California Supreme Court

Former Majority Leader Makes Interesting Judicial Candidate

February 20, 2014 By CCM Staff

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, 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.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: California, California Supreme Court, Judges, LA County Court, Legal news, Los Angeles courts

Push Is On For Latino On State High Court

February 13, 2014 By CCM Staff

Supreme Court Justice Joyce L. Kennard (Photo: www.courts.ca.gov)

News this week that Republican Joyce L. Kennard is retiring from the California Supreme Court has already launched a push for diversity on the state high court. The Los Angeles Times is one media outlet taking notice, reporting that “… some Latino groups reacted furiously in 2011 when Brown chose Justice Goodwin Liu, a former UC Berkeley law professor, over Latino candidates. The seven-member court has no Latino or African American member, and Liu, a liberal, is its only Democratic appointee.”

Judge Kennard herself proved controversial in her decades on the court, at least among California conservatives, as she consistently moved to the left of the Republican mainstream. Appointed by Gov. George Deukmejian, a true law-and-order conservative by California standards, she often voted in line with Justice Stanley Mosk, a mostly liberal member.

She leaves the bench in April. Let the speculation begin. Start with the L.A. Times here.

Filed Under: Community Tagged With: California, California Supreme Court, Legal news

Famous Judge Ito May Not Seek Re-Election

February 7, 2014 By CCM Staff

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.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, California Supreme Court, Judges, justice, Legal news

Judicial Reporter Offers Stark 2013 Recap

December 31, 2013 By CCM Staff

For anyone dealing with rationed justice in 2013, it felt like a nearly constant barrage of bad news. Now Bill Girdner at The Courthouse News offers a year-in-review piece that quickly reminds us why – because it was a barrage of bad news. The story begins with “… it was a news-filled year for the courts in California, as they survived huge budget cuts and walked backwards on transparency and slightly forward on reform as the Legislature told them to open a warren of closed committees.”

He notes the budget cutting and that it was considered a “reprieve” when the governor decided not to cut the budget even more. He even recalls when In “… an old scandal returned as the council over-rode objections from judges and allowed telecommutingby the highly paid mandarins of the Administrative Office of the Courts… in a companion decision, the council voted to take a look at the salaries of those same bureaucrats but later decided that the inquiry should be conducted by the bureaucrats themselves. As the year winds down, the inquiry seems to have stalled.”

And maybe this slipped by in the holiday rush, but Girdner recalls that “… in December, the council elevated its technology committee to the status of internal committee, igniting a blast from judges who said the leaders of the tech committee and its task force had “proven themselves incompetent” and should be replaced.”

In terms of the legal community, it reads less like the summary of a year-in-review and more like an indictment. See the story here.

(Program Note: The CCM will not update tomorrow as we observe the New Year’s holiday)

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: 2013, California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California State Budget, California Superior Court, California Supreme Court, civil court, court rationing, end of the year, justice denied, Justice Rationing, look back, New Year's

Supreme Court Ranked As Nation’s Most Open

December 5, 2013 By CCM Staff

That move last year to post state Supreme Court judges’ financial records online has led to a top national ranking for California, although our “letter grade” was only a C. The Washington, D.C. based Center for Public Integrity awarded 43 sates an F.

Howard Mintz at the Contra Costa Times reported that “… California’s Supreme Court received particularly high marks for making financial information readily available to the public, the result of a move last year by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission to require all of the state’s judges to post their financial information online. Some judges around the state had opposed the requirement, but it helped separate California from other less open states.” He also noted that little dust-up involving one justice who voted in favor of Wells Fargo even though she owned “between $100,000 and $1 million” worth of the bank’s stock.

California was also praised for the way it selects supreme court justices, who only face a “recall” election every 12 years as opposed to states that elect judges in head-to-head elections. Read the full report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: accountability, california court cuts, California Supreme Court, disclosure, national ranking, public integrity, rating card, transparency

‘King George’ Book Keeps Quotes Coming

November 25, 2013 By CCM Staff

Reports from the “King George” book signings keep making the rounds, including comments from a Berkley event where retired Los Angeles County Judge Charles Horan was quoted as saying “[Former Chief Justice Ronald M. George) never had enough power… I don’t know of a judge who hasn’t referred to him as King George. That was standard.”

The Courthouse News reports that “… while in California’s top judicial post, George was a principal force behind the centralization of California’s trial courts. Legislation in 1997 gave control of court rules and the roughly $3 billion court budget to California’s Judicial Council, where the chief justice chairs the meetings, votes and appoints 14 of the 21 voting members. The legislation also resulted in a huge growth in the personnel and power of the central court bureaucracy, where the chief justice is the staff’s ultimate boss.”

