Bascue, 75, pled not guilty Sept. 4 to a single count of assault with a firearm for allegedly firing a shot at police officers who came to his home in the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles in June after a call that Bascue himself made. A pretrial hearing was set for Nov. 13 before assigned Orange Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals.
Bascue served on the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1990 to 2007 and was the court’s presiding judge in 2001 and 2002.
Bascue’s attorneys told City News Service the judge’s conduct in the June incident was alcohol-related. They previously said he was receiving treatment at an unspecified location.
Goethals has ordered that Bascue wear an alcohol monitor and not possess firearms while awaiting trial. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where Bascue served as chief deputy in the 1980s, has recused itself from the case, which is being prosecuted by the state attorney general.

Garcia, a onetime candidate for Los Angeles Superior Court judge, was summarily disbarred on Oct. 23 as a consequence of a felony conviction involving moral turpitude.
Garcia had been on interim suspension from the State Bar since Jan. 7. An additional suspension for nonpayment of bar dues was added July 1.
He pled no contest Oct. 21 of last year to possession of child pornography. He was placed on probation for five years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

There are no vacancies, but one will be created when Judge Harry Pregerson takes senior status on Dec. 11, when he will complete 44 years of active service on the federal courts. The judge turned 92 years of age this month.

A confirmation hearing was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee Oct. 21 for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Young. He was nominated by President Obama on July 16, nominated to succeed Judge Audrey B. Collins, who retired Aug. 1 of last year to join the state Court of Appeal.
Judge Margaret Morrow took senior status yesterday, and Judge Dean Pregerson is doing so Jan. 28.

There are no vacancies.

Judge Reva Goetz retired Sept. 21.
Earlier vacancies resulted from the retirements last year of Judges Antonio Barreto Jr. Sept. 5, Steven Ogden Sept. 24, James Steele Sept. 30, and Leslie A. Dunn Nov. 10; the elevations of Judges Lee Edmon on Jan. 5 of this year and Judges John Segal and Luis Lavin last month to the Court of Appeal; and this year’s retirements of Judges Thomas White Feb. 19; Ronald Rose March 20; and Patrick Hegarty and Patricia Schnegg March 31, Arthur Jean, Owen Kwong, and Ronald Skyers April 30, Leland Harris May 8, Alan Goodman July 30, Thomas McKnew July 31, Tia Fisher Aug. 1, and Richard Stone Aug. 28.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to judgeships are Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney—and former city attorney candidate—Michael Amerian; attorney/mediator Michael Diliberto; former Superior Court Referee Stephanie Davis; Los Angeles attorneys David A. Rosen, Thomas D. Long, Angel Navarro and Lisa Mattern; Deputy Public Defender David Hazami; Century City lawyer Josh Wayser; Superior Court counsel Brett Bianco; Beverly Hills attorney Edward Tabash; South Pasadena attorney Mark S. Priver; Deputy District Attorneys Kerry White, Karen Borzakian, Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, Kathleen Tuttle and Brentford Ferreira; Court of Appeal staff attorney Kenneth E. Roberson, Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Timothy Martella, Pamela Davis, Collette Serio, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Robert Kawahara, Alan Rubin, Emma Castro, Jane Godfrey, Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, Dennis Mulcahy, Terry Truong and Kenneth Taylor; State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn; Deputy County Counsel Julie Ann Silva; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.

The Legislature took the following action on bills of interest to the legal community in October.

•AB 182 by Assemblymember Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, which would broaden the scope of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 by allowing courts to create a remedy for racially polarized voting within local government districts, as well as within jurisdictions that vote at-large. The bill was vetoed by the governor Oct. 10.

•AB 256 by Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, which would extend the criminal statute regarding falsification of evidence to cover the destruction or concealment of an electronic record for the purpose of keeping it from being used in court. The bill was signed by the governor Oct. 3.

•AB 703 by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, which would establish minimum qualifications for the appointment of attorneys in dependency cases. The bill passed the Assembly April 27 by a vote of 78-0 and was sent to the Senate, which passed it Sept. 2 by a vote of 29-11. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 30.

•SB 134 by Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would provide that a percentage of escheated IOLTA funds be used to fund a student loan repayment program for public interest lawyers. The bill was signed into law by the governor Oct. 4.

•SB 229 by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, which, as amended, would fund 12 of the 50 superior court judgeships that were previously authorized by the Legislature, including one in Los Angeles County. The bill was vetoed by the governor Oct. 8.

•SB 504 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Los Angeles, which would ease requirements for the sealing of juvenile delinquency records. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 30.

•SB 588 by Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles, which would permit the Labor Commissioner to enforce orders for payment of wages as if they were civil judgments. The bill was signed by the governor Oct. 11.

•SB 682 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would limit the authority of trial courts to privatize services previously performed by employees. The bill was vetoed by the governor Oct. 11.