¡Viva La Fiesta! - Santa Barbara County Bar Association

Santa Barbara Lawyer 

Official Publication of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

August 2010 • Issue 455 

¡Viva La Fiesta!

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Named a 2010 Southern California Superlawyer ®! 

www.santabarbaraappeals.com 

hfox@foxappeals.com

Lynn E. Goebel 

President 

Attorney At Law 

15 West Carrillo Street, Suite 250 


T: 879-7513 F: 879-4006 

Mack Staton 

President Elect 

Bench and Bar Conference (2010) 

Events Committee 

Mullen & Henzell LLP 

112 E. Victoria Street 

Santa Barbara, CA, 93101 

T: 966-1501 F: 966-9204 

Catherine Swysen 

Secretary 

Sanger & Swysen 

125 E. De La Guerra Street, Ste 102 


T: 962-4887 F: 963-7311 

Donna Lewis 

Chief Financial Officer 

Attorney at Law 

789 North Ontare Road 


T: 682-4090 

Melissa Fassett 

Past President 

Special Projects 

Price, Postel & Parma LLP 

200 E. Carrillo Street, Suite 400 


T: 962-0011 F: 965-3978 

Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

www.sblaw.org 

2010 Officers and Directors 

Scott Ballenger Campbell 

Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell 

427 E. Carrillo St. 

Santa Barbara, CA 93121-2257 

T: 963-9721 F: 966-3715 

Naomi Dewey 

MCLE Chair 

Hardin & Coffin, LLP 

1531 Chapala Street, Suite 1 


T: 963-3301 F: 963-7372 

Luis Esparza 


Esparza Law Group, PC 

1129 State Street, Suite 13 


T: 564-1018 F: 564-1437 

Gabriela Ferreira 

SBWL Representative 


427 East Carrillo Street, 1st Fl. 


T: 845-5058 F:845-5348 

Herb Fox 

Liaison/Bench and Bar 

Law Office of Herb Fox 

15 West Carrillo Street, Suite 

211, SB 93101 

T: 899-4777, F: 899-2121 

Saji Gunawardane 

Special Projects 

Law In Motion, PC 

924 Anacapa Street, Suite 2-J 


T: 845-4000 F: 845-4867 

Mission Statement 

Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

The mission of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

is to preserve the integrity of the legal profession and 

respect for the law, to advance the professional growth 

and education of its members, to encourage civility and 

collegiality among its members, to promote equal access to 

justice and protect the independence of the legal profession 

and the judiciary. 

Jennifer Kruse Hanrahan 

Liaison, Legal/Community 

Relations 


285 Chateaux Elise, Suite B 


T: 636-5566 F: 966-6407 

Cristi Michelon 


Eaton, Jones & Michelon 

1032 Santa Barbara Street 


T: 963-2014 F: 966-2120 

John J. Thyne III 

Law Day/Law Week 

Bench and Bar 

The Law Offices of John Thyne 

2000 State Street 


T: 963-9958 F: 963-3814 

William Duval, Jr. 

Law Day/Law Week 


1114 State Street, Suite 240 


T: 963-9641 F: 963-4071 

Lida Sideris 

Executive Director 

SBCBA Office 

15 W. Carrillo Street, Suite 106 


T: 569-5511 F: 569-2888 

sblawmag@verizon.net 

4 Santa Barbara Lawyer 


A Publication of the Santa Barbara 

County Bar Association 

©2010 Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Melissa Fassett 


Herb Fox 

Jason Frantz 

Jennifer K. Hanrahan 

Robert Sanger 

Catherine J. Swysen 

EDITOR PRO TEM 

Catherine J. Swysen 

MOTIONS EDITOR 

Justin Greene 

VERDICTS & DECISIONS 

EDITOR 

Lindsay G. Shinn 

PHOTO EDITOR 

Michael Lyons 

DESIGN 

Baushke Graphic Arts 

PRINT PRODUCTION 

Wilson Printing 

Submit all EDITORIAL matter to 

santabarbaralawyer@yahoo.com 

with “SUBMISSION” in the email 

subject line. 

Submit all MOTIONS matter to 

Justin Greene at 

Justin@greenelawsb.com. 

Submit all ADvERTISINg to 

SBCBA, 15 W. Carrillo Street, 

Suite 106, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 

phone 569-5511, fax 569-2888 

Classifieds can be emailed to: 

sblawmag@verizon.net


Official Publication of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

August 2010 • Issue 455 

Articles 

7 A Seasoned Litigator Takes the Bench, By Melissa Fassett 

8 Chief Justice George Announces He Will Not Seek Re- 

Election: State’s Top Jurist to Leave Bench After 38 Years 

of Service 

12 Summer Reading: Who Has Been Reading What?, By 


14 Judge Herman Is Appointed to the Judicial Council 

of California, By Catherine J. Swysen 

16 Santa Barbara Golf and Tennis Tournament Results, 

By Lynn E. Goebel 

19 IAC, Public and Private Practice, By Robert Sanger 

21 When a Stop Sign Means Stop, By Herb Fox 

23 Report of SBCBA Liaison to Affiliate and Legal 

Community Organizations, By Jennifer K. Hanrahan 

26 Barristers On BBQ, By Jason Frantz 

Peacocks abound at Slippery 

Rock Ranch, site of the recent 

SBCBA Barbeque. More 

pictures inside. 

August 2010 5 

Sections 

27 Motions 

28 Verdicts & Decisions 

29 Section Notices 

29 Classifieds 

30 Calendar

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A Seasoned Litigator 

Takes the Bench 

By Melissa Fassett 

The latest appointment to the bench in Santa Barbara 

is Donna Geck, a seasoned litigator whose 

appointment was announced by Governor Arnold 

Schwarzenegger on June 30, 2010. Ms. Geck will fill a 

vacancy on the Santa Barbara County Superior Court created 

by the conversion of a court commissioner position 

on November 4, 2009. Upon taking 

the bench, Ms. Geck will sit in Department 

8 and will handle criminal 

cases. 

