Commission to Consider Appointment to 4th District

FOR RELEASE

Contact: Lynn Holton, Public Information Officer, 415-865-7740

Dec 29, 2011

Commission on Judicial Appointments to Consider Appointment to Court of Appeal
Confirmation Hearing Set February 10 in Los Angeles

San Francisco—A public meeting has been scheduled by the Commission on Judicial Appointments for Friday, February 10, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. in the Supreme Court Courtroom, Ronald Reagan State Office Building, 300 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, to consider the appointment by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. of Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary as Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (Santa Ana).

Justice O’Leary has served as an Associate Justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, since January 2000.  Before her elevation to the Court of Appeal, Justice O’Leary served for almost 15 years on the Superior Court of Orange County.

Justice O’Leary will fill the vacancy created by the June 1, 2011, retirement of Presiding Justice David G. Sills, who died August 23, 2011, after a lengthy illness.  Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye selected Associate Justice William F. Rylaarsdam to serve as Acting Presiding Justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, after Presiding Justice Sills’ retirement.

The state Constitution specifies that a gubernatorial appointment to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal is “effective when confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.”  The members of the commission who will consider the appointment are Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye, chair; Attorney General Kamala Harris; and Presiding Justice Manuel A. Ramirez, senior presiding justice of the Fourth Appellate District. All communications to the commission by persons who wish to comment on the appointment should be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 3, 2012.  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

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. A request to be included on the speakers’ list must be received by the commission by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 3, 2012.

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.

The guidelines may also be obtained by calling the Public Information Officer of the Judicial Council/California Supreme Court at 415-865-7726/7740.