End of the Month

Judge John T. Doyle Pleads Not Guilty to DUI Charges...Trial Set for Attorney Mervyn Wolf, Accused of Embezzlement From Clients...Mitchell Roth, Former Judicial Candidate, Files Bankruptcy Petition After A.G. Sues Over Foreclosure Actions

Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

John T. Doyle
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

Doyle, a Superior Court judge since 2000, entered a not guilty plea Sept. 10 to drunk driving charges. Officials said he was arrested about 11:15 p.m. July 2 after officers with the LAPD's South Traffic Division pulled him over in the 4500 block of Don Felipe Drive following a minor traffic collision.

A pretrial conference is scheduled Oct. 6 in Dept. 71 of the Superior Court at the Metropolitan courthouse.

Harvey Silberman
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

Orange Superior Court Judge Richard M. King, who is hearing charges of solicitation to commit bribery and solicitation to induce a candidate not to run for public office against Silberman and two political consultants, has scheduled a Dec. 4 hearing on motions to dismiss the charges under Penal Code Sec. 995.

Silberman, a former commissioner who was elected last year as a judge, pled not guilty July 23. The charges stem from last year's contest in which Silberman defeated Deputy District Attorney Serena Murillo for an open seat on the court.

Lori-Ann Jones
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner

Jones, a court commissioner since March 2006, was placed on paid administrative leave Sept. 18 following the release of grand jury transcripts in which she testified to having conveyed to then-judicial candidate Serena Murillo a suggestion that funds would be available to pay Murillo's filing fee in the event she were willing to seek election to a judicial office other than that sought by then-Commissioner Harvey Silberman. Jones said she made the call as an accommodation to Evelyn Jerome Alexander, a campaign consultant who was representing Silberman at the time and who later represented Jones.

Mervyn H. Wolf
Encino Attorney

Wolf, a lawyer for 40 years, is scheduled for jury trial on five felony embezzlement counts Nov. 10 before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob Bowers Jr.

Wolf is accused of having taken settlement funds from his clients in multiple personal injury, workers' compensation, and wrongful termination cases between June 2003 and June 2004. He allegedly deposited settlement checks into his clients' trust accounts, and then embezzled the funds.

Wolf was placed on involuntary inactive status by the State Bar Court July 10, 2006 and faces 23 disciplinary charges, including failure to deposit funds into a trust account, receiving an illegal fee, charging an unconscionable fee, failure to account for client funds, failure to release a client's file, failure to pay client funds promptly, failure to account for client funds, conversion of funds sent to him by mistake, and multiple counts of failure to maintain funds in a trust account, misappropriation of client funds, and failure to cooperate in State Bar investigations.

He has had extensive contacts with the disciplinary system, having been placed on three years' probation in 1995 for misconduct in three matters, suspended 45 days in 1998 for failing to comply with a condition of the earlier probation, placed on inactive status for a month in 2002 for failure to comply with MCLE requirements, and served a month on suspension in 2004 for nonpayment of bar dues.

Richard I. Fine
Disbarred Attorney

Fine, a lawyer for 35 years, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his February disbarment as a violation of his rights to free speech and due process. The State Bar Court ruled that Fine engaged in moral turpitude by continuously relitigating issues on which he had been ruled against, and the California Supreme Court adopted the bar panel's recommendation that he lose his right to practice.

State Bar Court Hearing Judge Richard Honn found in November 2007 that the lawyer engaged in a concerted campaign of litigation designed to harass judicial officers who had found against him, in particular Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Bruce Mitchell.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Fine a certificate of appealability, allowing him to challenge the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus.

Fine has been confined to the Twin Towers jail since being held in contempt March 4 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe. His federal petition was denied by U.S. District Judge John Walter of the Central District of California June 29.

Yaffe ordered Fine jailed for as long as he refuses to respond to questions asked at a judgment debtor examination, and jailed for five days for holding himself out as entitled to practice law after being placed on involuntary inactive status by the State Bar Court.

Fine, contends that he was denied due process and a jury trial when he was jailed. He also claims to be the victim of a vendetta by Los Angeles Superior Court judicial officers based on his litigation of suits in which he challenged Los Angeles County's payment of benefits to Superior Court judges.

Those benefits were declared unconstitutional-as not being authorized by the Legislature-by the Fourth District Court of Appeal last year in a suit brought by the advocacy group Judicial Watch, but the governor in February signed into law a bill that allows counties to continue paying benefits to supplement the salaries of Superior Court judges and immunizing officials against any liability for having unlawfully paid such benefits in the past. A visiting judge, assigned to the Los Angeles Superior Court, upheld the new law last month.

