Beware Court-Styled Scam Artists

April 23, 2014 By
Superior Court officials in several SoCal jurisdictions are reporting scams that involve email or phone contacts alleging that somebody has missed jury duty or committed some other infraction, and owes money. Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties are among those where fraud has been reported.
 
Michael Roddy, Executive Officer of the San Diego Superior Court, offered some advice: “It’s important to reiterate to the public that we do not communicate with those with issues before the court via unsolicited email or telephone. If anyone tries to contact you regarding “missed jury duty” or cases of which you are unaware, you should delete the email or disregard the phone call.” 
 
The NBC affiliate station in San Diego has this report. 
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Top Ten Takeaways from Perrin Conference in L.A.

March 21, 2014 By
Here, in no particular order, are our Top Ten immediate take-aways from the “Cutting-Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference” organized by the Perrin Conferences company. The Perrin conferences are different from most legal-issues gatherings because they include several points of view, being attended by plaintiff attorneys, civil defense attorneys and even issue-specific judges.
 
The two-day conference was held March 17 and 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California and drew more than 100 attorneys from across the country.
 
See the list:
 
10. Lung cancer is a growth area for asbestos litigation. Panelists explained that we should expect from 6,000 to 7,000 new asbestos-related lung cancer cases per year. New York Judge Sherry Klein Heitler, a panelist in the “emerging trends” discussion, said that “… the reality is that we just do not have the money” to deal with the new cases.
 
9. These lung cases will include smokers, even those with extensive tobacco use histories. One panelist predicted that the expanding case volume and reduced court capacity will likely lead to more consolidation, where multiple cases are handled together.
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Fighting Over Those Three Little Words

March 12, 2014 By
 
In the non-campaign yawn-fest that is the usual Los Angeles Superior Court judicial election, the most vital strategy doesn’t involve talking points or focus groups. Instead, the big deal is how candidates are identified on the ballot. It seems “prosecutor” is a coveted title. 

Or even a “Deputy City Prosecutor.” The MetNews is reporting that B. Otis Felder, who is running for the judgeship being vacated by Michael Nash, is arguing that he can use that delegation because he was a full-time prosecutor in the “Volunteer Attorney Training Program” run by the L.A. City Attorney’s office. Responding to critics, he said that volunteer work is prosecutor enough. Critics say there may be a formal complaint to change the designation.

Another interesting candidate is Pamala F. Matsumoto, who is self-identified as an “Administrative Law Judge,” and is one of the former Superior Court referees dismissed during the 2012 budget cuts.

Here’s the MetNews report.

Here’s the new Los Angeles Times election coverage page, which offers a broad election story and mentions the Superior Court election only once, and then to dismiss it.

 
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Race Is On For Sohigian Judicial Seat

February 26, 2014 By
 
By L.A. Superior Court judicial election standards, we have a barn-burner of an election shaping up for the seat currently held by Judge Ronald Sohigian, who is retiring. The latest report is that four people may be running in the June primary, including former state lawmaker Charles M. Claderon.
 
Calderon’s brothers, state Sen. Ronald Calderon and former Assemblyman Thomas Calderon, are under indictment on federal corruption charges did nothing to change his mind, he told the MetNews website, which also cited newswire reports that Tom Calderon pled not guilty Friday and posted bail. Ron Calderon surrendered yesterday, pled not guilty, and was released on $50,000 bail.
 
The actual deadline for filing candidate papers is March 7 and the MetNews notes that none of the expected office-seekers had filed as of a few days ago. One of the anticipated candidates, Deputy District Attorney Efrain Aceves is now saying  he will not run. The judicial seat is formally Office No. 48 and you can follow the race at the MetNews.
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Former Majority Leader Makes Interesting Judicial Candidate

February 20, 2014 By
 
If you’re starting to read tea leaves for the upcoming Superior Court judicial elections, don’t forget to note that
Charles Calderon (photo from www.charlescalderon.com)

Charles Calderon (photo from www.charlescalderon.com)


Charles Calderon, the former majority leader of both the state House and Senate, is running. He naturally has lined up a solid list of political endorsements and will run a higher profile campaign than we’re perhaps accustomed to in picking judges.
 
But perhaps more interesting is his public support from a board member of the Alliance of California judges, an independent judicial group that has been very critical of how the state courts are run. In a story by John Hrabe at calnewsroom.com, Judge Susan Lopez Giss had good things to say.
 
The judge, who reportedly worked with Calderon in the city attorney’s office, said that ” [his] judgeship would afford the citizens of Los Angeles County with the wealth of his experience as an attorney and a legislator.” We will see if he brings any of that Alliance heat to the public square.
 
