2d DCA Update

The following are currently sitting on assignment:

• Judge Allan Goodman (Retired) of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Two until May 31, 2017.
• Judge Michael Johnson of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Three until May 31, 2017.
• Judge Kim Dunning of the Orange County Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Five until May 31, 2017.
• Judge Sanjay T. Kumar of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Five until April 30, 2017.
• Judge Dennis Landin of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Five beginning May 1 until June 30, 2017.
• Judge Michael Small of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Seven until May 31, 2017.
• Judge Douglas W. Sortino of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Eight until May 31, 2017.

Today's DJ features Gary Watt on Frivolous Appeals, in which he discusses the classic In re Marriage of Flaherty (1982) 31 Cal.3d 637, and concludes:

 It's complete lack of objective merit that makes an appeal frivolous. Given the reality that most courts treat the Marriage of Flaherty standard as conjunctive (requiring both illicit purpose and complete lack of merit), then so long as the appeal has some minimal merit, respondents may have to suffer some deliberately inflicted harassment and delay, with no real chance of obtaining sanctions for frivolity (appellant's inevitable loss aside). In contrast, where the conduct of appellate counsel is so outrageous that it eviscerates ethical rules, such minimal merit may not be enough to avoid sanctions. And as several of the more recent sanctions cases reveal, some attorneys insist on behaving very badly. So when it comes to frivolous appeals, you probably will know it when you see it.