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Congratulations to the Orange County Women Lawyers Association on successful The 42nd OCWLA Gala! Congratulations to Judge of the Year, The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court, Superior Court of California, County of Orange and Attorney of the Year Mary-Christine "M.C." Sungaila, Haynes And Boone, LLP and Keynote Speaker Sylvia Torres-Guillén, ACLU Director of Education for California.

Request for Comments:
 
A new proposal, LEG17-07, to amend Government Code section 68560.5(a) and Code of Civil Procedure section 116.550 has been posted to http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm.
 
The Language Access Plan Implementation Task Force and Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee recommend that the Judicial Council sponsor legislation to: (1) amend Government Code section 68560.5(a) to delete an exception stating that interpreters are not required in small claims proceedings; and (2) amend Code of Civil Procedure section 116.550 to authorize courts to appoint certified and registered interpreters in small claims proceedings.  Revised Code of Civil Procedure section 116.550 also makes clear that courts should follow the provisional qualification process if a certified or registered interpreter is not available.  It also provides judges with discretion to appoint a temporary interpreter to assist a court user during a small claims hearing if a certified/registered or provisionally qualified interpreter is not available even after a continuance, or at the first hearing if the judge makes a similar determination of unavailability, depending on the complexity of the case.
 
You are welcome to distribute this any other interested parties. The deadline for comment is 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 13, 2017.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Camilla Kieliger, at camilla.kieliger@jud.ca.gov, or at 415-865-7681.

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Santa Ana, CA - September 5, 2017 - The Orange County Hispanic Bar Association (OCHBA) is profoundly disappointed in President Trump's decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program without proposed legislation to safeguard the future of these promising, young Americans. The program, which has the support of Democrats, Republicans, universities, and business leaders throughout the nation, has been a small but powerful step towards protecting those individuals who want nothing more than to contribute to the great American ideal set forth in our nation's founding documents. Through their actions, the administration has left the future of more than 800,000 DACA recipients solely in the hands of Congress stating, "the compassionate thing to do is to end unlawfulness" thus ending DACA, we strongly disagree.

Casting today's actions as a commitment to a "nation of laws" and a "humanitarian" response flies in the face of the words and actions this administration has undertaken since its inception. Compassion is acknowledging that DACA recipients are a generation who came to this country through no fault of their own, and have contributed to its rich landscape and who grew up as Americans.  Now, with the onus on Congress to protect these individuals, we urge our members to use all resources at their disposal to pass legislation that provides a lasting, permanent relief for these vulnerable individuals.The criminalization of immigrant populations, simply based on their immigration status, is unacceptable and counter to American ideals.

In times like this, it is easy to get lost in the politics of ideas and forget that those affected are in fact, our friends, neighbors, employees, and family; they are Americans. To remind us of the impact this decision will have on these individuals and to underscore the importance of fighting for a legislative remedy, we leave you with words of a DACA recipient, OCHBA member and Wally Davis Scholarship recipient, Alfonso Maldonado,  "Being American and a citizen is not easily defined nor acquired by a piece of paper. Being American is a state of mind. It is the embodiment of the desire, passion, and drive to learn from the past and embrace the future."

These are not the words of someone threatening our nation's freedom, safety, or prosperity; they are the embodiment of these ideals. The OCHBA proudly counts DACA recipients like Mr. Maldonado as attorney members, affiliate members and Wally Davis Scholars and as an organization remains devoted to protecting its membership and the community at-large.

Eric M. Dominguez
President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County

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The Rules and Forms Committee of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, has proposed revisions to the Local Rules of Court. The Court invites your comments pursuant to rule 10.613 of the California Rules of Court, for the following changes to the local rules: 

Revised Local Rule 180 – Law Enforcement Use of Body-Worn Cameras.  Proposed revisions to Local Rule 180 address the increased use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers. The proposed additional language requires body-worn cameras to be inactive in the courthouse, unless an officer wearing the camera is directly involved in law enforcement activities in the courthouse. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552)

Revised Local Rule 610.12 – Guardians’ Accounts.  This proposal amends Local Rule 610.12 to require electronic lodging of account statements by Guardians when the original accounts are in electronic form. If the original financial statements are on paper, they must continue to be lodged in paper format. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.252.) 

Revised Local Rule 611.11 – Conservator’s Accounts.  This proposal amends Local Rule 611.11 to require electronic lodging of account statements by Conservators when the original accounts are in electronic form. If the original financial statements are on paper, they must continue to be lodged in paper format. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.252.) 

New Local Rule 700.7 – Electronic Filing in Family Law Cases.  This proposal mandates e-filing by represented parties in Family Law effective January 1, 2018. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1010.6.) Self-represented parties will be encouraged to e-file, but will be exempt from mandatory e-filing. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.253(b)(2). 

Please find copies of the proposed revisions and rules, which is posted on the Superior Court’s website at Invitation to Comment. A comment form is attached to download and submit comments by paper format and is also available online to submit comments electronically. All comments concerning a proposed rule must be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. on Friday, October 6, 2017.

Comments submitted by U.S. mail should be directed to:

Honorable Ronald Bauer
Chair, Rules and Forms Committee
Superior Court, County of Orange
P. O. Box 1994
Santa Ana, CA 92702-1994

2017_LeadershipAcademyInvitation_final.pdf

Please click on the link below to access the Notice from the Clerk regarding Changes to Local Rules Proposed to Become Effective December 1, 2017. 
http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/news/changes-local-rules-proposed-become-effective-december-1-2017

Comments sought:

The Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions has approved and posted for public comment its 31st release of proposed revisions and additions to the civil instructions (CACI). This release includes proposed new and revised instructions and verdict forms, including one revocation and some renumbering, in response to developments in the law over the last six months. The committee is very interested in your input.

The proposed changes and additions are available for viewing on the internet at http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm. Only these currently proposed changes and additions are being submitted for comment at this time. We will gladly accept other comments, but the committee will not be able to consider them until the next release cycle.

Our preferred way of receiving your comments is in a Word file attached to an e-mail sent to civiljuryinstructions@jud.ca.gov. However, you may also respond online.  And we have also posted a comment form that you may use to comment on individual instruction or groups of instructions. Please do not comment by Reply All to this e-mail.

Comments by letter should be sent to:

Mr. Bruce Greenlee, Attorney

Judicial Council of California

Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions

455 Golden Gate Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94102

The deadline for receiving comments is Friday, September 1, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.

All comments will be reviewed by the advisory committee, which will make recommendations to the Judicial Council's Rules and Projects Committee and then to the full council. Comments received will become part of the public record of the council's action. 

When submitting comments, please:

• Indicate whether you agree with the proposal, would agree with the proposal if it is modified, or do not agree with the proposal.
• Clearly identify the specific language in the instruction that you are commenting on.
• Suggest alternative language, if appropriate.
• Provide any applicable authority for your position.

We encourage your comments and critique because they help us refine both the particular instructions and the more global choices about format and approach.  We appreciate your participation in this effort.

On behalf of the Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions

Hon. Martin J. Tangeman, Chair

SP17-04 Traffic and Criminal Procedure: Forms and rule on ability to pay in traffic and other infraction cases (approve forms TR-321/CR-320 and TR-321/CR-321; adopt Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.336)

The deadline for comment is 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 15, 2017.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm

Comments sought:

A new proposal to revise the California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) has been posted to the California Courts web site, at http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm.

You are welcome to distribute this to any other interested parties. The deadline for comment is 5:00 p.m., Friday, July 21, 2017.

If you have any questions, please contact Robin Seeley, staff to the Criminal Jury Instructions Advisory Committee, at robin.seeley@jud.ca.gov.