Ms. Geck has spent her legal career 

handling litigation since she began 

practicing law in 1976. During her 

first year of practice, she handled 

criminal defense, and thereafter she 

has practiced civil litigation. At the 

time of her appointment to the bench, 

Ms. Geck was a partner with the 

law firm of Hager & Dowling, and 

has served as an attorney in its Santa 

Barbara office since 1995, specializing 

in civil trial practice. In that position, 

she has handled a large variety of civil 

cases, with extensive experience in 

insurance defense, bad faith, product 

liability, personal injury and wrongful 

death. She has also served as a settlement 

master for the Santa Barbara 

County Superior Court. Ms. Geck is 

a member of the American Board of 

Trial Advocates (“ABOTA”) and is a 

past president of the California Coast 

Chapter of ABOTA. 

Previously, Ms. Geck was employed 

as an attorney at Arthur, Chapman, 

Kettering, Smetak & Pikala from 1985 

to 1995, as a partner at McDonough, Geck & Cronan from 

1982 to 1985, and at Austin, Roth, Sunde, McDonough & 

August 2010 7 

Legal News 

Tierney from 1977 to 1981. Ms. Geck began her legal career 

as an assistant public defender for the St. Paul, Minnesota 

Public Defender’s Office from 1976 to 1977. 

Ms. Geck became a lawyer “by accident”. Initially a 

broadcast journalist, she went to law school with the goal 

of going into legal broadcast journalism. After completing 

law school, however, she decided that she wanted to 

practice law. Ms. Geck received her J. D., with distinction, 

from the University of North Dakota School of Law, and a 

Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University. She is 

admitted to practice before the Federal and State Courts in 

California, in North Dakota, and in Minnesota. 

Asked about her role models, Ms. Geck identified the 

Honorable Denise de Bellefeuille, a judge of the Santa Barbara 

County Superior Court since 1994. Ms. Geck observed 

that Judge de Bellefeuille conducts herself beautifully while 

on the bench and sets an example for judicial conduct. 

Ms. Geck would advise attorneys 

considering applying for a judgeship 

to retain records about all of the cases 

they handle. The application for a 

judgeship is daunting and requires 

extensive historical information about 

cases handled, the parties involved, 

the opposing counsel and the court in 

which the cases were tried. 

Commenting about gender bias, Ms. 

Geck observed that while it is not as 

overt as it was, it is still there. As an 

example of the progress which has 

been made, Ms. Geck noted that she 

was the first female member of the 

California Coast Chapter of the American 

Board of Trial Advocates, and was 

also its first female president. 

Donna Geck 

Ms. Geck will fill a vacancy 

on the Santa Barbara County 

Superior Court created by 

the conversion of a court 

commissioner position on 

November 4, 2009. 

While Ms. Geck has devoted herself 

to the legal profession, her passions off 

the bench are many. She is devoted 

to her four children and also loves to 

travel, ski and sail. 

After her extensive experience as a 

litigator, Ms. Geck looks forward to 

serving on the other side of the bench. 

Ms. Geck anticipates that her years 

as a trial lawyer will provide valuable 

experience on the bench and will 

benefit the lawyers who will appear 

before her. Her advice for lawyers appearing before her is 

that civility rules!

Legal News 

Chief Justice george 

Announces He Will 

Not Seek Re-Election 

State’s Top Jurist to Leave Bench 

After 38 Years of Service 

S 

an Francisco’s Chief Justice Ronald M. George 

announced that he will not seek re-election as 

Chief Justice of California in the November 2010 

general election. He will conclude his current term of office 

as Chief Justice on January 2, 2011, after 38 years of service 

on state courts. 

As the 27th Chief Justice of California, Chief Justice 

George has been instrumental in making historic reforms 

in the state judicial branch since he took office on May 1, 

1996. Noted reforms include (1) the state’s assumption of 

responsibility for funding of the 58 counties’ trial courts; 

(2) the merger of the 220 municipal and superior courts 

into a single superior court in each county; and (3) the 

transfer of ownership and governance of the state’s 533 

courthouses from the counties to the state, under judicial 

branch management. 

As Chair of the Judicial Council of California, the Chief 

Justice has led major initiatives that have promoted excellence 

in state court administration and have resulted in 

reforms in state jury service, foster care, the availability of 

court interpreters, and court community outreach, as well 

as improved access to justice for millions of self-represented 

litigants. 

In a statement issued today, Chief Justice George said: 

“I have informed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that 

I shall conclude my service as Chief Justice of California 

with my current term of office, and shall not seek re-election 

during the approaching filing period. On January 2, 2011, 

after 38 years’ service, including 19 years on the California 

Supreme Court, I shall leave California’s judiciary. 

“It is with enormous gratitude for the privilege and 

opportunity to serve the people of California that I shall 

conclude my time in public office. 

“My gratitude begins with the four Governors who respectively 

entrusted me with the responsibility of serving 

at each level of California’s court system: appointment by 

Governor Ronald Reagan to the Los Angeles Municipal 

Court in 1972, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., to the 

Los Angeles Superior Court in 1977, Governor George 

Deukmejian to the Court of Appeal in 1987, and Governor 

Pete Wilson to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice 

in 1991 and as Chief Justice in 1996. 

“Most of all, I am grateful to have served each day with a 

group of colleagues — justices and staff alike — unmatched 

in their judgment, scholarship, professionalism, and collegiality. 

No person could ask for a more rewarding experience 

than engaging in a common effort to give meaning to 

the rule of law by collaboratively crafting judicial opinions 

which, by the conclusion of my term, will have spanned 50 

volumes of the Official Supreme Court Reports, resolving 

issues important to all Californians and to the nation. 