Roosevelt Dorn
Former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

A pretrial conference is scheduled for tomorrow in the case of Dorn, who served on the Inglewood Municipal Court and the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1979 until his election as mayor of Inglewood in 1997. pled not guilty on July 24 of last year to charges of conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds. He is alleged to have personally benefited from a loan program designed to assist city employees in purchasing and improving housing within the city.

Mitchell Roth
Former Superior Court Candidate

Roth, a candidate for the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2004, has filed for personal bankruptcy, stalling a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jerry Brown July 6. The attorney general charged Roth and foreclosure consultant Paul Noe Jr. with having defrauded some 2,000 desperate homeowners into paying exorbitant fees for "phony lawsuits" to forestall foreclosure proceedings.

Noe did not answer the complaint, and a spokesman for Brown said a default judgment was being sought.
The complaint alleges that the suits were filed and abandoned, even though homeowners were charged $1,800 in upfront fees, at least $1,200 per month, and contingency fees of up to 80 percent of a home's value.

The Los Angeles Superior Court assumed jurisdiction over Roth's law practice in February, allowing the State Bar to take control of his Sherman Oaks, San Diego and Riverside law offices. The State Bar said Roth had been hospitalized due to severe depression, leaving several clients in foreclosure defense litigation cases subject to losing their homes and facing eviction.

Roth did not contest the takeover of his practice or the State Bar's subsequent motion to place him on involuntary inactive status, which was granted by State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn on April 23. Roth tendered his resignation from the State Bar on May 29 rather than face disciplinary charges.

LaJetta Y. Wright
Long Beach Attorney

Wright, a former treasurer of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, faces possible disbarment after pleading guilty July 29 to charges she embezzled $26,000 from the group in 2004. Wright, who repaid the money some time ago, is expected to be placed on probation for one year, with no jail time, at her sentencing Dec. 2

Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

There has been a vacancy on the court since Judge Stephen Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004. There is also a newly created position that has not been filled, and Judge Michael Daly Hawkins is scheduled to take senior status Feb. 12, 2010.

President Obama's first two nominees to the court- Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen and labor lawyer Dolly Gee-had their confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 23.

The president nominated Nguyen July 31 to succeed Judge Nora Manella, who resigned to become a justice of this district's Court of Appeal in 2006. Obama nominated Gee on Aug. 7 to succeed Judge George Schiavelli, who resigned Oct. 5 of last year.

There is a remaining vacancy as a result of Judge Alicemarie Stotler taking senior status Jan. 5, and Judge Stephen G. Larson is resigning next month to join the law firm of Girardi | Keese.

Judge Florence-Marie Cooper has scheduled her retirement for March 15 of next year and is expected to become a private judge..

There are no vacancies.

Second District

Presiding Justice Candace Cooper retired from Div. Eight Dec. 31. The names of Acting Presiding Justice Laurence Rubin and Justice Tricia Bigelow have been submitted by the governor to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as potential candidates to replace Cooper.

Third District

Justice Fred Morrison retired at the end of January. Justice Rodney Davis retired Feb. 16. The name of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jaime R. Roman has been sent to the JNE Commission as a possible appointee to the court.

Fifth District

Former state Sen. Charles Poochigian was confirmed and sworn in Sept. 24 after being nominated by the governor to succeed Justice Thomas Harris, who died Nov. 12 of last year.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

Newly appointed Judge Olivia Rosales took office this month and has been permanently assigned to Downey. Newly appointed Judges Renee F. Korn and Stephen M. Moloney are sitting at the Metropolitan Court.

Judge Gary Y. Tanaka's first permanent assignment is to Los Padrinos Juvenile Court in Downey.

The governor named John J. Kralik, John C. Lawson II and Elaine W. Mandel to the court Sept. 1. Lawson was a commissioner; Kralick and Mandel have been litigators in private practice.

They fill vacancies resulting from the retirements of Judges Aurelio Munoz and Kathryn A. Stoltz, and the conversion of Commissioner Harvey Silberman's position to a judgeship after he was elected a judge.

Judge Josh Fredricks retired Sept. 12 and Judge Judith Chirlin Sept. 15. Previous vacancies resulted from the retirements of Judges John Farrell July 7, Aviva K. Bobb June 8, Robert O'Neill April 6; the conversion to judgeships of the positions previously held by Randall Pacheco, John Rafferty, Jack Gold, Henry J. Hall, and Harold Vites, and the resignation of Judge Alice Hill.

Pacheco and Hall are now judges; Rafferty, Gold, and Vites retired. Hill resigned June 12 to become counselor to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

A newly created position on the court was to have been funded as of last June 1, but legislation in response to the state budget crisis postponed the effective date, first to June 1 of this year, and then to June 1 of next year.

