FROM THE PRESIDENT

By Joseph Fox

I would like to thank the members of the Foothills Bar Association for electing me as their 2005 President. I look forward to working with the Association’s returning officers and directors: Edward Torrence, Vice President; Andrea Schneider, Secretary; Angelo Parise, Treasurer; Daniel Cohen, Nancy Ewin, Judith Klein, Judy Marolt, Joselina Medrano, Mark Raftery, and immediate Past President, Jerry Carmody, members of the Board of Directors. Our newest addition is Board member, Miranda Franks. As you can see, we have a very diverse and energetic board. I look forward to a rewarding and productive year with all of you.

I would like to thank our past Presidents Wells Lyman and Garrison “Bud” Klueck for their continued support and dedication to our Association. Both have moved on to the San Diego County Bar Association Board, Wells, as the new President, and Bud, as the East County Board Representative. Guys, keep up the good work. I know that with both of these men on the San Diego County Bar Board, the Foothills Bar will be well respected in 2005. I look forward to working with both of you.

I welcome greater participation from the Association’s general membership this year. We have four committees that need assistance from outside the Board. The Committees include: Family Law; Civil Litigation; Estate Planning; and Criminal Law. Each Committee sponsors MCLE programs during the year. Many of them meet regularly and share new or important legal information. The MCLE programs offer free continuing education credits to our members. Your assistance to the Association by serving on these committees and helping to plan the MCLE and other programs would be greatly appreciated. By participating on any of these Committees, you can assure presentation of MCLE and other programs you would have an interest in. Free or reasonable MCLE

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FROM THE COURT

by Robert A. Durant

Assistant Executive Officer

Administrative Division

Civil/Small Claims and Family

Law Change Their Hours

Beginning Monday, March 7, 2005, Family Law, Civil and Small Claims Business Office Hours Will Be: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Consumers May Now Obtain

Free Copies of Credit Reports

Every California consumer is now legally entitled to a free copy of his credit report on an annual basis. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 provides consumers with free access to a copy of each credit report from all the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax. Access to the free credit report is being provided on an incremental basis throughout the United States. Consumers in several Western states, including California, were allowed to obtain the free reports beginning on the first of December 2004.

The law ensures that every consumer is provided an opportunity to examine his report annually. Most consumers view such an examination as a necessity, given the prevalent problem of identity theft and credit card fraud. Periodic review of one's credit reports provides a safeguard to facilitate an immediate reporting of fraudulent account activity.

Additionally, a consumer may now obtain his free report to assess any erroneous information negligently provided by businesses or financial institutions that potentially may cause unnecessary and substantial harm to his credit score. The new law, however, does not provide the consumer with his actual credit score. This information may be obtained from the three major credit agencies for a fee.

Consumers may view their credit reports on line at www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Additionally, consumers may call (877) 322-8228 to request a free copy of all three credit reports.

Small Claims Calendar Hours

Show Benefits

The East County Division of the Superior Court is always looking for ways to provide the highest levels of customer service while allocating our limited resource in the most efficient manner possible. Never has this been more important than now while the court system is facing deep budgetary cuts due to shortfalls in the state budget. Implementation of the recent morning-only small claims calendar hours has proven to be an effective cost saving measure.

As a result of the reduced calendar hours the Court has been able to handle small claims cases expediently while freeing up courtroom staff in the afternoon to perform duties in other areas of the courthouse. In addition, the bailiff assigned to the small claims department has been able to be released from the department to provide coverage in other courtrooms or out in the field. Both the Court and the Sheriff's Department have benefitted from the change.

We consider this a work-in-progress and welcome any and all feedback on how to improve the Small Claims Program. As the small claims caseload increases over time, we recognize that we will need to eventually return to a full-day calendar. During this interim period, we are looking for ways to "tweak" our calendar to make it more Judge and Customer "friendly."

Some of these efforts are described below. One example is the future implementation of a mediation program. East County judicial officers recently approved a proposal for Thomas Jefferson and California Western Schools of Law to provide student mediators, and a trained, experienced mediation professor, to mediate cases two days per week. The same program has been up and running in other San Diego County courthouse locations for some time and has yielded successful results.

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FROM THE

PRESIDENT

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programs has always been one of the major benefits of membership in the Foothills Bar Association.

