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NOVEMBERDECEMBER 1 9 9 7 COURTNEWS Part II of a two-part series on security issues facing courts today Wildlife to Wildfires--Natural Disasters Test Courts' Mettle BY JANET BYRON deal with a full range of disas- L ters, from devastating earth- ike most natural disasters, Whether they're quakes and raging floods to the one that struck the crippling snowstorms and fast- Alpine County courthouse last moving fires. More minor nat- coping with winter was impossible to predict: ural disasters that have struck in the dead of night a skittish California courts include burst brown bear burst through the sewage pipes, power outages, earthquakes, doors and left its "calling card" and flea and bat infestations. on the floor. And this winter, there is El Niño Luckily, the damage was to look forward to. floods, or limited to an unsavory mess and some broken doors. "I don't PREPARE FOR know what would have hap- UNEXPECTED snowstorms, pened if people were in the "Our joke is, `We don't do drills. building," Alpine County Courts We do disasters,'" says Ruth Executive Officer Karen Kee- Goziker, Judicial District Ad- California courts baugh says with a laugh. ministrator for the Malibu But natural disasters often Municipal Courts, which have exhibit a present much greater challenges been shut down numerous times to the courts than Alpine by wildfires, mudslides, earth- County's brush with wayward quakes, and floods. "can-do" wildlife. Here in the Golden These unexpected and at State, courts have been forced to times dangerous events present Los Angeles Municipal Court Clerk Mark Bohn, left, and Richard John- myriad issues for courts to deal son, then-Chief of the Valley Division of the Los Angeles Municipal attitude. with. They must protect people Court, survey the effects of the January 1994 Northridge earthquake. Photo: Robert Levins, courtesy of the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Continued on page 3 IN THIS ISSUE C O U R T S C O P E W I T H Judicial Council Honors N AT U R A L D I S A S T E R S . . . . 1 D I S T I N G U I S H E D S E R V I C E H O N O R E E S . . . . . 1 Governor, Jahr, Slater M E S S A G E F R O M T H E C H I E F J U S T I C E . . . . . . . 2 K L E P S AWA R D Amicus Curiae Award. The other W I N N E R S S E L E C T E D . . . . . . 5 winners of the Judicial Council's C H I E F J U S T I C E ' S highest awards are Shasta County AWA R D A N N O U N C E D . . . 6 Courts Judge Steven E. Jahr, who B A I L I F F S P R O V I D E was selected Jurist of the Year, S U P R E M E S E C U R I T Y . . . . . . 7 and Orange County Superior Court Executive Officer Alan T H A N K S T O J U R O R S . . . . . 8 Slater, who is the recipient of the C H I E F J U S T I C E Governor Pete Judge Steven E. Alan Slater Judicial Administration Award. A S J U R O R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Wilson Jahr The three will receive their C O U N C I L P L A N S awards during the 1998 Califor- S T R AT E G I C A L LY . . . . . . . . . . . 9 M E S S A G E F R O M Extraordinary dedication to Governor Pete Wilson is the nia Judicial Administration Con- the preservation and en- first Governor of California to Continued on page 4 hancement of the justice system receive the Bernard E. Witkin C O U N C I L M E M B E R : L E A R N I N G F R O M is the overriding characteristic C A M E R A S R U L E . . . . . . . . . 1 0 that distinguishes the recipients of the fifth annual Judicial Understanding Trial Court Funding ` 3 S T R I K E S N E T W O R K ' : P O S T- R O M E R O . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Council of California Distin- guished Service Awards. For the Presiding judges, court administrators, budgeting procedures, newly created C O U R T I N T E R P R E T E R S . 1 2 first time, the Governor of Cali- and county executive officers recently task forces, and changes in civil fees. In F O C U S : WA S H I N G T O N . 1 2 fornia is among the recipients. received a comprehensive guide to As- the months to come, the Judicial Council/ The awards, honoring indi- sembly Bill 233, the Lockyer-Isenberg AOC will continue to disseminate infor- N E W R U L E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 viduals for their significant and Trial Court Funding Act of 1997, devel- mation about all aspects of AB 233. q N E W F O R M S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 positive contributions to court oped by the Judicial Council/Administra- Contact: For copies of Ensuring tive Office of the Courts (AOC). The Equal Access to Justice--The Lockyer- administration, are presented in E D U C AT I O N & binders, mailed in mid-December, were Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act of three categories: (1) Jurist of the D E V E L O P M E N T . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 a followup to regional workshops for 1997/AB 233 (Escutia and Pringle): Year Award, (2) Judicial Admin- courts held in November. Resource Manual (December 1997), call J U D I C I A L istration Award, and (3) Bernard A P P O I N T M E N T S . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 Among the contents of the binders the Administrative Office of the Courts' E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award, are an index to AB 233 and answers to Publications Hotline, 415-904-5980 C O U R T B R I E F S . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 which honors individuals who numerous questions resulting from the (CALNET 8-539-5980) or 800-900-5980 are not members of the judiciary C A L E N D A R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 landmark legislation, on topics such as (in California). but have championed the courts. 2 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE Planning Goes Hand in Hand With Funding State's Courts The enactment of the landmark Lockyer-Isenberg Trial With support from a grant by the State Justice Insti- Court Funding Act of 1997 provides California's judi- tute, the Judicial Council is planning the first Statewide ciary with a unique opportunity to plan for a future in Community-Focused Court Planning Conference, to be Chief Justice which stable funding will be a reality. Instead of scram- held next spring. Members of the steering committee, Ronald M. George bling to keep the courthouse door open day-to-day, the led by Judge Judith McConnell of the San Diego Superior judicial branch can begin to take the time to craft strate- Court, bring to the table the breadth and depth of expe- gies to better meet community needs and improve the rience, perspective, and expertise essential to the success administration of justice for the public's benefit. of this important event. Several members come from the The Judicial Council has long recognized the basic Judicial Council's Special Task Force on Court/Community goal of providing fair and accessible justice to all. In Outreach, which already has been studying issues involv- keeping with this primary focus, the council has empha- ing court-community relationships and holding public sized in its Long-Range Strategic Plan the specific goal of hearings aimed at identifying areas for developing out- improving "service to the public." The plan describes as reach programs. Take one of the important components of achieving this goal COMMUNITY INVESTMENT IN COURTS California's "increas[ing] public trust and understanding by empha- In preparation for the conference, the Coordination first State- sizing community outreach and education about the Oversight Committee in each county has been asked to Note court system." select participating teams made up of judges, court ad- wide Com- PUBLIC'S CONFIDENCE AT STAKE ministrators, and representatives from the local bar, munity- To be effective, courts must have the confidence of those county government, and the public. The purposes of the they serve. Yet surveys of the public have revealed that upcoming session are to (1) provide a forum and model Focused Court Planning views about the courts are mixed, at best. An opinion for joint investment in the improvement of the court poll conducted for the Commission on the Future of the system by the courts, the legal community, and the pub- Conference will be held California Courts in 1993 revealed that the opinion of lic; (2) make available education on effective strategic May 13 to 15, 1998, in the courts held by not quite half of the respondents was and action-planning methods; (3) expose participants to "good," "very good," or "excellent." Fifty-two percent creative model community outreach programs from Long Beach. The confer- thought we were doing only a fair or poor job. These re- around California and the United States; and (4) estab- sults were consistent with nationwide surveys that have lish local planning processes in the courts. The goal is to ence theme is "Courts and been conducted during the past two decades. give team members the skills to initiate, implement, and Their Communities: Local Judicial leaders around the country agree that the institutionalize community-focused court planning in lack of public confidence and trust in the system is one their home communities. Planning and the Renewal of the most significant problems faced by the courts. Among the benefits of creating this planning program This perception was reflected in the view of an over- is the opening of a direct dialogue between courts and of Public Trust and Confi- whelming majority of participants gathered from across the communities they serve. Providing a forum in which dence." (See Court News, the United States in 1996 to celebrate the 25th anniver- court users can inform the courts about their interests sary of the National Center for State Courts. and needs will encourage discussions that can uncover AugustOctober 1997, Lack of confidence in the courts can take numerous shared objectives, yield new insight into the limitations forms and have a range of effects. For example, the on the role of courts, and give courts a better view of the "Courts, Community Lead- courts have been striving to demonstrate to our sister impact of their practices on the public. Moreover, just as ers to Meet for Planning branches of government that the judicial branch has the courts can learn more about the concerns of those they capacity and willingness to manage its own affairs in a serve, the public can get a better understanding of the Conference.") responsible manner. I strongly believe that the enact- importance of community participation through jury ment of the Trial Court Funding Act would not have service, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) pro- q Contact: Shelley M. been possible had the courts not taken affirmative steps grams, and other avenues of public involvement, as well Stump, Planning Coordina- over the past several years to demonstrate to the Legis- as a recognition of the essential role that a strong and lature and the Governor their commitment to good fis- independent court system plays in our society. tor, Administrative Office cal management and planning. THE JUDICIARY LEADS THE CHARGE of the Courts, 303 Second MORE THAN FUNDING By taking the lead in planning activities, the judicial Insufficient resources all too often have had a negative branch can help set the direction and establish priorities Street, South Tower, San effect on the courts' ability to meet ever-growing de- for changes in the administration of justice. At the same Francisco, CA 94107, 415- mands from the public. Shorter hours of operation, the time, by including and encouraging continuing commu- difficulty of obtaining services from overburdened nity participation, the judiciary will be reaffirming in 396-9310 (CALNET 8-531- clerks' offices, and a scarcity of courtroom interpreters-- concrete terms its commitment to remaining account- all these affect the public's view of court operations. able for its actions in managing the courts. 9310). Jury service too often is seen not as an opportunity to My trips to the courts of the 58 counties of California participate in government, but rather as an irritant, ex- frequently involved meetings with not only the local acerbated by the inefficient use of jurors' time and inad- judges and court administrators, but also members of the equate facilities to house them. Delay in processing local bar and representatives of local government. A cases means delay in determining the rights of litigants deep and abiding commitment to improving the admin- that in turn can have a detrimental impact on their per- istration of justice was apparent at every stop and in sonal lives and business dealings. Once again, the impor- every segment of the community. The Community- tance of realizing the full promise and potential of state Focused Court Planning Conference provides an excellent funding is evident. avenue for harnessing some of that enthusiasm and in- However, resources alone are not the complete an- novation toward improving public understanding of and swer to meeting the challenges of our system: helping support for the California courts. courts become more responsive to the public, solidifying Around the state, despite differences in geography, our relationship with the other branches of government population density, demographics, and resources, I saw and with local governments, and continuing to improve courts working hard to fulfill their commitment to pro- the functioning of the judiciary as a cohesive branch of viding accessible, fair, and equal justice for all. This con- government so it can meet the public's expectations in ference can launch a new era of collaboration between all parts of our state. local courts, the Judicial Council, and California's com- munities--a collaboration that can renew public trust PLANNING FOR ALL and confidence in the administration of justice and the The Judicial Council began the process of comprehensive primacy of the rule of law in California's courts. It is a strategic planning in 1991. These efforts have contri- winning proposition for the public and the courts. buted significantly to the judicial branch's ability to Your county's participation is crucial to the success of make systemwide changes that have brought us into the this statewide court planning conference. We need to 20th century and will help prepare us for the 21st. The have the full complexity and diversity of our great state council is now seeking to assist local courts in creating represented in order to ensure that the conference pro- their own community-focused strategic- and action- duces results that truly will serve the needs of the local planning programs to enable them to respond to local courts and their communities. concerns. C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 3 w judge advises, one assuming the Peggy Meyer, Yuba County To Keep worst: no water, no electricity, Municipal Court's Executive Of- Disasters Public Trust, no files, no juror lists, nothing. ficer/Clerk of the Court, says Continued from page 1 Courts Must that after floods forced a several- SYSTEM IS FLEXIBLE from physical harm, ensure that day evacuation of the court- Be Prepared Following disasters or other case files are not lost or dam- house early this year, many crises, the Chief Justice is usu- Active planning for a nat- aged, reschedule trials and court litigants asked for continuances. ally quick to honor requests for ural disaster is one of the dates, and keep the public in- "The judges were pretty flexible most important ways that emergency orders, which extend formed about how building clo- and reasonable" with the re- courts maintain the public's the time periods allowable for sures will affect their cases. quests, comments Meyer, who trust and confidence, com- arraignments and trials. Time after time, court em- jokes, "We don't know how ments Marcus Reinkens- ployees have risen to the occa- meyer, past-chair of the sion, determining what needs to Dealing with disasters has compelled courts to develop National Association for be done and doing it quickly and Court Management efficiently. Because the Califor- (NACM) Security Guide contingency plans to protect staff and facilities while nia courts do not have central- Subcommittee. ized procedures for dealing with NACM's 42-page "Court remaining accessible to the public. natural disasters, their experi- Security Guide," published ences are instructive. in June 1995, provides For example, Goziker is the Judges often also decide to truthful a lot of them were." The practical advice for dealing Malibu courts' "disaster man- go easy on traumatized citizens. court then sent out letters to with violence and natural ager," the court's central source When the Santa Cruz County schedule new court dates. disasters. for information. She updates an Consolidated Courts' large ce- Rather than bringing defen- "People should feel safe emergency information phone ment courthouse reopened after dants to court, administrators and secure when they line, coordinates with the pre- the Loma Prieta quake in 1989, may be forced to find alternative come to court," says siding judge, and stays in contact some staff and jurors were anx- venues following a disaster. In Reinkensmeyer, Deputy Ad- with police and fire officials. All ious about sitting inside, recalls Santa Cruz, Patton arranged for ministrator of the Arizona the courts' data are backed up on court Executive Officer Chris- a judge to go over to the jail the Superior Court in Maricopa a mainframe off-site. tine Patton. In addition to pro- day after the Loma Prieta quake. County (Phoenix). On the other end of the spec- viding counseling, the court "We did the arraignments in cus- How will you transfer trum, the Los Angeles County gave deferrals to jurors "if they tody," she says. prisoners out of an earth- Superior Court's North Valley were really nervous about being quake-damaged building? WINTER RELIEF District (San Fernando) had "no in the building." Provide accurate evacua- In some cases, too much experi- plans" when the Northridge In Sonoma County, where tion instructions to emplo- ence with disasters has led earthquake shut down the build- the Russian River regularly yees and litigants? Recon- courts to change their proce- ing on January 17, 1994, accord- floods, judges are "a little more struct files destroyed in a dures in anticipation of prob- ing to Judge Judith Meisels lenient on failure to appear" fire or flood? lems. For example, Alpine Ashmann, supervising judge at when the water is up, Sonoma "All that needs to be County, nestled in the Sierra thought through," explains the time. County Courts Executive Officer Greg Abel notes. Continued on page 4 Reinkensmeyer. "The bet- EARTHQUAKE CENTRAL ter courts are very proac- The Northridge temblor was in tive on security and many ways a worst-case scenario disaster recovery." Communications Are for the San Fernando court. Reinkensmeyer offers More than a dozen Southern Crucial During Disasters the following tips for disas- California courthouses were ter planning: During a natural disaster, the public, the media, shut down for days or weeks; the Develop written jurors, employees, the bar association, and judicial North Valley District court has procedures for handling agencies will need information. It is crucial that