“I take great pride also in achievements on the administrative 

side of my duties as Chief Justice. It has been 

a great honor and privilege to lead, for 14 years, what is 

often recognized as the finest judicial system in the world 

and — with more than 1700 judges, hundreds of subordinate 

judicial officers, and 20,000 court employees — perhaps 

the largest. Heading California’s judicial branch and 

its efforts to carry out our mission of providing fair and 

accessible justice to all Californians has been a particularly 

rewarding experience during these times of great challenge, 

opportunity, and reform. My gratitude extends literally to 

thousands of persons — judges, court executives, lawyers 

and others — for their service on the Judicial Council, on 

its many advisory committees and task forces, and in the 

Administrative Office of the Courts, in strengthening the 

quality, independence, and accountability of our judiciary 

as a co-equal, separate branch of government. 

“Since my appointment as Chief Justice, it has been 

my responsibility and pleasure to work with three governors 

— Governor Wilson, Governor Davis, and Governor 

Schwarzenegger — as well as successive Legislatures, in 

representing and administering our third branch of government. 

Each of these three governors, together with 

legislative leadership and our partners in the justice system, 

has been instrumental in making California’s court system 

what it is today, through the adoption and implementation 

of fundamental structural reforms that followed my visits 

to the courts in all of California’s 58 counties soon after 

I became Chief Justice: (1) vesting the responsibility for 

funding our trial courts in the state instead of the counties, 

(2) unifying California’s 220 municipal and superior courts 

into a single level of trial court consisting of one superior 

court in each county, and (3) transferring ownership of 

the state’s 533 courthouse facilities from the counties to 

the state, under judicial branch management. Added to 

these achievements are dozens of other improvements in 


Continued on page 11

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George, continued from page 8 

our court system. These include jury reform, expanded 

interpreter services, accommodations for self-represented 

litigants, the launch of a statewide case management system, 

the development of court community outreach programs 

(including special sessions of the Supreme Court held 

around the state and focused on student participation), the 

creation of new judgeships, and an ambitious courthouse 

construction project to replace or retrofit unsafe facilities. 

“My 70th birthday this year focused my attention on 

a question recently posed by my family: why file for reelection 

for another 12-year term, after having authored 

hundreds of judicial opinions and overseen major administrative 

reforms in the judicial system; what more do you 

hope to accomplish other than refining and preserving 

what has been achieved? Reflection convinced me now is 

the right time — while I am at the top of my game — to 

leave while the proverbial music still plays, and return to 

private life. 

“It is both difficult and liberating to relinquish a position 

of responsibility in the public or private arena. I would find 

it impossible to cut back on what is virtually a daily full-time 

commitment to administrative and case-related duties. I 

have often said there are no greener pastures of employment 

that pose any attraction to me, but the prospect of leisure 

time devoted to family, reading, and travel is irresistible at 

this point in my life. Seventy years is not an age too old 

for a person to occupy the office I hold; at the same time, 

it is young enough to enable me to pursue the richness of 

a life outside the law that I relish having before me. 

“Despite these considerations, I resolved that I could not 

in good conscience depart this post if California’s judiciary 

remained enmeshed in a severe budget crisis. But through 

the tireless and creative efforts of many individuals within 

and outside the judicial branch, the issues facing the courts 

have been resolved in a manner that will get us through the 

difficult budget year that lies ahead, without compromising 

our ability to provide the public with fair and accessible 

justice. 

“And so, with fourteen years as Chief Justice — and soon 

reaching the third-longest service among those 27 individuals 

who since statehood have served in that role — I shall 

not be filing a declaration of candidacy for re-election during 

the 30-day period preceding the August 16, 2010 deadline 

provided by the California Constitution. It is now time 

for someone else to assume those responsibilities and, as I 

have done, to build upon the work of his or her predecessors. 

The Governor accordingly will have the opportunity 

to nominate, before September 16, 2010, my successor as 

August 2010 11 

Legal News 

Chief Justice in accordance with Article VI, section 16, 

subdivision (d), of the California Constitution. 

“It is with an enormous sense of gratitude for the opportunity 

to serve the people of California that I announce 

my intention to leave office at the expiration of my current 

term on January 2, 2011. I do so with complete confidence 

in Governor Schwarzenegger’s commitment to appoint a 

successor who meets the high standards reflected in the 

judicial appointments he has made during his tenure as 

Governor of California.” 

For biographical information on Chief Justice George, 

please see http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/ 

justices/george.htm. 

On July 21, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger announced 

the Honorable Tami Cantil-Sakauye as his choice of Chief 

Justice of the California Supreme Court. Cantil-Sakauye 

has served as an associate justice for the Third District 

Court of Appeal in Sacramento since 2005. Prior to that, 

she was a superior court judge for the Sacramento Superior 

Court from 1997 to 2004 and a municipal court judge from 

1990 to 1997. Prior to that, she worked for the Office of 

Governor Deukmejian, and as a deputy district attorney in 

Sacramento. The Governor’s nomination for Chief Justice 

must be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial 

Nominee Evaluation and confirmed by the Commission on 

Judicial Appointments. Once confirmed by the Commission, 

the nominee will appear on the November 2 nd ballot 

for voter approval. 


is seeking a new Motions editor. 

If you are interested, please email 

Catherine Swysen at 

cswysen@sangerswysen.com

Legal News 

Summer Reading: 

Who Has Been 

Reading What? 

By ly n n e. GoeBel 

Donna Lewis is reading Assassination Vacation by 

Sarah Vowell. “It could not be more perfect reading 

for treadmill time,” Donna says, “essays full of 

fascinating facts about the assassinations of six US Presidents. 

They give context that is unique, and Sarah Vowell’s irreverent 

humor 

keeps me 

looking forward 

to the 

next workout.” 

