End of the Month

Twelve Contested Judicial Races Go to June Primary Ballot, as Three Candidates Lose Ballot Designations in Court...Senate Invokes Cloture on John Owens Nomination to Ninth Circuit...U.S. District Judge Gary Feess Takes Senior Status

Judicial Elections

March 7 marked the end of the nominating period for the June 3 primary. When the dust settled, three candidates for open seats on the Los Angeles Superior Court were unopposed, while 12 races—11 open-seat contests and one challenge to an incumbent, headed for the ballot.
Names of unopposed candidates for open seats appear on the ballot, unopposed incumbents do not appear on the ballot unless challenged by a write-in candidate. The following races will appear on the ballot:
•Office No. 22, Amy Carter (Sex Crimes Prosecutor) and Pamala F. Matsumoto (Litigation Attorney) for the seat of Judge Michael Solner, who retired last month.
•Office No. 48, Charles Calderon (Retired Lawmaker Assemblymember) and Carol Rose (Sex Crimes Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge Ronald Sohigan, who is retiring in April.
•Office No. 54, Shannon L. Knight (Gang Homicide Prosecutor) and Debra L. Losnick (Superior Court Commissioner), for the seat now held by Judge Lance Ito.
•Office No. 61, B. Otis Felder (Los Angeles Prosecutor), Jacqueline H. Lewis (Superior Court Commissioner), and Dayan Mathai (Gang Homicide Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge Michael Nash.
•Office No. 72, Chris J. Frisco (Criminal Gang Prosecutor), running unopposed for the seat now held by Judge Joseph DiLoreto.
•Office No. 76, Alison Matsumoto Estrada (Government Corruption Prosecutor) and Helen Kim (Criminal Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge Harvey Giss.
•Office No. 82, Ann H. Park (Criminal Prosecutor), running unopposed for the seat now held by Judge Arthur M. Lew.
•Office No. 87, Tom Griego (Criminal Gang Prosecutor), Steven P. Schreiner (Gang Homicide Prosecutor) and Andrew M. Stein (Gang Homicide Attorney), for the seat now held by Judge Rex Heeseman.
•Office No. 90, Serena R. Murillo (Sexual Predator Prosecutor), running unopposed for the seat now held by Judge Daniel Lopez.
•Office No. 97, Teresa P. Magno (Gang Murder Prosecutor), and Songhai “Sunny” Armstead (Supervising Criminal Prosecutor), for the seat formerly held by Judge David Milton, who retired last month.
•Office No. 107, Emma Castro (Superior Court Commissioner) and Joan M. Chrostek (Major Narcotics Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge Bob S. Bowers Jr.
•Office No. 113, Steven Klaif (Superior Court Referee) and Stacy Wiese (Criminal Homicide Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge R. Bruce Minto, who is retiring this month.
•Office No. 117, Carol Najera (Gang Criminal Prosecutor) and James B. Pierce (Judge of the Superior Court).
•Office No. 138, Marc A. Gibbons (Trial Attorney) and Donna Hollingsworth Armstrong (Gang Homicide Prosecutor), for the seat now held by Judge Carlos Uranga.
•Office No. 157, Andrew Cooper (Gang Homicide Prosecutor) and Arnold William Mednick (Retired ), for the seat formerly held by Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers, who retired last month.
Ballot designations are those that will appear on the ballot, after three candidates—Matsumoto, Kim and Mednick—had their preferred designations stricken by Superior Court judges who found that the designations did not comply with statutory requirements.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate voted 54-44 to close debate on the nomination of John B. Owens, which was sent to the full Senate by the Judiciary Committee on Jan. 16.
Owens was nominated Aug. 1 of last year for the seat vacant since Dec. 31, 2004, when Judge Stephen Trott assumed senior status. The 41-year-old litigator is a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and San Diego, where he headed the Criminal Division before joining Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP last year.
President Obama on Aug. 1 also nominated Michelle T. Friedland to the court. Like Owens, she is a Munger Tolles litigation partner. Friedland is based in San Francisco and Owens in Los Angeles.
If confirmed by the Senate, Friedland will fill a judgeship vacant since April 1, when Judge Raymond C. Fisher assumed senior status. Friedland, 41, is a former lecturer at Stanford Law School, from which she graduated in 2000.

Judge Gary Feess took senior status on March 13.

Justice Joyce L. Kennard, the senior member of the court, notified the governor last month that she will retire after 25 years on the high court and 28 years on the bench, effective April 5.

First District

Presiding Justice James Marchiano retired from Div. One March 15 of last year. Justice James Lambden retired from Div. Two July 31 of last year. Justice Paul Haerle said he expects to retire from Div. Two in mid-June.

Second District

Presiding Justice Robert Mallano retired from Div. One and Justice Steven Suzukawa from Div. Four on Feb. 28.
Justice Frank Jackson retired from Div. Seven June 30 of last year. Justice Orville Armstrong retired from Div. Five July 31 of last year.
Justice Kathryn Doi Todd retired from Div. Two on Jan. 22 of last year. Justice Paul Coffee retired from Div. Six on Jan. 31, 2012.
Among those who names have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Helen Bendix, Brian Hoffstadt, Lee Edmon, and Sanjay Kumar; U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins; and Southwestern Law School professor Christopher Cameron.

Third District

There has been a vacancy since Tani Cantil-Sakauye became chief justice in January 2011. Those whose names have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation reportedly include San Joaquin Superior Court Judge George Abdallah and Sacramento Superior Court Judges Thadd Blizzard, Helena Gweon, David Abbott, David DeAlba and Kevin Culhane.

Fifith District

Justice Rebecca Wiseman retired Oct. 31 of last year.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

Judge Janice Croft retired Feb. 18, Judges David Milton and Michael Solner Feb. 19, Judge Jessica Silvers Feb. 20, and Judge John Meigs March 7.
Judge R. Bruce Minto’s last day on the bench was Jan. 31. His retirement is effective today.
Judge Ronald Sohigian’s last day on the bench was Feb. 27. His retirement will be effective April 16.
Eight vacancies created last year have not been filled. Judge Diane Wheatley retired April 16, Judge John Reid retired June 2, Judge Lawrence Mira stepped down July 24, Judge Shari K. Silver retired Aug. 1, Judge Charles W. McCoy retired Sept. 1, Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell joined the federal bench April 30, Judge Cynthia Rayvis took disability retirement Aug. 22 and died Dec. 28, and Judge Dewey L. Falcone retired May 8 and died Aug. 15.
There is a vacancy in a position that the Legislature authorized but has never funded, and seven commissioner positions have been converted to judgeships that have not yet been filled.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible judicial appointees to the court are Century City attorney Christopher Lui, Superior Court Commissioners Marilyn Kading Martinez, Robert Kawahara, Alan Rubin, Emma Castro, Jane Godfrey, Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, David Cowan, Dennis Mulcahy and Kenneth Taylor; Deputy District Attorneys Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, Kathleen Tuttle and Brentford Ferreira; State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn; Deputy County Counsels Terry Truong and Julie Ann Silva; Deputy Public Defenders Enrique Monguia and Johan ElFarrah; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Court of Appeal staff attorneys Kenneth E. Roberson and Kim Nguyen; Los Angeles attorneys Timothy Martella and Angel Navarro; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.
The name of Ed Chau was sent to the commission prior to his election to the state Assembly.
Commissioner Anthony Jones retired Feb. 28.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community