President Obama nominated U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen on Sept. 22 to the open seat on the court. He had previously tapped Goodwin H. Liu, now a California Supreme Court justice, but was forced to withdraw the nomination following a Republican filibuster.

Judge Pamela Ann Rymer died Sept. 21.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 8 reported favorably the nomination of Alaska Supreme Court Justice Morgan Christen, who was nominated May 18 to fill the seat left vacant when Judge Andrew Kleinfeld took senior status June 12 of last year. Christen received a unanimous rating of “well qualified” from the American Bar Association’s evaluating committee.

There is no nomination pending for the seat of Judge Stephen Trott, who took senior status in 2004.

Judge Mary M. Schroeder is taking senior status Jan 1.

President Obama nominated Michael W. Fitzgerald on July 20 to succeed Judge A. Howard Matz, who 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 Judge Jacqueline Nguyen is confirmed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu was sworn in Sept. 1, at a private ceremony in his hometown of Sacramento, to succeed Justice Carlos Moreno, who retired Feb. 28.

Judge Dennis Aichroth retired Feb. 17 and Judge Conrad Aragon Feb. 18. Judge Jerry E. Johnson retired March 3, while Judge Marlene Kristovich retired March 31. Judge John Kronstadt joined the U.S. District Court on April 25.

Judge Charles Horan retired May 6, Judge Andrew Kauffman May 15, Judge William Birney July 7, Judge John Shook July 15, and Judge Martha Bellinger July 31. Three judges retired this month—Judith Champagne Sept. 1, Michael Latin Sept. 5, and Maral Injejikian Sept. 6.

Judge Peter D. Lichtman will retire Dec. 1 and Judge Marjorie Steinberg will retire at the end of the year.

Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to the court are Deputy District Attorneys Kathleen Tuttle, Brentford Ferreira and Debra Cole; Montebello attorney and school board member Edwin Chau; Los Angeles attorney Douglas W. Stern; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Court of Appeal staff attorney Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Dennis Mulcahy and Kenneth Taylor; and Los Angeles attorney Angel Navarro.

Commissioner Patrick Larkin is on medical leave.

Commissioner Ralph Amado died Oct. 17. Commissioner Martin Goetsch retired March 31, Commissioner Cathrin DeVoe April 26, and Commissioner Martin Green June 25.

Commissioners Burt Barnett and William R. Torres retired July 31.

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

•AB 126, by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, which would, as introduced, have required the governor to disclose the names of all persons outside his administration whom he has consulted with respect to potential judicial appointments, and would have required members of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation to undergo two hours of annual anti-bias training. Senate amendments eliminated the disclosure provisions and reduced the anti-bias training requirement to a minimum of one hour, unless a member serves more than one term. The bill passed the Senate Aug. 30 by a vote of 24-12 and was sent to the Assembly, which concurred in Senate amendments Sept. 6 by a vote of 51-27. It was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 14.

•AB 142, by Felipe Fuentes, D-Los Angeles, which would require that a criminal defendant who pleads guilty or no contest be advised that if he or she is deported as a result of the plea, and returns to the United States illegally, he or she could be charged with criminal reentry by the federal government. The bill was vetoed by the governor Sept. 6.

•AB 144, by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, which would make it a crime to openly carry an unloaded firearm, subject to exceptions. As amended, the bill would also prohibit the open carry of firearms in moving vehicles and make it a crime to allow a person to bring a firearm into a motor vehicle, subject to exceptions. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 8 by a vote of 21-18 and was sent to the Assembly, which concurred in Senate amendments Sept. 9 by a vote of 48-30. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor on Sept. 21.

•AB 239, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would increase state oversight of local crime laboratories. The bill passed he Senate Sept. 7 by a vote of 38-0 and was sent to the Assembly, which concurred in Senate amendments Sept. 8 by a vote of 79-0. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 20.

•AB 362, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would increase the number of signatures required to authorize a write-in challenge to an otherwise unopposed incumbent superior court judge. The bill, which passed the Assembly April 11 by a vote of 53-21, passed the Senate July 14 by a vote of 29-8 and was sent to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments, which took place on Aug. 15 by a vote of 50-26. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 6.