Check out the story here.
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Praise abounds as MetNews honors presiding judge

February 19, 2014 By
 
It was a praise fest as The Metropolitan News-Enterprise named L.A. Superior Court Presiding Judge David S.
Photo from the Metnews Report on 1/28/14.

Photo from the Metnews Report on 1/28/14.


Wesley as its 2014 “Man of the Year.” In particular, Assistant Presiding Judge Carolyn Kuhl, which the MetNews pointed out is the likely successor to Judge Wesley, lauded the presiding judge for his “leadership in a time of crisis.”
 
The MetNews also honored David Pasternak, a former president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association along with his wife, Cynthia Pasternak, who is a past president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.
 

Along with the praise, Judge Kuhl offered a rare look inside the decision-making that resulted in the recent courts reorganization, including how much was not known about the eventual decisions. You can check it out at the MetNews here.

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Chief Justice George’s Memoir Still Gets Noticed

February 11, 2014 By
 
It made some headlines when it was published a few months back, but now some of the long-lead publications are writing about former state Chief Justice Ron George’s “oral self-history” entitled Chief: The Quest for Justice in California. And it’s not always pretty, with a good example coming from the City Journal.
 
After noting that not that many people pay attention to the court system, the Journal says “… but George’s story is significant if only as an illustration of judicial hubris, of how power breeds arrogance, and of how a desire for respect from the establishment leads to activism from the bench.” The piece is written by Mark Pulliam, familiar to many in the courts community for his work as legal issues writer for the California Political Review.
 
It’s a good take on the “King George” book, and you can read it here. 
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South Asian PAC Alleges Racism In L.A. Judge’s Elections

February 10, 2014 By
 
The MetNews is playing it calmly, but a new South Asian Bar Association Political Action Committee is not being shy about alleging racial bias against judges of South Asian decent. Noting that the PAC is “separate” from the bar association, its organizers point to the 2012 race between Judge Sanjay Kumar and Kim Smith, a Hawthorne Deputy City Attorney.
 
PAC organizers say that despite Smith being rated as “not qualified” by the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Kumar being rated “exceptionally well qualified,” the race was closer than they thought it should be. In fact, an attorney and PAC organizer is quoted by MetNews as saying that “… the South Asian community was shocked that this happened.”
 
The group has reportedly been raising money in SoCal and in San Francisco to warn the community of the “political challenges” faced by the situation.  Read the MetNews story here. 
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Famous Judge Ito May Not Seek Re-Election

February 7, 2014 By
 
The Metropolitan News Enterprise is posting an “unconfirmed report” that L.A. Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, of O.J. Simpson trial fame, has not filed to seek another term. If that’s true, it will give the famous judge another chance to comment on the justice system; he’s not been shy in the past.
 
For example, in 2012 Ito made written comments accusing the state’s Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) of having adopted a “circle the wagons mentality,” when what it should to is to acknowledge that it “has been run in a deceptive, vindictive and manipulative manner” and get about the business of reform (from the MetNews).
 
The website has a rundown of current court races, with about 30 candidates participating in 11 elections. Thursday was the first deadline for filing to seek a judicial seat, but the election will not be wet until next week because an automatic deadline extension went into effect for about a dozen seats where no incumbent filed for re-election.
 
See the report and a rundown on who is running at MetNews.
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Superior Court Judicial Election Deadline Looms, At Least 11 Seats Expected To Be ‘Open’

February 5, 2014 By
 
ANDREW M. STEIN, photo from his firm's website: www.steindefenselawyer.com

ANDREW M. STEIN, photo from his firm’s website: www.steindefenselawyer.com


A veteran criminal defense attorney and civil rights plaintiff-side attorney intends to buck the prosecutors trend in the upcoming Los Angeles Superior Court election, considering one of “at least 11” open seats to avoid running against an incumbent judge, the MetNews is reporting. The news site noted that Andrew M. Stein said he made the decision to run after eliciting a substantial positive response from “friends, relatives, and colleagues,” including a number of judges, whom he queried by email as to whether he should run.
 
The MetNews added that “… noting that all of the non-incumbents who had filed declarations of intent as ofThursday were deputy district attorneys, Stein said: ‘I love a lot of D.A.s and I have great respect for a lot of D.A.s. But I looked at who was running and they don’t have nearly the experience I have.'”
 
Stein is a sole practitioner and thus lacks the support that comes from a large firm, and the MetNews said that a successful campaign is likely to cost $350,000 or more.This week is a filing deadline that should make it clear which judicial seats are open. You can read the MetNews report, and bookmark it to follow the judicial race, here.
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