the yet to reopen. disasters. Then designate court's public information officer (PIO) or designated "We did not have any place department leaders, edu- spokesperson understand in advance how to commu- to go. The phones weren't work- cate the staff, plan practice nicate effectively. ing. We had no communication drills, and test your plans. "In a crisis or disaster, many of you would be re- with downtown," Judge Ash- Establish intergovern- sponsible for providing the public with the most accu- mann says. "They'd beep me, mental agreements with rate and timely information possible concerning court and I'd call back on a cell other public agencies, to operations," Marcia Skolnik and Lynn Holton write in phone." Judges and staff were prevent duplicative efforts their guide, "Communications: How to Handle a Dis- emotionally drained, many hav- and confusion over who is aster." ing experienced personal losses responsible for what dur- Skolnik, Director of Public Affairs for the Los Ange- as well. ing a disaster. les Municipal Court, and Holton, PIO for California's Judge Ashmann hosted Protect the court's in- Administrative Office of the Courts, offer the follow- planning sessions twice daily, formation by backing up ing tips for managing communications in a disaster: with doughnuts in the morning computers regularly and Choose a single spokesperson: Designate one and pizza in the afternoon. All storing backup data off- person to disseminate consistent messages when dis- site. "Courts are in the in- available staff, including the aster strikes. According to Skolnik, the single biggest formation business," notes judge, got on the phone to call communications mistake is having "too many people Reinkensmeyer. "You may jurors whose trials had been in- speaking on behalf of the court." not be able to save the terrupted. Eventually, the entire Make a pest of yourself: The court's PIO or data center, but at least San Fernando court had to be spokesperson must be "in the loop" in order to pro- you can save your court's moved to Van Nuys. vide up-to-date information. "Be relentless! You need data." The number-one lesson Install backup power Judge Ashmann took away from the right information!" Holton and Skolnik write. generators to maintain an the Northridge quake is to back Get it from the top: Insist on access to the top uninterrupted power sup- up files off-site. "We were totally court administrator. Don't rely on rumors or second- ply. "If you can't run the dependent on paper files," she hand information. computers, at least you can explains. "We had no redun- Put it in writing: Prepare press statements to en- bring down the system in dancy built into the system." sure that you give the same information to all media an orderly way," Reinkens- With no backups, most files outlets. meyer says. were completely inaccessible af- Have a plan: Develop a "Crisis Communications" Incorporate disaster ter the San Fernando courthouse plan well in advance of an actual disaster. planning into all new was condemned. Even after files Keep employees informed: Use telephone trees, buildings and renovations. were slowly brought out of the emergency phone message lines, or other means. q Contact: For a copy of building, many had fallen off the "Don't let your employees be the last ones to know," "Court Security Guide" shelves in a jumbled mess. "We Skolnik says. (June 1995), contact the didn't know who was arrested q Contact: To obtain a copy of "Communications: National Association for and should be arraigned," Judge How to Handle a Disaster," contact Marcia Skolnik, Di- Court Management, 757- Ashmann says. rector, Public Affairs Office, Los Angeles Municipal 259-1841. She is now a strong advo- Court, 110 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA cate for disaster planning. "Have 90012, 213-974-6358. an emergency plan in place," the 4 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S w als, and jurors select the quarter The much larger Los Ange- disaster struck now have them. they want. les Municipal and Superior While the Yuba County court- Disasters "They know in advance when Court system, with hundreds of house in Marysville was not ac- Continued from page 3 they have to serve," Keebaugh judges and dozens of locations, tually flooded when the waters Nevada, is California's smallest says. "It's been fairly successful was nearly overwhelmed by ar- rose in January, the devastation county with just 1,200 residents. for us. We've had 100 percent rests during the Rodney King ri- in surrounding rural areas Fewer than 800 people are eligi- turnout. Before, we'd be lucky if ots of April and May 1992. "made the whole county think ble for jury duty. half the panel would show." "It became a logistical about planning," Meyer says. Compounding the problem problem to take people to court," Several county agencies, includ- LESSONS FROM CIVIL of finding enough jurors, snow- explains Lieutenant Dennis ing the courts, are now "putting DISTURBANCE storms make the courthouse in- Beene of the Los Angeles County together a more finely tuned Ironically, civil disturbances accessible for months at a time. Sheriff's Department. plan for dealing with floods and often spur courts to fine-tune Several years ago, Los An- fires and other natural disasters." "Our joke is, their emergency planning and geles opened a 36,000-square- In Berkeley, Alameda training. In downtown Berkeley, foot Emergency Operations County Superior Court Clerk `We don't do drills. We do disasters.' " the Berkeley-Albany Municipal Center to manage the communi- Paula Gray has taken it upon Court is often the locus of --Ruth Goziker, Judicial District Administrator cations and rescue efforts of all herself to push for better earth- demonstrations, notes Presiding for the Malibu Municipal Courts, which have been shut down by public agencies, including the quake preparedness in her Judge Julie M. Conger. "The bat- wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes, and floods. courts, following natural disas- workplace. The co-chair of the tle cry de rigueur is to march on ters, riots, or other emergencies. city of Albany's earthquake pre- the Berkeley courthouse." "During the winter, people on "This is the only building in paredness program, Gray be- The Alameda County sher- the west slope are not called for the country devoted exclusively lieves that it is the court's iffs in charge of security are "al- jury duty because the pass is to emergency operations," says responsibility to stockpile sup- ways very alert," Judge Conger closed," explains Keebaugh. "I Captain Margaret Beard, also of plies, bolt bookshelves to the says, and have extensive training was just tearing my hair out try- the sheriff's department. The walls, and hold regular evacua- in crowd control and civil distur- ing to get jurors." "nerve center" has "every mod- tion drills. bances. Likewise, the court staff Two years ago, Alpine ern technological advance- "I talk about it all the time," and judges have learned how to County developed an innovative ment," Beard notes. Gray explains. "We not only quickly evacuate the building plan for dealing with this "pre- have ourselves to think about, during bomb threats, a useful THINKING AHEAD dictable" natural disaster. The but we have the public in here skill during an earthquake or an- Many courts that did not have court now sets aside one week every day." s other natural disaster. emergency plans in place when during each quarter for jury tri- tion, he encouraged and sup- led all aspects of the coordination the development of innovative w The ported legislative action to facil- of the superior and municipal technological applications in Honorees Nominees itate the timely delivery of courts, including administration, court management, Slater early Continued from page 1 justice in death penalty appeals. budget, and personnel. on envisioned the court's cur- Are... ference (CJAC)--the state courts' These actions are a testament Despite carrying a full case- rent Internet site and Intranet Nomination forms for the premier educational and recog- to Governor Wilson's courage and load, Judge Jahr has devoted page. He co-chairs the Joint Judicial Council Distin- nition event--to be held Febru- commitment to a strong, inde- whatever time has been neces- Technology Committee for the guished Service Awards ary 5 to 7 in Monterey. pendent system of justice for the sary to work on and complete Conference of State Court Ad- people of California. projects for the benefit of the ministrators and the National were sent to all courts. WITKIN AWARD public and the courts, Association of Court JURIST OF YEAR The 10 nominations re- Throughout his tenure, Gover- such as representing Management (NACM), ceived were reviewed by nor Pete Wilson has created an Judge Steven E. Jahr was se- the bench in the the world's largest the CJAC Planning Com- atmosphere in which the inde- lected for his extraordinary ded- courts' massive association of pendent branches of govern- ication to the highest principles remodeling court admin- mittee, chaired by Orange ment may interact and function of the administration of justice, project, istrators, County Superior Court productively to the greatest ben- in particular for his leadership, speaking by virtue Judge Kathleen E. O'Leary. efit of the people of California. optimism, and enthusiasm as the at public of chairing The committee's recom- His positive impact on the first presiding judge of the fully functions, and the NACM Tech- mendations were for- state's courts has been ongoing consolidated Shasta County serving on the fac- nology Committee. warded to the chairs of and far-reaching. Among his ac- Courts--one of the first and most ulty of the California He is also an active the Judicial Council's three tivities, he supported and signed fully coordinated courts in the Judicial Studies Program member of the National into law Assembly Bill 233, the state. He served as presiding and California Judicial Col- Judicial Electronic Data internal committees: judge of the superior court in lege. His accomplishments are and Document Interchange Justice Richard D. 1993, 1994, and 1995. evidence of his unique and out- Consortium and other court- Huffman, Court of At the state level, he has standing administrative abilities and law-related organizations. Appeal, Fourth played a crucial role in trial and his dedication to making a Slater has been active in the court funding as the current Appellate District, positive, lasting impact on local Judicial Council, serving on, chair of the Trial Court Budget Division One (San court administration. among other committees, the Commission (TCBC), which di- Court Profiles Advisory Com- Diego), Executive and rects and oversees the trial court ADMINISTRATION AWARD mittee, Court Administrators Planning Committee; budget submission and alloca- Alan Slater was selected for his Advisory Committee, Court Tech- Supreme Court Justice Lockyer-Isenberg Trial Court tion processes. A strong and significant contributions and nology Advisory Committee, and Marvin R. Baxter, Policy Funding Act of 1997, one of the knowledgeable leader, Judge leadership in the profession of ju- the Blue Ribbon Commission on Coordination and Liaison most significant pieces of legisla- Jahr is well respected for his fair- dicial administration. On the staff Jury System Improvement. He Committee; and Presiding tion affecting the judicial branch ness, impartiality, and skill as a of the Orange County Superior also has served as a faculty re- Justice Roger W. Boren, in this century. negotiator. He has been a mem- Court since 1972, Slater was ap- source or as an instructor for Governor Wilson has sup- ber of the TCBC since its cre- pointed executive officer in 1981, professional training programs Court of Appeal, Second ported myriad judicial branch is- ation in 1993. when he assumed responsibility sponsored by such organizations Appellate District, Division sues, repeatedly placing at the Through Judge Jahr's lead- for all of the court's administra- as the Institute for Court Man- Two (Los Angeles), Rules forefront the best interests of the ership, the courts in Shasta tive and nonjudicial functions. agement and National Judicial and Projects Committee. people of California and the County, though historically un- He also serves as jury commis- College. q Contact: Claudia needs of the courts. Despite sev- derfunded and understaffed, sioner for the superior and mu- Slater's leadership and ex- Fernandes, Adminstrative eral derailments, he remained have achieved sound judicial nicipal courts and in 1994 cellence in the advancement of Education, 415-356-6433 engaged in the struggle to estab- management, increased effi- assumed responsibility for all su- the ideals and principles of mod- lish a stable and sufficient source ciency, and gained public support perior court clerk functions. ern court management have (CALNET 8-531-6433). of funding for the trial courts, and respect. Among his accom- During the past 25 years, been acknowledged nationally. and his support and signing of plishments, Judge Jahr led the Slater has served the courts with In 1995, he received the Distin- Senate Bill 99 allowed many reorganization of the superior dedication and enthusiasm, guished Service Award from the trial courts facing fiscal crises to court civil calendars to meet gaining a national reputation as National Center for State Courts. remain open. As a result of the delay reduction standards, estab- a progressive and effective ad- In 1994 he was honored with Governor's continuous support lished a settlement conference ministrator. A tenacious pro- NACM's Award of Merit for Out- in 1996, the trial and appellate calendar and an "expedited trial moter of new technology to standing Leadership and Dedi- courts realized their first new court" to resolve old civil cases improve court efficiency and a cation to the Association. s judgeships since 1987. In addi- and delay reduction cases, and nationally recognized expert in C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 5 by other courts with fewer re- sources. 12 Court Programs Win q Contact: Frederick K. Ohlrich, Court Administrator, 213-974-6171. u Los Angeles County Prestigious Kleps Award Superior Court and the Administratively Unified Courts: Los Angeles Mentoring and educating youth about the courts, providing divorced and Superior Court Summer Youth Mentoring Program separated families with comprehensive court and community-based services, The program was established to offering traffic school online, enabling domestic violence victims to obtain provide job training (with pay) for youth in economically chal- temporary restraining orders in their local courts. . . . lenged communities. The supe- rior court has, for the last three With programs like these, court is designed as an alterna- u Ventura County Superior years of the five it has partici- California's courts con- tive to jail for those offenders and Municipal Coordinated pated in the program, incorpo- tinue their innovative efforts to who have committed more than Courts: Interactive Take rated job training with a strong improve access and the quality of one drug offense but do not have Home Traffic School mentoring program. Profession- justice for their diverse public. a history of violent crimes or ha- The program consists of an in- als outside of the court who par- Twelve such court programs bitual drug dealing. The pro- teractive "take home traffic ticipate in the program annually have been selected to receive the gram is for a minimum of one school," which is available to provide guidance counseling. prestigious Ralph N. Kleps Im- year; once in the program the of- traffic violators in Ventura q Contact: John A. Clarke, provement in the Administra- fender must attend alcohol and County as an alternative to tra- Executive Officer/Clerk, 213- tion of the Courts Award, the drug counseling sessions and be ditional classroom-style traffic 974-5401. Judicial Council has announced. tested for drug use on a regular schools. The program links the u Los Angeles County Named for the first Admin- basis. The program, which re- student to a mainframe com- Superior Court and the istrative Director of the Califor- quired the assistance and coop- puter via a rented computer and Administratively Unified nia Courts, the award recognizes eration of the county probation utilizes traffic school videotapes. Courts: "The Constitutional and honors the contributions department and the county al- At various prompts, the student Rights of the Big Bad Wolf" made by individual courts to the cohol and drug program, has signs onto the mainframe and is The program teaches young peo- administration of justice. The been successful despite limited tested on portions of the video. ple about constitutional guaran- award will be presented to the 12 financial and staff resources. After the tests are completed, tees and the criminal justice programs during the 1998 Cali- q Contact: Susan Null, Ex- they are scored and the grades system. The Los Angeles County fornia Judicial Administration ecutive Officer, 916-225-5635. are downloaded to the individ- Superior Court undertook this Conference, scheduled for Feb- ual case files. program for use during "Law ruary 5 to 7, in Monterey. This is q Contact: Sheila Gonzalez, CATEGORY 3 Day" to address the public's lack the award's seventh year. Executive Officer and Clerk, of understanding about and con- The winning programs are u San Bernardino Superior 805-654-2965. fidence in the judicial system. described below. and Municipal Courts: q Contact: John A. Clarke, Forms Automation CATEGORY 4 Executive Officer/Clerk, 213- CATEGORY 1 Program 974-5401. The program has automated the u Los Angeles Municipal No applications were received. reproduction and sale of court Court: Implementation of u South Orange Municipal forms to the public. Prior to the Trial Court Performance Court: Domestic Violence CATEGORY 2 program's implementation, form Standards Temporary Restraining orders were received and pro- The program fully implements Orders u Placer County Superior cessed in the Central Division the Trial Court Performance The program enables victims of and Municipal Courts: from 12 different court sites and Standards (TCPS), a self-assess- domestic violence in the south Placer County Peer Court returned by courier, resulting in ment process that may be used Orange County area to obtain ex The program provides juveniles costs of more than $120,000 an- by courts across the country. In parte temporary restraining or- the opportunity to accept re- nually and requiring hundreds of addition to being one of the first ders in their local court. These sponsibility for their behavior staff hours. Forms automation, and largest courts to complete all orders are issued on a perma- and demonstrate accountability which has virtually eliminated 68 measures on the local level, nent and regularly scheduled to the community while enhanc- manual procedures, provides the the court has developed a basis to victims referred to the ing their respect and under- public with immediate access to process for institutionalization court through a local women's standing of the judicial process. current updates, saves valuable and continuous evaluation of the