Ms. 

Vowell is a 

contributing 

author 

for public 

radio’s This 

A m e r i c a n 

Life. On 

road trips to 

every corner 

of the US, she uncovers every imaginable — and unimaginable 

— location and relic of the assassinations, traces 

the escape route of John Wilkes Booth, sheds light on the 

surprising meaning of the lyrics of Maryland’s state song 

and careens off on a few detours into totem poles, a sex 

cult and popular culture. 

Susanna Pullen is 

reading about investment 

strategies 

via various books by 

Robert T. Kiyosaki. 

“It’s about how to 

generate passive income 

so I don’t have 

to work so hard.” 

Deputy Tony Diaz says he reads anything by John Grisham 

and has a stack of about six of Mr. Grisham’s books waiting 

for him at home. “They deal typically with the law…and 

drama….” A nice break from his usual profession (not). 

Like the true chronic achiever that he is, Deputy Diaz says, 

“I’ve also seen all of his movies.” 

William (Bill) Aron reads books “from all over the place, 

including a lot of finance stuff.” Presently, he is embarrassed 

to admit he’s reading a “girl power kinda thing”, a book 

called “The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. 

One Unconventional Detour Around the World,” by Jennifer 

Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner. The 

book is the story of three friends who “chuck it all”,quitting 

their corporate world Manhattan jobs and taking a yearlong 

trip around the world, from Peru to Kenya to Vietnam 

to Australia. “Holly is a good friend of mine so she gave 

it to me to read.” 


Jason Frantz is reading “Civil Practice Statutes and Rules 

(Gold Edition)”. On a finally-sunny, Friday afternoon in 

Santa Barbara, he had no witty response, merely a bright 

smile for a friend, and that is all this cub reporter could 

ask for. 

Anna Karczag is reading “On Ice” by Gretchen Legler, a 

travel journalist. “It’s sort of a sociological study of the 

kind of people that would spend a season in Antartica, 

out of touch for eight months out of the year in 70 below 

temperatures. If you really want the ultimate escape....” 


Brandi Redman is 

reading “And Justice 

for Some” by Wendy 

Murphy. She says, 

“While it pains me to 

admit that I’m reading 

this lengthy tome with 

an introduction by Bill 

O’Reilly, I found it to 

be thought-provoking 

and a great pick for the 

4 th of July weekend 

reading.” 

Legal News 

Garry Tetalman is reading “Goodnite Moon,” “The Hungry 

Caterpillar,” “Harold and the Purple Crayon” and “Where 

the Wild Things Are.” All four books are in heavy rotation 

for his 17-month old’s bedtime reading. 

Lynn Goebel is a family law attorney in private practice. She is 

also president of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association. This 

summer she is reading her high school yearbook, “Nova,” trying 

to remember who people are as she prepares for her 20-year high 

school reunion at the end of this month. “Thank goodness my twin 

brother looks rather familiar....”

Legal News 

Judge Herman Is 

Appointed to the 

Judicial Council of 

California 

By Cat h e r i n e J. sw y s e n 

On June 1, 2010, Chief Justice Ronald George announced 

the appointment of Judge James E. Herman 

to the Judicial Council of California. 

The citizens of California established the Judicial Council 

by an amendment to Article VI of the State Constitution in 

1926. The twenty-eight member body is the policymaking 

body of the California courts, the largest court system in 

the nation. Under the leadership of the Chief Justice and in 

accordance with the California Constitution, the Council is 

responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, 

and accessible administration of justice. The Council 

establishes direction and sets priorities for the continual 

improvement of the court’s system. It promulgates rules of 

court administration, practice, and procedures. It sponsors 

and takes positions on legislation that affects the California 

judicial system. It allocates the judicial branch budget and 

responds to legislative mandates. The Administrative Office 

of the Courts (AOC) serves as the Council’s staff agency. 

The members of the Council are selected by a nominating 

procedure intended to attract applicants from across the 

legal system and to result in a membership that is diverse 

in experience, gender, background, and geography. 

The twenty-one voting members consist of the Chief 

Justice, fourteen judges appointed by the Chief Justice, 

four attorney members appointed by the State Bar Board 

of Governors, and one member from each house of the 

Legislature. 

The Council also has seven advisory members who include 

court executives or administrators and the President 

of the California Judges Association. Staggered terms, with 

one-third of the Council’s membership changing each year, 

ensure continuity while creating opportunities for new 

participation and input. 

Judge Herman was named to a three-year term as a voting 

member of the Council effective September 15, 2010. 

Judge Herman has been serving as the Santa Barbara 

County Juvenile Court Presiding Judge since 2008. He also 

serves on the Superior Court’s Executive Committee. He 

was appointed to the Superior Court in 2005 after more than 

twenty years experience in private law practice, specializing 

in complex commercial litigation, and seven years as deputy 

public defender in Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Barbara 

counties. A former president of the State Bar of California 

(2002-2003), Judge Herman served on the State Bar’s Board 

of Governors (1998-2003). He chaired and served on the 

Bar’s Judicial Nominations and Evaluation Commission 

Review Committee (JNE) for three years (1999-2002). He 

has professional experience as a lecturer and writer for 

numerous legal and academic institutions, bar groups, and 

community groups on a variety of legal topics. He is a 

member of the California Commission on Access to Justice 

and the Pro Bono Commission. Among other honors and 

awards, Judge Herman has received the Judicial Council’s 

Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award (2004). 

Judge Herman was a lawyer member of the Council in 

2004-2005 and served on the Rules and Project Committee 

during his initial tenure. He participates currently on the 

Council’s Court Technology Advisory Committee, and as a 

liaison to the Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee. 

His past committee experiences include membership 

on the Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee (2005- 

2006) and the Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants 

(2004-2005). 

