Friday, October 19, 2018
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LACBA Endorses Justices Facing Nov. 6 Retention Election
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles County Bar Association has taken a stance in favor of the retention of the two California Supreme Court justices on the Nov. 6 ballot, as well as the 17 members of the Court of Appeal for this district who will also be facing voters.
The Board of Trustees on Wednesday night voted to authorize LACBA President Brian S. Kabateck to send to the Los Angeles Times a letter-to-the editor declaring, in part:
“As President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and as an attorney who regularly practices before these judicial officers, I write to encourage Los Angeles County voters to retain” the justices in office.
Kabateck’s letter discusses the retention process and asserts the need for judicial independence. It concludes:
“I have not agreed with every decision handed down by California’s appellate justices during my long career. But I have never doubted the intellect, passion, work ethic and, above all, the integrity that these judicial officers bring each day to the vital task of judging. Ultimately, a vote in favor of the experienced and thoroughly vetted sitting justices of the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal is not a political decision. It is a vote in favor of the rule of law.”
Opposition From Sohigian
The sole “no” vote was cast by trustee Michael R. Sohigian, a West Los Angeles practitioner, whose father, retired Judge Ronald Sohigian, faced two challengers in his 1996 Los Angeles Superior Court reelection bout, prevailing.
The trustee asked, “Why have a retention election at all” if the most influential lawyer in the county—the LACBA president—is exhorting voters to “just vote for the people who are in the office?”
Trustees also authorized the executive committees of the Litigation Section and the Appellate Courts Section each to send an email to their section members urging support of the justices.
Supreme Court members on the ballot are Carol Corrigan and Leondra Kruger. Members of the Court of Appeal for this district seeking retention are Presiding Justices Arthur Gilbert, Elwood Lui, Nora M. Manella and Patricia A. Bigelow, as well as Justices Anne H. Egerton, Carl H. Moor, Dorothy C. Kim, Gail R. Feuer, Halim Dhanidina, Helen Bendix, John L. Segal, Lamar W. Baker, Luis A. Lavin, Martin J. Tangemen, Thomas Willhite, Victoria G. Chaney, and Victoria M. Chavez.
Name Change
In other actions, the board approved a request by the Barristers Section to change its name—originally the “Junior Barristers Section”—to the “Barristers/Young Lawyers Section.” Under a bylaw, the section is comprised of members who are under the age of 36 or have been admitted to practice for no longer than five years.
Trustee Jessica G. Gordon, president of the Barristers, explained the perceived need for the change by saying:
“Not just me, but everybody when they first heard of the Barristers didn’t know what it meant.”
Trustee John F. Hartigan mentioned that in Great Britain, barristers are trial lawyers, as opposed to solicitors who deal with the clients. He counseled Gordon to publicize the section as serving “all young lawyers” to avoid confusion.
Bylaw Changes
Effectuation of the change will require a bylaw amendment. A bylaw committee has been meeting telephonically every Thursday afternoon for several months and a proposed set of revamped bylaws will be presented to the Board of Trustees at a special meeting on Nov. 5.
Approval of the revised bylaws, which by Wednesday’s action will include the name-change, will require a vote of the membership.
After considerable discussion, the trustees—who last month turned down a request from the Bankruptcy Section for $5,000 to help fund a seminar, held every four years—agreed to advance $2,500, to be paid back by the end of the year.
There was a general discussion of enforcing present term limits for committee members, which are generally ignored, or possibly making changes to the rules. Kabateck asked Senior Vice President Tamila C. Jensen to present a set of concrete proposals at the December meeting.
Copyright 2018, Metropolitan News Company