shelter. Historically, domestic vi- In addition to the courtroom space and staff time, and prevents standards. Furthermore, the olence victims have had to travel peer court component--where the waste of discarded obsolete court's experiences and recom- 35 miles to the Family Law the juveniles are judged by class- forms after revisions are made. mendations will help facilitate Court in the city of Orange to mates--separate educational, job q Contact: Wendy Sellnow, the standards' implementation Continued on page 6 training, and parent support Court Manager, 909-387-6417. components distinguish this u Santa Clara County program from many others. The Superior Court Family How They Are Chosen educational component, cur- Division: Santa Clara rently provided to all high The programs nominated for the Ralph N. Kleps Improvement in the Administration County Family Court and school ninth-graders but with of the Courts Award are judged on the following criteria: (1) the activity improves Family Court Services expansion planned to include the administration of the courts and reflects the intent of at least one of the goals of Comprehensive Program of middle and elementary school the Judicial Council's Long-Range Strategic Plan (Access, Fairness, and Diversity; Inde- Intervention students, is designed to be a two- The program provides families in- pendence and Accountability; Modernization; Quality of Justice and Service to the week study unit and involves volved in divorce and separation Public; and Education); (2) the activity is innovative; and (3) the project is transferable lessons based on the Juvenile with comprehensive court and to other courts. Justice Handbook and a series of community-based services de- The awards were formerly given in three categories related to court size. The discussions led by speakers in- signed to promote the quality and four categories used now are still based on court size, but to a greater extent they cluding judges, probation offi- accessibility of justice. It empha- are based on judicial position equivalents (JPEs). cers, district attorneys, public sizes the encouragement of family The revised categories divide counties into those with (1) 0 to 6.9 JPEs, (2) 7.0 to defenders, and other criminal empowerment and decision- 23.9 JPEs, (3) 24.0 to 99.9 JPEs, and (4) 100 or more JPEs. justice professionals. making, and healthy functioning q Contact: Carl DePietro, From a field of 31 nominations, the 12 recipients were selected by the nine- through the use of various educa- Executive Officer, 916-889-6516. member California Judicial Administration Conference Planning Committee, chaired tional, counseling, mediation, and by Orange County Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O'Leary. The committee was as- u Shasta County Courts: supportive services, which are sisted by the Regional Court Assistance Program staff of the Administrative Office of Shasta County Courts made available in a timely man- the Courts' Trial Court Services Division, who visited the majority of the courts nomi- Addicted Offender Program ner to serve the diverse needs of nated for the award. The program targets individuals the population served. q Contact: Scott Beseda, Trial Court Services Division, 415-396-9299 (CALNET 8- whose drug addictions appear to q Contact: Sandra Clark, be the main obstacle to their Director, Family Court Services, 531-9299). leading crime-free lives. Drug 408-299-3741. 6 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S Chief Justice's Award Honors San Diego, Sacramento Projects Courts Recognized for Promotion of Pro Bono Legal Services The San Diego County Supe- lated issues. When an unrepre- removed much of the frustration on-site "to address criminal law rior Court and the Sacra- sented client requests divorce that previously existed. issues which act as barriers to mento Superior and Municipal forms and asks for help in com- Mediation, especially in fi- the veterans' participation in Courts are the recipients of the pleting the paperwork, that per- nancial issues, has further re- employment and the Veterans second annual Chief Justice's son is immediately directed to duced frustration, improved Administration Mental Health Special Recognition Award, the the project desk in the calendar client satisfaction, and resolved and Drug and Alcohol Treat- Judicial Council has announced. section of the clerk's office. If the off-calendar filings. ment Program." Only misde- This year, the special recog- client meets income guidelines, q Contact: Presiding Judge meanor and infraction violations nition award honors courts that a volunteer attorney helps trans- William J. Howatt, Jr., 619-531- are adjudicated during the on- have encouraged improved ac- late the legal terminology, ex- 3795. site court sessions. A special fol- cess by promoting pro bono le- low-up calendar is held at the gal services within the judicial courthouse in the week immedi- branch. Last year, when the How They Are Chosen ately following the Stand Down award was presented for the first to resolve more difficult cases. Applications for the Chief Justice Special Recognition time, it honored courts whose ef- Through the efforts of vol- forts improved access, fairness, Award were evaluated by Administrative Office of the unteer staff from the court and and diversity. Courts staff and then reviewed by the nine-member the public defender's and district The awards will be pre- California Judicial Administration Conference Plan- attorney's offices, each Stand sented during the 1998 Califor- Down has resulted in resolution ning Committee, chaired by Orange County Superior nia Judicial Administration of approximately 200 cases a Court Judge Kathleen E. O'Leary. Conference, scheduled for Feb- year, clearing the court's docket q Contact: Scott Beseda, Trial Court Services Divi- ruary 5 to 7, in Monterey. of cases that might otherwise not sion, 415-396-9299 (CALNET 8-531-9299). The winning programs are be resolved and providing the described below. veterans the opportunity to seek services that they were unable to u San Diego County u Sacramento Superior plains the steps that must be access previously. Superior Court: Pro Bono and Municipal Courts: followed, focuses the pleadings, The project improves access Legal Services for Pro Per Sacramento Stand and helps complete the paper- to justice for homeless veterans Clients Down Rally work accurately. by delivering court services at a The court project has directly The courts annually participate During the first six months location in the community at no improved family court access in the Sacramento Stand Down, of calendar year 1997, 207 vol- cost, thus eliminating economic and fairness for low-income pro an outreach program sponsored unteer attorneys donated almost barriers to resolving their cases per clients (persons represent- by the Vietnam Veterans of Amer- 1,600 hours, assisting 5,000 and promoting the goal of fair- ing themselves) by providing ica for homeless veterans who clients with dissolutions, visita- ness within the legal system. limited professional help to face unemployment, poor physi- tion and support issues, and do- Moreover, the court's participa- better focus pleadings and elim- cal and emotional health, legal mestic violence, paternity, tion in Stand Down encourages inate irrelevant claims and in- problems, and possible substance guardianship, custody, and mis- teamwork in the community, en- correct paperwork. abuse and isolation. The program cellaneous family matters. The hances tolerance and respect for In August 1994, the court brings together a wide range of project has since been expanded individuals regardless of their contracted with the local bar for preexisting specialized services at to the court's North County Di- circumstances, and creates a the administration of an orga- one location over a three-day pe- vision. By institutionalizing the level of trust between individuals nized pro bono program of at- riod and offers follow-up services use of pro bono attorneys to as- in the community and the court. torneys, trained as mediators, to after the event is over. sist pro per clients in domestic q Contact: Executive Offi- guide pro per clients in the filing During the six years the and probate courts, the court has cer Michael Roddy, 916-440- of initial divorce petitions and, Stand Down has been held, the saved valuable judicial time and 6328. s where possible, to mediate re- courts have conducted sessions u The Four Municipal w resource with which courts compliant Civil/Small Claims Courts of San Diego throughout the state and coun- Case Management System, the Kleps County: El Cajon, North try can train staff on court-spe- court developed the Civil and Continued from page 5 County, San Diego, and cific quality customer service. Small Claims IJIS component for obtain temporary restraining or- South Bay: Court Customer q Contact: Sharon Lear, courts of limited jurisdiction. ders, discouraging many victims Service Training Program Court Administrator, 760-940- q Contact: D. Kent Peder- from filing them. The program The municipal courts of San 4633. sen, Court Administrator, 619- provides a new level of public Diego County collaborated on 531-4175. u San Diego Municipal service to the community and the writing and production of a Court: Civil and Small u San Diego County specifically to the victims of do- comprehensive, court-specific Claims Automated Case Superior Court: Touch- mestic violence. Court Customer Service Train- Management System Screen Case Index q Contact: Joyce Ziegler, ing Program. The program, In an effort to replace existing The project converted the supe- Court Administrator, 714-249- which includes two videotapes case management systems to rior court's case index database 5041. and accompanying manuals and maximize data sharing and to from the county mainframe materials, provides a valuable process dates after 1999, the mu- computer to the court's net- nicipal court began work to worked personal computer sys- develop an all-encompassing tem, a major systems change that Interagency Justice Information improved customer service and System (IJIS). However, the in- expedited public access through creasing level of risk to the mu- touch-screen computer technol- nicipal courts from continued ogy. The in-house control pro- usage of the aging Civil and Small vided by the system allows staff Claims System, coupled with the to update the index daily, elimi- cost prohibitions of a fully inte- nating former time delays and grated countywide IJIS system, the cost of duplicate data entry. caused the San Diego Municipal q Contact: Kenneth Mar- Court to look for an alternative. tone, Court Executive Officer, Working with complete county- 619-531-3820. s wide specifications for an IJIS- C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 7 have the opportunity to fire as would uniformed police officers Supreme Security should the justices be caught in a security breach. "We're talking about close-quarters combat, where the `bad guys' aren't eas- Bailiffs for State's Highest ily identifiable, where we want to prevent unintentionally shooting someone else in the crowd," explains Kinney. "We Court Form an Elite Corps have to play catch-up in less than a heartbeat to evade escape and to survive." Today, the bailiffs Their training prepares them for that and more. Besides are arguably the in-service training at the Califor- nia Highway Patrol Academy for most highly trained the protection of public officials, the three regularly attend the na- tion's finest and most demanding and specialized training schools, such as those of the U.S. State Department; the peace officers federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Agency; the Georgia in the state. Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Marshal. They also attend courses at the elite Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, where they learn and are tested on such skills as do- mestic terrorism, impact weapons training, and counter-terrorist driving. The men credit Clerk of the Supreme Court Robert Wan- druff with allowing them to par- ticipate in such high-level The security of the Supreme Court justices rests in the able hands of, left to right, bailiffs George training. Rodgers, Walter Grabowski, and Harry Kinney, who have nearly three-quarters of a century of law en- The bailiffs acknowledge forcement experience among them. that their responsibilities exert a continual, subtle pressure, so The bailiffs of California's complicated over the years. Be- the Chief Justice's 58-county when not at work, the three men Supreme Court may aspire ginning last year, the California court outreach tour. Kinney co- enjoy life's less-strenuous plea- to be transparent to the public Highway Patrol (CHP) joined in ordinated visits with the sheriff's sures. Grabowski hikes. Kinney, when on duty, but these con- helping to coordinate security departments of all the counties who competes in archery, has summate peace officers provide and providing security to the and with the CHP to create a "se- won 15 medals in five years at the their charges with protection of Courts of Appeal. curity umbrella"--a challenge in annual California Police Sum- the highest order. The bailiffs routinely pro- areas where there was no radio mer Games and is an Explorer The three--Walter Grabow- vide security at the court's or cell phone capability. During Post advisor with the Boy Scouts ski, Harry Kinney, and George chambers and in court during the most ambitious leg, they vis- of America. Rodgers likes rock Rodgers--provide primary pro- oral argument in San Francisco, ited six counties in two days. hunting as well as attending the tection, security, and personal Sacramento, and Los Angeles The year-long project is one opera and ballet. assistance to the justices and are and confirmation hearings for that Kinney recalls with fond- Still, the men enjoy the direct employees of the court, judicial nominees. Twelve-to- ness and pride. "It involved challenges of their work. "It's a hired through a merit selection 16-hour days are not uncom- quite a bit of coordination, but I privilege working for the judges process. mon for the men, particularly enjoyed working independently and one of the most influential They have worked together when traveling with the court. and exercising resourcefulness," courts in the nation," says "so long that we think alike and Whether traveling or not, the he explains. Chief Justice George Grabowski. Rodgers says he function well together," says bailiffs arrive early at the court observes that his visits "went re- finds listening to the cases ar- Grabowski, who has been with to do a security sweep and do markably smoothly as a result of gued before the court intriguing. the high court eight years. Pre- not leave until the justices com- the combined efforts of [Kin- "Even though we're transparent viously he was a Marin County plete their official functions. In ney], who on most visits provided people, we're treated cordially deputy sheriff and also worked addition, the bailiffs are sensi- the primary transportation and by everyone, and the individual at San Quentin State Prison. tive to and flexible about the se- protective services for me and justices appreciate what we do," Because of that experience-- curity needs of individual my companions from the Ad- notes Kinney. s nearly three-quarters of a cen- justices and play a key role in ministrative Office of the Courts, tury in law enforcement among protecting them at meetings and and the coordinated work of the them--"we never assume things events outside the San Fran- California Highway Patrol and are the same," remarks Rodgers, cisco chambers. county sheriffs." who has been with the court 28 Much of the security work INTENSIVE TRAINING years and before that was with for the justices is done confiden- To match their demanding du- the California State Police, where tially and involves numerous ties, the bailiffs undergo intensi- he was on then-Governor Ronald details, the bailiffs note. As fied and expanded training. Reagan's detail. The bailiffs per- Grabowski says, "The devil is in Today, they are arguably the form advance work and prepare the details." most highly trained and special- for the unexpected, adds Kinney, Each of the bailiffs also has ized peace officers in the state. In who has been with the court 10 special duties: Grabowski han- addition to being certified by the years. Previously he was Special dles administrative functions; state's Peace Officers Standards Deputy U.S. Marshal Court Secu- Kinney, a distinguished weapons and Training program, the men rity Supervisor for the Northern expert, is a firearms instructor; undergo firearms training quar- District of California and also a and Rodgers, a senior instructor terly, more frequently than the deputy sheriff in both San Mateo with the Army Reserve, deals twice-annual state requirement. and El Dorado Counties. with crime prevention, teaching classes on such subjects as letter During the training exercises, INCREASING DEMANDS Bailiff Harry Kinney, right, shows Chief Justice Ronald M. George bombs and personal security. they fire more rounds (500) and the medals he won for archery at the California Police Summer Historic documents indicate must achieve a higher rate of ac- Games and the World Police and Fire Games in Calgary, Alberta, bailiffs have worked at the SECURE COURT TOUR curacy (95 percent) than other Canada. Kinney is the event coordinator for the 1998 California Supreme Court since at least Most recently, Kinney accompa- peace officers in the state. Summer Games in Contra Costa County and will compete in the 1860, although their duties have nied Chief Justice Ronald M. The bailiffs need such accu- 1999 World Police and Fire Games in Stockholm. expanded and become more George, his primary charge, on racy because they would not 8 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S courts sponsored a fair that in- cluded a dozen booths offering Courts Show Gratitude for everything from services (free blood pressure tests by the American Red Cross) to jobs (re- Jurors' Service, Sacrifice cruitment by GTE), a raffle (with donations from area law firms and local merchants), a silent Not Everyone Evades Jury Duty auction (with prizes such as L.A. Dodger tickets and autographed Any citizen can be sum- common theme I heard from cit- The overall experience that Laker photos), free entertain- moned for jury duty and izens both prior to running and jurors have means they leave ment (by students from per- serve--even a judge. during the campaign was, `What with a positive impression of the forming arts schools and high Chief Justice Ronald M. are you going to do to make jury court, suggests Judge Kingsbury. schools, and jazz professionals), George, who had never been duty less onerous? You don't She has seen results, with people and hot dogs or taquitos with called for jury duty before his re- feed us; we get $5 a day; you volunteering at the court in such punch for a dollar. cent summons to the Beverly don't take care of us.' " programs as the Court Ap- "The jurors loved it!" Rus- Hills Municipal Court (see story, Since she took office, Judge pointed Special Advocates and sell exclaims. page 9), comments, "It was good to see how the system operates from the other side," and ob- serves, "We can do more to bet- ter utilize the time and resources of jurors." In Manhattan, U.S. Magis- trate Judge Sharon Grubin ap- peared for jury duty and was selected for a panel, but the panel was dismissed before the trial began. Illinois Supreme Court Jus- tice Benjamin Miller was sum- moned for jury service and appeared in February. He served for a two-and-a-half-day civil trial in which the plaintiff sought damages in a car collision case. Participating as a juror, says Jus- tice Miller, "was a great experi- ence. It was very worthwhile and very assuring to see how the jury system works and to see how conscientiously people under- take their duty when called to serve." Drawing by S. Gross; © 1997 The New Yorker Magazine, Inc. BIG-HEARTED JUDGE Some courts are doing their best Kingsbury has made it a point to developing an interest in work- GROWING EVENT to show they appreciate the sac- take care of jurors. In the morn- ing at the court. "I really think Los Angeles's 1997 Juror Appre- rifices jurors make, whether ing, she may bring in fruit, rolls, that all in all this helps promote ciation Week far surpassed last they serve for a day or a month. or doughnuts, and in the after- a positive role of the court as a year's event, when courts offered At the El Dorado County noon, another snack. "It's not re- resource and part of the com- jurors candies, cookies, and wa- Superior Court, jurors regularly ally a burden," she says. "Staff munity," says Judge Kingsbury. ter, says Russell. BIG THANKS Large or small, courts can tailor their juror appreciation ef- In Los Angeles County, jurors are regaled with food, entertainment, At the other end of the spectrum, forts to the community, suggests the Los Angeles County Supe- Russell, and should start plan- and prizes, while in El Dorado County, a judge regularly provides rior and Municipal Courts cele- ning early. Jury Appreciation brated their second annual Jury Week, she says, is an opportunity them with refreshments. Appreciation Week in a big way. to thank not only jurors, but also The event, scheduled during the their employers, who are paying enjoy the tasty rewards of Judge sometime volunteer to do the second week of May by a Board for their employees to serve. Ide- Suzanne Kingsbury's big-hearted shopping, and we've actually of Supervisors resolution, was an ally, Russell says, she would like efforts to show jurors the court had staff voluntarily make things occasion for staff at more than to see courts across the nation cares about them. for jurors." 