Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Tuesday, November 20, 2001

 

Page 1

 

Bascue Redesignates Supervising Posts in 2002 Leadership Adjustment

 

By ROBERT GREENE, Staff Writer

 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge R. Gary Klausner will retain his broad authority over the court’s Central District civil department as “supervising judge,” and several judges formerly designated supervisors within that district will be renamed “assistant supervising judges” in a court administration shakeup unveiled by Presiding Judge James Bascue.

Assignments for the 2002 court year are still being finalized, court spokesman Kyle Christopherson said. But in an order filed last month and obtained yesterday by the MetNews, Bascue has renamed the supervising judges of the Mental Health, Probate, Writs and Receivers and Complex Litigation departments as assistant supervising judges.

Longtime Mental Health Department Supervising Judge Harold Shabo has slated retirement for the end of the year and will be succeeded in the tiny courthouse on San Fernando Road, by Judge Fred J. Fujioka, who will become assistant supervising judge.

Assistant Supervising Judges

Probate Department Supervising Judge Thomas Stoever will be redesignated assistant supervising judge, as will Judges David Yaffe in Writs and Receivers and Carolyn Kuhl in Complex Litigation.

Bascue was unavailable yesterday for comment. Christopherson said the new titles should not be seen in any way as a demotion for the top judges in those departments.

Bascue created a new post of supervising judge of the court’s civil departments last year and appointed Klausner, the Superior Court presiding judge in 1995-1996, to head it. Bascue said at the time that he considered the position crucial because the court rapidly expanded last year when it absorbed the county’s 24 municipal courts.

Bascue last year also created assistant supervising judge posts for the first time. For 2002 he has replaced former Assistant Supervising Judge Susan Isacoff in that post with S. James Otero.

Aviva Bobb has been retained as supervising judge of the Family Law departments. So has Dan T. Oki in Criminal. Oki was appointed to the post earlier this year after the death of Stephen O’Neil.

Consolidation Apparent

Leaders of the court’s 11 geographic districts will retain their supervising judge titles. But two districts—the North Central District in Burbank and Glendale and the Northeast District in Pasadena—appear headed toward consolidation and will have between them a single supervising judge, Mary Thornton House.

Robert M. Martinez will fill the spot formerly held by Oki as supervising judge of the East District in Pomona.

In the Southeast District, in Norwalk, Chris Conway will replace Dewey Falcone as supervising judge, and in the North District, in Lancaster, Steven D. Ogden will succeed Frank Y. Jackson.

Leaders of the court’s other geographic districts will stay the same: William A. MacLaughlin will remain supervising judge in the North Valley District in San Fernando, as will Paul Gutman in the Northwest District in Van Nuys, Gary J. Ferrari in the South District in Long Beach, John Cheroske in the South Central District in Compton, Andrew Kauffman in the Southwest District in Torrance, and Alan Haber in the West District in Santa Monica.

The assignments, as well as assignments for assistant supervising judges in the geographic districts and “site judges” at the courthouses, take effect on Jan. 2, 2002.

Superior Court judges are also beginning the process of selecting their representatives on the court’s Executive Committee, the top policy-making board for the court.

 

Copyright 2001, Metropolitan News Company