Thursday, November 6, 2008
Page 1
Hahn, 16 Others Appointed to Superior Court
By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday announced the appointment of 33 new superior court judges in 11 counties, including the appointment of former Los Angeles Mayor James. K. Hahn and 16 others to seats on the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Filling vacancies, including four created by the conversion of commissioner positions earlier this year, Schwarzenegger tapped Superior Court Commissioners Amy M. Pellman, Ronald H. Rose and B. Scott Silverman; Administrative Law Judge Michael D. Abzug; and Deputy District Attorneys David C. Brougham, Debra Cole-Hall, Karla D. Kerlin, Bernie C. LaForteza, Ricardo R. Ocampo and Benny C. Osorio to join Hahn on the bench.
Other appointees include Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Young; Deputy Public Defender Ray A. Santana; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jon R. Takasugi; and attorneys Teresa A. Beaudet, Carlton Seaver and Robert C. Vanderet.
Hahn, 57, fills the vacancy created by Judge Susan Patricia Spear’s retirement. A Democrat, he served as the city’s 40th mayor from 2001 to 2005, after serving four terms as Los Angeles city attorney and one term as city controller, and he joined private conflict resolution provider Alternative Resolution Centers LLC’s panel of neutrals in January.
A graduate of college and law school at Pepperdine University, Hahn was admitted to the State Bar in 1975 and worked in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office until entering private practice with Horner and Hahn in 1979. He became city controller two years later, and remained in government until he joined Chadwick, Saylor & Company as managing director in 2005 following his reelection defeat at the hands of current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Abzug, 59, fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on April 1, and has served as an administrative law judge for the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board since 2001.
A Democrat, he was admitted to the State Bar in 1974 after graduating from college and law school at UCLA, and spent two years as a special attorney for the federal Department of Justice, followed by another as an assistant U.S. attorney, before joining Wyman, Bautzer, Rothman & Kuchel in 1977. Abzug became a deputy federal public defender the following year, and subsequently a sole practitioner in 1981.
Beaudet, 55, fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on April 1, and has worked as an associate and now partner at Mayer, Brown, Row & Maw since 1988. A Democrat, she graduated from Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School before her 1980 admission to the State Bar, and was previously an associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
Brougham, 46, fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on April 2, and has served as a deputy district attorney since 1988. A Democrat, he was admitted to the State Bar that year after graduating from Biola University and Pepperdine University School of Law.
Cole-Hall, 46, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Francis J. Hourigan, and has served as a deputy district attorney since 1988. A Democrat, she was admitted to the State Bar that year after graduating from UC San Diego and UC Hastings College of Law.
Kerlin, 44, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patricia Collins, and has worked in the District Attorney’s Office since 1990, and has been a deputy in charge since March. A Democrat, she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and Southwestern University School of Law, and was admitted to the State Bar in 1990.
LaForteza, 47, fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge David Mintz, and has served as a deputy district attorney since 2005.
A Republican, he graduated from UCLA and UC Hastings College of the Law before admission to the State Bar in 1992, and he has also been a JAG Officer in the U.S. Army Reserves since 1997. LaForteza began his legal career at Daza, Eto, Hwu & LaForteza before becoming program manager of the UCLA Alumni Association in 1993, and then a deputy public defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office two years later.
Ocampo, 43, fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Elena J. Duarte to join the Sacramento Superior Court, and has served as deputy district attorney since 1995. A Republican, he was admitted to the State Bar in 1993 after graduating from San Francisco State University and Southwestern University School of Law, and he previously served for two years as a Los Angeles Superior Court research attorney.
Osorio, 42, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Irving S. Feffer, and has served as a deputy district attorney since 1995. A Republican, he graduated from Colgate University and Georgetown University Law School and worked as a sole practitioner after admission to the State Bar in 1993.
Pellman, 47, fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Tricia Bigelow to this district’s Court of Appeal, and has served as a commissioner since 2005.
A Democrat, she was admitted to the State Bar in 1992 after graduating from Mount Holyoke College and City University of New York Law School, and worked as an associate at Hedges & Caldwell and as a contract attorney for Selvin & Weiner before joining Dependency Court Legal Service Incorporated as an appellate attorney in 1993. In 2000, Pellman became legal director of The Alliance for Children’s Rights.
Rose, 60, of Los Angeles, fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Frank Y. Jackson to this district’s Court of Appeal, and has served as a commissioner since 2000. A Democrat, he attended Long Island University and Boston University School of Law before his admission to the State Bar in 1972, and he previously was a deputy public defender for 27 years.
Santana, 56, of South Pasadena, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Barry A. Taylor, and has been a deputy public defender since 1981. A Democrat, he graduated from Stanford University and Boalt Hall School of Law before his 1980 admission to the State Bar, and previously served two years as a law fellow with the Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship.
Seaver, 61, of Arcadia, fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a commissioner position on June 10, and has been a partner at Seaver & Gill LLP since 1993.
A Republican, he attended Princeton University and Stanford Law School, and was admitted to the State Bar in 1975 before joining Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as an associate. In 1981, Seaver became president of JURIX, and he joined Baker, Ancel, Morris & Hruby in 1983 before starting a solo practice three years later.
Silverman, 59, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Thomas N. Townsend, and has served as a commissioner since earlier this year. A Democrat, he attended Stanford University and UC Hastings College of the Law before his admission to the State Bar in 1975, and served as a law clerk for the California Supreme Court for two years before joining Morrison and Foerster in 1977, where he became a partner.
Takasugi, 45, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael T. Sauer, and has been a deputy alternate public defender since 1994. A Democrat, he was admitted to the State Bar in 1990 after graduating from UC Santa Cruz and USC School of Law, and he began his legal career as a deputy public defender.
His father, Robert M. Takasugi, is a senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Vanderet, 61, of Pacific Palisades, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Stanley M. Weisberg, and retired as a partner from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in 2005, where he had worked since 1973. Admitted to the State Bar that year, and a Democrat, he graduated from UCLA and Stanford Law School.
Young, 39, of Santa Monica, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Charles Lee, and has served as an assistant U.S. attorney since 1998. A Democrat, he graduated from UCLA and USC School of Law before admission to the State Bar in 1995, and began his career as an associate with White & Case.
The compensation for each position is $178,789.
Schwarzenegger also made the following judicial appointments:
•Davis attorney Samuel T. McAdam to the Yolo Superior Court;
•Colusa attorney Jeffrey A. Thompson to the Colusa Superior Court;
•Contra Costa County Deputy Public Defender Barbara C. Hinton to the Contra Costa Superior Court;
•Bakersfield attorneys Eric Bradshaw and Raymonda K. Burnham, and Kern County Deputy District Attorney Steven M. Katz to the Kern Superior Court;
•Orange County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan S. Fish and Orange Superior Court Commissioner Gregory W. Jones to the Orange Superior Court;
•Sacramento attorney David I. Brown, Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Ernest W. Sawtelle and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Twiss to the Sacramento Superior Court;
•Poway attorney Gregory W. Pollack to the San Diego Superior Court;
•Santa Barbara Superior Court legal research attorney Jean M. Dandona and Solvang attorney Kay S. Kuns to the Santa Barbara Superior Court;
•Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Dawna Frenchie Reeves to the Stanislaus Superior Court;
•Superior Court Commissioner Peter B. Twede to the Glenn Superior Court.
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