30 courthouse locations to re- observe Jury Appreciation Week Because the court lacks an gale jurors with merchant dis- at the same time. eating facility and the nearest KINDNESS APPRECIATED counts, free services, food, and The court also is making an restaurant is across a busy street In questionnaires following their entertainment, not to mention effort to combine service to ju- and difficult to reach in in- service, jurors have indicated raffles, silent auctions, and cer- rors and community involve- clement South Lake Tahoe that they "really appreciated the tificates of appreciation (7,000 ment by training volunteers to weather, Judge Kingsbury regu- simple act of kindness and cour- certificates were handed out become jury docents. The vol- larly provides morning and af- tesy," Judge Kingsbury contin- countywide). unteers will act as concierges in ternoon refreshments, paid for ues. "I actively solicit suggestions Jury Services Program Ana- the jury assembly room on en- from her own pocket. from jurors about how we can lyst Beverly Russell, a driving panelment days. Following a "When I decided to run for make their service more mean- force behind the event-filled three-day training, during which judge, I began thinking about ingful and comfortable. I will al- week, says the activities covered the volunteers learn the policy what changes I might be able to low jurors to ask questions, and a wide range: at Compton, line- and procedures governing ju- bring to the bench that had not people appreciate that." During dancing lessons were offered at ries, they will be able to help in been considered in the past, an eight-week trial, she notes, lunchtime, and raffles awarded juror orientation and answer ju- ways in which I could make a "We celebrated birthdays like a dinners at area restaurants and rors' questions. The first jury do- difference," says Judge Kings- family." gift certificates; at Alhambra, cents will be used at the bury, who was elected in No- "I have no problems getting judges barbecued for jurors at a courthouses downtown and in vember 1996. a jury," says the judge, even potluck; at Santa Monica, there Van Nuys, to be followed in Jan- "We live in a small commu- though she says she is "some- were free movies. At the Civic uary by the courthouses in Long nity, so you get to know a lot of what liberal" in allowing excuses Center Mall, the downtown Beach and Santa Monica. s people," she explains. "The for hardships. C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 9 This article is reprinted by permission of the San Francisco Daily Journal. It appeared in the San Francisco and the Los Angeles Daily Journal on July 16 and 17, respectively. Los Angeles Municipal Court since the two courts share the Chief Justice Sees Court From same jury pool, said Holton. It is rare, but not unprece- dented, for the head of one of the Other Side of Bench--As Juror branches of government to serve on a jury. BY PHILIP CARRIZOSA long case. He was then excused each of the state's 58 counties to In New York, Chief Judge DAILY JOURNAL SENIOR WRITER and placed back on call for learn about local problems and Judith Kaye of the Court of Ap- S shorter cases, said Holton. solutions. peals, that state's highest court, an Francisco--Chief Justice Normally, the chief justice George has been interested was called to jury service. Ronald M. George is putting presides over the state Supreme in increasing pay for jurors from In 1981, then-Governor his money where his mouth is. Court's weekly Wednesday con- $5 to $40 a day and making jury Jerry Brown not only served on The state's top jurist is on jury ferences at which the justices service easier to endure. a jury but was elected foreman duty. vote on which cases to hear or let Under the system used in in a case involving a Yugoslavian George, who has been urg- stand. Beverly Hills, George must call immigrant tried on malicious ing greater public participation But George remained in in twice a day to see if he's mischief charges in Sacramento. in the legal system, is on jury call Beverly Hills on Wednesday in needed--once at 11:30 a.m. for Brown voted with his fellow for the next several days for jury case he was needed as a juror afternoon duty, then after 5 p.m. jurors to acquit the defendant. duty in the Beverly Hills Munic- there. The court's internal con- for jury service the next morning. More recently, former Sec- ipal Court. ference memos were shipped to If called, George could serve retary of State Warren Christo- The chief justice reported the chief justice at his home, and as juror in either the Beverly pher served a stint as a juror in for jury duty Monday and spent he participated in the confer- Hills Municipal Court or West Beverly Hills. s most of the morning in the jury ence by sending materials over a assembly room, according to fax machine. Lynn Holton, a spokeswoman Holton said George re- for the state Supreme Court. He Documentary Captures Jury Deliberations frained from relying on his lofty was later sent to Judge Judith judicial position to avoid jury "Enter the Jury Room," a CBS Reports documentary, offers viewers an inside look at Stein's courtroom for a medical service. malpractice trial estimated to jury deliberations in three criminal cases in Maricopa County (Arizona) Superior Court. "He's been urging people to last three weeks. The two-hour documentary, which aired April 16, reveals the fascinating dynamics and participate in the process so he Court officials said Stein discussions as citizens decide the fates of the accused. wanted to set an example," she did not immediately recognize Through a special order pertaining only to this circumstance, the Arizona said. George's presence in the jury "You always learn some- Supreme Court allowed the superior court in Phoenix to obtain the permission of all pool. She finally spotted him af- thing from being on the other parties involved in the remote-control videotaping. Court officials allowed the unusual ter several other prospective ju- side of the process," Holton event because they wanted to demystify the jury deliberation process and help restore rors left the courtroom. quoted George as saying. As it turned out, George was public faith in the system. Since his appointment as among those who said it would q Contact: To order copies of "Enter the Jury Room," call CBS Video, 800-934- chief justice last year, George be a hardship to serve on such a 6397. The videotape costs $24.98 plus shipping, handling, and sales tax. has been touring the courts in @@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Judicial Council Strategic Plan: @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Lighting the Path to the Future @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ The Judicial Council has made two USEFUL RESPONSES trators, Judicial Council members, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ noteworthy changes to its Long- Besides the refinements to Goals II council advisory committee mem- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Range Strategic Plan, "Leading Jus- and IV, the latest version of "Lead- bers, state court administrators @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ tice Into the Future." Revised Goal ing Justice Into the Future" includes across the United States, the Na- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ IV, Quality of Justice and Service to appendices with the following: tional Center for State Courts, the @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ the Public, clearly emphasizes the Results of both national and Federal Judicial Council, and a broad @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ council's commitment to service to statewide surveys on trends affect- range of people and organizations @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ the public. Goal II, Independence ing the courts; across the country interested in @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ and Accountability, delineates inde- Action responses to court court planning. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ q @@ @@ pendence both for the branch as a trends that were provided by the Contact: For copies of the @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ whole and for individual judicial de- state's court leaders at the 1997 Cal- booklet or brochure of "Leading Jus- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ cision-making. ifornia Judicial Administration Con- tice Into the Future" to distribute to @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ The plan, which the council ference; and members of the bench, court staff, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ adopted at its May 16 business A new format for the Adminis- or interested parties, call the Ad- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ meeting, has been published in two trative Office of the Courts/Advi- ministrative Office of the Courts' @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ formats: as a booklet and a sory Committee Action Plan that Publications Hotline, 415-904-5980 @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ brochure. focuses on the Judicial Council's pol- (CALNET 8-539-5980) or 800-900- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ icy priorities for fiscal year 199899. 5980 (in California). The publication @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Both the booklet and brochure is also available on the "Online Ref- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ have been widely distributed to all erence Shelf" of the Judicial Branch @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ presiding judges and court adminis- Web site at www.courtinfo.ca.gov. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@ 1 0 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S MESSAGE FROM THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL Trial Judges May Hold Key to Effectiveness Of Revised Rule of Cameras in Court BY JUSTICE RICHARD D. HUFFMAN COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION ONE (SAN DIEGO) Justice Richard D. Huffman The dispute regarding whether and to what extent persons in the best position to evaluate the competing cameras should be allowed in California courts has interests and to grant, deny, or modify media requests. It existed at least since 1965, when the first version of rule had become apparent over the several years prior to cre- Justice Huffman chaired 980 of the California Rules of Court was enacted. After a ation of the task force that many trial judges believed the Judicial Council's Task period of experimentation, the Judicial Council in 1980 they did not have full discretion in this area and were re- Force on Photographing, adopted a permanent rule allowing film and electronic quired to grant media requests. The revised rule reaf- Recording, and Broadcasting coverage of the courts, subject to certain limitations. firms the broad discretionary power of the trial courts. in the Courtroom. That version of the rule remained in effect until 1997. The new rule does include a number of guidelines for In the wake of the O. J. Simpson criminal trial, trial judges to consider in order to attempt to assist Govenor Pete Wilson wrote to thenChief Justice Mal- courts in working through the sometimes difficult as colm M. Lucas, requesting that the Judicial Council re- well as contentious discussions of requests for media visit rule 980 in order to determine, among other things, coverage in individual cases. However, by also making whether cameras should be excluded in all criminal clear that trial judges are not required to hold hearings cases. In response, the Chief Justice created a 13-mem- or issue statements of decision, it was hoped judges ber task force to examine rule 980 and report any rec- would recognize the broad scope of their discretion. Take ommended changes to the council. IMPLEMENTATION STUDY UNDER WAY Copies of The task force conducted a public hearing and re- The changes made in revised rule 980 represented a se- viewed a substantial volume of written submissions from "Photograph- ries of compromises between opposing views. It was Note persons representing the media, victims, attorneys, and thought, therefore, that some continuing study of the ing, Record- other interested groups. The task force also polled the actual implementation of the rule should be conducted. California judges and attended a public forum on the is- Accordingly, the Chief Justice requested that each court ing, and sue of film and electronic coverage. submit to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Broadcasting in the Court- JUDICIAL DISCRETION RETAINED copies of the completed forms for media requests and The task force's efforts resulted in a revised rule passed the court's orders. It was hoped that such a method of room: Guidelines for Judi- by the Judicial Council effective January 1, 1997. That data collection would be the least burdensome and yet cial Officers" are available rule continues the power of judges to grant or reject re- give the council a chance to determine how this rule ac- quests for electronic and film coverage of the courts. In tually works and whether there is a need for changes or from the Administrative brief summary, the rule: clarifications in either the forms or the rule. · Retains judges' discretion over the use of cameras Unfortunately, we have not had great success thus far Office of the Courts' Publi- in all areas, including all pretrial hearings in criminal in obtaining data from the courts. At the present time, cations Hotline, 415-904- cases; the AOC has received responses from only 18 percent of · Prohibits camera coverage of jury selection, jurors, the courts; therefore the data received are too limited 5980 (CALNET 8-539-5980) or spectators in the courtroom; and to make serious judgments as to the impact of the rule · Lists 19 factors a judge must consider in ruling on a changes. Greater efforts will have to be made by both or 800-900-5980 (in Cali- request for camera coverage, including the importance of the AOC and the individual courts to find ways to get fornia). The publication is maintaining public access to the courtroom, the privacy more data from the trial courts. rights of the participants in the proceedings, and the ef- INSUFFICIENT, INCONCLUSIVE DATA also available on the fect on the parties' ability to select an unbiased jury. What have we learned from the responses so far? If you Cameras will continue to be banned from proceed- "Online Reference Shelf" ask a news director from a television station or attend a ings held in chambers or closed to the public; confer- media conference (and they find out you are associated at the Judicial Branch of ences between an attorney and a client, a witness, or an with the courts), you will hear numerous stories that trial aide or between attorneys; and conferences between judges are excluding the film and electronic media in California Web site at counsel and the judge at the bench. record numbers. Is that perception true? We cannot tell In passing the new rule, the council was particularly www.courtinfo.ca.gov. from the data we've received so far because of the lim- concerned that judicial discretion not only be retained, ited response to the Chief Justice's request to submit the but also that it be made clear that trial judges were the completed forms for media requests and court orders. @@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e? @@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e? @@@@@@@@ @@h? @@ What do we know about the implementation of new @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@h? @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ rule 980 and its forms? The AOC has received 410 forms @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Use of Rule 980 Forms: Highlights @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ so far. Of those, 84 percent represented closed matters @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ (i.e., the trial court's decision has been made) and pro- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Approximately 18 percent of courts (33 out of 187) have responded to the request @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ vided both the request and the order. From those forms @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for copies of their completed @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ it appears overall that 77 percent of the requests were @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Forms MC-500 (Media Request to Photograph, Record, or Broadcast) and MC-510 @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ granted and 23 percent were refused. