Fire updates

The Ninth Circuit announces:
Given the continuing high winds and the ongoing uncertainty related to the Southern California wildfires, the Chief Judge has ordered the Pasadena courthouse be closed to the public tomorrow and through January 17th. As previously planned and communicated to the parties, the Pasadena court sessions scheduled January 13-17, 2025 will proceed remotely. The Court remains open in its other locations and for efiling. If you have any questions, please contact the Clerk's Office in San Francisco.

Many justices and lawyers in the appellate community have lost homes or evacuated. Now is a time for solidarity, compassion, and civility. Help those you can.

The Recorder has State Budget Proposal Includes More Money for Courts—for Now -- Potential wildfire recovery costs and political fights with President-elect Donald Trump cast uncertainty over a $322 billion budget proposal that includes some good news for California's judicial branch.

The governor's proposal also includes more money for increased court operations and employee health costs, a $10-an-hour pay hike for state Supreme Court- and Court of Appeal-appointed counsel, lactation rooms in 22 courthouses and courthouse construction projects in eight counties.

LACBA ACS program

LACBA's Appellate Courts Section presents:

How to Win an Appeal

Join us to learn from appellate attorney and author Myron Moskovitz:

* How to explain your case clearly to appellate Justices who know nothing about it.

* How to create a theme of injustice would result from a ruling against your client.

* How to keep your briefs short and concise.

* How to use oral argument to increase your chance of success on appeal.

Date:                  Wednesday March 26, 2025
Location:           Via Zoom Webinar
Time:                 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
CLE Credit:       1.5-hour Appellate Specialization

Wildfire tragedies

The Recorder has Courts, Lawyers Press On With Business as SoCal Wildfires Rage -- Wind-driven wildfires in Los Angeles County destroyed the homes of two courts of appeal justices and forced an unknown number of court workers, jurors, judicial officers and attorneys to evacuate.

• The Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six courthouse in Ventura canceled oral arguments scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, with a statement noting the fires' impact. Two Second District justices, Arthur Gilbert of Division Six and Helen Bendix of Division One, confirmed that their homes had burned in the fires. "We lost everything," Gilbert stated in an email.
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit courthouse in Pasadena closed Wednesday, although employees were still working remotely, according to Clerk of Court Molly Dwyer. The Ninth Circuit will be closed Thursday to observe the national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

J. Liu podcast interview

Law360 has Approach The Bench: Justice Goodwin Liu On Oral Argument -- On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, a Law360 podcast hosted by feature reporter Cara Bayles, Justice Liu discussed how academia informed his judging, his courtroom pet peeves, and what lessons can be learned from his failed bid for the federal bench.

"I think sometimes … the two sides stake out very, very polar positions, and there's nothing in the middle, and the court feels maybe understandably a little frustrated because they don't find attractive either extreme," he said. "Advocates can think about [this]: If you were in the position of the court, how might you think about this problem in a way that tries to accommodate a variety of interests?"

"The court has already thought very seriously about the case, and we have already exchanged views among each other probing the weak points and strong points of the case," Justice Liu told Law360. "Advocates, I think, in that context would especially do well to answer the questions, because they are the real questions that the court has on its mind."

Fire closes Chambers courthouse

The Ninth Circuit announces: Due to the wildfires nearby, the Richard H. Chambers United States Courthouse will be closed today, Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The Court remains open elsewhere and for efiling.

J. Panelli memoriam

In Memoriam: California Supreme Court Justice Edward Panelli
"His unwavering commitment to justice and fairness has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and the broader legal community," Chief Justice Guerrero said.

Before the California Supreme Court began its first oral argument session of 2025, the court honored former Justice Edward A. Panelli, who passed away in July at age 92.
Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero expressed her appreciation for Justice Panelli, who served "with great honor and integrity" on the court from 1985 to 1994.
"His unwavering commitment to justice and fairness has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and the broader legal community," Chief Justice Guerrero said.
The special program also included remembrances from retired California Supreme Court Justice Kathryn Werdegar, who worked as a staff attorney for Justice Panelli before her appointment to the bench; David Miller, a Supreme Court attorney who clerked for Justice Panelli; and Lisa Kloppenberg, dean emerita and professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law.
Werdegar said Justice Panelli was an "intellect and a scholar" who graduated in the top of his class as both an undergraduate and a law student.
But Justice Panelli’s legal work reflected his down-to-earth nature, characterized by "a sense of the real world and people who live and work there—their humanity," Werdegar said.
Miller recalled Justice Panelli’s ability to swiftly get to the heart of a legal issue was so immediate, it felt as though he were “engaged in a match of lightning chess.”
Professor Kloppenberg described Justice Panelli’s upbringing as the child of Italian immigrant farmworkers. Noting that he knew little English as a child growing up in Santa Clara County, she explained how that background drove his commitment to establishing scholarships and mentoring low-income and first-generation students and helping them find opportunities in the law.
"Justice Panelli was a light for others," Kloppenberg said. "Through his brilliant mind, hard work and caring heart, he helped many students attain their educational goals and forge careers to help them and their families find their own American dreams.”

