Commission to Consider Fourth Appointment to Court of Appeal

June 30, 2015

PDF Version

Commission on Judicial Appointments to Consider Fourth Appointment to Court of Appeal

Additional Appointment to the Second Appellate District to be Considered at July 23 Confirmation Hearings

LOS ANGELES—The Commission on Judicial Appointments has scheduled a fourth confirmation hearing for Thursday, July 23, 2015, in the Supreme Court Courtroom, Ronald Reagan State Office Building, 300 South Spring Street, Third Floor, North Tower, Los Angeles, California, to accommodate the consideration of an additional appointment by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District.  The revised hearing schedule is as follows:

The state Constitution specifies that a gubernatorial nomination or appointment to the Supreme Court or a Court of Appeal is “effective when confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.”

The commission consists of the Chief Justice of California, the Attorney General of California, and the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal of the affected district or, if there are two or more Presiding Justices, the one who has presided longest or, for a nomination or appointment to the Supreme Court, the Presiding Justice who has presided the longest on any Court of Appeal.

Appointee Summary Biographies

Mr. Lui would fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Frances Rothschild to Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One. He has been of counsel at Jones Day since 2014, where he was a partner from 1987 to 2013. Mr. Lui served as an Associate Justice at the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, from 1981 to 1987 and as a Judge at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, from 1980 to 1981 and at the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1975 to 1980. Before that, in 1975 he was a sole practitioner, from 1971 to 1975 an attorney at Mori and Katayama, and from 1969 to 1971 a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General.

Judge Segal would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Frank Y. Jackson. He has served as a Judge at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, since 2001. Before that, Judge Segal was a partner at Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp from 1995 to 2000, where he was an associate from 1988 to 1995. He served as a Law Clerk for Judge Robert S. Vance at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 1987 to 1988.  Judge Segal has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law and has served as a Justice Pro Tempore at the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District.

Judge Lavin would fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice H. Walter Croskey. He has served as a Judge at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, since 2001. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was General Counsel at the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission from 1999 to 2001 and was as a trial attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, from 1995 to 1999. Before that, he was Associate General Counsel at the Directors Guild of America from 1992 to 1995 and served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Government Bureau, from 1990 to 1992. Judge Lavin was an associate at Widett, Slater and Goldman from 1988 to 1990, at Testa, Hurwitz and Thibeault from 1987 to 1988, and at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen from 1985 to 1987.

Mr. Baker would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Orville A. Armstrong. He has served as Special Assistant to the President of the United States from 2014 to 2015 and Associate Counsel to the President from 2013 to 2014. He was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy, from 2012 to 2013, where he was Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2012, and Senior Counsel from 2010 to 2011. From 2005 to 2010, he was an Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California. Mr. Baker was an associate at Strumwasser & Woocher LLP in Los Angeles from 2002 to 2005 and served as a Law Clerk for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2001 to 2002.

Testimony and Comment

Persons who wish to testify or comment on the appointments must submit their information for receipt by the commission no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2015.

Anyone wishing to testify before the commission must state that request in writing and include a summary of the facts on which any testimony or opinion will be based.

The commission’s address is:
Commission on Judicial Appointments
c/o Chief Justice of California
Supreme Court of California
350 McAllister Street
San Francisco, California 94102
Attention: Secretary to the Commission

The guidelines for the Commission on Judicial Appointments are published as an appendix to the California Rules of Court and are available on the California Courts website.