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ (Order on Media Request to Permit Coverage). @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Examining the data a bit closer, we noted that it ap- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ The AOC is attempting to determine how revised rule 980 of the California Rules @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ pears the responding courts tend to close pretrial mat- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ of Court is working and whether there is a need for changes or clarifications in ei- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ters more often than trial or posttrial proceedings. The @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ther the forms or the rule. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ responding courts denied requests for coverage of ar- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ raignments in 34 percent of the cases, pretrial proceed- @@ @@ For the period January 1 through July 31, 1997, the AOC received copies of 410 @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ings in 27 percent of the cases, and change of plea @@ @@ @@ forms from the courts. The Kern County Superior Court, San Diego County Superior @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ hearings in 31 percent of the cases. On the other hand, @@ @@ @@ @@ and Municipal Courts, and Santa Clara County Municipal Court have supplied the @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ requests to cover trials were denied in only 17 percent @@ @@ @@ most forms. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ of the cases. @@ @@ @@ Of the copies of forms received, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ The tentative data are interesting because much of @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ 84 percent of the requests were closed (copies of both the request and the or- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ the concern expressed about possible prejudice to liti- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ der were received): @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ gants related to media coverage of pretrial proceedings, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ where such coverage potentially influenced identifica- @@ -- 77 percent of the closed requests for coverage were granted, and @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ tion, witness reliability, and the ability to obtain an im- @@ @@ @@ -- 23 percent of the closed requests for coverage were denied; @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ partial jury. Thus, to the extent that the data received so @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ 16 percent of the requests were pending (only Form MC-500 was received); @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ far indicate that trial judges have been somewhat more @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ 70 percent of the requests were for TV or TV and audio coverage; @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ negative regarding pretrial requests for coverage, this @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ would be consistent with long-standing concerns of the @@ Requests to cover arraignments (28 percent) represented the largest propor- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ trial courts and the litigants. Obviously, there is a clear @@ @@ @@ tion, followed by trials (25 percent) and pretrial proceedings (12 percent); @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ need for better reporting from the courts if the council @@ @@ @@ @@ The majority of MC-510 forms granted the coverage request but did not re- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ is to accurately assess the impact of the changes it made @@ @@ @@ @@ quire the media agency to pay increased costs; and @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ to rule 980. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms are prevalent. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Continued on page 11 @@ q @@ @@ Contact: Questions about the data collection project should be directed to @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Judicial Council Services, 415-356-6613 (CALNET 8-531-6613), or e-mail: @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ jcservices@courtinfo.ca.gov. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@g ?@@ @@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@?e@@@@@@@@e?@@@@@@@@ ?@@@@@@@@ C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 1 1 explaining why the petition should not be granted. The court Post-Romero Habeas did not define "informal re- sponse." Nothing in Fuhrman indicates that the court in re- questing such a response is re- Procedures Are Clarified lieved from the provisions of BY PLACER COUNTY LIMITED RIGHT TO AVENUES FOR RELIEF rule 260(d) of the California SUPERIOR COURT Judge J. Richard RECONSIDERATION Rules of Court, which restricts ex The Supreme Court did not fore- JUDGE J. RICHARD COUZENS parte communications on mat- Couzens The Supreme Court, in People v. close all avenues of relief for an ters related to allegations in a pe- People v. Superior Court Fuhrman(1997) 16 Cal.4th 930, inmate who felt that there was a tition for writ of habeas corpus. Judge Couzens is a member of (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th determined that there is no right meritorious basis for reconsider- A copy of the request for the in- the Judicial Council and imme- 497 was fully retroactive. In foot- to request reconsideration of a ation of a sentence. The defen- formal response, and the re- diate past chair of its Criminal note 13 of the landmark deci- pre-Romero sentence on appeal dant was entitled to raise a claim sponse when received, should be Law Advisory Committee. sion, the Supreme Court noted if the record is silent on the issue through a petition for writ of sent to petitioner. Petitioner that any defendant then serving of whether the court would have habeas corpus. The court out- should be given a reasonable op- a three-strikes sentence "im- exercised its discretion to dismiss lined the procedure: posed by a court that misunder- stood the scope of its discretion T H R E E S T R I K E S N E T W O R K T S N to strike prior felony allegations . . . may raise the issue on appeal, or . . . file a petition for habeas corpus to secure reconsideration of the sentence." In the intervening months since Romero, appellate courts have debated the standing of de- fendants whose trial records 1. The petitioner should were silent on the issue of judi- a prior conviction. "Taking into portunity to comment on the in- "file a petition for writ of habeas cial discretion. A number of consideration the interests of the formal response before the court corpus in the sentencing court, courts held that, given the un- administration of justice through- issues an order on the petition. setting forth the circumstances certain state of the law regarding out the state, we do not believe it Under no circumstances should that would support setting the the ability of courts to strike prior is necessary, or appropriate, to the court solicit telephone or matter for a new sentencing convictions, a defendant was not compel a new sentencing hear- other oral communications with hearing and striking one or more required to bring a motion in the ing in every pre-Romero case in the district attorney. of the prior serious or violent trial court or otherwise establish which the record is silent as to 4. If "the petition fails to es- felony convictions pursuant to that the court "misunderstood whether the trial court under- tablish any basis upon which to the provisions of section 1385." the scope of its discretion" prior stood it retained discretion to invoke its discretion under sec- (Id. at p. 946.) to raising the issue on appeal. strike one or more prior felony tion 1385, the court may sum- 2. The sentencing court (See, e.g., People v. Allen (1997) conviction allegations under sec- marily deny the petition." should then review the petition 53 Cal.App.4th 1127; People v. tion 1385. The procedure urged (People v. Fuhrman, supra, 16 to determine if it has "possible Milton (1997) 55 Cal.App.4th by defendant . . . would entail an Cal.4th at p. 946.) Presumably merit." The court could sum- 365; People v. Bierman (1997) 56 unduly cumbersome and costly the trial court, either before or marily reject the petition if the Cal.App.4th 1104.) A number of process, necessitating the trans- after the request for an informal record reflected that the court other courts found that a silent portation of a large number of in- response, could deny the peti- understood that it had the record constituted a waiver of mates from prisons around the tion because of the nature of authority to dismiss a prior, but the issue on appeal. (See, e.g., state to the various courts . . . re- defendant's background or the declined to do so or would not People v. Alvarez (1996) 49 gardless of whether any realistic circumstances of the current have exercised such authority in Cal.App.4th 679; People v. White possibility exists that the trial offense. any event. (People v. Superior Eagle (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th court would have exercised its If the court does grant re- Court (Romero), supra, 13 1511; People v. Askey (1996) 49 discretion to strike one or more consideration of the sentence Cal.4th at p. 530, fn. 13.) The Cal.App.4th 381.) qualifying prior convictions." and resentences the defendant court also could summarily (Id. at p. 946.) to state prison at a later hearing, reject the petition if the defen- the court should recompute the dant was sentenced in accord- credits against the sentence, in- ance with a negotiated plea. w cluding actual time in state (People v. Cepeda (1996) 49 Message From the Judicial Council prison incurred from the date of Cal.App.4th 1235; People v. Cun- Continued from page 10 the original sentence; conduct ningham (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th credits earned during the period 1044.) of state prison commitment are CLARIFYING GUIDELINES 3. If the court determines to be determined by the Depart- It is also clear from questions received by the AOC that the petition has "possible ment of Corrections. (People v. and from some of the forms received from the courts merit," it may seek "an informal Honea (1997) ___ Cal.App.4th that there is some confusion, particularly by media response" from the prosecution ___ [97 Daily Journal D.A.R. representatives, as to how to prepare and submit the or issue an order to show cause 11869].) s forms required by the rule. One possible source of as- sistance to users of the form is the booklet written by the task force with the considerable assistance of AOC staff. The booklet "Photographing, Recording, and Broadcasting in the Courtroom: Guidelines for Judicial Officers," published this year, contains a con- siderable amount of information about the rule, its implementation, and the use of the required forms. Judicial officers dealing with media requests should have that booklet available to them. It would also be helpful to either provide copies of the booklet to me- dia agencies in each jurisdiction or have it available for their use. Undoubtedly, time and further experience will re- veal areas where modification of either the rule or the forms may be appropriate. In the meantime, it does not appear that trial judges are "throwing the bums out." It does appear, however, that trial judges are suc- cessfully using the broad discretionary powers granted them by the rule. Perhaps the council was right when it concluded that trial judges are the persons in the system best suited to effectively balancing the compet- ing interests in this volatile area. Time will tell. 1 2 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S interpreters have a 1997 com- pliance date but have not yet sat- isfied this requirement. Court Interpreters The following are workshop dates: English fluency FEB 21: Oakland (North- ETHICS WORKSHOPS FEB 16: Oakland (North- ern California) ern California) exam offered The Court Interpreter Ethics MAR 21: Orange County Workshop is a continuing edu- MAY 30: Orange County (Southern California) The English fluency examina- (Southern California) cation requirement for regis- tion for registered interpreters The registration fee for each tered interpreters during their q Contact: Debbie Chong- will be offered on February 7, workshop is $65. Workshop first compliance period. Febru- Manguiat, Court Interpreters 1998, in Fresno, Los Angeles, locations will be announced in ary 16 is the last opportunity to Program, Court Program Serv- Sacramento, San Diego, and the confirmation notice. complete the Ethics Workshop if ices, 415-396-9159 (CALNET Contra Costa Counties. The final 8-531-9159). s application filing date for the exam is January 9. Take Registered interpreter ap- 1998 Interpreter Examination Dates An English- plicants are not required to meet The following are 1998 dates and locations for the State Certification Examination for only practice prerequisites to apply for the ex- Note Court Interpreters in English and Spanish, and in English and Arabic, Cantonese, amination. However, they are Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Final dates for filing applica- written cautioned that court interpret- tions to take the exam are also listed. ing requires exceptional English examination, language skills, exceeding those ENGLISH AND SPANISH: designed to measure basic required for informal bilingual Written Examination Date: FEB 14 Final Filing Date: JAN 16 conversation. Oral Examination Dates: MAR 16APR 3 Final Filing Date: FEB 13 language skills, is The nonrefundable filing fee for the Registered Interpreter ENGLISH AND ARABIC, CANTONESE, JAPANESE, KOREAN, PORTUGUESE, available for $15 payable English Fluency Examination is TAGALOG, AND VIETNAMESE: to Cooperative Personnel $100, payable to Cooperative Written Examination Date: APR 18 Final Filing Date: MAR 20 Personnel Services by money or- Services by money order Oral Examination Dates: MAY 1829 Final Filing Date: APR 17 der or cashier's check only. It en- titles the applicant to participate Written exams will be offered in Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and Sacramento Counties. or cashier's check only. in one examination (written ex- Applicants who pass the Court Interpreter Written Examination are eligible to partici- q Contact: To purchase amination and oral English flu- pate in the Court Interpreter Oral Performance Examination for a period of two years ency component). An application from their date of passage of the written examination. However, for fiscal year 199798 a copy of the practice and the full $250 filing fee must only, applicants who pass the written examination are eligible to participate in the oral be submitted each time a person examination component for three years from their date of passage of the written exam. written examination, wishes to take the examination. Applicants certified as Administrative Hearing Interpreters after January 1991 are send a written request to q Contact: To obtain appli- eligible to take the Court Interpreter Oral Performance Examination without taking cations, call Cooperative Person- the written examination. Cooperative Personnel nel Services, 916-263-3490 The nonrefundable filing fee for the State Certification Examination for Court In- terpreters is $250, payable to Cooperative Personnel Services by money order or Services, Interpreter (24-hour number) and leave a message. cashier's check only. It entitles the applicant to participate in one examination cycle Program Division, 191 (applicants take the written exam once; successful applicants then immediately take the oral performance examination). An application and the full $250 filing fee must Lathrop Way, Suite A, Orientation, be submitted each time a person wishes to take the examination. q Contact: To obtain applications, call Cooperative Personnel Services, 916-263- Sacramento, CA 95815. ethics workshop 3490 (24-hour number) and leave a message. dates announced The Judicial Council has an- nounced the 1998 orientation and ethics workshop dates for By authorizing approxi- court interpreters. mately $500 million a year in in- centive grants to states if they ORIENTATION conform to congressional guide- WORKSHOPS lines, Congress seeks to entice All registered interpreters of the states into changing their ju- nondesignated languages must venile justice systems. For a state attend an Orientation Work- to receive these new grant mon- shop within two years of regis- eys, Sen. 10 would require, in tering with the Judicial Council. Information in this column is pro- Juvenile justice part, that ". . . a state shall make The following are dates for the vided by the Judicial Council's reasonable efforts, as certified by Court Interpreter Orientation Office of Governmental Affairs. reform offers the Governor, to ensure that [it], Workshops: incentive grants not later than July 1, 2000," will try juveniles 14 and older as Judicial pension As previously reported in this col- adults for serious felonies; im- umn, a number of bills seeking to Court Interpreter exemption pose increasingly serious pun- overhaul the juvenile justice sys- ishment for repeat offenders; Information Online stands tem are awaiting action in the conduct drug tests on juveniles Senate Judiciary Committee. Of To obtain the latest information about the Judicial arrested on felony charges; On August 5, 1997, President particular interest to California Council Court Interpreters Program, visit the Judicial maintain records on juveniles in Clinton signed into law the Tax- courts, three measures, House Branch Web site at www.courtinfo.ca.gov and click on the same fashion as adults; and payer Relief Act of 1997 (Pub.L. Bills 3 and 1818 and Senate Bill "Administrative Office of the Courts." report juvenile records to desig- 105-34; H.R. 2014 [Kasich]). 10, contain provisions tying mil- nated law enforcement agencies, You'll find the following information: Section 1505 of the act grants a lions of dollars in grant moneys to courts, and schools. d Test dates for the 199798 Court Interpreter permanent extension of the cur- state implementation of policies q Contact: June Clark, Of- State Certification Examinations; rent practice of exempting state that Congress feels are necessary fice of Governmental Affairs, d Judicial Council Court Interpreters Program in- and local government pension to achieve successful juvenile jus- 916-653-2362 (CALNET 8- formation packet, including answers to fre- plans from the requirements of tice reform. Because even a 453-2362). s quently asked questions about court Internal Revenue Code section dramatic increase in the federali- interpreters; 401(a). The new law successfully zation of juvenile crime would d Continuing education guidelines, compliance ends 20 years of uncertainty have little effect on the nation's forms, and instructions; about how, and if, the Internal juvenile justice system--in 1995, d Information update forms for certified court in- Revenue Service would apply the federal courts adjudicated the nondiscrimination provi- only 122 juveniles--Congress terpreters and registered interpreters; and sions of private-sector pension views state court implementation d Judicial Council Master List of Certified Court plans (Int.Rev. Code, § 401(a)) to of these policies as vital. Interpreters. state and local pension plans. C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 1 3 · Rule 895. Records of termine; identify certain matters criminal convictions (Gov. about which the court and court Code, §§ 69844.5 and employees are not required to New Rules 71280.5)--This rule was meet and confer; and address adopted to implement the Crim- other issues relating to trial inal Convictions Record Act (As- The Judicial Council has 39.1B are to be handled in con- court employee labor relations. sem. Bill 1387; Stats. 