PJ Gilbert's contest seeking funny opening sentences

Today's DJ has PJ Gilbert's It was a dark and stormy January 2025 -- Taking a cue from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's much maligned opening sentence, your columnist is on the hunt for legal submissions that stand out for all the wrong reasons, with prizes for the best submissions -- in which he requests submissions for "a contest consisting of three categories: 1. The poorest first sentence of an appellant's opening brief; 2. The poorest first sentence of a respondent's brief; 3. The poorest opening sentence of an appellate opinion." Send entries to Diana_Bosetti@dailyjournal.com.

Myron Moskovit'z column is A brief with no case cites? Are cases and citations truly essential to winning legal arguments, or do compelling facts and policy arguments matter more? -- in which he ponders just how useful case citations are in briefing.

Law360 has AI Chatbots Will Transform Legal Scholarship, AI Chatbot Says

Andrew M. Perlman, the dean of Suffolk University Law School in Boston, posted the 30-page paper, titled "Generative AI and the Future of Legal Scholarship," to the Social Science Research Network late last month. The article was drafted using OpenAI's software based on a query written by Perlman that references legal scholarship.

9th Cir. Jimmy Carter holiday Jan. 9

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will be closed on Thursday, January 9, 2025, in observance of the National Day of Mourning for former President James “Jimmy” Earl Carter, Jr. For purposes of computation of time and motions to enlarge time under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 26 and Federal Circuit Rule 26, January 9, 2025, will be considered a “legal holiday.” Our offices will reopen on Friday, January 10, 2025.

NLJ has US Courts Announce Closures in Observance of Jimmy Carter National Mourning Day -- "I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter Jr.," President Joe Biden wrote in his proclamation designating Jan. 9, 2025, a National Day of Mourning throughout the United States.

Law360 has How Jimmy Carter Transformed The Federal Bench - includes quotes from 9th Circuit Judges Canby, Schroeder, and Dorothy Nelson. Carter, who died at age 100, put more judges on the bench in a single term than any other president.

Chief Justice's 2024 Annual Report

Chief Justice Roberts Issues 2024 Year-End Report -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., has issued his 2024 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.

Law.com has Chief Justice Roberts Ends Year With Defense Against 'Illegitimate' Attacks on Judiciary --In his year-end report, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. warned that the judiciary has become a target for violence, intimidation, disinformation and defiance.

Roberts focused on the four areas of "illegitimate activity that, in my view, do threaten the independence of judges on which the rule of law depends: (1) violence, (2) intimidation, (3) disinformation, and (4) threats to defy lawfully entered judgments."

Bloomberg Law has Chief Justice Roberts Denounces Uptick in Threats Against Judges

“According to United States Marshals Service statistics, the volume of hostile threats and communications directed at judges has more than tripled over the past decade,” Roberts said.

Judicial security for the justices and other judges has been a major focus for both the judiciary and Congress in recent years. The government spending bill signed into law in late December included more than $25 million to provide around-the-clock protection of the justices’ homes.

The report also took aim at threats to ignore federal court rulings by elected officials, which Roberts said had recently come from “across the political spectrum.”

Judicial security for the justices and other judges has been a major focus for both the judiciary and Congress in recent years. The government spending bill signed into law in late December included more than $25 million to provide around-the-clock protection of the justices’ homes.

The report also took aim at threats to ignore federal court rulings by elected officials, which Roberts said had recently come from “across the political spectrum.”

The Wall St. Journal has Chief Justice Says Intimidation and Violence Threaten Judicial Independence -- But John Roberts’s year-end report remains silent on Supreme Court ethics

NLJ has Roberts Calls Court's Relationship With Congress 'Strained.' Who's to Blame? --The chief justice called out "public officials" for dangerous remarks about courts in his unusually targeted year-end report—and acknowledged a "strained relationship" between the Supreme Court and Congress.

2d DCA pro tem update

The following are currently sitting on assignment in the 2d District:

• Judge Mark K. Hanasono of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Three until February 28, 2025
• Judge Nicholas F. Daum of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Four from January 21, 2025, until March 20, 2025
• Judge Michael P. Pulos of the San Diego County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Seven until February 28, 2025

And here's a nice opener (from this 4/1 unpub):

This case highlights the importance of a critical skill for all attorneys— attention to detail. For a plaintiff’s counsel, it is essential to make sure you sue the correct party.

