There is one vacancy on the court, created when Judge Stephen S. Trott took senior status Dec. 31, 2004.

There is one vacancy on the court.

Orange Superior Court Judge James E. Rogan, a former congressman and Commerce Department official, was nominated Nov. 15 to succeed Judge Nora Manella, who resigned to become a justice of this district's Court of Appeal May 22.

There are no vacancies.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Andria K. Richey retires today, creating one vacancy on the court.
Several judges appointed last month took up assignments in September.

Judge Terry Bork, formerly a deputy district attorney, is sitting at Metropolitan Court. Judge Gregory Dohi, also a former deputy district attorney, is at Central Arraignment Court.

Judge Elaine Lu, a former assistant U.S. attorney, is in East Los Angeles. Marguerite Downing, who was a deputy public defender, is hearing dependency cases at Children's Court in Monterey Park.

Judge Georgina Torres Rizk, formerly an administrative law judge, takes up her assignment in Downey Monday, and Judge Elizabeth Feffer, who previously practiced in San Marino, will move into her West Covina courtroom that same day.

Lesley C. Green, formerly a partner in a Los Angeles firm, will take up her first permanent judicial assignment in West Covina Oct. 22.

Among those whose names have gone to the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation as possible appointees to the court are former Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Vaughn, now a managing director of the litigation and consulting firm FTI Consulting, Inc.; criminal defense specialist Steven Cron of Santa Monica; Los Angeles Deputy City Attorneys Richard Kraft and Edward J. Perez; state Deputy Attorneys General Steven D. Matthews, E. Eugene Varanini IV, Victoria Wilson, Paul Roadarmel Jr., Robert S. Henry and Kenneth Byrne, Administrative Law Judge Robert Helfand, Deputy District Attorneys Jeffrey Gootman, Karla Kerlin, Ricardo Ocampo, and Laura Laesecke; Commissioners Michael Convey, Tamila Ipema, Victor Greenberg, Amy Pellman, Maren Nelson, Dennis Mulcahy, Harvey Silberman, Ronald Rose, Marilyn Kading Martinez, Mary Lou Katz Byrne, and Loren DiFrank; Referee Steven Berman; U.S. District Court attorney Amy L. Lew; Irvine attorney Raymond Earl Brown; Deputy Federal Public Defender Angel Navarro; Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jerome J. Haig; Los Angeles attorneys John L. Carlton, Adrienne Krikorian, Mark A. Borenstein, Eulanda Matthews and Lawrence P. Brennan Jr.; Century City attorney Howard S. Fredman, and Westlake Village attorney Michael Nebenzahl.

Dennis Carroll, formerly a referee, was elected Sept. 13 to succeed Commissioner Melissa Widdifield, who was appointed a judge.

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

The following bills of interest to the legal community were introduced in September:

•AB 159 , by Assemblyman David Jones, D-Sacra­mento, which, as amended, would create 50 new superior court judgeships, subject to appropriations, and convert 162 commissioner and referee positions into judgeships over time, with the first 16 conversions to take place in the current fiscal year and no more than 16 per year after that. The bill was amended in the Senate Sept. 7, passed the Senate by a vote of 39-0 on Sept. 10, and passed the Assembly by a vote of 73-1 on Sept. 11.

•AB 160, by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, which would create a Sentencing Commission that would adopt sentencing guidelines, which would automatically take effect unless rejected by the Legislature. The bill, which passed the Assembly in June by a vote of 43-36, was amended in the Senate Sept. 7 to delay the deadline for adopting the guidelines to Jan. 1, 2011 and the effective date of the guidelines to May 1, 2011. The amended bill was defeated on the Senate floor Sept. 12 by a vote of 9-25, but reconsideration was granted so the bill could come up again next year.

•AB 171, by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, which, as amended, would create an expanded Assumption Program for Loans for Law in the Public Interest to replace the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program, under which the state makes 3,000 grants each year to assist lawyers with repayment of their student loans. The current program is limited to attorneys who work for a prosecutor's office, child support agency, or public defender's office; the expanded program would add those working for a legal services agency or a county counsel's office. The bill, which passed the Assembly in April by a vote of 44-30, was amended in the Senate Aug. 20. A Senate Appropriations Committee hearing scheduled for Aug. 30 was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 403, by Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa, which, as amended, would require the California Law Revision Commission to study whether, and when, the attorney-client privilege should survive the death of the holder and report by 2009. The bill, which passed the Senate Aug. 27 by a vote of 38-0, passed the Assembly Sept. 4 by a vote of 76-0 and was sent to the governor Sept. 10.

•AB 475, by Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Rancho Cucamonga, which would give the arresting agency the right to notice and to present evidence at the hearing on a motion to destroy an arrest record. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 10 by a vote of 73-1, passed the Senate Sept. 4 by a vote of 23-8, Senate amendments were concurred in by the Assembly later that day, and the bill was sent to the governor Sept. 13.

•AB 500, by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, which, as amended, would allow attorneys to appear by telephone or teleconference at certain types of hearings at which witnesses are not expected to testify, unless the court specifically requires that counsel appear, and would require the Judicial Council to adopt rules to implement that provision. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 3 by a vote of 73-0, passed the Senate Aug. 30 by a vote of 30-0. Senate amendments were concurred in by the Assembly Sept. 4 on a vote of 77-0, and the bill was sent to the governor Sept. 9.

•AB 553, by Assemblyman Edward Hernandez, D-West Covina, which would give the Public Employment Relations Board exclusive authority to seek injunctive relief in the event of a job action by state employees. The bill, which passed the Assembly June 5 by a vote of 46-32, was approved by the Senate Aug. 30 by a vote of 22-15, with Senate amendments clearing the Assembly later that day. The bill was vetoed Sept. 26 by the governor, who said it "would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and potentially place the public at risk," because the PERB process is slower than the judicial process.

