The state Supreme Court Wednesday declined a request to publish a Court of Appeal opinion allowing Tamman’s suit against Nixon Peabody LLP, where he used to be a partner, to go forward.
A case management conference in the suit is now scheduled for May 20. Tamman, who left the firm while under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, contends in his complaint that he was “thrown under the bus” so that his partners could get their hands on his $1.5 million book of business.
The firm contends it acted properly in cooperating with the agency’s investigation into charges against a Tamman client, and ultimately against the attorney himself.
Oral arguments were held Nov. 21 of last year in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tamman’s appeal from his Nov. 13, 2012 conviction and seven-year prison sentence on one count of conspiring to obstruct justice, five counts of altering documents, one count of being an accessory after the fact to his client’s mail and securities fraud crimes, and three counts of aiding and abetting his client’s false testimony before the SEC.
Tamman’s attorney, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, argued to the appellate panel that his client’s jury waiver should not have been accepted because he was under the influence of several psychotropic drugs at the time. He also contends that the sentence is excessive and that hearsay evidence was improperly admitted at trial.
Tamman’s client, former fund manager and radio personality John Farahi, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for running the scheme, which involved false promises that investors’ money—more than $24 million was collected, prosecutors said—would be invested in corporate bonds backed by the Troubled Assets Relief Program.
Tamman’s interim suspension from the State Bar took effect Feb. 18, 2013. An additional suspension for not paying bar dues took effect July 2, 2013.

Christopher Garcia
Former Deputy City Attorney

Justin Moongyu Lee
Suspended Los Angeles Attorney

There are no vacancies.

Judge Audrey B. Collins retired Aug. 1 to join the state Court of Appeal.

Gov. Jerry Brown swore in the court’s newest justices Jan. 5.
Stanford Law School professor Mariano-Florentino Cuellar was elected to the court Nov. 4 for a full 12-year term, and Leondra R. Kruger, previously a high-ranking Justice Department attorney, was confirmed Dec. 22 to succeed Justice Joyce L. Kennard, who retired April 5.

Fifteen new judges, elected to the court last year, took office Jan. 5.
Amy Carter succeeded Judge Michael Solner, who retired in February; Carol Rose took the seat last held by Judge Ronald Sohigian, who retired in April; Shannon L. Knight filled the seat previously held by Judge Lance Ito; Chris J. Frisco succeeded Judge Joseph DiLoreto, who retired July 31; Alison Matsumoto Estrada replacee Judge Harvey Giss, who retired July 16; Ann H. Park took the seat of Judge Arthur M. Lew, who retired Oct. 15; Serena R. Murillo filled the post previously held by Judge Daniel Lopez, who retired Oct. 1; Teresa Pineda Magno succeeded Judge David Milton, who retired in February; Joan M. Chrostek replaced Judge Bob S. Bowers Jr., who retired Nov. 14; Stacy Wiese filled the seat last held by Judge R. Bruce Minto, who retired in March; Carol Najera replaced Judge James B. Pierce, whom she defeated; Donna Hollingsworth Armstrong took the seat formerly held by Judge Carlos Uranga, who retired in April; Andrew Cooper succeeded Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers, who retired in February, Tom Griego succeeded Judge Rex Heeseman, who retired in August; and Jacqueline Lewis succeeded Judge Michael Nash.
All of the newly elected judges were deputy district attorneys at the time of election, except for Griego, who was a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles, and Lewis, who was a commissioner.
Vacancies remain as a result of the retirements of Judges John Meigs March 7, Candace Beason April 15, Wendy L. Kohn June 6, Antonio Barreto Jr. Sept. 5, Steven Ogden Sept. 24, James Steele Sept. 30, and Leslie A. Dunn Nov. 10, and the elevations of Judge Brian Hoffstadt on Aug. 28 and Judge Lee Edmon on Jan. 5 to the Court of Appeal. There is a vacancy in a position that the Legislature authorized but has never funded, and a number of commissioner positions have been converted to judgeships.
Judge Thomas White is retiring Feb. 19. Judge Ronald Rose is sitting for the last time today and will retire officially on March 20.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to judgeships are Los Angeles attorney Timothy Dillon, Torrance attorney George Bird, South Pasadena attorney Mark S. Priver; Deputy District Attorneys Kevin Stennis, Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, Kathleen Tuttle and Brentford Ferreira; Court of Appeal staff attorneys Frank J. Menetrez, Kenneth E. Roberson and Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Collette Serio, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Robert Kawahara, Alan Rubin, Emma Castro, Jane Godfrey, Sharon Lewis Miller, Mark Zuckman, Dennis Mulcahy, Terry Truong and Kenneth Taylor; State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn; Deputy County Counsel Julie Ann Silva; Glendale attorney Kenneth Wright; Los Angeles attorneys Timothy Martella and Angel Navarro; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.
The name of Ed Chau was sent to the commission prior to his election to the state Assembly.
Commissioner Douglas Haigh retired Sept. 26. Additional commissioner vacancies exist resulting from the appointments of John Slawson and Anthony Trendacosta and the election of Jacqueline Lewis to judgeships.
Barbara McDaniel, previously a deputy alternate public defender, was elected a commissioner this month. .

The Legislature took the following action on bills of interest to the legal community in January.

•AB 60 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, which would permit attorneys to charge fees for assisting immigrants in obtaining relief from deportation under President Obama’s recent executive order. Existing law prohibits such fees from being charged in the absence of federal legislation authorizing such relief. The bill had first reading Jan. 5 and was referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 22.

•SB 30 by Sen. Ted Gaines, R-El Dorado Hills, which would limit the defense of consent in civil sexual battery cases to instances in which the allegedly consenting person is over the age of 18 years or the spouse of the alleged perpetrator. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee Jan. 15.