1996, ch. adopted new and amended Cal- formance with standard writ · Standard 1. Court's 642), requiring courts to report ifornia Rules of Court and Stan- practice and procedure unless duty to prohibit bias; Stan- specified information to the De- dards of Judicial Administration, otherwise specified in the rule. It dard 1.4. Reasonable ac- effective January 1, 1998 (ex- also specifies that absent excep- partment of Justice on all crimi- commodation to court cept as noted). The full text of tional circumstances, the appel- nal convictions. The information personnel--Standard 1 is will be used to generate records these rules will be published in late court will review the amended and standard 1.4 is of convictions that are admissible the December 11, 1997, pam- petition for extraordinary writ added. Standard 1 is amended to in court to prove prior convic- phlet of the California Official and decide it on the merits by specify that the court's obligation tions. (Note: This rule is effective Reports advance sheets (no. 33). written opinion. to refrain from and prohibit bi- July 1, 1998, to permit the courts The changes also are available · Rule 39.3. Appeal ased conduct includes, but is not on the Judicial Branch of Cali- from juvenile court denial to modify their reporting equip- limited to, bias based on disabil- fornia Web site at www.court- of authorization for abor- ment and procedures.) ity, gender, race, religion, ethnic- info.ca.gov/rules. tion without parental con- · Rule 982.7. Small ity, and sexual orientation; to claims forms--This rule was Summaries of the new and sent--This rule was repealed to expand representation on local amended to add Application and amended rules and standards conform to the recent California fairness committees to include Order to Appear for Examina- representatives and individuals appear below. Supreme Court decision over- tion (Form SC-134) to the list of from minority, women's, gay, and turning the parental consent to APPELLATE mandatory small claims forms. lesbian organizations and orga- abortion statute (American · Rules 22 and 22.1. nizations of persons with disabil- Academy of Pediatrics v. Lun- · Rule 996. Judicial Oral argument in the ities; and to broaden the ambit of gren (1997) 16 Cal.4th 307). Branch Statistical Infor- Supreme Court and Court mation System (JBSIS)-- fairness education programs and · Rule 40. Definitions-- of Appeal--Former rule 22 This rule was adopted to the development of informal Subdivision (f) was amended to was repealed and new rules 22 establish the JBSIS and to re- complaint procedures in the lo- require that all documents and and 22.1 were adopted to estab- quire courts to collect and report cal courts. Standard 1.4 is added briefs filed in an appeal be lish the time limits, order, and to the Judicial Council the to recommend that each court served on all parties, and that number of counsel in oral argu- information as set forth in the develop policies and procedures proof of service include the ment in the Supreme Court and JBSIS Manual, subject to the to eliminate barriers to job per- name of each party represented the Court of Appeal. Consistent availability of adequate funding formance and full participation by each attorney served. with the Supreme Court's re- for case management systems, in court programs or activities by · Rule 58. Review of cently adopted policy, rule 22 by January 1, 2000. qualified employees with known Public Utilities Commis- provides that only one attorney · Rules 22012210. disabilities. sion cases--Subdivision (a) was per side may present oral argu- Court employee labor re- · Standard 4.2. Guide- amended to recognize a statutory ment in the Supreme Court, ex- lations--The Judicial Council lines for reimbursement change that allows parties to cept in capital appeals or with of costs in change of venue petition for review of "adjudica- adopted the rules in April 1997. the permission of the court. cases--criminal--Technical tory" decisions of the Public Assembly Bill 1438 (Escutia) · Rule 29.5. Questions and nonsubstantive changes were Utilities Commission in the Court (Stats. 1997, ch. 857), passed by of state law certified by the Legislature and signed by made to clarify this standard. of Appeal (Stats. 1996, ch. 855, federal appellate courts the Governor, recognizes these Subdivision (e)(4), which pro- amending Pub. Util. Code, § and other courts--This rule rules of court, affirms that they vided for reimbursement of the 1759). "Nonadjudicatory" deci- establishes a procedure by have the full force and effect of costs of salaries and benefits for sions will still be reviewed only which the California Supreme law notwithstanding any other regular county or court employ- by the Supreme Court. Court may answer questions of provision of law, and provides ees in unusual situations, was re- state law certified to it by the TRIAL COURTS that the rules shall be main- pealed because it is inconsistent U. S. Supreme Court, a U. S. · Rule 201. Forms and tained in their present form. The with Penal Code section 1037(c). Court of Appeals, or the court of papers--This rule was amended rules provide the right and Section 1037(c) prohibits reim- last resort of any state, territory, to not apply to forms for juvenile obligation to meet and confer in bursing a county to which venue or commonwealth. Federal dependency proceedings pro- good faith over matters relating is changed for normal salaries, courts may certify questions of duced by the California State De- to employment conditions and overhead, and other expenses state law to the highest court for partment of Social Services Child employer-employee relations that would have been incurred in a definitive answer in more than Welfare Systems Case Manage- that the court, as opposed to the the county in any event. 40 states. With the adoption of ment System. county, has the authority to de- Continued on page 14 this rule all states in the Ninth · Rule 240 and Stan- Circuit now have a procedure dard 23. Parental con- for answering questions of state sent--This rule and standard Easy Access to E-Rules, E-Forms law from federal courts or courts were repealed to conform to the In a hurry? Law library too far away? Court closed? of other states. recent California Supreme Then do what thousands of people who need to refer to the California Rules of · Rule 39.1A. Appeals Court decision overturning the from orders or judgments parental consent to abortion Court and Judicial Council legal forms have discovered: get them off the Judicial terminating parental statute. Branch of California Web site (at www.courtinfo.ca.gov), where all the rules and rights--This rule was amended · Rule 428. Criteria af- forms have been available since October 10. to remove the January 1, 1998, fecting imposition of en- The rules (or e-rules, for "electronic rules") are at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules and sunset clause. Originally enacted hancements--Subdivision (b) the forms (e-forms) are at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms. Although the forms cannot as an experimental statewide pi- was amended to remove a phrase be filled out online, they can be downloaded. lot project, it provides proce- limiting the aggravating factors a In the 30 days after the e-rules and e-forms became available, there were 2,017 dures for appeals in cases court may consider in deciding hits on the first page of the rules and 6,470 hits on the first page of the forms. terminating parental rights. what term to impose for an en- The electronic version of the Judicial Council legal forms that appears on the Web Four years of experience with hancement. The phrase limited site was provided by West Group, the official publisher of Judicial Council forms. The the rule have proved it to be a the factors to those that relate di- text of the rules that appears on the Web site was provided courtesy of Deering's useful step toward achieving rectly to the fact giving rise to the California Codes, published by LEXIS Law Publishing, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. timely permanency for children enhancement. The California Appendices to the rules (including the Standards of Judicial Administration, the and families. Supreme Court's decision in Code of Judicial Ethics, and other appendices to the rules) will be available on the · Rule 39.1B. Special People v. Hall (1994) 8 Cal.4th Internet site in January 1998. rule for orders setting a 950 invalidated that limitation. Staff responsible for helping make possible the leap of the rules and forms from hearing under Welfare · Rule 851. Eligibility the printed page to cyberspace are the following Administrative Office of the Courts and Institutions Code sec- criteria for attending staff: Allan Benamer, Jim Brighton, Ben McClinton, and, in particular, Diane Gibbs tion 366.26--This rule was traffic violator school-- and Kady Von Schoeler, who meticulously proofread the rules against other versions amended to clarify procedures This rule was amended to cor- and made numerous corrections to achieve the final version. relating to appellate review of rect a previous oversight that q Comments about or corrections to the text of the rules may be sent to orders setting a hearing under excluded commercial drivers rules@courtinfo.ca.gov. Comments about the forms should be sent to forms@court- Welfare and Institutions Code from attending traffic violator info.ca.gov. Technical questions about the forms (e.g., downloading, printing, and the section 366.26. It specifies that school for certain otherwise- Acrobat viewer) should be sent to feedback@courtinfo.ca.gov. writ petitions filed under rule eligible violations. 1 4 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S speeding infractions of 26 miles garding court processes related applicable to initial hearings in w per hour or more above the to foster-care review hearings dependency and delinquency New Rules speed limit was deleted. and guardianship hearings. The cases. Continued from page 13 · Court Records Man- change provides for court re- FAMILY LAW agement Standards--The view of a previously ordered · Standard 8.8. Educa- standards, authorized under permanent plan every 12, rather · Rule 1276. Use of in- tion on jury selection and section 34 of the Standards of than 18, months and allows this terstate forms--This rule was treatment of jurors--This Judicial Administration, were review to be combined with a amended to allow the use of fed- standard was amended to en- amended to make technical cor- six-month review. erally mandated interstate forms courage the Center for Judicial rections. · Rules 1487, 1488, and in California courts. Education and Research to pro- 1493. Delinquency proce- · Standard 26.2. Uni- vide educational materials to JUVENILE dures--Changes to these rules form standards of practice judicial officers, court adminis- · Rule 1401. Defini- conform delinquency proceed- for providers of supervised trators, and jury staff on the tions; construction of ings to recent statutory changes visitation--This standard was treatment of jurors; to recom- terms--This rule was amended pertaining to procedures to be adopted to comply with Family mend that presiding judges en- to add the definitions of the followed when an offense may Code section 3200. It provides the sure that all court employees phrases "court-ordered serv- be found to be either a felony or first statewide framework for pro- who interact with jurors are ices," "court-ordered treatment a misdemeanor. Changes in- viders of supervised visitation, en- properly trained; and to recom- program," and "initial removal" clude the addition that a court compassing the areas mandated in mend that judges who conduct to the juvenile court rules. shall consider, when an offense the statute: qualifications, experi- jury trials be trained on the con- · Rule 1402. Juvenile may be found to be either a ence, and education; safety and duct of voir dire and the treat- court proceedings--This felony or a misdemeanor, which security procedures; conflicts of ment of jurors. rule was amended to permit description shall apply, and that interest; maintenance and disclo- · Standard 36. Guide- nonsubstantive variances in the court shall expressly declare sure of records; confidentiality; lines for diversion drug forms generated by the Califor- on the record that it has made delineation of terms and condi- court programs--This stan- nia State Department of Social such a consideration and shall tions; procedures for termination; dard was adopted to provide the Services' new statewide comput- state its determination as to and legal responsibilities and basis for criteria that will allow erized case management system. whether the offense is a misde- obligations of providers of super- the Administrative Office of the · Rule 1421. Granting meanor or a felony. vised visitation. Courts to evaluate the impact of immunity to witnesses-- · Rule 1496. Six-month JUDICIAL COUNCIL the drug court grant program (ex- Amendments to this rule con- review hearing--This rule is ADVISORY COMMITTEES pansion, effectiveness, variations) form to recent statutory changes amended to conform to recent · Rule 1034. Traffic Ad- and assist courts in developing regarding court processes related legislative changes to the related visory Committee--This rule and administering pre-plea drug to witness immunity. Changes in- statute, Welfare and Institutions was amended to accurately reflect courts in compliance with Penal clude clarification that testimony Code section 11404.1; changes the committee's function, duties, Code section 1000.5. or other information compelled include reducing, from 18 to 12 and membership. The commit- · Uniform Bail and under a court order, or informa- months, the time between peri- tee's responsibility relating to Penalty Schedules--The tion directly or indirectly derived odic review hearings subse- non-traffic violations as set forth schedules, authorized under from such testimony or informa- quent to a permanency planning in the fish and game, boating, rule 850, were amended to bring tion, may not be used against a hearing. forestry, public utilities, parks and them into conformance with witness in any criminal case, in- · Rules 1422, 1440 recreation, and business licensing new legislation. In addition, lan- cluding any juvenile court pro- 1447, and 14701478. bail schedules was added. The guage was added to the sched- ceeding under Welfare and Juvenile court proceed- rule was updated to reflect that ule's preface indicating that Institutions Code section 602. ings--Rule 1422 was amended, the committee's membership in- except as otherwise required by · Rule 1466. Grounds former rules 14401447 and cludes representatives of the statute, courts have discretion to for detention; factors to 14701478 were repealed, and California Highway Patrol, De- suspend the minimum fine un- consider and findings-- new rules 14401447 and partment of Motor Vehicles, and der Penal Code section 1203b. This rule is amended to conform 14701476 were adopted to Office of Traffic Safety. s The mandatory appearance for to recent statutory changes re- clarify and simplify procedures [ABORTION (RULE 240)] New Forms u AB-100 [Revoked], Petition for Waiver of Parental Consent re Abortion u AB-105 [Revoked], Questionnaire and Declaration of Petitioner The Judicial Council has approved certain new and revised legal u AB-110 [Revoked], Confidential Affidavit of Minor forms effective January 1, 1998. The new and revised forms are also available on the Judicial Branch of California Web site at www.court- u AB-115 [Revoked], Declaration Regarding Maturity and Best info.ca.gov/forms. Interest u AB-120 [Revoked], Findings and Order re Abortion Without FAMILY LAW (RULES 12811298.12) Parental Consent u 1285.32 [Rev.], Responsive Declaration to Motion for Simplified u AB-125 [Revoked], Order Authorizing Abortion Without Modification of Order for Child, Spousal, or Family Support Parental Consent u 1285.65 [Rev.], Ex Parte Application for Wage and Earnings u AB-130 [Revoked], Notice of Appeal Assignment Order CIVIL HARASSMENT Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Prevention u CH-100 [Rev.], Petition for Injunction Prohibiting Harassment u 1295.90 [Rev.], Emergency Protective Order (CLETS) u CH-110 [Rev.], Response to Petition for Injunction Prohibiting Harassment Governmental u u CH-120 [Rev.], Order to Show Cause and Temporary 1299.01 [Rev.], Summons and Complaint or Supplemental Restraining Order (CLETS) Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations u u CH-125 [New], Application and Order for Reissuance of Order 1299.07 [Rev.], Stipulation for Judgment or Supplemental to Show Cause Judgment Regarding Parental Obligations and Judgment u u CH-130 [Rev.], Proof of Personal Service (Harassment) [reverse 1299.13 [Rev.], Judgment Regarding Parental Obligations of Form CH-131] u 1299.17 [Rev.], Declaration for Amended Proposed Judgment u CH-131 [Rev.], Proof of Service by Mail (Harassment) [reverse u 1299.22 [Rev.], Stipulation and Order of Form CH-130] u 1299.25 [Rev.], Notice of Wage and Earnings Assignment u CH-140 [Rev.], Order After Hearing on Petition for Injunction u 1299.43 [Rev.], Notice of Opposition and Notice of Motion on Prohibiting Harassment (CLETS) Claim of Exemption Continued on page 15 C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 1 5 u GC-041 [Rev.], Inventory and Appraisal Attachment [same as w DE-161**] New Forms u GC-060 [Rev.], Report of Sale and Petition for Order Continued from page 14 Confirming Sale of Real Property [same as DE-260**] CRIMINAL u GC-065 [Rev.], Order Confirming Sale of Real Property [same u CR-110 [New], Order for Restitution to Crime Victim as DE-265**] u GC-070 [Rev.], Ex Parte Petition for Authority to Sell Securities FORM INTERROGATORIES AND REQUEST FOR and Order [same as DE-270**] ADMISSIONS u u GC-075 [Rev.], Ex Parte Petition for Approval of Sale of FI-120 [Rev.], Form Interrogatories Personal Property and Order [same as DE-275**] u FI-129 [Rev.], Form Interrogatories--Economic Litigation JUVENILE Forms for Temporary Guardianships or Conservatorships u JV-190 [Rev.], Waiver of Rights u GC-110 [Rev.], Petition for Appointment of Temporary u Guardian or Conservator JV-450 [Rev.], Order for Prisoner's Appearance at Hearing