Judge Herman told Santa Barbara Lawyer, “I am very proud 

to have been chosen by Chief Justice George to serve on the 

Judicial Council as among his last class of appointees. He 

has truly been a Chief Justice with an unparalleled vision 

for a unified and co-equal third branch of government. His 

accomplishments, including consolidation and state trial 

court funding, will long be remembered. He is truly a third 

branch hero. I have had the honor of working with the 

Chief as State Bar President during the last economic downturn 

as well as serving under him on the Judicial Council as 

a lawyer member. I have looked forward to rejoining the 

Chief on the Council and am saddened by his departure. 

However, he has worked harder than anyone could imagine 

as leader of the branch and his retirement is well deserved. 

I now have the unanticipated pleasure of serving under 

our new Chief, the Honorable Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who 

currently serves on the Council. The Branch and the new 

Chief will be challenged by the need to continue to provide 

access to justice to the people of California in the face of 

unprecedented financial challenges.” 


August 2010 15

SBCBA golf and 

Tennis Tournament 

Results 

This year’s County Bar Golf and Tennis Tournament, held 

at Glen Annie Golf Course and the Tennis Club of Santa 

Barbara, was another success as the pros and the duffers 

alike came out to show their stuff. 

The winners of the golf Tournament are: 

Hole #2/Closest to the Pin: Lol Sorenson 

Hole #5/Longest Drive: Jacquie Misho 

Hole #13/Straightest Drive: Kirk Wilson 

Hole #17/Closest to the Pin: Will Beall 

1 st Place Team (Gross): 58 

Tim Trager, Ruston Imming, Jacquie Misho, Gunnar 

Lonson 

2 nd Place Team (Gross): 62 

Shereef Moharram, Doug Rossi, Allen Bifano, Stephen 

Erickson 

3 rd Place Team (Gross): 66 

Catherine Swysen, Jeffrey Sanger, Stephen Dunkle, Thomas 

Hussey 

1 st Place Team (Net): 54.3 

Kirk Wilson, Will Degen, Lol Sorenson, Dave Oettinger 

2 nd Place Team (Net): 56.1 

Bill Clinkenbeard, James Cote, Will Beall, Eric Burkhardt 

3 rd Place Team (Net): 57.3 

James Sweeney, Paul Graziano, Michael Gerson, Bradley 

Lundgren 

The winners of the Tennis Tournament are: 

Category A - Neil Levinson 

Catergory B - Monty Amyx 


August 2010 17

Larry L. Hines 

Mediation Services 

“Where Experience and Knowledge Count” 

Limited to complex family law, probate/trust, 

business and employment law 

Serving Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo Counties 

40 years of civil and appellate experience 

Practice devoted primarily to complex family law, probate/trust, 

business and employment law 

Participated in hundreds of mediation and settlement conferences 

Lead trial lawyer in over 100 jury and court trials 

Served as mediator, arbitrator and temporary judge 

Attended the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, 

Pepperdine School of Law 

Larry L. Hines, Of Counsel 

Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton LLP, 1000 Town Center Drive, Sixth Floor, Oxnard, CA 93036 

Call Marina at (805) 988-8336 for appointments 

See website for details and Curriculum Vitae at www.lhinesmediation.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


IAC, Public and 

Private Practice 

By ro B e r t sa n G e r 

ost readers of this publication are aware of the 

acronym, IAC. It stands for “ineffective assistance 

of counsel” in the context of representation 

of people accused of crimes. It is based on the requirements 

of the Sixth Amendment to the United States 

Constitution which provides that the accused has a right 

to counsel. That right is not satisfied unless the counsel is 

not only present, but also effective. 

The right to effective assistance of counsel includes the 

right to have ancillary services sufficient to provide such 

assistance. Under Ake v. Oklahoma1 M 

, the United States 

Supreme Court stated that the right includes the right to 

have experts and investigators. Since Ake, there has been 

much litigation, particularly in capital cases, regarding the 

duty to use such experts to do an effective job. But now 

it is clear that there is a duty to use an investigator in just 

about every case, including “garden-variety” drug cases and 

misdemeanors. 

In this month’s Criminal Justice column, we will consider 

what this duty to have an investigator means. We will 

consider the burden it squarely places on each individual 

lawyer in each individual case. We will also consider the 

obligations that are imposed on the governmental agencies, 

including the County Board of Supervisors and the public, 

to provide effective assistance of counsel through appointed 

counsel and the Office of the Public Defender. 

Standards of Practice Relating to Investigation 

In a previous Criminal Justice column, we discussed the 

fact that appointed counsel, including the Public Defender, 

has the duty to defend a case vigorously and to investigate 

all defenses. It is not an exception to that duty to say that 

the office will not provide money for experts or other resources. 

In particular, we reviewed the case of In re Edward 

S. 2 in which the Court held that that the lawyer assigned 

to a juvenile was incompetent as counsel where he did 

not follow up on defenses and employ experts. In this 

column, we will look at the specific question of whether 

it is ineffective assistance of counsel – IAC – to fail to hire 


Criminal Justice 

an investigator. 

We remember Paul 

Drake, often sitting on the 

credenza behind Perry Mason’s 

desk while the two 

of them and Mason’s legal 

assistant, Della Street, discussed 

their case strategy. 

Robert Sanger 

3 

Drake was in on every 

case and, whatever the 

theatrics of the Perry Mason4 

television episodes, 

in each one of them, Paul 

Drake went out into the 

field and investigated. Of 

course, Perry Mason was 

the fictional creation of 

Erle Stanley Gardner. But Gardner was a real lawyer who 

practiced in Ventura. Gardner created a group called the 

“Court of Last Resort” where he got together investigators, 

forensic experts, lawyers and even a prison warden 

to review cases where a miscarriage of justice might have 

occurred. Their work resulted in stunning reversals of convictions. 

