Appellate blogger indicted

 Law360 has SCOTUSblog Publisher Tom Goldstein Indicted In Tax Case

Bloomberg Law has SCOTUSblog's Goldstein Charged With Tax Fraud, False Statements

Prominent attorney Tom Goldstein, co-founder of the website SCOTUSblog, was indicted Thursday on charges of fraud involving tens of millions of dollars in poker debt and creating phony jobs at his law firm to pay for travel and other expenses for several women. ...

Goldstein is a long-time appellate lawyer who argued 45 US Supreme Court cases before announcing his retirement in 2023. SCOTUSblog, which he co-founded in 2002, has emerged as a go-to source for information about Supreme Court cases and high court practice.

SAJEC seeks input

The LACBA State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee (SAJEC) is evaluating Los Angeles Superior Court judges Stephen Goorvitch and Mark Hanasono for possible appointment to the Second District Court of Appeal. If you have input on either candidate, please complete the questionnaires linked below. Elaborations in the comments fields are especially helpful. To provide input beyond the questionnaire, contact committee chair Alana Rotter at arotter@gmsr.com. SAJEC appreciates your help!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SAJECGoorvitch

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SAJECHanasono

SCOC returns to Sacramento

California Supreme Court to Hold Oral Argument in Sacramento -- Court revives its longstanding tradition after a five-year hiatus; will hold oral argument in Sacramento Feb. 5.

The California Supreme Court on Feb. 5 will mark its return to hearing oral argument in Sacramento, a tradition put on hold for five years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the hiatus, the court made technological upgrades to its courtrooms in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to better facilitate livestreaming and remote oral arguments.
Last year, the court’s plan to return to Sacramento was thwarted by weather conditions, including flooding, intense winds, and power outages that forced the court to hold the session remotely.
The court’s tradition of hearing oral argument in Sacramento—as one of three locations along with Sacramento and San Francisco—dates back to 1878.
The court plans to hear four cases during the session, held in its courtroom in the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building on Sacramento’s Capitol Mall.

In 2025, the court will hold oral argument sessions in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco as well as a special outreach session for students. The court also continues to support hosting oral argument in a hybrid format, allowing counsel to appear in person or with remote technology upon request.

"timeout is over" + Hume

This unpub from 2/7 starts off strong and goes on to Philosophy 101, citing Hume: 

In holding that perfecting an appeal from an order denying a special motion to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.161 stays trial court proceedings on the merits, the Supreme Court recognized some such appeals “will undoubtedly delay litigation even though the appeal is frivolous or insubstantial.” (Varian Medical Systems, Inc. v. Delfino (2005) 35 Cal.4th 180, 186, 195; see Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal, LLC v. City of Oakland (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 738, 763 [a “‘major reason’” for the explosion of special motions to strike under section 425.16 “‘is that the statute rewards the filer of an unsuccessful . . . motion with what one court has called a “free time-out” from further litigation in the trial court’”].) This is one of those appeals. And the timeout is over.

Recognizing the law is contrary to his position, [Appellant] makes only a prescriptive argument based, not on what the law is, but on what he believes it ought to be. (See Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Book 3, Part 1, Section 1 (1739) pp. 469-470 [discussing the is-ought problem].)

CLA Appellate Summit (April 24-25 in SF)

 

CLA's 2025 Litigation and Appellate Summit will be held on April 24 – 25, 2025 in San Francisco. Save the dates!

And CLA Litigation Section's January 2025 issue of Litigation Update is now online, keeping you up to date on current case law.

BASF program Jan. 28

BASF's Appellate Law Section presents an informal roundtable online discussion with Justice Tara Desautels on Jan. 28, noon to one. (Free; no mcle)

Fire news

Today's DJ has LA County court judges and staff lose homes in wildfires -- The recent wildfires in Los Angeles County have left 13 judges and 12 court staff members without homes, while local courthouses face operational disruptions. Court leaders and unions are working to address the crisis and ensure justice continues.

