Monday, September 17, 2007
Page 3
Jones Reinstated as Bar Member, Karlin Remains Suspended
By ROGER M. GRACE, Editor
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Lori-Ann Jones has been reinstated as a member in good standing of the State Bar of California, it was ascertained Friday.
Jones, a commissioner since March of last year, and Joyce Karlin, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge from 1991-97, were among 1,662 persons placed on administrative suspension from bar membership on Aug. 16, under an order of the California Supreme Court.
The bar status of Karlin, now generally known as Joyce Fahey, is in doubt. Karlin said Friday the matter has been straightened out, but the State Bar is not aware of that, and continues to list her on its website as “Not eligible to practice law (Not Entitled).”
Jones told the MetNews Thursday that she knew nothing of the suspension, having received no dues notices and assuming that commissioners did not have to pay dues since they are prohibited by law from engaging in practice.
The commissioner was apparently unaware that the State Bar grants waivers to subordinate judicial officers, but only if a request is filed.
Jones, a former Los Angeles deputy district attorney, submitted the required form Thursday afternoon and, after it was processed Friday, she was reinstated retroactively to the prior day. She is on active status.
Technically, dues in the amount of $400 were incurred by her in light of having failed to obtain a waiver before they became due, and she could also be assessed a $75 late fee and a $200 reinstatement fee. However, the State Bar considers her account to be clear.
Kathy Lambert of the Member Records Department said that filing the waiver request was “just a formality,” and the matter is now resolved.
No dues notices will be sent to Jones so long as she remains a commissioner, so it apparently makes no difference that the State Bar still lists as her address the courthouse in Downey, where it sent previous notices, rather than the Inglewood courthouse, where she has sat since Jan. 2.
Karlin said in an e-mail Friday:
“It turned out the Bar was sending my bills/notices to an old private mail box I used in the past. Because it was a private service, they weren’t required to forward mail to me. It’s been cleared up.”
However, Lambert was not aware of anything being cleared up. To accomplish that, she said, Fahey will have to “just pay” what she owes.
As an inactive member, Lambert said, she would have to proffer $125 for her 2007 dues, a $30 late fee, and a $100 reinstatement fee.
Under State Bar Rule 2.33, “[t]he payment must be made in cash or in guaranteed funds by cashier’s check, money order, bank certified check, or wire transfer.”
Lambert disputed Fahey’s explanation that the dues notices had gone to a box number. State Bar records show a street address for Fahey in Manhattan Beach, she noted.
“We’ve had that address since March of ’99, so everything went to that address,” Lambert said.
Fahey, an assistant United States attorney prior to her ascension to the bench, is married to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Fahey. She left the Manhattan Beach City Council in March at the end of her term after eight years as a member.
Copyright 2007, Metropolitan News Company