November
30,
2005

A report on where
things
stand



CJP Orders Judge Kevin Ross Removed From Bench...Superior Court's Five Newest Judges Take Up Assignments...Commissioner Mark Weiss Slates Retirement, Will Sit for Last Time Next Month



Judges, Lawyers Under Scrutiny

Kevin A. Ross
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge

On Nov. 17, the Commission on Judicial Performance ordered Ross, a judge since 1999, removed from office.

The commission found that Ross:

Committed willful misconduct by adding charges-for which there was no factual basis-against a defendant, arraigning her without counsel present, and summarily remanding her to custody; by disregarding another defendant's right to counsel, becoming embroiled in the case and acting in a prosecutorial role; by revealing on a public television program information he had learned while presiding over a confidential juvenile matter; and by participating in the filming of a pilot for a television program which was "degrading to the judge and all the participants" in the course of which his name and title were used for promotional purposes and he arbitrated actual disputes.

Engaged in prejudicial misconduct by disregarding another defendant's right to a formal probation violation hearing and continuing the proceedings in the absence of counsel;

Engaged in improper conduct by making ex parte telephone contact with a defendant, and by making prejudicial comments about a Northern California sex offender case during an appearance on public television.

Violated no canons of judicial ethics by speaking on a radio program about a statewide ballot proposition during courtroom hours, participating in a community outreach program different from the one for which he had obtained an approved leave without notifying the court of the change, or by commenting in what the commission found to be a neutral manner on the issues involved in the case of two Inglewood police officers accused of abusing a suspect.

In a 9-0 decision, the commission said removal from office was appropriate because of the number of instances of misconduct and the judge's lack of candor in his dealings with the commission.

Ross, who was elected to the Inglewood Municipal Court in 1998 and became a judge of the unified Superior Court in January 2000, can petition the California Supreme Court for review, and is currently suspended without pay.

Ross admitted that in one case, he inappropriately ordered a traffic court defendant jailed because he believed she had provided false information about her identity, and that in another matter, he improperly interrogated an unrepresented defendant after the man said he wanted to consult with an attorney.

Ross also acknowledged problems with his 2002 arrangement with a production company for a show to be called "Mobile Court." Ross was to resolve small claims cases, with the parties stipulating to be bound by his rulings.

In making the deal, the masters said, Ross violated Canon 2B(2), which provides that a judge "shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the pecuniary or personal interests of the judge or others."
Ross' attorney and agent testified that his name and title were not supposed to be used in connection with the presentation. Ross said he unintentionally violated the ethics code by signing arbitration awards in favor of the winning "litigants," since judges cannot engage in private alternative dispute resolution, but denied that he abused his office by participating in the effort to sell the program.

The charges rejected by the masters involved appearances by Ross, a former prosecutor, on the KCET public television program "Life and Times Tonight" during 2001 and 2002. Ross, a frequent guest on the public affairs discussion program, gained a seat on the Inglewood Municipal Court in 1998 by defeating Judge Lawrence Mason and became a Superior Court judge upon unification in 2000.

Among the canons of the Code of Judicial Ethics violated by the four appearances, the CJP asserted, is Canon 3B(9), which says that a judge shall not shall not "make any public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court."

Both of the unauthorized absence allegations also related to public appearances made by the judge.

Ross testified that his television appearances were consistent with the California courts' efforts to educate the public on the judicial process and noted that other judicial officers had appeared with him or on similar programs. He also contended that the restrictions on judicial comment on pending cases are unconstitutional.


Judiciary: Vacancies, Appointments




Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

There are four vacancies on the court.

Judge Stephen S. Trott took senior status Dec. 31, Judge A. Wallace Tashima took senior status June 30 of last year, Judge James Browning took senior status Sept. 1, 2000, and Judge Thomas G. Nelson took senior status Nov. 14, 2003.

The nomination of William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson was sent to the floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote of 10-8. President Bush resubmitted Myers' nomination on Feb. 14.

Republican senators tried and failed in July of last year to force a floor vote on the nomination of Myers. The vote on the motion to invoke cloture was 53-44, short of the three-fifths required, with both California senators voting against. No agreement concerning Myers was reached when a bipartisan group of senators reached a compromise to avert filibusters on several other nominees.

Myers, who was first nominated on May 15, 2003, is a former solicitor of the Department of the Interior and now practices law in Boise, Idaho. He has drawn opposition from native American activists and environmental groups.

His supporters say he holds mainstream, balanced views on environmental and other issues.

U.S. Attorney Debra W. Yang of the Central District of California has reportedly been under consideration for appointment to the court.

 

Judge Robert J. Timlin took senior status Feb. 1. Also taking senior status were Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. on April 22, Judge Dickran M. Tevrizian on Aug. 5, and Judge Consuelo Marshall on Oct. 24.

Judge Gary Taylor took senior status Dec. 8 of last year and retired to become a private judge with JAMS on June 30.




A vacancy exits as a result of Justice Janice Rogers Brown leaving June 30 to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to which she was confirmed June 8. The names of First District Court of Appeal Justice Carol Corrigan and Third District Justice Vance Raye have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.


First District

Presiding Justice Laurence Kay of Div. Four retired Aug. 31.

Second District

The governor last month nominated Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victoria Chavez to succeed Justice Michael Nott, who retired from Div. Two April 1. A confirmation hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Fourth District

Justice James D. Ward of Div. Two retired Oct. 31.

Fifth District

Justice Timothy Buckley retired Sept. 26.

Seats in other districts are filled.

Los Angeles Superior Court


Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month named five new judges, leaving three vacancies on the court.

Former Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Robert P. Applegate was sworn in Oct. 31 to succeed retired Judge Meredith C. Taylor and is sitting in Burbank; former Deputy District Attorney Mike Camacho took the oath Nov. 3 to replace Judge Ronnie B. MacLaren, who was named to the Alameda Superior Court in February after her husband took a job in Northern California; former Long Beach Assistant City Prosecutor Daniel Murphy was sworn in Nov. 14 to fill the seat of retired Judge Judith Abrams and is sitting in Whittier; Margaret L. Oldendorf, previously senior staff counsel for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, took the oath Nov. 21 and succeeded Judge Frances Rothschild, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal, and is sitting in Santa Clarita; and Otis D. Wright, who was a partner in the law firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker in Los Angeles, replaced retired Judge Lorna Parnell on Nov. 23 and is hearing drunk driving, drug court, and Proposition 36 cases in Long Beach.

The remaining openings stem from the Aug. 1 retirement of Judge Phillip Argento, the Aug. 7 retirement of Judge Gregory O'Brien, and the Nov. 1 retirement of Judge Floyd Baxter.

Judge Charles Lee is on yearlong sabbatical in China.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are Deputy District Attorney Richard M. Goul, Commissioners Amy Pellman, Dennis Mulcahy, Harvey Silberman, Christina Hill and Loren DiFrank, Referee Steven Berman, U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew, Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown, and Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman.

Commissioner Gary L. Bindman retired Oct. 11. His successor, former Covina sole practitioner Rocky Lee Crabb, was sworn in Nov. 21.

Balloting is underway to fill the commissioner slot left vacant when Applegate became a judge. Votes are due to be counted Dec. 9.

Commissioner Mark Weiss will retire Feb. 22. His last day on the bench will be Dec. 23.


Legislation of Interest to the Legal Community

The Legislature is in recess until January.



 

 

 


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