They were cases in which the trial lawyer did not 

investigate properly. Gardner did not allow that to happen 

in his fictional accounts. 

Since the days of the Court of Last Resort, there have 

been other advocates for the wrongly convicted. The most 

famous and most prevalent currently is the Innocence Project 

started by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld and now a 

feature around the country often associated with major law 

schools. The common theme is the reinvestigation of cases 

which were not investigated properly by the defense. The 

Death Penalty Information Center reports that from 1978 

to the present, there have been 138 persons exonerated 

and released from death row. 5 The number of other people 

on death row who were wrongly convicted will never be 

known, and the number of people wrongly convicted of 

non-capital cases is probably staggering. The causes of the 

wrongful convictions include faulty eye-witness identification, 

jail house snitches, prosecutorial or police misconduct, 

false confessions and other things. But most wrongful convictions 

are the result of a combination of factors, including 

IAC. And, at the core of IAC is the failure of the defense 

lawyer to investigate some part or all of the case. 

The United States Supreme Court in Wiggins v. Smith6 reiterated the constitutional requirement that the defense 

lawyer not only use an investigator in capital cases, but that 

the investigation be thorough. This requirement applies to 

appointed and to retained counsel. The obvious corollary


to the enunciated principle of thorough investigation is that 

defense counsel has to obtain the services of an investigator, 

and usually more than one, in capital cases. Whether 

retained, appointed or designated as counsel of record in a 

capital case, the lawyer must have investigation services. 

The Court has made it clear that it wants counsel to investigate 

the first time around and not to leave the matter for 

reinvestigation later. So, the standards of practice are well 

established and the real equivalent of the fictional Paul 

Drake is mandatory these days in capital cases. 7 

Standards of Practice Relating to Investigation 

in Non-Capital Cases 

Few private lawyers or law firms have full time, in-house 

investigators. To the extent that a private lawyer uses an 

investigator, the investigator is usually hired on an hourly 

or per-case basis. Appointed counsel often do the same. In 

some counties, lawyers get together and contract to provide 

indigent defense services or to provide such services for 

cases in which the Public Defender has a conflict of interest. 

Sometimes such contracting lawyers have a designated 

investigator and sometimes they contract on an as needed 

basis. Public Defenders generally hire a staff of investigators 

to assist the lawyers, but investigative services are a 

limited resource which may be allocated on some sort of 

priority basis. 

Judges and practitioners in the criminal courts throughout 

the state are well aware that there are lawyers who appear 

regularly and who seldom employ an investigator – some 

never do. There are other lawyers who employ investigators 

in a greater percentage of their cases, but not in most 

of them. There are appointed lawyers who individually or 

as members of a group do not budget for investigators for 

many cases. There are Public Defenders whose Board of 

Supervisors has not provided adequate funding for investigators 

as needed and they, too, have to ration investigative 

services, sometimes making arbitrary decisions. 

The fact is that the individual lawyers handling cases in 

these situations may fall below the standards of practice. 

Contrary to what is often happening, it is necessary to employ 

an investigator in the vast majority, perhaps almost all, 

criminal cases. It is not sufficient, for instance, for the lawyer 

to take her or his own photographs of the scene or to rely 

on a friend of the accused to do so. It is not sufficient to say 

that the issue at hand can be raised in a garden-variety suppression 

motion, for instance, and then proceed to a hearing 

to cross-examine the police officers without interviewing 

all other witnesses present at a stop and search. It is not 

sufficient for appointed counsel to say that their contract 

group has limited resources for investigation and that they 

cannot afford to hire an investigator in certain kinds of 

cases. And, it is not sufficient for Public Defender’s offices 

to say that they can only delegate investigative services to 

violent felonies or that their lawyers will have to do without 

an investigator in some cases due to lack of budget. 

It is also not sufficient for private practitioners to be 

retained on criminal cases and to not use the services of 

an investigator. Our law firm has a full time investigator 

on staff and, in addition, we contract with a number of 

other outside private investigators. We take the position 

that every case, even a garden-variety misdemeanor, is 

a candidate for investigation. There are few cases where 

there is truly no factual issue on anything, and we can rule 

out investigation. Our firm is not alone in this practice. To 

have an investigator or investigators available at all times 

and to be involved in almost every case is now the standard 

in California for all criminal cases. As we shall see, having 

Paul Drake in on each case is not just a theatrical touch, it 

is constitutionally required and anything less is IAC. 

People v. Charles Thomas Jones 

The Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District decided 

a case arising out of Lake County on June 30, 2010, 

entitled, People v. Charles Thomas Jones. 8 The case had a long 

procedural history but, otherwise, has all the earmarks 

of a garden variety drug case. Mr. Jones was stopped in 

2006 for running a stop sign at night. This infraction led 

to the officers deciding he was under the influence, and 

then they located methamphetamine. He was eventually 

charged in two cases. His lawyer, who was mentioned by 

name throughout the reported opinion of the Court, 9 was a 

member of a group of twelve lawyers that contracted with 

Lake County to provide indigent defense services. That 

group had an investigator. However, the administrators of 

the group prioritized the use of that investigator primarily 

for violent felonies. Ultimately, the Court found that the 

failure of this particular lawyer to use an investigator in 

this case was IAC. 

This is not a case where the lawyer simply failed to 

identify a potential Fourth Amendment violation. In fact, 

the lawyer brought a motion to suppress pursuant to Penal 

Code Section 1538.5. This was not a case where the lawyer 

did nothing to prepare for the hearing. In fact, he went to 

the scene of the alleged failure to stop and took pictures, and 

he also obtained pictures from a friend of the client. This 

was not a case where the lawyer failed to present evidence. 