Affecting Prisoner's Parental Rights u GC-140 [Rev.], Order Appointing Temporary Guardian or u Conservator JV-820 [Rev.], Notice of Intent to File Writ Petition and Request for Record (Rule 39.1B) u GC-150 [Rev.], Letters of Temporary Guardianship or u Conservatorship JV-826 [New], Denial of Petition (Rule 39.1B) u JV-828 [New], Notice of Action Forms for Guardianships u GC-210 [Rev.], Petition for Appointment of Guardian of Minor PROBATE* Decedent's Estate u GC-211 [Rev.], Consent of Guardian, Nomination, and Waiver u of Notice DE-110 [Revoked], Petition for Probate u u GC-240 [Rev.], Order Appointing Guardian of Minor DE-111 [Rev.], Petition for Probate u u GC-250 [Rev.], Letters of Guardianship DE-120 [Rev.], Notice of Hearing u DE-121 [Rev.], Notice of Petition to Administer Estate Forms for Conservatorships u DE-122 [Rev.], Citation (Probate) and Proof of Service u GC-310 [Rev.], Petition for Appointment of Probate u DE-125 [Rev.], Summons (Probate) Conservator u DE-130 [Revoked], Proof of Subscribing Witness u GC-313 [New], Attachment Requesting Special Orders u DE-131 [Rev.], Proof of Subscribing Witness Regarding Dementia u DE-135 [Rev.], Proof of Holographic Instrument u GC-320 [Rev.], Citation for Conservatorship and Proof of Service u DE-140 [Rev.], Order for Probate u GC-330 [Rev.], Order Appointing Court Investigator u DE-147 [Rev.], Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative u GC-335 [Rev.], Declaration on Medical Inability to Attend u DE-150 [Rev.], Letters Court Hearing u DE-154 [Rev.], Request for Special Notice [same as GC-035**] u GC-340 [Rev.], Order Appointing Probate Conservator u DE-157 [Rev.], Notice of Administration to Creditors u GC-348 [Rev.], Duties of Conservator u DE-160 [Rev.], Inventory and Appraisal [same as GC-040**] u GC-350 [Rev.], Letters of Conservatorship u DE-161 [Rev.], Inventory and Appraisal Attachment [same as u GC-380 [Rev.], Petition for Exclusive Authority to Give Consent GC-041**] for Medical Treatment u DE-165 [Rev.], Notice of Proposed Action (Objection--Consent) u GC-385 [Rev.], Order Authorizing Conservator to Give Consent u DE-166 [Rev.], Waiver of Notice of Proposed Action for Medical Treatment u DE-170 [Revoked], Creditor's Claim u DE-172 [Rev.], Creditor's Claim SMALL CLAIMS u u DE-174 [Rev.], Allowance or Rejection of Creditor's Claim SC-100 [Rev.], Plaintiff's Claim and Order to Defendant u u DE-200 [Rev.], Order Prescribing Notice [same as GC-022**] SC-120 [Rev.], Defendant's Claim and Order to Plaintiff u u DE-221 [Rev.], Spousal Property Petition SC-130 [Rev.], Notice of Entry of Judgment u u DE-226 [Rev.], Spousal Property Order SC-133 [Rev.], Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets u u DE-260 [Rev.], Report of Sale and Petition for Order SC-134 [New], Application and Order to Appear for Confirming Sale of Real Property [same as GC-060**] Examination u u DE-265 [Rev.], Order Confirming Sale of Real Property [same SC-150 [Rev.], Information for the Plaintiff as GC-065**] * All probate forms are revised (or revoked) as indicated effective Jan- u DE-270 [Rev.], Ex Parte Petition for Authority to Sell Securities uary 1, 1998, except for Forms GC-205 and GC-312, which are un- and Order [same as GC-070**] changed. u DE-275 [Rev.], Ex Parte Petition for Approval of Sale of ** Forms bearing both DE and GC numbers may be used in dece- Personal Property and Order [same as GC-075**] dent's estates or guardianships or conservatorships. u DE-305 [Rev.], Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value u DE-310 [Rev.], Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property u DE-315 [Rev.], Order Determining Succession to Real Property Guardianship and Conservatorship Forms Common to Both Guardianships and Conservatorships u GC-020 [Rev.], Notice of Hearing--Guardianship or Conservatorship u GC-021 [Rev.], Order Dispensing With Notice u GC-022 [Rev.], Order Prescribing Notice [same as DE-200**] u GC-030 [Revoked], Proof of Service by Mail of Order Appointing Guardian or Conservator u GC-035 [Rev.], Request for Special Notice [same as DE-154**] u GC-040 [Rev.], Inventory and Appraisal [same as DE-160**] 1 6 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S Education & Development In 199596 the Legislature ap- management and human re- staff have become aware of ex- proved baseline funding for ap- sources issues in the public sec- panded training opportunities. WORKSHOPS pellate education, earmarking tor and courts. The program was Generally, training topics have the funds to support program geared to clerks of the court, centered on a wide array of pro- costs and travel to trainings chief deputy clerks, and others fessional development areas in- sponsored by the Administrative with personnel management re- cluding, but not limited to, the Office of the Courts (AOC) as sponsibilities, including justices following: More training well as those offered by and principal attorneys. Managing Court providers other than the AOC. Funds also will support Libraries in the 21st for appellate The appellate court training appellate court staff attendance Century court staff appropriation advances Goal V at the California Judicial Ad- How to Be a Better (Education) of the Judicial ministration Conference, Judi- Receptionist Training and educational oppor- Council's Long-Range Strategic cial Administration Institute of The Basics of Web Site tunities for appellate court staff Plan--to provide judicial branch California courses, mid-level Design have expanded in recent years. education and professional de- management training, and other Business Writing for velopment. It also marks a first- statewide programs offered by Professionals time expansion of training and the AOC's Education Division, How to Conduct Appellate Court educational opportunities for all home of the Center for Judicial Effective OSHA Training nonjudicial staff in the Califor- Education and Research. How to Manage Multiple Training Liaisons nia appellate courts. q Contact: For informa- Projects and Meet Among the AOC programs tion about appellate staff educa- First Appellate District: Ron Barrow Deadlines supported by the training funds tion programs sponsored by the Substantive Law Updates Second Appellate District are the Appellate Staff Continu- AOC, Administrative Education Grammar Skills and Los Angeles: Joseph Lane ing Studies Program, the Cali- at 415-356-6427 (CALNET 8- Usage fornia Appellate Management 531-6427). Ventura: Paul McGill Stress Management Institute, and the Appellate Em- The second portion of the Third Appellate District: David Hall/Bob Liston How to Be an Indispens- ployment Symposium. The third training funds, designated for able Assistant Fourth Appellate District annual Continuing Studies Pro- training and educational activi- Some courts have used their gram, hosted by the Sixth Dis- ties conducted by providers San Diego: Kathy Muraoka funds to bring trainers on-site to trict Court of Appeal in San Jose, other than the AOC, has been San Bernardino: Henry Espinoza teach such topics as computer was held November 13 and 14. allocated on a per-employee skills, ergonomics and injury pre- Santa Ana: Joyce Nohavec This year's Appellate Em- basis, yielding about $85 per vention, and conflict resolution. Fifth Appellate District: Eve Sproule ployment Symposium, held on nonjudicial staff member for Others courts have purchased December 11 and 12 in San 199798. Use of the funds has Sixth Appellate District: Michael Yerly Diego, focused on personnel increased in the last two years as Continued on page 17 Jesus I. Rodriguez, commissioner, to the Downey Judicial Appointments Municipal Court (Los Angeles), succeeding Donald Wilson, re- tired. Governor Wilson made the fol- rior Court, succeeding Patrick L. Ronald M. Christian- Raul A. Sahagun, com- lowing judicial appointments in McMahon, retired. son, of the Municipal Court, to missioner, to the Southeast Mu- October, November, and the be- Gerald Hermansen, of the Superior Court, San Bernar- nicipal Court (Los Angeles), ginning of December. the South Butte Municipal dino Superior and Municipal succeeding Frank Gafkowski, Court, Butte County Consoli- Courts, filling a new position retired. COURTS OF APPEAL dated Courts, to the Superior created by 1996 legislation. Cindee S. Mayfield to Daniel M. Hanlon, Associate Court, Butte County Consoli- Gloria Trask, commis- the Municipal Court, Coordi- Justice of the Court of Appeal, dated Courts, filling a new posi- sioner, to the Superior Court, nated Mendocino County First Appellate District, Division tion created by 1996 legislation. Consolidated/Coordinated Su- Courts, succeeding Henry K. Four (San Francisco), to Presid- Robert S. Boyd to the perior and Municipal Courts of Nelson, elected to the Superior ing Justice of the same court and Superior Court, Sonoma County Riverside County, succeeding Court, Coordinated Mendocino division. Courts, succeeding John Gal- Barton Gaut, elevated. County Courts. William R. McGui- lagher, retired. Jacob Blea to the Supe- Ridgely L. Lazard to ness, of the Superior Court, Ad- William J. Elfzing to rior Court, Administratively the Lassen County Municipal ministratively Consolidated the Santa Clara County Superior Consolidated Trial Courts of Court, succeeding Steven Dou- Trial Courts of Alameda County, Court, succeeding Peter Stone, Alameda County, succeeding glas Bradbury, elected to the to Associate Justice of the Court retired. William R. McGuiness, elevated. Lassen County Superior Court. of Appeal, First Appellate Dis- Kenneth Mark Burr to Craig Elliot Veals, of Lawrence E. Mason to trict, Division Four (San Fran- the Superior Court, Administra- the Los Angeles Municipal the Inglewood Municipal Court cisco). tively Consolidated Trial Courts Court, to the Los Angeles (Los Angeles), succeeding SUPERIOR COURTS of Alameda County, succeeding County Superior Court, suc- William Ormsby, retired. Robert F. Moody, of the Dawn Girard, retired. ceeding Robert Thomas, retired. Marie S. Silveira to the Monterey County Municipal Michael M. Johnson to Judy S. Craddick, to the Stanislaus County Municipal Court, to the Monterey County the Los Angeles County Supe- Superior Court, Coordinated Court, succeeding Hurl William Superior Court, succeeding rior Court, succeeding Gabriel Trial Courts of Contra Costa Johnson III, elevated. Harkjoon Paik, retired. Gutierrez, retired. County, succeeding Ellen S. Robert J. Schuit to the William Pangman to David W. Long, of the James, retired. Los Angeles Municipal Court, the Sierra County Superior Municipal Court, to the Superior David S. Whesley, com- succeeding Craig Elliot Veals, Court, succeeding Reginald Lit- Court, Ventura County Superior missioner, to the Los Angeles elevated. trell, deceased. and Municipal Coordinated County Superior Court, suc- Barbara L. Roberts to Frank Dougherty, of Courts, succeeding Charles Mc- ceeding Diane Wayne, retired. the South Butte Municipal the Merced County Municipal Grath, retired. Court, Butte County Consoli- MUNICIPAL COURTS Court, to the Merced County Peter B. Foor to the Su- dated Courts, succeeding Gerald William McGivern to the Superior Court, succeeding perior Court, Solano County Hermansen, elevated. Municipal Court, Marin County William T. Ivey, retired. Consolidated Courts, filling a Keith H. Fudenna, com- Courts, succeeding Vernon F. Coleen Ryan, of the Bak- new position created by 1996 missioner, to Fremont-Newark- Smith, elected to the Superior ersfield Municipal Court (Kern), legislation. Union City Municipal Court, Court, Marin County Courts. to the Kern County Superior Robert B. Atack, of the succeeding Marvin Haun, Agil Morris-Jones to Court, succeeding Lenard Municipal Court, to the Superior retired. s the Merced County Municipal McGillivray, retired. Court, Santa Cruz County Con- Court, succeeding Frank William McLafferty to solidated Courts, succeeding Dougherty, elevated. the Santa Barbara County Supe- Thomas Black, retired. C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 1 7 expressing an interest in future sues affecting the courts. In ad- provides clear instructions for w training opportunities. dition, workshops will be offered court managers and presiding Education & Future training is being de- in budgeting, caseflow manage- judges as well as professional ed- Development veloped cooperatively with the ment, employment issues, facili- ucators, who may use the train- Continued from page 16 Center for Judicial Education ties, fairness, community and ing manual to teach potential and Research. In addition, the public relationships, legislative employees. audio or video training programs Administrative Office of the issues, appellate issues, technol- Serving the Public: A Cur- and general reference materials. Courts is regularly sending ogy, and trial court performance riculum for Court Employees Appellate Court Services training materials to counties, standards. costs $25, including postage and staff coordinate training services and regional groups are being Also during the conference, handling. through a designated training li- established to deal with issues recipients of the Ralph N. Kleps q Contact: To order a aison at each court site. of concern. Improvement in the Administra- copy, send a check, payable to q Contact: Appellate court q Contact: For more infor- tion of the Courts Award and the the American Judicature Soci- staff should direct questions mation about AB 1058 training Chief Justice's Special Recogni- ety, to Publication Orders, 180 about training opportunities by opportunities, Supervising At- tion Award will be honored, North Michigan Ave., Suite 600, providers other than the AOC to torney George Nielsen, Legal along with recipients of the Ju- Chicago, IL 60601. VISA and their court liaison (see box, page Services, Administrative Office dicial Council Distinguished MasterCard orders can be 16) or Elizabeth Howard, Ap- of the Courts, 303 Second Street, Service Awards: Jurist of the placed by calling 312-558- pellate Court Services, 415-396- South Tower, San Francisco, CA Year, Judicial Administration, 6900, ext. 147. 9386 (CALNET 8-531-9386). 94107, 415-356-6614 (CALNET and Bernard E. Witkin Amicus 8-531-6614). Curiae Awards (see stories, First meeting Training for pages. 1, 5, and 6). q Contact: Claudia Fer- of Congress enforcement of CJAC 1998: nandes, Administrative Educa- of State Drug AB 1058 Promoting tion, 415-356-6433 (CALNET public trust, 8-531-6433). Court The first Judicial Councilspon- Associations sored training workshop for confidence in Court employees child support commissioners judicial branch The newly formed Congress of and family law facilitators at- offered customer State Drug Court Associations of tracted 200 attendees from The theme of the 1998 Califor- service advice the National Association of Drug around the state. They included nia Judicial Administration Con- Court Professionals (NADCP) is 35 new facilitators, 39 commis- ference (CJAC)--the Judicial Practical information about how envisioned to be a repository of sioners, 6 judges, and numerous Council's annual meeting for court employees can achieve information on state drug courts court administrators. court leaders--is "Promoting and maintain excellence in cus- and a resource for developing The three-day workshop, Public Trust and Confidence in tomer service is available in statewide drug court organiza- held in September in Sacra- the Judicial Branch." Serving the Public: A Curriculum tions. mento, focused on recent The conference will be held for Court Employees, a training NADCP's president, retired changes in the law regarding February 5 to 7 at the Hyatt Re- manual from the American Ju- Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville child support establishment and gency Monterey. Sponsored by dicature Society (AJS). Municipal Court (Alameda) enforcement resulting from the the council and the Administra- AJS is a national organiza- passage of Assembly Bill 1058 tive Office of the Courts, CJAC tion of judges, lawyers, and (see Court News, AprilMay will offer judges and court ad- members of the public that 1997, "Program Will Expedite ministrators educational oppor- works to improve the courts Child Support Collection"). tunities through workshops and through research, educational Other topics included domestic panel discussions on timely issues programs, and publications. violence, ethics, accessibility to affecting the courts, as well as nu- The manual helps court em- the courts, and presentation of merous avenues for networking. ployees identify who their inter- Judge Jeffrey S. Tauber, and model programs. New at the 1998 conference nal and external customers are, Staff Counsel Susan P. Weinstein The workshop was ex- will be workshops presented by analyze customers' needs and convened the first congress in tremely well received, according various Judicial Council advi- expectations, and respond to May during the NADCP's na- to workshop staff, with attendees sory committees on current is- challenging service situations. It tional conference. Two repre- sentatives from each of 29 states--one from the criminal justice field and one from the Judicial Branch Education treatment or rehabilitation field--were in attendance. Long-Range Plan Adopted Representing California The Judicial Council adopted the Long-Range Plan for Judicial Branch Education as were Judge Tomar Mason of the recommended by the CJER (Center for Judicial Education and Research) Governing San Francisco Municipal Court Committee. The plan, which integrates judicial and court staff educational activi- and William Edelman, Orange ties, follows the Judicial Council's decision to approve joint governance for judicial County Director of Alcohol and branch education effective January 1, 1997. Drug Programs. Integrating the 1996 CJER and Judicial Administration Institute of California In addition to its role as a repository of information on Long-Range Plans, the governing committee and other participants at a June 9, state drug court organizations 1997, strategic planning meeting reached consensus on the goals and educational and activities, Weinstein said she plan for California's judicial branch, as follows: hopes the congress will assist state organizations in drafting Comprehensive Education Plan; Standards: Develop education plan for judi- legislation and model state drug cial branch; determine comprehensive education standards based on the education laws, identify resources and plan. funding opportunities, and draft bylaws and articles of incorpora- Curriculum-Based Planning: Develop curricula for all judicial and administra- tion for formal, statewide organi- tive education courses. zations. The congress will also make policy recommendations Skills-Based Programs: Expand skills-based programs with initial emphasis to the NADCP board of directors. on management skills training. q Contact: For more infor- mation about the congress, con- tact California's representatives Alternative Delivery: Enhance alternative delivery of judicial branch educa- or Susan P. Weinstein, 888-316- tional services (publications, videos, programs) by providing support for and techni- 2327 or 703-706-0576, or cal assistance to local education programs and through the use of technology. e-mail: nadcp1@aol.com. For information about the Fairness/Diversity Training: Establish training in fairness and diversity and as- NADCP, visit its Web site at sist local courts in providing and arranging for such training. www.drugcourt.org. s Management Training: Expand management training for judges and court staff. Develop a curriculum and keep it current. Broaden participation. 