally introduced would have limited punitive damages, and noneconomic damage awards, in all cases. The bill was returned to the chief clerk Feb. 1 after the Assembly failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.

•AB 265, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, 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. The bill died on the inactive file Feb. 1.

•AB 625, by Ammiano, which, as amended, would establish a tiered system of sex offender registration, in which some offenders would have to register for 10 years after release from custody, some for 20 years, and others for life. The bill was sent to third reading by the Assembly Jan. 26 by a vote of 40-28, but was refused passage on Jan. 30 by a vote of 19 in favor, 44 opposed.

•AB 990, by Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, dealing with court transcripts. The bill was returned to the chief clerk Feb. 1 after the Assembly failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.

•AB 993, by Assemblyman Donald Wagner, R-Irvine, 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 returned to the chief clerk Feb. 1 after the Assembly failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.

•AB 1316, by Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, which would expand the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. The bill was returned to the chief clerk Feb. 1 after the Assembly failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.

•SB 308, by Sen. Anthony Canella, R-Modesto, which would increase the limitations period for prosecution of an accessory to murder to 10 years. The bill was returned to the secretary of the Senate Jan. 31 after the Senate failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.

•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 returned to the secretary of the Senate Jan. 31 after the Senate failed to act on it by the deadline set forth in Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the state Constitution.