In addition to our Committees, we have other events that could use your participation and assistance. Each year Dan Bacal chairs the Association’s golf tournament. In the past we have had a tennis tournament, attended a Padres game, and our annual Hard to Get Credits MCLE program. Your assistance with any of these events would also be appreciated.

In February 2005 we will have our Board Retreat. At that time we will consider and possibly select the Chairpersons for our four Committees. If you are interested in serving on any of the these Committees or assisting with any of the above events, please contact me or any other Board member. We welcome your participation.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for events, MCLE programs, other programs, or activities that our Association can sponsor, put on, or assist with, please do not hesitate to let me know about them.

Finally, I invite you to attend our monthly Board meetings. We meet at 4:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, starting March 15, 2005. Through the generosity of Bill Fischbeck and Ron Oberndorfer, we hold our meetings in their conference room. I look forward to seeing some of you at our monthly meetings.

Regards,

Joseph Fox, President

FROM THE

EDITOR

by Catherine Tancredi

It has been over three years since I closed my office and walked into the life of full-time mother. One of my close friends and colleagues called me the other day and told me what happened when she sent another attorney to appear at a hearing she could not attend because of a conflict and request a continuance. The case was continued but the Judge entered an interim order for child support when the only noticed action was for spousal support!

I enjoyed bantering with her about whether the court could do such a thing (the court can) and how surprised she must have been when her colleague called her with this news! I told her how glad I was that I was returned and did not have to deal with such surprises! I do miss the challenges of developing a case for trial and working out settlements that are fair yet pleasing to the parties. I also miss discovery and case management. I find that some of the skills I learned as a lawyer are very helpful in my role as a mother to six boys!

I am reading the latest Alan Dershowitz book "America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation." I especially like the book because it presents short summaries of some of the biggest cases of our time - when that's usually all the time I have to read anything. I have bought the latest John Grisham book, "The Broker" but have yet to start it. Maybe this month.

I still enjoy volunteering as a Small Claims Judge - the cases and parties are quite entertaining and I believe I am able to help some of the litigants understand their situation and why they won or lost. After three years, I don't know if I could ever return to a full time dissolution practice (after much consideration, I just resigned as a Certified Family Law Specialist).

In the near future, I will be exploring other things that can be done with a law degree (such as writing or teaching) and will keep you all informed if I find something as exciting but less taxing than a full time practice.

FROM THE COURT

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While assessing action required to implement a mediation program, court staff are also studying potential benefits of consolidating the 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 calendar into one calendar. A consolidation of the calendar hours may provide a method for better utilization of mediation services. The estimated time frame for implementation of the new mediation program is currently set for sometime in June 2005.

COURT HOLIDAYS

The San Diego Superior Court, East County Division will be closed on Friday February 11, 2005 for Lincoln's Birthday and Monday, February 21, 2005 for Presidents' Day.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

by Randall "Rex" Erickson

Congress has not elected to protect against the personality conflicts endemic to any workplace. Congress did not intend to protect non-discriminatory hostility, even when it is directed against a member of a protected class. See Steiner v. Showboat Operating Co., 25 F.3d 1459, 1463 (9th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, U.S. , 115 S. Ct. 733 (1995) ("It is one thing to call a woman 'worthless,' and another to call her a 'worthless broad'"). (Keenan v. Allan, 889 F. Supp. 1320, 1374 (E.D. Wash 1995).)

"The trial of a lawsuit is a serious matter, and the courtroom is not the forum in which the buffoon should ascend the bench to display his wares." (Etzel v. Rosenbloom (1948) 83 Cal.App.2d 758, 765.)

[T]he Court of Appeal and its justices must accept and follow California Supreme Court precedent. ... But as the late Bernard Witkin would say, just because we are bound, does not mean we are gagged. (Dabney v. Dabney (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 379, 384-385.)

California public policy "will not permit a litigant 'to blow hot and cold' " by taking the benefits of a doctrine "when it suits his purpose" and then repudiating the same facts "when it is no longer profitable or to his advantage to do so." (Kunec v. Brea Redevelopment Agency (1997) 55 Cal.App.4th 511, 525.)

2005 ATTORNEY

DIRECTORY NOW

AVAILABLE

The 2005 FBA Annual Attorney Directory is now available. One will be mailed to you soon. If you do not receive your copy, please call Rita at 619-588-1936 and she will send one to you.