In fact, at the hearing, the lawyer showed the photographs 

to the officers and the photographs were admitted into 


Continued on page 24

When a Stop Sign 

Means Stop 

By he r B Fo x 

As legal professionals, we are all trained to analyze, 

deconstruct, and argue. Sometimes, however, there 

is a time to stop (see, e.g., former President Clinton 

Herb 

parsing over the meaning of the word “is”). And sometimes, 

the meaning of a court’s order is like a stop sign: it requires 

no explanation. 

That’s the actual holding of a recently published opinion 

written by Presiding Justice Arthur 

gilbert in an appeal from a family court 

order issued by Santa Barbara Superior 

Court Judge Thomas Anderle restraining 

Wife from interfering with Husband’s 

custodial time. 

Back in 2007, Husband sought the restraining 

order, alleging that Wife was interfering 

with his custodial time. Husband 

complained that Wife told their children 

that he won at trial because he lied on 

the stand; that the parties do not have to follow the court’s 

custody or school placement orders; and that he obtained 

joint custody only to reduce his child support obligation. 

After an evidentiary hearing, Judge Anderle granted 

the relief sought by Husband, finding that Wife “has approached 

the decision of this Court as though it was only 

a ‘work in progress.’ It is not. Father’s contention that Wife 

has attempted to alienate the children by her actions, words 

and demeanor appears to this Court to be accurate.” 

But the matter did not end there, and Husband eventually 

filed a contempt against Wife, alleging that she was 

violating the restraining order, and Wife then sought to 

vacate the order. Wife appealed the trial court’s denial of 

the motion to vacate. 

Wife argued, inter alia, that the order was unenforceable 

because the word “interfere” was vague and ambiguous, 

and that the order violated her right to free speech. 

The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding the word “interfere” 

to be an “ordinary English word” that has never been 

held ambiguous. 

As to the free speech claim, the Court noted that the 

“. . . In family law cases, 

courts have the power to 

restrict speech to promote 

the welfare of the children.” 


Appellate Brief 

order does not prohibit 

Wife from speaking to 

everyone “about everything 

relating to Husband. 

It only prohibits speech 

that interferes with the 

custody order. In family 

law cases, courts have the 

power to restrict speech to 

promote the welfare of the 

children.” 

And lest there be any 

doubt about the Court of 

Appeal’s displeasure with 

Fox 

Wife, the Opinion concludes 

with a zinger: “Unfortunately, 

Wife’s conduct 

gave the trial judge cause to be conspicuously tautological 

and categorically pedagogical. Let there 

be no doubt, Wife must stop interfering 

with the custody order.” 

The case is In re Marriage of Hartmann, 

case number B215917 (2010 WL 

2510383), decided on June 23, 2010. vanessa 

Kirker represented the appellant; 

Robert Walmsley and Marlea Jarrette 

represented the respondent. Appellant 

has filed a Petition for Rehearing that 

remained pending as this issue of Santa 

Barbara Lawyer went to press. 

Herb Fox has been a Certified Appellate Law Specialist since 

1996. He can be contacted at www.SantaBarbaraAppeals.com.


Report of SBCBA 

Liaison to Affiliate 

and Legal Community 

Organizations 

By Je n n i F e r K. ha n r a h a n 

Courthouse Legacy Foundation: Wonderful news: 

The Board of Supervisors approved CLF’s request 

for a grant toward the rebuilding and sculpting of 

Jennifer 

the Spirit of the Ocean Fountain. Special thanks go to Naomi 

Schwartz and First District Supervisor, Salud Carbajal, as 

well as to Robert Ooley. This grant results in incredible 

progress toward CLF’s goal, and hopefully it will inspire 

private donors from our legal community to help complete 

the Spirit of the Ocean project. Contributions can be made 

at any Santa Barbara Bank & Trust office, by referencing 

“Courthouse Conservation Fund”. 

CLF is currently planning a fundraising event, Fiesta 

Noches de Ronda, on August 6, which will be open to 

the public to cultivate new Friends of the Courthouse and 

for donor members of the Foundation. This will be a very 

special and exciting event! Please contact James Ballantine 

for more information. 

CLF has also made significant changes to its website, 

including many new photos: www.courthouselegacyfoundation.org. 

SBCBA Lawyer Referral Service: SBCBA has received 

State Bar certification for this program. Lida Sideris is the 

Executive Director of the SBCBA and continues to administer 

the New LRS. 

Santa Barbara Barristers: Please join Santa Barbara 

Barristers for the Land Shark Land & Sea Tour. This event 

will begin and end at the Santa Barbara Courthouse on 

Anacapa St. on Thursday, August 26 at 6:00 PM. The cost 

to attend is $35 for members and $40 for non-members. 

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Monday, August 23 to 

Gary Semerjian at Gary@sbbarristers.com. 

Santa Barbara Women Lawyers: Santa Barbara Women 

Lawyers (SBWL) seeks nominations for the 2010 Deborah 

Talmage Attorney of the Year Award. The nomination 

form can be obtained from Alison Holman at aholman@ 

hdlaw.com and must be returned by October 30, 2010. This 


award will be presented at 

the SBWL Annual Dinner 

set for December 13, 2010. 

SBWL is also in the process 

of accepting applications 

and nominations for the 

2011 SBWL Board of Directors. 

Santa Barbara Women 

Lawyers Foundation: 

SBWLF hosted a successful 

benefit happy hour and 

summer solstice celebration 

on June 16, 2010 at the 

Canary Hotel rooftop. 

SBCBA News 

K. Hanrahan 

William L. gordon Chapter of the American Inns of 

Court: Our 2010 Santa Barbara Inn is continuing to hold 

meetings. Contact Jill Sadler at jill@jackmansadler.com with 

any questions or for membership information. 

SB North County Bar: North County Bar is continuing 

with its monthly luncheon meetings. 

