The Los Angeles County Bar Blog

CA Supreme Court Satellite Clerk's Office to Close

According to a press release from the Judicial Council, "Chief Justice Ronald M. George has announced that the California Supreme Court will close its satellite Clerk's Office in the Ronald Reagan Building at 300 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, at the close of business on December 31, 2009. The decision to close the office was made for budgetary reasons, following a review of the work processed by the office and the cost of operations."

Courts Scrutinized during Budget Crisis

According to the Sacramento Bee, "Judges, law enforcement officials and union workers joined together Tuesday to release an accountability plan for the Administrative Office of the Courts, calling on the Legislature to increase the agency's openness and ensure that state courts do not have to close one day a month." In response to criticisms about court policies, Chief Justice Ronald George said: "Much of the loudest, much of the shrillest criticism--and I'm being charitable here--are from people who aren't fully informed."

Jurors Come to Closed Court on Furlough Day

According to LAist, "furlough days are scheduled for every third Wednesday of the month," but the L.A. Superior Court Web page does not make this clear. The Daily Breeze has more. The Superior Court Web page has a scroll.

Better a Judge Who Knows Porn

R. J. Comer writes: Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has admitted to posting sexually explicit material on a publicly accessible personal Web site while presiding over the obscenity trial of Ira Isaacs. Judge Kozinski's taste in porn is, I believe, well outside the category of obscene, so it baffles me what all the hullabaloo is about.

Judge Kozinski has recused himself from the case. The standard for recusal (see U.S.C. Title 28, Part 1, Ch. 21, Sec. 455(a)) is whether a reasonable person would consider the judge's connection to the issues or the parties so close as to impugn the judge's ability to be fair and impartial. So who may be a judge in an obscenity case? Would a judge who has no porn stowed away in a drawer or an electronic file be fair and impartial in an obscenity trial? I don't think so.