The Directory includes much useful information pertinent to East San Diego County attorneys such as your FBA officers and directors, areas of practice (good for referring clients to appropriate counsel), bilingual lawyers and telephone numbers to the courts, district attorneys and defense counsel.

The February meeting will be held on Thursday, February 10, 2005 from 12:15 p.m to 1:15 p.m. , at the Law Office of Nancy Ewin, 8166 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa, CA 91941. The office is in the La Mesa Plaza retail/office complex on the corner of Spring Street and La Mesa Boulevard. Bring your lunch, enjoy the meeting and earn one hour of MCLE.

This meeting is tentatively scheduled pending contact with Nancy Ewin. The, speaker and topic will be determined. Please contact Nancy Ewin's office at 619-698-1788 to confirm these meetings.

The meeting is free to members of the FBA. The cost is $10.00 for non members. Applications for FBA membership will be available at the door. This activity has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1.0 hour General Participatory. The FBA certifies this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing mandatory minimum continuing legal education.

If you have any suggestions for speakers or upcoming meetings, please contact Nancy, Scott or Jocelyn.

The February meeting will be on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 from 12:00 noon. to 1:15 p.m. in the Jury Lounge on the ground floor of the El Cajon Superior Court. Food is allowed and you are invited to bring your brown bag lunch.

The speaker and topic will be announced at a future date. Please check the family law departments for a flyer containing information regarding this meeting.

The meeting is free to members of the FBA. The cost is $10.00 for non members. Applications for FBA membership will be available at the door. This activity has been approved for 1.0 hour of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California. The FBA certifies this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing mandatory minimum continuing legal education.

If you have any suggestions for speakers or upcoming meetings, please contact Bud, Ed or Judi.

SMALL CLAIMS COURT

Please be prepared to take the

bench at 8:15 a.m.

February, 2005

1          Kenyon Young

2          Dan Bacal

3          Thomas Buchenau

4          Thomas Castonguay

8          Timothy Cohelan

9          David Demergian

10        David Egan

11        HOLIDAY 

15        Elliott Kanter

16        Thomas Marshall

17        Larry Kincaid

18        Jon McKinley

22        Clare Maudsley

23        James Mietzel

23        Kristine Nesthus

25        Ron Oberndorfer

            FAMILY LAW SETTLEMENT

CONFERENCE JUDGE

Please arrive at Department 5

by 8:30 a.m.

February, 2005

2-2-05             Anthony Dunne

                        William Eddy

                        Shannon Glover

                        H. Brian Todd

2-9-05             Christopher Funtall

                        Andrea Kraffert

                        Nicholas Leto

                        Edward Torrence

2-16-05           Jeffrey Fritz

                        J.R. Givens

                        Robert Lesh

                        Steven Striker

2-23-05           Glen Birch

                        Heidi Collier

                        Glen Honig

                        Elizabeth Kreitzer

2005 SECTIONS:

CIVIL LITIGATION

Jerry L. Carmody 667-9600

Sam Parise (858) 674-6660

Mark R. Raftery 589-8800

CRIMINAL LAW

Daniel Cohen 697-0333

Andrea Schneider 337-1384

ESTATE PLANNING

Scott Cole 460-2080

Nancy Ewin 698-1788

Joselina Medrano 562-9999

FAMILY LAW

Judith Klein 698-1882

Bud Klueck 448-6500

Edward Torrence 698-6059

2005 COMMITTEES:

ANNUAL DINNER

Joseph Fox (858) 527-0111

Mark R. Raftery 589-8800

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Joselina Medrano 562-9999

COURT LIAISON

Jerry L. Carmody 667-9600

GOLF TOURNAMENT

Dan Bacal 588-2064

HARD-TO-GET CREDITS

SEMINAR

Judith Klein 698-1882

Bud Klueck 448-6500

Judy Marolt 442-1857

LAW DAY

Jerry L. Carmody 667-9600

MCLE

Daniel Cohen 697-0333

Joselina Medrano 562-9999

MEMBERSHIP

Edward R. Torrence 698-6059

PUBLICATION

Catherine Tancredi 579-7876

SPECIAL EVENTS

Judith Klein 698-1882

Jerry L. Carmody 667-9600

Foothills Bar Association

P.O. Box 1077

El Cajon, CA 92022