1 8 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S Court Briefs Judge Zúñiga and Presiding Justice Vaino H. Court of Appeal Associate Jus- of Supervisors commending him Spencer of the Second Appel- tice Consuelo Maria Callahan; for his "dedication to the bench, president of late District, Division One (Los Judges Greta Curtis Crossland children, and citizens of Orange women judges Angeles). and Morrison C. England, Jr.; County." The association is commit- and Commissioner Raoul Thor- association ted to securing gender parity in bourne and Referee Peter Second District's The new president of the Na- the courts and conducting ad- Helfer, Sacramento Superior Lane is national tional Association of Women ministrative tribunals for and Municipal Courts. Judge Barbara A. Judges (NAWJ) is Superior Court women, children, and the family. appellate court Zúñiga Judge Barbara A. Zúñiga of the Headquartered in Washington, Orange County's clerks' group Coordinated Trial Courts of Con- D.C., NAWJ maintains 14 dis- Judge Jameson tra Costa County. Judge Zúñiga tricts throughout the United president-elect was selected during the organi- States and actively participates `Judge of Year' zation's annual conference in in the International Association Joseph A. Lane, Clerk of the September in Utah. She has also of Women Judges. The Consumer Attorneys of Cal- Court for the Second Appellate served as president-elect, vice ifornia has selected Orange District (Los Angeles), is pre- president, and treasurer. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge C. sident-elect of the National Judge Zúñiga was ap- Robert Jameson as its "Judge of Conference of Appellate Court County Bar pointed to the Walnut Creek- the Year." Judge Jameson re- Clerks. Danville Municipal Court in honors Justice ceived the award during the as- A Judicial Council advisory 1985 and served as presiding sociation's annual convention in member, Lane has been the Morrison judge in 198788, 199091, and San Francisco in November. court's clerk since 1992. He has Justice Fred K. 199394. She was elected to the "This award is given to been with the district since 1979 Third District Court of Appeal Morrison Contra Costa County Superior someone who has contributed to and was chief deputy clerk from Associate Justice Fred K. Morri- Court in June 1994. She has the advancement of justice," said 1988 until his elevation. son has been honored as "Judge been active in the California Wylie Atkin, a past-president of The National Conference of of the Year" by the Sacramento Judges Association, serving on the Consumer Attorneys of Appellate Court Clerks was es- County Bar Association. its executive board from 1988 to California. "[Judge Jameson] is tablished in 1973 with the ob- The annual bench-bar re- 1991, as secretary-treasurer in willing to make courageous deci- jectives of improving the skills ception honors all new judges 199091, and on its Ethics, sions, like the Farmers [In- and knowledge of its members, and the "Judge of the Year," se- Elections, and Discipline and surance Co.] bad-faith case, promoting effective court ad- lected by the bar "for service and Disability Committees. She was followed this year by his willing- ministration, and providing a fo- valuable contributions which president of the California/ ness to stand up to what he per- rum for the exchange of ideas on have improved our court sys- Nevada Women Judges Associa- ceived as serious discovery appellate court operations. tem." tion from 1991 to 1993. abuses by UCI [University of Cal- The conference held its 24th Justice Morrison was ap- In 1995, Judge Zúñiga was ifornia, Irvine Medical Center]." annual meeting and educational pointed to the Court of Appeal in appointed to the Judicial Coun- Judge Jameson was ap- program in Alabama in August. Judge C. Robert August 1994. Previously, he was Jameson cil's Access and Fairness Advi- pointed to the superior court The program included sessions a judge for approximately nine sory Committee, on which she bench in 1987 and served as pre- on technology, television in ap- years in the Sacramento supe- continues to serve. She chairs siding judge of the juvenile court pellate courts, professional de- rior and municipal courts, where the committee's Gender Fairness from 1988 to 1990. He currently velopment, ethics, effective he presided over a wide variety Subcommittee and is a member serves on the Civil Litigation public writing, personnel admin- of civil and criminal cases. of the Racial and Ethnic Bias Panel. Previously he was on the istration, security, court statistics, Prior to joining the bench, Subcommittee and Sexual Ha- Central Orange County Munici- and attorney discipline. Justice Morrison was an assistant rassment Education Planning pal Court bench, to which he was U.S. attorney in Sacramento spe- Committee. appointed in 1984. cializing in the prosecution of L.A. juvenile NAWJ is a nonprofit organi- Judge Jameson has received white-collar crime. Before that, court tracking zation dedicated to ensuring di- "Judge of the Year" honors on a he was a professor at the Mc- versity on the bench and in the number of occasions, including George School of Law, where he system a winner profession. It was founded in from the Chief Probation Offi- taught criminal law, criminal A Los Angeles County Superior 1979 by Presiding Justice Joan cers of California in 1990 and procedure, and evidence. Joseph A. Lane Court program designed to keep Dempsey Klein of the Court of the Constitutional Rights Foun- Receiving honorable men- minors out of trouble has been Appeal, Second Appellate Dis- dation in 1987. In 1991, he was tions at the Sacramento County awarded the 1997 National As- trict, Division Three (Los Ange- the recipient of a resolution Bar Association bench-bar re- sociation of Counties Achieve- les), who was its first president, from the Orange County Board ception were Third District ment Award. The Dependency/Delin- quency Early Alert Report Court/Community Outreach Task Force Welcomes Public (DEAR) is a two-pronged ap- proach to the early identification The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the of dependent children who are meetings of the Judicial Council's Special Task Force on at risk for delinquency. Through Court/Community Outreach, which are held from 10:00 the use of an automated report, a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A public comment period is provided at the Dependency Court receives each meeting, from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m., during which time early notification of any policy each speaker is limited to three minutes. Meeting dates agency referrals of dependent and locations for 1998 are as follows: minors to the Probation Depart- ment. The report alerts judges, JAN 14: Santa Ana, John Wayne Airport, attorneys, and court staff that a Conference Room minor has a case pending in the FEB 11: San Francisco, AOC, 303 Second Delinquency Court. It also iden- Street, South Tower, 4th Floor tifies the minor's Dependency MAR 16: Redding, Best Western Hilltop, Court case, so the court can take steps to intervene before the mi- 2300 Hilltop Drive nor's behavior becomes a seri- APR 13: Los Angeles, Hyatt Regency, ous delinquency problem. Task force members participating in the July meeting in San Fran- 711 South Hope Street National Association of cisco are, left to right, Judge Gail Andrea Andler of the Orange q Contact: Persons interested in attending a meeting Counties Executive Director County Superior Court, Judge Darrell W. Stevens of the Butte of the Special Task Force on Court/Community Outreach Larry E. Naake, making the County Consolidated Courts, Assistant Executive Officer Michael and those seeking special accommodations should call presentation at the group's an- Bayne of the Consolidated/Coordinated Superior and Municipal Courts of Riverside County, Court Administrator Jessica Lee of the Shelley M. Stump, Planning Coordinator, 415-396-9310 nual conference in Maryland in Rio Hondo Municipal Court (Los Angeles), and Executive Officer (CALNET 8-531-9310). July, said the awards program Jose O. Guillen of the Napa County Consolidated Courts. Continued on page 19 C O U R T N E W S N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 1 9 ries." Upon returning to a civil w jury trial assignment this past Court Briefs 1997 Landmark Event January, Judge Harbin-Forte re- Continued from page 18 instituted the data collection sys- tem, with the goal of widely allows the organization to disseminating the information to "share valuable information the bar. with other counties throughout "Judge Harbin-Forte's sum- the nation." maries help us to settle cases," ob- serves Presiding Judge Stephen Bay Area court Dombrink. "When lawyers see offers jury how jury trials turn out, they are more realistic in their expecta- verdicts in tions. And the more cases we can cyberspace settle, the more courtrooms we can make available for cases that The Oakland-Piedmont-Emery- don't settle. That's why we are ville Municipal Court (Alameda) making these summaries avail- is offering a database of 1997 able to the public." civil jury verdicts on the Internet For courts interested in de- in an innovative program to ed- veloping their own summaries, ucate lawyers and the public Beltran suggests that "the infor- about the verdicts reached in mation can be pulled from other Governor Pete Wilson signed the Lockyer-Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act of 1997 on October that court. case management systems and 10. At the signing ceremony were, left to right, Steve Szalay, Executive Director, California State The court has placed its be placed on the Web site or in Association of Counties (CSAC); Assembly Member Martha Escutia; Jerry Eaves, San Bernardino "1997 Summary of Civil Jury another form for disseminating County Board of Supervisors; Senator Bill Lockyer; Dwight Stenbakken, League of California Verdicts" on its World Wide Web information to the public." Cities; Ray LeBov, Director, Office of Governmental Affairs, Administrative Office of the Courts; site in the hope that greater ac- The court continues to ex- and Rubin Lopez, Legislative Representative, CSAC. cess to information about how pand its Web site and plans to juries have decided similar cases soon include calendar informa- will assist attorneys and their tion and forms that can be down- and Signal Hill, and surrounding updates the system weekly; in- clients in placing a realistic value loaded. unincorporated areas. formation on tickets issued on their civil disputes. Visit the Oakland-Pied- To get details about their within the previous 90 days is Court Administrator Theresa mont-Emeryville Municipal tickets, motorists log on to the available online. q Beltran says gathering the infor- Court Web site at co.alameda. Los Angeles Municipal Court Contact: Marcia Skolnik, mation presented the real chal- ca.us/cop/cop10a.htm. Web site at www.lamuni.org and Public Affairs Director, Los An- lenge and credits Judge Brenda q Contact: For more in- then go to the Traffic Ticket In- geles Municipal Court, 213-974- Harbin-Forte with accomplish- formation, Theresa Beltran, formation site. They enter their 6358. ing that task. Court Administrator, Oakland- names and citation numbers and Judge Harbin-Forte began Piedmont-Emeryville Munici- then find out the total amount compiling summaries of civil pal Court, 510-268-7606. due, if they are eligible for traffic Sixth District jury verdicts and distributing school, and when they are sched- oral arguments them to her colleagues shortly uled to appear. The page displays Motorists find after she was appointed to the no personal data such as driver's temporarily in bench in January 1992. "My first online help in address or license number. Palo Alto assignment in 1992 was to pre- handling traffic The site explains options side over a civil trial depart- available for handling tickets The Court of Appeal, Sixth Ap- ment," says the judge. "The void tickets in L.A. and lists court locations mo- pellate District (San Jose), is left by legal publications which torists can go to if they want to hearing oral argument in the Traffic offenders can check in- report jury verdicts in select su- pay their fines in person. council chambers of Palo Alto formation about their citations perior court trials frustrated ef- After the law enforcement City Hall while the courtroom online if they received them in forts to settle cases because agency files the ticket with the and facilities in San Jose are be- the area served by the Los An- neither the attorneys nor I had a court, about two weeks after it is ing renovated. The renovation is geles and Long Beach Municipal reliable basis for placing a `local' issued, court staff enter it into expected to take at least eight Courts. It includes Catalina, San value on cases. I felt it would be the court's database, and the months. Pedro, West Los Angeles, Van educational for both the bench traffic citation information goes November 13 was the first Nuys, San Fernando, and Los and the bar to examine the ver- online. Once the information is day the court convened in Palo Angeles, the cities of Long Beach dicts reached by Oakland ju- in the court's database, the court Alto. The Palo Alto council chambers were selected because of their location in the court's ju- Judge Keyes Is New CJA President dicial district and a suggestion by Associate Justice Franklin D. Judge Dwayne Keyes of the Superior Court, Fresno County Courts, Elia, Palo Alto's senior assistant city attorney in the early 1980s, has been elected 199798 president of the California Judges Asso- that the city might look favor- ciation (CJA). He was sworn into office at the CJA's Annual Meet- ably upon the court's request to ing in San Diego in September. use the council chambers when As CJA president, Judge Keyes is the organization's representa- the council and city staff were not using them. tive on the Judicial Council. The plan to use the Palo Alto Judge Dwayne Elected as vice presidents were Judge J. Stephen Czuleger of facility was implemented with Keyes the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Judge William H. Mayor Joseph H. Huber's and the council's approval and in- Stephens of the Superior Court, Marin County Courts. Los Angeles Municipal Court volved the cooperation of City Judge Alban I. Niles was elected secretary-treasurer. Manager June Fleming, City Judge Keyes has served on the superior court since his appointment in 1983 by Clerk Gloria Young, and mem- bers of the Palo Alto Police Governor George Deukmejian to the thennewly created position. He served as pre- Department and the California siding judge for three years and has been a family law, probate, and fast-track judge. Highway Patrol Judicial Security Judge Keyes continues a family tradition: his father-in-law, Robert M. Barnard, was Office. The Sixth Appellate District a Fresno Municipal Court judge, and his wife Mary Jo's grandfather was former court hears appeals from cases Fourth District Court of Appeal Presiding Judge Charles Barnard. decided by the trial courts Formerly the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California (Sacramento and of Santa Clara, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Fresno), Judge Keyes successfully prosecuted Charles Manson follower Lynette Counties. s "Squeaky" Fromme for the attempted assassination of former President Gerald Ford. 2 0 N O V E M B E R D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 7 C O U R T N E W S Calendar COURT NEWS is published bimonthly by the Judicial Council of California, SAVE THESE DATES Administrative Office of the s FEB 57: The 1998 California Judicial Administration Conference will be Courts. It welcomes news about held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. (See story on page 17.) California's courts and their s FEB 27: Family Violence and the Courts IV: A California State Conference programs, projects, and will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento. personnel, including s APR 23, APR 30MAY 1, JUNE 45: Mid-Level Management Conferences commissioners and referees. are scheduled throughout the state. Details will be announced as they be- Editorial and circulation come available. offices: Room 4077, 303 s MAY 1315: The first statewide planning conference, titled "Courts and Second Street, South Tower, Their Communities: Local Planning and the Renewal of Public Trust and San Francisco, CA 94107, Confidence," will be held in Long Beach. 415-396-9118 (CALNET 8-531-9118), e-mail: JUDICIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS pubinfo@courtinfo.ca.gov. All Judicial Council business meetings will be held at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) in San Francisco unless otherwise noted. Chair, Judicial Council FEB 4 Hyatt Regency Monterey (in conjunction with the California Judicial Chief Justice Administration Conference) Ronald M. George APRIL 24 JUNE 19 AUG 14 OCT 16 NOV 20 Administrative Director q Contact: Secretariat and Conference Services, 415-396-9347 (CALNET 8-531-9347), of the Courts e-mail: jcservices@courtinfo.ca.gov. William C. Vickrey JUDICIAL EDUCATION JAN 49 Continuing Judicial Studies Program--Winter, Oakland General Counsel JAN 2931 Criminal Law and Procedure Institute, Oakland Marriott City Center Michael Bergeisen FEB 1920 Probate and Mental Health Institute, San Luis Obispo Communications Supervisor MAR 1114 Family Law and Procedure Institute, San Diego (tentative) Katharine Holland MAR 1314 1998 Judicial College Seminar Leader Training, Bodega Bay Managing Editor/Writer COMPUTER CLASSES Karen Ringuette All sessions will be held at CJER's San Francisco offices unless otherwise noted. JAN 2223 FEB 56 MAR 56 APR 910 Copy Editors ORIENTATION PROGRAMS Fran Haselsteiner Orientation programs for new trial court judges, commissioners, and referees are Carolyn McGovern scheduled as follows: Christine Miklas JAN 1216 FEB 26 FEB 2327 MAR 913 (tentative) APR 2024 Graphic Design and Production Note: Orientation sessions with insufficient enrollment will be canceled. Call CJER for Sheila Ng the latest information. q Contact: CJER, 415-356-6400 (CALNET 8-531-6400). Images © 1997 PhotoDisc, Inc. ADMINISTRATIVE EDUCATION MAR 56 Building Effective Management Teams; facility and city to be announced This newsletter is printed on O F T H E MAR 56 S Budget; facility and city to be announced 100 percent recycled and L T recyclable paper. q A A Contact: Administrative Education, 415-356-6400 (CALNET 8-531-6400). E T R E K A S E U E T O First Class COURT NEWS F U. S. Postage A P A I D Judicial Council of California San Francisco, CA E Administrative Office of the Courts Permit No. 925 303 Second Street, South Tower San Francisco, CA 941071366 Visit the Judicial Branch State of California Web site at www.courtinfo.ca.gov T A I N R C A L I F O |
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