A panel of special masters last month largely rejected charges brought by the Commission on Judicial Performance against Clarke, a judge since 2007.
The charges stem from jury selection in a murder trial. The commission accused Clarke of making insulting remarks about individual members of the venire, who were seeking hardship dismissal, and of improperly forcing one woman to remain at court because she complained openly about the conduct of the courtroom clerk, whom she claimed made light of the woman’s anxiety disorder.
Clarke testified before the masters that he had no intention of belittling anyone. But in the case of the woman who criticized the clerk, Clarke admitted he was angry, and acknowledged he could have handled the matter better, with which the masters agreed. The masters concluded he did not, with respect to any of the matters alleged, commit willful misconduct in office or conduct bringing the judiciary into disrepute .

President Obama on Feb. 25 nominated U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh of the Northern District of California to fill the vacancy created when Judge Harry Pregerson took senior status on Dec. 11, the day he completed 44 years of active service on the federal courts.
Further vacancies will occur when Judge Barry Silverman takes senior status Oct. 11 and Judge Richard Clifton does so Dec. 31.

The nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Young was reported favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee Nov. 5. He was nominated by President Obama on July 16 to succeed Judge Audrey B. Collins, who retired Aug. 1, 2014 to join the state Court of Appeal.
Judge Margaret Morrow took senior status Oct. 29 and subsequently left the bench to become president and chief executive of Public Counsel. Judge Dean Pregerson took senior status Jan. 28.
Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams was nominated Dec. 16 for Pregerson’s seat .

There are no vacancies.

Judge Jane Johnson retired May 23, Judge Emilie Elias retired May 9, Judge Robert Willett retired March 9, Judge Daniel Brenner died Feb. 15, and Judge Russell Kussman retired Feb. 18.
Vacancies that remain unfilled were created last year by the elevations of Judges John Segal and Luis Lavin to the Court of Appeal in July; the retirements of Judges Arthur Jean, Owen Kwong, and Ronald Skyers April 30; Leland Harris May 8; Alan Goodman July 30; Thomas McKnew July 31; Tia Fisher Aug. 1; Richard Stone Aug. 28; and Reva Goetz Sept. 21; as well as the resignation of Judge Jeffrey Winikow Dec. 4 and the death of Judge Ellen DeShazer Nov. 22.
Among those whose names have been sent to the JNE Commission as possible appointees to judgeships are Century City attorney Jonathan L. Rosenbloom; Bakersfield attorney Bernard C. Barmann Jr.; Deputy District Attorneys Shelley Dominguez, Maria Davalos, Kerry White, Candace Foy Smith, Leonard Torrealba, and Kathleen Tuttle; retired Deputy District Attorney Brentford Ferreira; Public Counsel legal director Lisa R. Jaskol; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney—and former city attorney candidate—Michael Amerian; attorney/mediator Michael Diliberto; former Superior Court Referee Stephanie Davis; Los Angeles attorneys Angel Navarro and Lisa Mattern; Deputy Public Defenders Lisa Brackelmanns and David Hazami; Superior Court counsel Brett Bianco; Beverly Hills attorney Edward Tabash; South Pasadena attorney Mark S. Priver; Deputy District Attorneys Court of Appeal staff attorney Kenneth E. Roberson; Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen; Superior Court Commissioners Karin Borzakian, Timothy Martella, Pamela Davis, 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; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hsu.
Commissioner William Allen sat for the last time Jan. 15 and retired March 5; Commissioner Bruce Mitchell sat for the last time Dec. 17 and retired Feb. 19.
Commissioner Wayne Denton retired March 17. Timothy Weiner, Robert Wada, James Blancarte and Karin Borzakian were elected commissioners Feb. 27.
Commissioner Harold J. Mulville is retiring March 30.