At least 13 judicial officers and 12 staff members of the Los Angeles County Superior Court have lost their homes to the recent wildfires, and a court spokesperson said on Tuesday that they are still evaluating the potential impact on court operations. ... 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steven I. Katz said 73 employees of the District Attorney's Office have been displaced. He noted that the office has not requested the closure of any courthouses and does not currently support such a move.

5th & 1st Districts pro tem updates

 Judge Gregory T. Fain of the Fresno County Superior Court will be sitting pro tempore in the Fifth District until April 1, 2025.

And one judge is currently assigned pro tem in the First District:

• Judge Dana B. Simonds of Sonoma County Superior Court, will be sitting pro tempore in Division Four until March 31, 2025.

CD Cal fire losses

Bloomberg Law has Five Federal Judges Lose Homes in Southern California Wildfires

Five judges and six staffers on the Los Angeles-based federal trial court have lost their homes in wildfires that have raged across Southern California for the past week, according to the court’s clerk. They are part of at least 40 judges and court staffers for the US District Court for the Central District of California who have been affected by the fires, including those who have faced evacuation orders, power outages, and water quality issues, said Brian Karth, the district court executive and clerk of court. ....

Karth said the court, which has locations in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Riverside, is still “open and operational.” However, this status is “subject to change” and some proceedings have been postponed on a case-by-case basis depending on the needs of the litigants and judges, he said.

Bloomberg Law also has Los Angeles Courts Stay Open as Homes of Judges, Staff Burn

Los Angeles courts are largely moving ahead with hearings and trials as residents across the county flee raging wildfires burning for an eighth day.

Most of the county’s 36 courthouses stayed open since the first L.A. fires began Jan. 7, with court staff sometimes working in face masks as smokey air filled facilities near uncontained blazes. Three courthouses closed temporarily last week but reopened Friday. ....

In addition to the five federal judges and six federal court staffers whose homes burned, at least 12 judicial officers and 12 staff members in L.A. state court have lost their homes to the firestorm.

CEB Appellate MCLE webinar

 

CEB has posted its annual Appellate review program Key Developments in Appellate Practice 2024, a 90-minute MCLE webinar. As in past years, the program features Presiding Justice Brian Hoffstadt and Justice Dorothy Kim.

MetNews profiles PJ Gilbert

The MetNews has a Personality Profile for Person of the Year PJ Gilbert here.

• Gilbert says he is “not really an awards guy.” As it is, however, he has been the recipient of a long list of them, including the Los Angeles Bar Association’s Outstanding Jurist Award, the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Award for Judicial Excellence, the Los Angeles County Law Library’s Beacon of Justice Award, the Appellate Justice of the Year for the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. But he keeps the Witkin Medal displayed in his chambers because Witkin, now deceased, had been a friend and major influence on how he fashions his own writings.
• Gilbert says that his own approach is to provide an opening in an opinion that tells “what the case is about” which “informs the reader” whether he or she “should bother to read the thing.” His introductions are characteristically pithy and enticing.
• He adds that he plans to retire this year. “I think 50 years is enough,” and “it’d be good to give other people a chance,” Gilbert says. “It’s beyond my ken to even believe that I would be on the court this long.”

9th Cir. @ USD

Ninth Circuit to Hold Special Sitting at the University of San Diego School of Law – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will hold a special sitting on January 21 at the University of San Diego School of Law in San Diego, California. Oral arguments will be livestreamed and begin at 10 a.m. PST in the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Center Theatre, 5998 Alcalá Park. The three-judge panel will consist of Senior Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace, Senior Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown and Circuit Judge John B. Owens.

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.

In the CA Court of Appeal:

Due to the fires, Division Six’s oral arguments scheduled for January 8-9, 2025, have been cancelled. The affected cases will be rescheduled and new hearing dates will be announced.

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.