Judge George’s book, “Chief: The Quest for Justice in California,” has placed him back into the spotlight. At a recent event at the UC Berkeley campus, the CN reported, he was “… surrounded by shelves of books and reading tables. A space had been cleared for about 40 guests that included the current Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the administrative office director of operations Curt Child and colleagues, lawyers and family members. Proceeds from the book are being donated to the school.”

Keep up with the legacy discussion here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: book, California, california court cuts, california courts, California Supreme Court, Chief Justice, judicial council, judicial power

Judges Might Hear Cases Of Political Donors

October 31, 2013 By CCM Staff

A California Supreme Court ethics committee is seeking comments on a draft opinion that would allow state judges to hear cases of lawyers whose firms have donated to the judge’s campaigns, just so long as no single attorney trying that specific case has given more than $1,500. Judges would have to disclose the contribution, but could still hear the case.

The Metropolitan News is reporting details that “… the issue involves the interpretation of Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 170.1(a)(9)(a), which mandates judicial disqualification when a “lawyer in the proceeding” has donated more than $1,500 to the judge’s campaign. The draft opinion would clarify that the statute does not apply to contributions by a firm, and does not provide for aggregation of smaller contributions by individual lawyer.”

The deadline for comment on either opinion is Nov. 15, and comments may be submitted at the site, or by email, or by regular mail. The draft opinions and invitation to comment are posted on the committee’s website here. The full MetNews story is here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Budget, california courts, California State Budget, California Supreme Court, campaign finance, conflict of interest, court rationing, Legal news, political donations

Gov. Signs Law, Illegal Immigrants Can Become Lawyers

October 10, 2013 By CCM Staff

Surprising nobody, Gov. Brown has signed legislation that allows an illegal immigrant to become an attorney — if they have gained the proper academic credentials and passed the state bar. The law comes after a Chico man named Sergio Garcia, a law school graduate who has awaited a green card for almost 10 years, appealed his license denial all the way to the state supreme court.

The Obama administration had opposed the idea, arguing that federal immigration law blocks such professional licensing unless states pass a specific law allowing law licenses for illegal immigrants. Stumped, the state’s supreme court judges asked the legislature to adopt such a law and it did, leading to Brown’s signature this week.

Gov. Considering Major Court-Outsourcing Bill

October 3, 2013 By CCM Staff

The civil courts community is keeping focus on a bill that would regulate how the California courts outsource their functions. The bill, AB 556, passed both the assembly and state senate with comfortable margins but now awaits Gov. Brown’s signature to become law.

The debate, noted in The Courthouse News, boils down to how administrators want to replace court workers with contract employees. Presiding Judge Laurie Earl of Sacramento said in an interview with CN, “In our opinion this bill is an overreach, not only into our discretion but into good business practices to reduce costs at a time when we have less funding.” But, the report notes, “… from the labor point of view, contracting simply transfers public funds into private hands.”

“What you’re doing is exchanging wages and benefits for employees for a for-profit company,” said Michelle Castro with the union that represents many court workers. “The courts aren’t going to pay less money.” In its language, the CN notes, the bill conditions private contracts on a demonstration of savings.

You can read the report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: AB 556, California, California Budget, california court cuts, California State Budget, California Supreme Court, Gov. Jerry Brown, Justice Rationing

ADA Case Tackles Major Access Liability Issue

September 17, 2013 By CCM Staff

If a person with disabilities is denied access in violation of the state’s Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), should they receive compensation just once for the violation or for each time they encountered the violation? A Long Beach resident is arguing the later, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is asking the California State Supreme Court for help understanding an “ambiguous” law. The case involves a paraplegic who sued over improperly curb cut-outs, and he argues that he should be paid for each time he encountered the problem. A lower court ruled the other way, awarding $17,000; he says the number should be $440,000.

The case might be seen as important in the wake of California court closures and cutbacks. One of the legal arguments against the changes is that people with disabilities are, in effect, denied access to the courthouses. As one observer noted: If they moved the wheelchair ramp across the parking lot, that would be a violation. So why not if they move it 25 miles away?” This case might imply that liability goes beyond a single penalty to include each time a person is denied access, a significant change.

As usual, Tim Hull at The Courthouse News makes the complex easy… read it here.

Filed Under: Cases, Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: Americans with Disabilities Act, California, California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California Supreme Court, Disabled Persons Act