| A healthy balance of decisions |
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| By J. CLARK KELSO |
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Just as in the 1998-1999 term, the California
Supreme Court’s caseload this year was evenly split between civil (approximately 47
percent) and criminal, including capital, (51 percent), with the remainder made up of
State Bar disciplinary matters. These numbers continue to suggest a healthy balance in the
court’s diet. Capital cases again accounted for around 14 percent of the docket.
Legislation enacted several years ago to increase the number of attorneys taking capital
appeals has not yet had an impact upon the court’s capital caseload.
A grant of review in the California Supreme Court does not mean the
appellant can expect a reversal, which suggests the court is taking cases primarily
because of the importance of the issues presented and to resolve conflicts and not simply
to reverse results with which it may disagree. The court affirmed the Court of Appeals in
about 50 percent of the cases and reversed in 38 percent of the cases.
The court’s overall pattern of decisions remains pro-government
and pro-prosecution. In civil cases where the government was a party, the government won
about 80 percent of the time. The prosecution won in criminal appeals about 78 percent of
the time. As was true last year, business cases were evenly split, with business wins in
about 53 percent of the cases and business losses in 47 percent of the cases.
Chief
Justice Ronald George retains his position as the most influential justice on the court,
voting with the majority or concurring 95 percent of the time (down from last year’s
remarkable 99 percent figure). He dissented four times this last term, |
See SUPREME COURT |
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| Los Angeles judge accused of making false statements faces
investigation |
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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
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In apparently unprecedented charges, a Los Angeles
judge is accused of misrepresenting his educational and military background and faces a
hearing before a panel of special masters appointed by the Supreme Court.
Patrick Couwenberg, a superior court judge in Los Angeles
County’s Norwalk court, has denied exaggerating his qualifications but acknowledges
that some of the statements he allegedly made were not true. He is charged by the
Commission on Judicial Performance with violating the Code of Judicial Ethics by providing
false information or making false statements on six separate occasions.
“I
think it’s the first instance I can recall in which formal charges have been brought |
See JUDGE ACCUSED |
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| Despite great efforts, gender bias remains enormous
challenge |
|
 Despite tremendous progress in
eliminating gender bias in Ameri-can courtrooms, the problem is so deeply rooted that it
remains an ongoing challenge of enormous proportions, says an expert who has devoted most
of her career to educating judges.
In
fact, Lynn Hecht Schafran, director of the New York-based National Judicial Education
Program, ticks off a list of 60 areas of substantive and procedural law where she says |
See GENDER BIAS |
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| State Bar honors lawyers who aid people in need of
services |
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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
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Despite an unprecedented boom in the nation’s
economy, thousands of California residents remain at or below the poverty line. Their
legal needs, whether simple or complex, often go unmet. Yet every year, hundreds of
attorneys volunteer thousands of hours of pro bono work to help the state’s poorest
people.
In
recognition of those efforts, the State Bar last month presented the 2000 President’s
Pro Bono Service Awards to 12 lawyers and two law firms who provided substantial free
legal assistance to low income Californians during 1999. The recipients represent each of
the bar’s nine districts, |
See PRO BONO |
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| Proposal for diversion class sparks debate |
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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
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If attorneys commit minor, technical record-keeping
errors in handling their client trust accounts, but no client is harmed, should they be
subject to discipline?
Acceding to a request that originated with the defense bar, a
committee of the State Bar Board of Governors is considering a rule change that would
require diversion to a record-keeping class as the penalty for such low-level offenses.
Bar prosecutors oppose the change, saying such a requirement would
tie their hands and is unnecessary because there is really no problem; executive director
and former discipline chief Judy Johnson characterized the issue as “pure urban
legend.” |
See DIVERSION |