•AB 863, by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, which would make certain raises received by Los Angeles Superior Court employees on Oct. 1, 2005 retroactive to Aug. 1 of that year. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 23 by a vote of 42-31,passed the Senate with amendments Sept. 4 by a vote of 21-14 and was sent back to the Assembly, which placed it on the inactive file Sept. 5.

•AB 1043, by Assemblywoman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, which would make void and unenforceable as against public policy any provision in an employment contract that requires an employee, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, to use a forum other than California, or to agree to a choice of law other than California law, in any dispute with an employer regarding employment-related issues that arise in California. As amended in the Senate, the bill specifies that a choice of law or forum selection clause is valid as long as it is not a condition of employment and is supported by independent consideration. The bill passed the Senate Sept. 5 by a vote of 21-14, passed the Assembly as amended Sept. 6 by a vote of 47-30, and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•AB 1090, by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Costa Mesa, which, as amended, would require that candidates, including judicial candidates, seeking to use a ballot designation support that designation by filling out a worksheet prescribed by the secretary of state. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 29 by a vote of 77-0, passed the Senate Aug. 30 by a vote of 39-0, passed the Assembly as amended Sept. 4 by a vote of 76-1, and was sent to the governor Sept. 13.

•AB 1248, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would make various changes with regard to civil procedure, court fees, and funding. The bill, as amended, passed the Senate Sept. 10 by a vote of 35-5, and passed the Assembly 73-1 on Sept. 12.

•AB 1539, by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, which, as amended, would extend procedures applicable to the humanitarian release of terminally ill prisoners to those who are permanently medically incapacitated and whose release is deemed not to threaten public safety. The bill passed the Senate 22-16 Sept. 4, passed the Assembly as amended 43-33 Sept. 5, and was sent to the governor Sept. 17.

•AB 1723, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, a State Bar proposal that would establish specific requirements for attorneys establishing accounts under the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program and for banks offering such accounts. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote of 65-7, passed the Senate 24-15 Aug. 30, passed the Assembly as amended Sept. 4 59-14, and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 11, by Sen. Carol Migden, D-San Francisco, which would eliminate the limitation of domestic partnerships to same-sex couples and couples in which one of the parties is over the age of 62 years and receiving Social Security benefits. The bill, which passed the Senate June 4 by a vote of 23-15, was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations Committee Aug. 30.

•SB 39 , by Migden, which would broaden public access to case files of children who are dependent or are wards of the juvenile court when those children have died as a result of abuse and neglect. The bill, which passed the Senate May 17 by a vote of 38-0, passed the Assembly Aug. 30 73-0, passed the Senate as amended Sept. 5 38-0, and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 110, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would establish a 20-member sentencing commission chaired by the chief justice, with power to determine the sentences for various crimes, subject to rejection by the Legislature. The bill, which passed the Senate June 6 by a vote of 24-15, was amended in the Assembly Aug. 31 to change the vote required to reject the commission's decisions from two-thirds to a simple majority. The bill as amended failed on Sept. 7 by a vote of 34-38, but was granted reconsideration.

•SB 145, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which would extend the deadline for transfer of local court facilities from the counties to the Judicial Council to Dec. 31 of next year. The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously in March, passed the Assembly as an urgency measure Sept. 12 by a vote of 73-0 and was sent back to the Senate with amendments.

•SB 241, by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Encino, which, as amended, would allow a court, where the parents of a ward or minor conservatee, or the estate, lack the ability to pay the fees of appointed counsel, to order payment of all or part of those fees by the county. The bill, which originally passed the Senate in June, passed the Assembly with amendments Sept. 7 by a vote of 63-12, passed the Senate Sept. 11 by a vote of 25-10, and was sent to the governor Sept. 19.

•SB 353, by Kuehl, which would allow a court, when issuing a domestic violence restraining order, to determine the right to custody of, and restrain violence against, household pets. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 396, by Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles, which would require the establishment of a committee to study civil court filing fees. The bill, which passed the Senate in May by a vote of 22-16, passed the Assembly Sept. 4 47-30, passed the Senate as amended Sept. 5 21-15, and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 539, by Sen. Robert Margett, R-Glendora, which would amend the way penalties are calculated when counties are delinquent in their payments to the State Trial Court Trust Fund. The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously in April, passed the Assembly Sept. 5 78-0, passed the Senate as amended Sept. 7 39-0, and was sent to the governor Sept. 14.

•SB 559, by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, which would protect property from full value reassessment due to the death of the surviving owner's domestic partner prior to 2006. Such protection already exists where the partner died on or after Jan. 1, 2006. The bill, which passed the Senate June 4 by a vote of 24-13, passed the Assembly Sept. 4 47-29, passed the Senate as amended Sept. 5 22-14, and was sent to the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 639, by Sen. Tom Harman, R-Costa Mesa, which would amend existing provisions with respect to enforcement of foreign money judgments. The bill was signed by the governor Sept. 11.

•SB 686, by Corbett, which, as amended, would authorize the State Bar to levy dues for 2008 at the current rate, and would authorize an additional fee of $10 per member per year from 2008 through 2010 to upgrade the State Bar's computers, while deleting the authorization for a $10 annual fee for construction or leasing of the State Bar headquarters. The bill, which passed the Senate May 24 by a vote of 31-4 and was amended in the Assembly June 13 to delete a provision that would have granted a rebate of building fund collections for 2007, passed the Assembly Sept. 4 62-13, passed the Senate as amended Sept. 6 33-5, and was sent to the governor Sept. 6.