Judge Anthony Mohr is away from the court, sitting on assignment on the Court of Appeal through November.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are former Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden, now in private practice; former Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Vaughn, now a managing director of the litigation and consulting firm FTI Consulting, Inc.; criminal defense specialist Steven Cron of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Gary Geuss; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorneys Timothy R. Saito, Richard Kraft and Edward J. Perez; state Deputy Attorneys General Steven D. Matthews, Emilio E. Varanini IV, Victoria Wilson, Paul Roadarmel Jr., Robert S. Henry and Kenneth Byrne; Administrative Law Judge Robert Helfand; Deputy District Attorneys Steven I. Katz, Alison S. Matsumoto, Shellie Samuels, Jeffrey Gootman, John D. Harlan II and Laura Laesecke; Commissioners Cynthia Zuzga, John Slawson, Rocky L. Crabb, Michael Convey, Joel Wallenstein, Dennis Mulcahy, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Mary Lou Katz Byrne, Steven Berman, and Loren DiFrank; U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew; Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown; Deputy Federal Public Defender Angel Navarro; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jerome J. Haig; Deputy Public Defender Lisa Brackelmans; Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Martin Joseph Murphy; Los Angeles attorneys Marshall Mintz, Anthony de los Reyes, Howard Fields, Michael Wilner, Shan K. Thever, John L. Carlton, David Fields, Adrienne Krikorian, Eulanda Matthews and Lawrence P. Brennan Jr.; Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman; Pasadena attorney Warren Gilbert; Glendale attorney Mark J. MacCarley; Tujunga lawyer John K. Raleigh, Woodland Hills attorney John Cha; Westlake Village attorney Michael Nebenzahl; and Karlene Goller, counsel for the Los Angeles Times.

Attorney Stephen Lowry was elected last week to succeed Commissioner Gretchen Taylor, who retired at the end of March. A successor to Commissioner H.M. "Trip" Webster III, who retired March 30, is scheduled to be elected next month.

Commissioner Michael Duffy retired Aug. 30. Commissioner John C. Lawson II was appointed a judge Sept. 1. Commissioner Patrick Larkin is on long-term medical leave.

Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

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

•AB 316, by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, which would, among other things, allow a wrongfully convicted defendant two years after being exonerated to bring a malpractice action against his or her attorney; extend from six months to two years the time following exoneration in which such a defendant may bring a wrongful imprisonment claim against the state; and eliminate the defense, in connection with any such claim against the state, that the defendant negligently contributed to his or her arrest or conviction. As amended in the Senate, self-incriminating statements would be considered in determining whether the defendant intentionally contributed to his own arrest and conviction unless the claimant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the statements were obtained from an involuntary false confession or involuntary plea. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 8 by a vote of 35-4, passed the Assembly with the Senate amendments Sept. 10 by vote of 79-0, and was sent to the governor Sept. 25.

•AB 362, by Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Mission Viejo, which, as amended, would create a new crime, making it a misdemeanor-punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000-to steal, damage, or destroy election campaign signs. As amended in the Senate, the bill requires specific intent and allows a first offense to be treated as an infraction. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 2 by a vote of 34-0 and passed the Assembly Sept. 8 by a vote of 63-7.

•AB 590, by Assemblyman Michael Feuer, D-West Hollywood, which would create a right to appointed counsel for some indigent civil litigants under pilot programs to be established by the Judicial Council and funded through increases in some court fees. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 9 by a vote of 23-13, passed the Assembly with the Senate amendments Sept. 10 by a vote of 52-26, and was sent to the governor Sept. 25.

•AB 680, by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, which, as amended, would increase some fees for the services of sheriffs and marshals, effective Jan. 1, 2011 The bill was sent to the Assembly inactive file Sept. 11.

•AB 1046, by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon, which would increase the homestead exemption from execution on a judgment to $75,000, or $100,000 if the judgment debtor or his or her spouse who resides in the homestead is, at the time of the sale, a member of a family unit, and one member of the family unit is without an interest, or with only a limited interest, as specified, in the homestead, and to $175,000 if the judgment debtor or the spouse of the judgment debtor who resides in the homestead is, at the time of the sale, 65 years of age or older, disabled, or 55 years of age or older with a limited income. The bill, which was sent back to the Assembly by the governor Sept. 8 at the Assembly's request, was sent back to the governor Sept. 25.

•AB 1562, by the Committee on Labor and Employment, which would prohibit an employer from firing an employee on the ground that the employee's wages are being garnished, unless there simultaneous garnishments based on more than five judgments. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 2 by a vote of 24-15 and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 150, by Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, which would amend provisions related to sentence enhancements to eliminate the requirement, the validity of which is in question as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cunningham v. California, that when there are three possible terms for the enhancement, the judge must select the middle term in the absence of aggravating or mitigating factors. The bill would amend Proposition 21, and thus requires a two-thirds majority. As amended, the bill would have a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2011. The bill passed the Assembly Sept. 3 by a vote of 76-0 and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.