Newspaper: Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Publication Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Page No.: 7

Headline: END OF THE MONTH: Most Charges Against Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John D. Harris Rejected by Panel of Special Masters...Judge Kevin A. Ross Faces Sept. 13 Discipline Hearing...Former Superior Court Judge Schiavelli Sworn In as U.S. District Court Judge

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•Judicial Elections

There will be five Los Angeles Superior Court runoffs on the November ballot:

Office No. 18—Superior Court Referee Mildred Escobedo and Deputy District Attorney Pat Campbell are seeking the seat being vacated by Judge Marcus Tucker. Campbell’s campaign consultant is Fred Huebscher; Escobedo’s is Parke Skelton.

Office No. 29—Deputy Attorney General Gus Gomez and Deputy District Attorney Lori Jones are in the runoff for the seat being vacated by Judge Richard Hubbell. Gomez has Skelton as his campaign consultant, while Jones’ campaign is being run by Huebscher.

Office No. 52—Deputy District Attorney Laura Priver and Workers’ Compensation Judge John Gutierrez are in the runoff to succeed Judge Nancy Brown, who retired Jan. 31. Huebscher is Priver’s consultant; Gutierrez has retained Icon Imaging.

Office No. 53—Deputy District Attorney David Lopez is in the runoff with Superior Court Referee D. Zeke Zeidler for the seat being vacated by Judge Rosemary Shumsky. Zeidler is being represented by Cerrell Associates Inc.

Office No. 69—Superior Court Commissioner Donna Groman and Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer are in the runoff to succeed Judge James Wright. Meyer’s consultant is Cerrell Associates; Groman’s is Evelyn Jerome.

•Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

John D. Harris

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

A panel of special masters appointed by the state Supreme Court this month rejected nearly all of the charges of misconduct brought against Harris by the Commission on Judicial Performance.

The special masters—Court of Appeal Justice Eileen C. Moore of the Fourth District’s Div. Three, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Morris, and Ventura Superior Court Judge Henry J. Walsh—heard evidence for five days in Pasadena in May.

The CJP accused Harris, who announced during the hearing that he intends to retire in October, of seeking to establish personal relationships with sexual assault victims, making inappropriately personal comments to jurors, attorneys, and court staff, throwing a file at a deputy city attorney, and lying during an investigation into his conduct.

The masters rejected charges that after two felony sexual assault trials in 2000, Harris met in chambers with the victims and sought to initiate personal relationships.

Harris acknowledged that he spoke to the victims in chambers and that the meetings were improper because the cases were not yet final. But he testified that he sought only to comfort the victims because he was moved by their plight, and did not intend to have any extensive or improper continuing relationships with them.

The masters found that testimony credible, citing many witnesses who said that Harris was a empathetic person by nature and noting that although he has been a judge for many years, he was new to handling felony sex crimes.

The masters also found that the commission had failed to prove that comments made by Harris to or about female attorneys, court staff members, or jurors on various occasions were inappropriately flirtatious or sexual. The comments included invitations to have lunch, a remark that a staff member was “cute,” and thanking a lawyer for not challenging an attractive female juror because a judge “has to have something to look at during trial.”

The panel accepted Harris’ testimony that in hindsight, he recognizes that some of his remarks could have been taken as offensive, but that he had no intention of making anyone feel ill at ease.

Kevin A. Ross

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

Ross faces a Sept. 13 judicial discipline hearing in Pasadena after having been charged May 7 with three counts of judicial misconduct.

Sixth District Court of Appeal Justice Eugene Premo, Fourth District Court of Appeal Justice Judith Haller, and San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael A. Smith are the special masters who will consider the evidence.

The Commission on Judicial Performance asserted in its formal notice of proceedings that Ross made comments about pending cases on a public television program on four occasions, was twice absent from court without authorization, and in four instances treated criminal defendants inappropriately.

The CJP cited appearances by Ross, a former prosecutor, on the KCET public television program “Life and Times Tonight” during 2001 and 2002. Ross, a frequent guest on the public affairs discussion program, gained a seat on the Inglewood Municipal Court in 1998 by defeating Judge Lawrence Mason and became a Superior Court judge upon unification in 2000.

Among the canons of the Code of Judicial Ethics violated by the four appearances, the CJP asserted, is Canon 3B(9), which says that a judge shall not shall not “make any public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court.”

Both of the unauthorized absence allegations also relate to public appearances made by the judge.

In his June 15 response, Ross said his television appearances were consistent with the California courts’ efforts to educate the public on the judicial process and noted that other judicial officers had appeared with him or on similar programs. He also contended that the restrictions on judicial comment on pending cases are unconstitutional.