13 Fiefdoms (book review)

 

The latest issue of Judicature has a book review from Judge Wood, Thirteen Fiefdoms: Inside the United States Courts of Appeals:

There is no such thing as “the” federal court of appeals, in the sense of one massive intermediate appellate court charged with the duty of handling appeals from district courts and federal agencies across the land. Instead, what we have had since 19823 are 13 distinct institutions: the Courts of Appeals for the First through the Eleventh Circuits, known sometimes as the “regional” courts of appeals; the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit....

The choice of a given circuit to emulate one or more of its sister circuits is largely a voluntary one. From the outside, it may seem that the differences among circuits are unimportant and inconsequential. I doubt, however, that any student of procedure or institutions could finish reading this book and still hold to that view. It would be more accurate (if a bit melodramatic) to say that, at the intermediate level of the federal courts, we have 13 distinctive fiefdoms. When we lift the veil and see how each circuit operates, as Judge Newman and Professor Levy have done, differences large and small come into view. Each circuit prizes its own history, and each one not so secretly thinks that its own procedures are the best — or, more modestly, the best adapted for its own part of the country, its own size, and its own docket. One ignores these substantive and cultural differences at one’s peril.

Bloomberg Law has Memoirs, Sentencings, Secret Rules: Judges' Books in 2024

Music to your ears?

On January 31, PJ Gilbert will be honored by the MetNews as a Person of the Year.

PJ Gilbert also has an article in the latest issue of CSCHS's California Legal History, titled Literature and Music -- Keys to Judging My personal journey: We are more than our professions. The article ends with a section from Justice Bendix: How Being a Musician Has Informed My Work as a Judge.

Also in that same issue, don't miss Ladies Justice: Celebrating Seven Trailblazing Female Firsts on the California Court of Appeal, by Justice Mesiwala (herself the first South Asian female justice and first Muslim American female justice on the Court of Appeal). The seven profiled justices are: Annette Abbott Adams, Arleigh Woods, Sheila Prell Sonenshine, Joyce Kennard, Ramonda Godoy Perez, Eileen Moore, and Therese Stewart.

E-CTs & E-RTs to be required in the 3d

Hooray! Here's some more movement away from paper:

Effective February 24, 2025, the 3d District's Local Rule 5, on Electronic Filing, will be amended to "require" (rather than merely "authorize and encourage") superior courts in the District to provide electronic clerk's and reporter's transcripts ("to the extent a superior court is able to do so").

RIP Seth Hufstedler (1922-2024)

 

Before his retirement, Seth M. Hufstedler (Cal. Bar #21421) had an active business, trial and appellate practice for over 50 years. Seth has represented a broad range of clients in complex business disputes in various state and federal courts, and he has argued numerous matters before California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Two of his cases, Lewis v. Anderson, 615 F.2d 778 (1979) and Gaines v. Haughton, 645 F.2d 761 (1981), are the first two, and the leading Ninth Circuit cases on the role of independent special litigation committees in derivative lawsuits. Seth also represented the California Commission on Judicial Performance in its televised investigation of the California Supreme Court. The majority of his practice was in the appellate courts. In his last United States Supreme Court appearance, Seth represented the Governor of Guam, and succeeded in reversing the Ninth Circuit by a 9-0 vote.

MetNews has Former State Bar President Hufstedler, 102, Dies

Fun holiday reading?

See An Investigation of the Ethics Challenge at theSupreme Court (Dec. 21, 2024), a 93-page Majority Staff report of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Law.com has Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics -- The staff report documents alleged ethical lapses of the justices, such as undisclosed trips from billionaires, and recommends enforceable ethics reform.

The document provides an in-depth account of the alleged ethical lapses by some of the justices. Though it highlights the “questionable conduct” of a variety of justices, including Democratic appointees such as Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and retired Justice Stephen Breyer, the staff report trains the most scrutiny on the actions of three conservative Republican appointees: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr. and the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The majority staff claim Scalia “established the practice of accepting gifts of luxury travel and failing to disclose it as required by federal law.”

Games People (appellate lawyers!) Play

Law360 has PBS Atty Rolls The Dice With New Supreme Court Board Game about First Monday in October, a strategy game focused on the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. Set to be released in late summer of 2025, the game lets players experience more than 200 years of high court history in two hours.

First Monday in October is described in the Kickstarter campaign as a "tug-of-war" over how the court has interpreted key constitutional provisions throughout history. It centers on four tracks: the scope of congressional authority, the scope of executive authority, applications of the First Amendment, and the scope of individual equality and liberty.

The players vie to "gain renown by shaping the composition of the high court, taking sides in landmark cases throughout the history of the United States, and determining the governing laws of the land," the game rules say.

Sanctions watch

Busted!

