There are two vacancies on the court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 21 voted 10-8 on a party-line vote to send the nomination of N. Randy Smith, a trial judge from Pocatello, Idaho and former chairman of his state's Republican Party, to the full Senate. President Bush nominated Smith on Dec. 16 to fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen S. Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Judiciary Committee, rallied Democratic opposition to the nomination, saying that since both Trott-who moved to Idaho after his appointment-and his predecessor were from California, Trott's successor should come from this state as well.

Smith was unanimously rated "well qualified" by the American Bar Association's judicial evaluating panel.
The committee had approved Smith by the same 10-8 vote in May, but the nomination was returned to the president when the Senate took its summer recess. President Bush resubmitted the nomination Sept. 5.
The committee also began consideration on Sept. 21 of the nomination of William G. Myers III to succeed Judge Thomas G. Nelson. Myers' nomination was resubmitted Sept. 5.

Myers was originally nominated in May 2003 in anticipation of Nelson taking senior status, which he did on Nov. 14, 2003. The nomination was sent to the floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2004 on a party-line vote of 10-8.

Republican senators tried and failed in July of last year to force a floor vote on the nomination. 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 is a former solicitor of the Department of the Interior and now practices law in Boise, Idaho. He was rated "qualified" by a "substantial majority"-meaning at least two-thirds-of the ABA committee and "not qualified" by the panel's other members.

The nominations of Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Valerie L. Baker and Philip Gutierrez were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 21.

Baker was nominated May 4 to succeed Judge Consuelo Marshall, who took senior status on Oct. 24 of last year. She was unanimously rated "well qualified" by the American Bar Association's evaluations panel.

Gutierrez was nominated April 24 to replace Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr., who took senior status on April 22 of last year. Gutierrez drew a unanimous rating of "well qualified" from the ABA. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Wu was nominated to the court Sept. 5 in anticipation of Judge Ronald S.W. Lew taking senior status, which he did on September 19.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Otis Wright II was nominated Sept. 5 to succeed Judge Gary Taylor, who took senior status Dec. 8, 2004 and retired to become a private judge with JAMS on June 30 of last year.

Judge Nora Manella left the court May 22 following her appointment to the Court of Appeal for this district.

There are no vacancies.

Justice Laurence T. Stevens of Div. Five retired Feb. 28.

Seats in other districts are filled

Former Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer was sworn in Sept. 1 to succeed Judge Stephen Petersen, who retired June 26. Meyer won the seat in the June primary, but was appointed by the governor Aug. 11, allowing her to take office four months early. She is hearing misdemeanor cases in Compton.

Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr.-named in June to succeed Judge John H. Sandoz, who retired May 15-was sworn in Sept. 1 and is hearing misdemeanors in Bellflower.

There are vacancies on the court resulting from the retirements of Judge Michael Knight Feb. 21, Judge Paula A. Mabrey April 28, and Judge Charles Rubin April 30, as well as from Judge Stephen Suzukawa's elevation to the Court of Appeal June 9.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena J. Duarte and David P. Vaughn, criminal defense specialist Steven Cron of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Edward J. Perez; state Deputy Attorney General E. Eugene Varanini IV; Deputy District Attorneys David Stuart, David Gelfound and Laura Louise Laesecke; Commissioners Mitchell Beckloff, Victor Greenberg, Amy Pellman, Maren Nelson, Dennis Mulcahy, Harvey Silberman, and Loren DiFrank; Referee Steven Berman; U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew; Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown; Los Angeles attorney Adrienne Krikorian; and Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman.

Successors to Knight, Mabrey, and Rubin are being elected in November runoffs.

Judge Marion Johnson has left the bench and is retiring Oct. 17. Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Daniel Lowenthal was elected in June to succeed Johnson for a term beginning Jan. 8.

Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Susan Lopez-Giss was elected in June to succeed Judge Larry Knupp, who did not seek re-election. Lopez-Giss' term begins Jan. 8.

Judge Morris Jones did not run for re-election. He will be succeeded by Commissioner Bobbie Tillmon, who was unopposed for election.

The governor announced June 9 he would re-appoint Judge Dzintra Janavs, who was defeated in the June 6 primary election, "as soon as she completes the paperwork." Janavs' current term expires Jan. 8.

Judge Tammy Chung Ryu is on leave after giving birth. She is scheduled to return Nov. 15.

Commissioners Martin L. Goestch and James Copelan are on long-term medical leave.

Pamela Matsamoto was named a referee this month and assigned to informal juvenile traffic court.

The following legislation of interest to the legal community was acted on in September:

•AB 2927, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, would require any state agency that publishes an Internet Web site to include on the site certain information, including the terms of litigation settlements, and would authorize any person to bring an action to enforce the duty of a state agency to post this information and would provide for penalties, including monetary awards to successful plaintiffs, to be paid by state agencies in specified circumstances. The bill would also allow the requesting party to obtain a second opinion from the attorney general when an agency denies a California Public Records Act request. The bill, which passed both houses unanimously in August, was enrolled and sent to the governor Sept. 13.

•SB 10, by Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, which, as amended, provides that counties retain responsibility when a seismically deficient courthouse facility is transferred to the state, to the extent that the county would have been responsible had the facility not been transferred, was signed by the governor Sept. 25.

•SB 56, by Dunn, which, as amended, would authorize creation of 50 superior court judgeships statewide and direct the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature every two years on the need for additional judgeships. The bill would also require the governor to disclose aggregate statewide demographic data provided by all judicial applicants relative to ethnicity and gender, the State Bar to collect and release statewide demographic data provided by judicial applicants reviewed and the statewide summary of the recommendations of the designated agency by ethnicity and gender, and Administrative Office of the Courts to collect and release the demographic data provided by justices and judges relative to ethnicity and gender by specific jurisdiction. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 22.

•SB 1281, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which would require all state contractors with more than 100 employees to pay their employees for the first week of jury duty. A previous version of the bill was vetoed by the governor. The bill was enrolled and sent to the governor Sept. 6.