End of the Month

Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Martinez, Jaeger Slate Retirements....Two Confirmed to Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals....State Bar Dues Bill Wins Passage

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Patrick B. Murphy
Attorney and former Superior Court judge

Murphy, who resigned from the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2001 while on the verge of being removed from office, had asked to enter the State Bar Court's diversion program for lawyers with mental health or substance abuse problems but failed to appear at hearings on Aug. 5 and 6 to determine his eligibility for that program. His default was entered and he was placed on involuntary inactive status Aug. 9.

A request for disbarment is pending in State Bar Court.

Murphy responded in pro per Jan. 7 to disciplinary charges filed in November.

The proceeding largely tracks the action taken against Murphy by the Commission on Judicial Performance, which censured him and barred him "from receiving any assignment, appointment, or reference of work from any California state court.

Murphy denied "committing acts involving moral turpitude, dishonesty or corruption," in violation of Business & Professions Code Sec. 6106, as charged by the State Bar.

The charges parallel those which were found by the commission to be true: excessive absenteeism over a four-year period, engaging in outside activities when he should have been on the bench, lack of candor with the presiding judge of the Citrus Municipal Court (on which he sat prior to unification), creating administrative problems by virtue of his absences, and malingering.

The notice recites that Murphy was absent from Sept. 20, 1999, until April 3, 2000; stopped working as of June 8, 2000; and resigned on May 4, 2001. Largely drawn from the commission's May 10 decision, the notice chronicles Murphy's activities during the time he was supposedly too sick to work: teaching one or two night law classes a week, completing pre-med physics and chemistry courses at Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, and attending classes at a school of medicine on the island of Dominica in the West Indies from January to April of 2000.

Murphy did not deny those allegations, but claimed in his response that he was indeed ill, suffering from various maladies including a "phobia" regarding judicial service. His outside activities were a diversion he hoped would eventually enable him to return to the bench, he said.

Murphy also denied lying about his state of health to Rolf Treu, the presiding judge of the Citrus court.

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate yesterday confirmed San Francisco Superior Court Judge Carlos Bea to the court by a vote of 86-0. Bea was nominated April 11 for the seat left vacant when the late Judge Charles Wiggins took senior status on Dec. 31, 1996.

His confirmation leaves one vacancy and one scheduled future vacancy on the 28-judge court.

The American Bar Association reported that a "substantial majority," meaning at least two-thirds, of its evaluating committee rated Bea "qualified" for the court, with the remaining member or members voting him "not qualified."

Critics of Bea, including the National Organization for Women, claimed that he is ill-tempered, particularly in his dealings with women lawyers, and has a pro-business bias. His supporters hailed his experience and say he has proven his ability to handle difficult cases.

Sens Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer both voted in favor of his nomination.

No action was taken this month on the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. A cloture vote scheduled for Aug. 1 was called off after Senate Republican and Democratic leaders agreed to deal with other issues before going home for the summer recess. The lack of recent action suggests that Democrats persist in their willingness to filibuster the nomination.

The Judiciary Committee on May 8 approved Kuhl by a party-line vote of 10-9. Kuhl was tapped by Bush in 2001 to succeed Judge James Browning, who took senior status Sept. 1, 2000.

President Bush on May 15 nominated William G. Myers III of Idaho, currently solicitor of the Department of the Interior, to succeed Judge Thomas G. Nelson, who takes senior status Nov. 14. A majority of the ABA committee found Myers qualified, with at least six members voting him not qualified.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dale Fischer was nominated May 1 for a new seat created by last year's Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have signed blue slips in support of the nomination.

Fischer was unanimously rated "well qualified" by the American Bar Association's evaluating panel.

Judge Lourdes G. Baird has given notice she intends to take senior status next May.

There are no vacancies, but one would be created if the Senate confirms Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to which she was nominated July 25. Press reports said her confirmation hearing could come as soon as next month.

This District (Second District)

Laurie Zelon, formerly of the Los Angeles Superior Court, was confirmed Sept. 25 to fill a vacancy in Div. Seven resulting from Justice Dennis Perluss' elevation to presiding justice On the same day, Madeleine Flier, also elevated from the Los Angeles Superior Court, was confirmed to fill a seat in Div. Eight that had been vacant since the division's creation in 2001.

Third District

There is a vacancy resulting from former Justice Consuelo Callahan's appointment to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fourth District

Justice Judith McConnell of Div. One was elevated on Sept. 25 to replace Presiding Justice Daniel Kremer, who retired July 31. Joan Irion, elevated from the San Diego Superior Court, was confirmed the same day to replace McConnell.

Fifth District

Betty L. Dawson was elevated from the Merced Superior Court Sept. 26 to replace Justice James Thaxter, who retired in May of 2001.

Sixth District

Richard J. McAdams was elevated from the Santa Cruz Superior Court Sept. 26 to fill the vacancy resulting from the elevation of Justice Conrad Rushing to presiding justice.

Seats in the First District are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

The confirmations of Laurie Zelon and Madeleine Flier to the Court of Appeal bring the number of vacancies to three, after the governor's earlier appointments of Drew Edwards and Frederick Shaller.

Shaller, a civil attorney in Pasadena, was named Sept. 23 to succeed Judge James Sutton, who retired June 30. Edwards, who comes to the bench from the Office of Alternate Public Defender, was named the same day to succeed Judge Marilyn Hoffman, who retired June 6.

Judge William C. Beverly Jr. retired Aug. 3. Two more vacancies will occur next month with the retirements of Judge John Martinez on Oct. 3 and Judge Karl Jaeger on Oct. 14.

Two commissioner vacancies were filled this month. Gretchen W. Taylor, who was a commissioner of the Riverside Superior Court, and Dennis Mulcahy, a Woodland Hills sole practitioner, succeed Joseph S. Biderman, who was appointed a judge, and Robert McIntosh, who retired Aug. 11.

A judicial panel has begun screening applicants for future commissioner positions. More than 100 applicants, including a number of the court's referees, sought the positions.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The following legislation relating to the legal profession was acted upon in September:

•AB 862, by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-Los Angeles, which would require state agencies to notify certain unions when hiring private lawyers to provide representation in any judicial proceeding. The Assembly approved Senate amendments on a 74-4 vote Sept. 3 and the bill was enrolled and sent to the governor's desk Sept. 9.

•AB 1095, by Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which would require the Judicial Council, using its own money and county funds, to create a task force on county law libraries, to make recommendations to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2005. The Assembly approved Senate amendments on a 75-3 vote Sept. 2 and the bill was signed by the governor Sept. 16.

•AB 1708, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would authorize the State Bar to continue collecting its current level of annual dues, a maximum of $390, in 2004. The bill would make changes to the dues "scaling" provisions for lower-income lawyers in order to raise more money for State Bar operations. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 6.

•AB 1712, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would authorize the court to hold certain arbitration hearings earlier to expedite the resolution of disputes. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 20.

•SB 328 , by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have corrected erroneous references in the provisions for the Court Facilities Trust Fund and would have increased a Fresno County criminal penalty from $5 to $7. The bill was amended by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, with all court revisions removed and replaced with language to provide resident community college and California State University tuition to undocumented aliens, and was passed as amended and sent to the governor Sept. 18.

•SCA 1 , by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, which would amend the state Constitution to establish that "the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business," and could require superior court executive committees to open their meetings to the public. The proposed amendment passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a 24-0 vote Aug. 29 and was sent to the Assembly floor Sept. 2.