•AB 433, by Lowenthal, which would eliminate the procedure allowing objections in superior court to a petition to issue a new birth certificate to a person who has undergone sex change surgery. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 7.

•AB 520, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which, as amended June 28, would establish procedures by which a person convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving could obtain a restricted driver’s license prior to the completion of a mandatory one-year suspension. As originally introduced, the bill would have provided that an upper term sentence may not be imposed under the Determinate Sentencing Law, except on the basis of facts in aggravation found by the trier of fact. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 22.

•AB 559, by Assemblywoman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, which, as amended, would provide that recovery of costs by a prevailing plaintiff is mandatory, rather than discretionary, where the plaintiff recovers less than the general jurisdiction threshold, in an action under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill was vetoed by the governor Sept. 26.

•AB 622, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, which would amend civil grand jury procedures. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 20.

•AB 973, by Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, which would require that every trial court hold a public hearing prior to submitting its annual budget request to the Judicial Council. The bill passed the Senate Aug. 31 by a vote of 32-2 and was sent to the Assembly, which concurred in Senate amendments Sept. 6 by a vote of 54-24, and was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 16.

•AB 1062, by Dickinson, which would make orders dismissing or denying petitions to compel arbitration non-appealable. The bill failed in the Senate by a vote of 21-15 on Sept. 8, but was granted reconsideration the next day.

•AB 1111, by Assembly members Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, and Holly Mitchell, D-El Segundo, which would prohibit a court from garnishing wages or levying a bank account for the enforcement and collection of fees, fines, forfeitures, or penalties imposed by a court against a person under 25 years of age who has an outstanding unpaid citation for truancy, loitering, curfew violations, or illegal lodging if the court obtains information that the person is homeless. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 1.

•SB 8, by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, requires auxiliaries and foundations associated with the University of California, California State University, and community colleges to comply with the California Public Records Act. There would be exemptions protecting the anonymity of donors and volunteers in all cases except in situations where there is a quid pro quo in which the donor or volunteer receives something from the university valued at over $2,500 or in which the donor or volunteer receives a no-bid contract within five years of the donation, or where a donor attempts to influence curriculum or university operations. An amendment added in the Assembly named the bill the Richard McKee Transparency Act, in memory of the recently deceased ex-president of the open government group Californians Aware. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 6.

•SB 182, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which would require the governor to collect and release data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of judicial applicants, in addition to the data on race and gender that must be released under current law. As amended, the bill would require a departing governor to provide the data for the governor’s last year in office to his or her successor, and would require that any report indicate the number of applicants who declined to respond. The bill passed the Assembly with amendments Aug. 29. Those amendments were concurred in the Senate 23-15, and the bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 9.

•SB 405, by Corbett, which would create up to 10 new judgeships during the 2011-12 fiscal year in order to convert subordinate judicial officer positions in family law or juvenile law only. This would be in addition to the 16 annual conversions already authorized for the superior courts generally. The bill passed the Senate June 1 by a vote of 26-12, passed the Assembly Aug. 31 by a vote of 53-25, and was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 6.

•SB 428, by Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, which would make omnibus changes to criminal law. As amended, the bill would enact “Lester’s Law,” adding skateboards and scooters to the list of non-motorized conveyances that Vehicle Code Secs. 21203 and 21712 prohibit a person from towing, and from being towed by a vehicle on. The bill was amended Aug. 18 in the Assembly, deleting a provision that would have allowed the surviving spouse of a state peace officer to purchase the peace officer’s service weapon from the state, as an exception to the rule that a state employee may not acquire state property other than on the same terms as members of the general public. The bill then passed the Assembly Aug. 22 and sent it to the Senate, which passed it Aug. 30 by a vote of 37-0. The governor signed it Sept. 20.

•SB 651, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would eliminate the “common residence” requirement for domestic partnerships. The bill passed the Senate June 1 by a vote of 24-15 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was amended Sept. 2 to add a provision allowing same-sex marriages to be dissolved in California, regardless of the parties’ state of residence, if the marriage was entered into here, and no other state will dissolve it. The bill, as amended, passed the Assembly Sept. 8 by a vote of 52-26, and was sent to the Senate for concurrence in the amendment, which occurred Sept. 9 by a vote of 25-15. The bill was enrolled and presented to the governor Sept. 16.