He also charged that the then-site judge in Inglewood, Eric Taylor, who complained about his lateness, was actually upset because Ross was supporting then-Deputy District Attorney Patricia Titus in an impending election contest with Commissioner Deborah Christian, whom Taylor and most of the other judges in the courthouse were backing.

•Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments

Federal Courts

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Judge A. Wallace Tashima took senior status June 30, creating a third vacancy on the 28-judge court. Previous vacancies were created when Judge James Browning took senior status Sept. 1, 2000, and when Judge Thomas G. Nelson did so Nov. 14 of last year.

Republican senators tried and failed in July to force a floor vote on the nomination of William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson. The vote on the motion to invoke cloture was 53-44, short of the three-fifths required, with both California senators voting against.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination on April 1, on a party-line vote of 10-9,

Myers, who was nominated on May 15 of last year, resigned Oct. 10 as solicitor of the Department of the Interior and now practices law in Boise, Idaho. He has drawn opposition from native American activists and environmental groups.

His supporters say he holds mainstream, balanced views on environmental and other issues.

Republican senators tried in November to move the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl for the other vacancy, but a cloture vote failed by 53-43, seven shy of the necessary 60-vote majority.

The Judiciary Committee on May 8 of last year approved Kuhl, who was rated well-qualified by at least two-thirds of the ABA committee, on a party-line vote of 10-9. Kuhl was tapped by Bush in 2001 to succeed Browning.

Kuhl and Myers were among seven appeals court nominees not covered by a bipartisan agreement permitting votes on other judicial nominees of President Bush.

An additional vacancy will be created when Judge Stephen S. Trott takes senior status on Dec. 31.

U.S. District Court

Former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Schiavelli was sworn in Aug. 16, filling what had been the only vacancy on the court. A onetime presiding judge of the Superior Court Appellate Division, Schiavelli was nominated Jan. 20 to succeed Judge Lourdes G. Baird, who took senior status May 12.

There are now no vacancies on the court, but three judges are slated to take senior status in the next year—Gary L. Taylor on Dec. 8, Robert J. Timlin Feb. 1, and Dickran M. Tevrizian Aug. 5.

State Courts

California Supreme Court

There are no vacancies, but one would be created if the Senate confirms Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to which she was nominated July 25 of last year.

Brown cleared the Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote of 10-9, but an attempt to invoke cloture and force an up-or-down vote on her nomination failed on Nov. 14. The vote was 53-43 in favor of cloture, seven short of the required three-fifths majority of the entire Senate, and Democrats have shown no indication that they will allow an up-or-down vote on Brown this year.

Court of Appeal

This District (Second District)

Presiding Justice Charles Vogel of Div. Four retired Jan. 31. Justice Reuben Ortega of Div. One will retire Dec. 3, and Justice Margaret Grignon at the end of the year.

Third District

Justice Daniel Kolkey resigned Nov. 17 to return to private practice.

Sixth District

Justice William Wunderlich resigned April 30 to become a U.S. magistrate judge based in Yosemite National Park.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court

There are eight vacancies, the most recent resulting from the July 1 retirement of Judge Susan E. Isacoff.

Judges John Ouderkirk and Lawrence Crispo retired April 5, Judge Chesley N. McKay retired April 1, Judge Margaret Hay retired March 31, Judge Alan Haber retired Feb. 9, and Judge Nancy Brown retired Jan. 31. Judge Dale Fischer joined the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Nov. 17.

Judge Veronica McBeth has applied for disability retirement. Judge John Harris will retire Oct. 29, and Judge James L. Wright, who did not seek re-election, will retire Nov. 15.

Harvey A. Silberman, who works for San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services at its Self-Help Center in Van Nuys, won a runoff election Aug. 20 to succeed retired Commissioner Michael M. Duffey.

•Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The following legislation of interest to the legal community was acted upon in August:

•AB 3079, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would make several changes designed to give the courts more flexibility in using subordinate judicial officers and in the handling of juvenile dependency cases. The bill passed the Senate on Aug. 10 by a vote of 21-9. The Assembly concurred in Senate amendments on Aug. 18.

•AB 3080, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would require the State Bar to publicize in its annual dues statement that members have the right to limit the sale or disclosure of their personal information. The Assembly concurred in Senate amendments on Aug. 12 by a vote of 77-0 and sent the bill to the governor.

•SB 749, by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, which would establish the Court Facilities Architecture Fund for construction, repair and improvement of California’s court facilities. The Senate concurred in Assembly amendments Aug. 10 by a vote of 33-0, and the governor signed the bill, which took effect immediately as an urgency measure, on Aug. 23.

•SB 1914, by the Senate Business and Professions Committee, which would require people licensed by the state Court Reporters Board to notify the board of any misdemeanor conviction. The Senate concurred in Assembly amendments on Aug. 26 by a vote of 32-4.