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

•AB 1682 by Assemblymember Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, which, as amended, would require the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on or before June 1, 2019 on the need for veterans courts or veterans treatment courts. The effectiveness of the legislation is contingent on half the cost of the study being paid for from private sources. The bill was amended in the Assembly April 27 to create a Veterans Court Assessment Fund, which will fund the study to the cost of $100,000 and be authorized to accept private donations. The bill passed the Assembly June 2 by a vote of 77-0, passed the Senate Public Safety Committee June 21 by a vote of 7-0, and passed the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee June 28 by a vote of 5-0.

•AB 1708 by Assemblymember Christina Gonzalez, D-San Diego. As amended, the bill would make a number of changes in laws related to prostitution, including imposing a mandatory minimum jail term of 24 hours for those who pay for prostitution services, or 72 hours if the recipient is a minor or a person posing as a minor and whom the defendant believes to be a minor, to be served outside of the defendant’s regular days of employment. The bill passed the Assembly May 19 by a vote of 75-1 and was sent to the Senate, where it passed the Public Safety Committee June 21 by a vote of 7-0. The bill was amended in the Senate June 15 and again June 28. Among the provisions added by those amendments is one that would establish mandatory fines, to be used to fund victims of human trafficking.

•AB 2667 by Assemblymember Tony Thurmond, D-Richmond, which would bar pre-dispute arbitration agreements regarding claims under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The bill failed in the Assembly May 31, the vote being 38-36 in favor but 41 votes being needed for passage. Reconsideration was granted.

•AB 2878 by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which would authorize the State Bar to levy 2017 dues at the current rate. As amended June 2, the bill would substantially overhaul State Bar operations by, among other things, phasing out the election of attorney representatives, allowing the Supreme Court to appoint the State Bar president, requiring that a majority of the board be made up of public members, and creating an independent commission to evaluate State Bar governance and report its findings by April 30 of next year. The bill passed the Assembly June 2 by a vote of 79-0, and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

•SB 917 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would require a court, at the conclusion of a hearing conducted pursuant to the Family Code, to provide each party who is present at the hearing with a written order setting forth the basic terms of any orders that were made at the hearing. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2017, to adopt a rule of court to implement these provisions. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee April 12 by a vote of 6-0 and was sent to the Appropriations Committee, which passed it May 27 by a vote of 7-0. The bill passed the full Senate June 2 by a vote of 39-0 and was sent to the Assembly, which amended it June 23 to permit the order to be transmitted electronically. The bill was then sent to the Judiciary Committee, which passed it June 28 by a vote of 10-0.

•SB 1065 by Sen. Bill Monning, D-Santa Cruz, which would render orders denying compelled arbitration non-appealable if the respondent has been granted a trial preference based on age or terminal illness. The bill passed the Senate May 2 by a vote of 26-9 and was sent to the Assembly, where a Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for June 21 was cancelled at the author’s request.

•SB 1078 by Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would, among other things, require the disclosure, in a consumer arbitration case, of any solicitation made by a private arbitration company of business from a party or an attorney for a party in the previous two years. The bill passed the Senate May 12 by a vote of 24-12 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was approved by the Judiciary Committee June 21 by a vote of 8-2. As amended in the Assembly June 14, the bill would not apply to any solicitation made prior to Jan. 1 of next year, and would not apply to arbitrations in the securities industry, which are governed by federal law.

•SB 1241 by Sen. Bob Wieckowski- D-Fremont, which, as amended, would prohibit the inclusion, in any consumer contract or employment agreement entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2017, of any clause that would require a California resident to submit to a suit or arbitration in an out-of-state venue or to a choice of foreign law. The bill passed the Senate May 12 by a vote of 25-13 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was amended June 14 and again June 20, then passed the Judiciary Committee June 21 by a vote of 7-3 and was sent to the Appropriations Committee.

•SB 1257 by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego, which would require State Bar applicants to perform 50 hours of specified pro bono service prior to admission. The bill was amended in the Senate May 3 to delay the operative date to Jan. 1, 2018 and to require the State Bar to conduct random compliance audits. The bill passed the Senate May 9 by a vote of 26-9 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was amended June 23.