Superior Court Judge Steven R. Denton Retires

San Diego Superior Court Judge Steven R. Denton announced his retirement today. His last day on the bench will be Friday, June 21. When appointed in 2001 by Gov. Gray Davis, Judge Denton brought over 25 years of civil private practice experience to the bench, according to a Superior Court press release and was a 1975 USD law graduate.

Presiding Judge Robert Trentacosta said by press release:

Judge Denton will be sorely missed by his colleagues and the public he has served so admirably over the last 12 years. His experience, breadth of legal knowledge, decisiveness and practicality were evident to all who were fortunate enough to appear before him. He has been both a friend and colleague and I will miss him.

Judge Denton was always even-keeled and fair and was particularly kind, forgiving and instructive to young attorneys such as this writer during the very early stages of my career, when a CMC appearance felt like oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Denton's demeanor to that end was sincerely appreciated.

Judge Denton said in the press release: “It has been a great privilege to have served our community as a trial judge and member of the finest bench in the entire State. I will always be proud of the work done by the diligent and hard-working judges of our court,” says Judge Denton. He said he will continue working as a private judge and mediator.

San Diego Superior Court Ponders New Local Rules

In it's annual exercise, the court ponders new rules. Many of the rules are tweaks of changes enacted this year that take into account the major changes to the way the court does business during this "budget-light" regime.

The court encourages comments and questions about the proposed changes and Judge Ronald Styn is handling the queries and suggestions.

Some of the highlights of the proposed changes -- to take effect January 1, 2014 (which shockingly isn't that far away in the legal calendar world) include

• Tightening of Rule 2.1.5 setting a 60 day deadline to have all parties in a civil action served.
• Tweaking of the civil mediation panel fees for each of the first two hours of mediation to $150 for limited cases and $250 for unlimited civil cases.
• Rule 4.7.1 has major revisions as to the preparation of orders in the Probate Department

Goldsmith Vents About Filner

We've covered with trepidation the Goldsmith vs. Filner flaps that have occupied the minds of San Diego City Administration Building watchers for months now. However, it was about time that U-T San Diego stirred the pot as San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has gotten himself into other disputes with other folks.

Meanwhile, either as a form of therapy or to give people something to talk about over what will likely be a June-gloomy weekend, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith vented on the opinion page of the U-T.

Things went pretty well for the first four years [of my time as city attorney]. Our office corrected a lot of problems, gave clear legal guidance and focused on winning lawsuits. The mayor and City Council respected our role and followed our advice. The city avoided new major legal problems, functioned well in policymaking and substantially cut litigation costs, which in 2012 dropped to an eight-year low. Last year, I was honored to be re-elected without opposition.

Then, along came new Mayor Bob Filner and things changed. Less than a month after he assumed office, during my first meeting with Bob, he (very loudly) proclaimed that he is not bound to keep our office apprised of matters or follow our legal guidance. “Who do you think you are? God? I decide things around here”!

It is definitely another interesting chapter in one of the more tumultuous public relationships out there.

SDCBA Calls for Action on Court Budget Cuts

San Diego County Bar Association President Marcella McLaughlin has called on San Diego attorneys to write to their legislators to prevent further cuts and restore funding to the courts. Here's a snippet of her email to the bar:

Dear SDCBA Member-

In response to the nearly 1.2 billion dollars of funding cuts to our Judicial Branch by the Governor and Legislature over the last five years, the SDCBA’s Court Funding Action Committee (CFAC) has been actively lobbying our state representatives to restore funding for our local courts.  Our message has consistently reminded our Senators and Assembly members of the importance of a fully funded court system and what can and has been happening as a result of the continuous budget cuts - closed courtrooms, furloughs, hundreds of employees laid off, hiring freezes, etc. - all of which have led to significant delays for businesses and citizens in our community who need access to justice.  CFAC has made repeated requests that the Legislature restore funding to our courts to ensure that your clients and the citizens of San Diego have access to justice.  The Governor’s recently released “May Revise” of his proposed budget carries forward the significant cuts imposed on the Judicial Branch last year, with no new funding allocated to the courts and no restoration of funds previously “swept” from the Branch’s budget.

We need your help - before the budget becomes final – as part of a statewide effort to request that the Legislature begin reinvesting in our courts and restoring some of the $1.2 billion in funds cut over the past several years.  A proposed letter has already been drafted and can be found here.  Please take a moment out of your busy day to complete and mail a copy to your local legislators, which can be found here: www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html.  It is critical that our elected leaders hear from the legal community, as quickly as possible, in order to insure that our voices are heard.  Please email bar@sdcba.org with any questions.

A similar email went out to all Los Angeles County Bar members for the courts in that fine jurisdiction.

BlawgSD urges you to take the time to write to your legislators.

New CA Court Funding Plan Could Further Hurt San Diego Courts' Budget

The Judicial Council of California, the overarching authority over California's state courts, approved a plan on April 26 that calculated each county's share of the state budget for court operating funds based on its workload, reports the California Bar Journal.

While Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties stand to benefit from the calculations, San Diego is bound to lose out on more funding according to the California Bar Journal. The plan is to be phased in gradually over five years.

Increased revenues don't necessarily mean that San Diego's budget problems could be alleviated. In fact, the revenues would likely accelerate the new funding formula.

Because it’s being phased in gradually, the new formula may not have a dramatic impact on trial court budgets for at least five years. That could change, however, if the state’s budget picture improves. The plan calls for any additional money for the branch to accelerate the adoption of the formula. 

“We have created a process whereby any new investment is supercharged to get out to the woefully underfunded courts,” said Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Brian Walsh, a member of the formula subcommittee. “We felt we spread the pain appropriately and at a speed to what courts could absorb.”

As you know, San Diego Superior Court -- particularly the Civil Division -- has been transformed due budget cuts over the last two fiscal years. There have been approximately $14 million in cuts plus numerous closures and layoffs to date and previous projections call for additional steeper cuts for the upcoming fiscal year. There is no indication yet how this new formula ties into previous projections of cuts to the San Diego Superior Court.