The MetNews has C.A. Refers Beverly Hills Firm to State Bar for ‘Consideration of Discipline’ for Fraud -- Opinion Says Lawyers Misrepresented That Proposed Order Was ‘Unopposed’ When in Fact Moving Papers Were Never Served on Opposing Party about this unpub:

Another circumstance troubles us. An appellant’s appendix must contain items from the superior court file that are necessary for proper consideration of issues, including items appellant should reasonably assume the respondent will rely on. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.124(b)(1)(B).) Here, the appellant’s appendix prepared by K&L omits multiple material documents, including all of the OSCs that led to the initial dismissal of plaintiff’s case, the order reinstating the case pursuant to an allegedly unopposed motion, and the subsequent OSC that was pending when the case was dismissed for the second time. These deficiencies necessitated the filing of a respondent’s appendix to set the record straight.

The City has not requested sanctions for what amounts to a frivolous appeal. (See Estate of Kempton (2023) 91 Cal.App.5th 189, 206 [appeal objectively frivolous when “appellant’s arguments rest on negligible legal foundation”].) Nor do we wish to further delay things by issuing yet another order to show cause. However, we cannot ignore K&L’s misleading conduct in the trial court, particularly in light of their decision to double-down by pursuing this appeal based on an inadequate record. Because we do not impose sanctions, referral to the State Bar is not mandatory. (See Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6086.7.) But we also have inherent judicial power to discipline attorneys. (People v. Poletti (2015) 240 Cal.App.4th 1191, 1216, fn. 10.) Accordingly, the clerk of this court is ordered to send a copy of this opinion to the California State Bar for consideration of discipline, and we hereby inform K&L of this referral. (Brown v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 1353, 1357.) We express no opinion on what discipline, if any, is to be imposed. (Ibid.; In re Marriage of Greenberg (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 1095, 1100.)

And see Law360's  Mass. Judge Apologizes For Slamming Alito Over Flags

A Massachusetts federal judge has apologized for violating ethics rules when he publicly criticized U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in the wake of reports that two flags used by Donald Trump supporters to protest the 2020 election were flown outside Alito's houses.

Senior U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor acknowledged that his May 24 opinion piece titled "A Federal Judge Wonders: How Could Alito Have Been So Foolish?" in The New York Times violated several canons of the federal judicial Code of Conduct. He issued the apology Nov. 20 in response to findings that the column diminished public confidence in the judiciary and improperly opined on pending cases, according to a judicial complaint order made public Tuesday by conservative legal group The Article III Project.

3d DCA pro tem update & more

Associate Justice Rebecca A. Wiseman, retired, will be sitting in pro tempore in the 3d District beginning July 15, 2023, through March 10, 2025

And see 2024Year in Review: Judicial Council of California -- The judicial branch of California continued to prioritize and expand access to justice for court users and the public

• Note also that 2/8 granted publication of Merrick v. Lau which received attention for the concurring opinion calling out the trial judge for ethics violations (being discourteous and not promoting public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary) by demeaning a litigant via a "patronizing description" trading on "racist and sexists tropes." (Publication was requested by the California Civility Task Force and the Orange County Asian American Bar Association.)

Sr. Status plans rescinded

Bloomberg Law has Judge Wynn Reverses Retirement Plans, Denies Trump Vacancy

• Fourth Circuit Judge James Wynn Jr. has rescinded his plans to step down from active status, denying President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint his successor on the powerful appellate bench.
• Wynn is the third judge to rescind their retirement plans since Trump’s Nov. 5 election win. Judges Max Cogburn of the Western District of North Carolina and Algenon Marbley of the Southern District of Ohio had previously announced plans to step back from active status upon confirmation of a successor.

Law.com has 4th Circuit Judge Wynn Walks Back Senior Status Plans -- Walking back senior status plans is not unheard of and has been done by both Republican and Democratic appointees.

And see Historic Muslim Appellate Pick Laments Attacks on Nomination and 3rd Circuit Nominee Mangi Sees 'No Pathway to Confirmation,' Derides 'Organized Smear Campaign' -- Adeel Mangi said in a letter to the White House that the system for approving federal court judges is "fundamentally broken" and has turned into "a channel for the raising of money based on performative McCarthyism before video cameras."

Law360 has Ex-Judges, DC Bar Back Newman In Suspension Lawsuit

And Law360 has After 36 Years, Texas Chief Justice Reflects On 'End Of An Era'

At 75, [Chief Justice Nathan Hecht] is retiring as the longest-serving member of the Texas Supreme Court in the Lone Star State's history and the longest-tenured state judge in active service. In his nearly four decades on the court, he has participated in 2,779 oral arguments, written nearly 400 majority opinions, mentored 72 law clerks, managed three staff attorneys and been aided by four executive assistants.

Appellate Mediation mcle program

 

On Thursday, January 16, LACBA's Appellate Courts Section will present Appellate Mediation: An Overlooked Opportunity, from noon to 1. Mediator/Arbitrator John Derrick and Appellate Specialist Herb Fox will discuss how appellate mediation can make sense even if a case proved resistant to settlement before.