SB Legal Secretaries Association: SBLSA would like 

SBCBA to continue to provide speakers for its Learning at 

Lunch program. Attorneys may also earn MCLE credits by 

presenting. 

Santa Barbara Paralegal Association: SBPA continues 

to plan its full-day MCLE Conference at the Santa Barbara 

Courthouse on Saturday, September 25, 2010 for both attorneys 

and paralegals. SBPA will be donating a portion of the 

proceeds from this event to the Santa Barbara Courthouse 

Legacy Foundation. The program will offer 5 MCLE units 

to attorneys, paralegals and other legal professionals. The 

event will give opportunity to view vendor exhibit tables, 

lunch on the grounds of the Courthouse Sunken Garden, 

and participate in a wine and cheese reception with docentled 

tours of the Courthouse. Scholarships and discounts 

will be available to paralegal students. Visit the website 

for registration information at www.sbparalegals.org and 

click on the “MCLE tab” for more information. To anyone 

interested in becoming a sponsor of this event, please contact 

Debbie Reber at dr@ppplaw.com, and for information 

on vendor tables, contact April Henderson, AHenderson@ 

FMAM.COM. 

The next membership meeting is November 9th.


Sanger, continued from page 20 

evidence. This was also not a case where the lawyer failed 

to cross-examine the officers. In fact, the lawyer did so, and 

the suppression hearing took a full day. 

Nevertheless, the Court of Appeal found that the lawyer’s 

representation failed to meet the standards of practice, 

and that the lawyer failed to satisfy the requirements of 

competent defense counsel under the Sixth Amendment 

to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 15 

of the California Constitution. The Court held that it was 

ineffective assistance of counsel — IAC — to fail to have an 

investigator go to the scene and take the photographs, and 

that it was IAC to fail to have the investigator interview the 

people who were with the defendant, either in his car or 

behind him, at the time he stopped at the intersection. 

The Court based this on the objective standards of reasonableness 

as to the practice of criminal law as set forth 

in Strickland v. Washington 10, and found that the failure to 

meet that standard caused prejudice. It was not enough for 

the lawyer to investigate the motion to suppress himself. It 

was not enough for him to bring in photographs and admit 

them into evidence. It was not enough to cross examine the 

officers in a day long hearing. The lawyer was ineffective 

because he did not employ an investigator to take photographs 

of the scene and to testify to the significance of the 

photographs. The lawyer was also ineffective because he 

did not employ an investigator to interview the witnesses 

to the defendant’s driving. 

In so holding, the Court looked to the American Bar 

Association Standards 11 and, in particular, a Commentary 

entitled, “The Importance of Prompt Investigation.” The Court 

also looked to other texts and case law, as well as Strickland 

itself regarding the duty to investigate. The Court lamented 

the fact that the failure to investigate” places poor people 

at constant risk of wrongful conviction.” [citations omitted] 

The Court went so far as to note approvingly that class actions 

are being filed to address systematic deficiencies in the 

defense of the indigent. The Court said that providing real 

legal representation for the poor was thirty years overdue. 

Here the lawyer had claimed that the group of twelve 

lawyers he was a part of, which had contracted to provide 

indigent defense services in Lake County, was only allocated 

one investigator. He said that they had to prioritize 

the use of that investigator, and it was beyond his control. 

The Court rejected that excuse and held that the individual 

lawyer had the duty to either be prepared on each individual 

case or to not take the case. The full burden of providing 

effective assistance is on the shoulders of each attorney 

whether retained, appointed, a member of a group or a 

member of a Public Defender office. The individual lawyer 

has a duty to move to withdraw if his or her caseload is 

too heavy or if he or she does not have the investigative 

resources. Furthermore, the lawyer has a duty to seek appellate 

relief if the trial court denies the motion to withdraw. 

The failure of the County to provide adequate funds for 

investigation does not excuse the lawyer. 

Conclusion 

The courts in both In re Edward S. and People v. Jones 

make it clear that they are not going to tolerate IAC based 

on a failure to investigate. That means, unequivocally, 

that criminal defense lawyers have to use an investigator. 

There is no excuse that there is a lack of funds. There 

is no excuse that someone running the program will not 

provide the resources. It is up to the Board of Supervisors 

to adequately fund indigent defense and, in particular, to 

have an investigator available for any and all cases. And it 

is incumbent on private law firms and retained counsel to 

spend the money to hire investigators and use them. 

But the final responsibility is on the individual lawyer 

in each individual case. If the lawyer cannot meet the 

obligation to have an investigator, she or he must move to 

withdraw and seek appellate relief. This is the standard in 

California. 

Robert Sanger is a Certified Criminal Law Specialist. He is a partner 

in the firm of Sanger & Swysen. 

en d n o t e s 

1 470 U.S. 68 (1986) 

2 173 Cal.App.4 th 387 (2009). 

3 The original series ran from 1957 through 1966 and starred 

Raymond Burr, William Hopper, Barbara Hale as Mason, Drake 

and Street. William Tallman played the ill fated D.A., Hamilton 

Burger 

4 Theatrical though they may have been, they provided inspiration 

for no less than Justice Sotomayor to pursue a career in law. 

Recall her colloquy with Senator Al Franken where she cited Perry 

Mason for her desire to be a prosecutor, leading to the remark 

that the prosecutor in the show lost all but one of his cases. See, 

e.g., the AP story at http://www.aolnews.com/story/al-frankenmakes-perry-mason-joke/573756 

5 http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty 

6 539 U.S. 510 (2003) 

7 In capital cases in California , the legislature has provided for 

funding of investigative and expert services under Penal Code 

Section 987.9. 

8 Slip opinion, First Appellate District, Division Two, Case Number 

A126005, file June 30, 2010. 

9 The lawyer’s name is mentioned repeatedly in the decision but 

it is not important for our purposes. 

10 46 U.S. 668 (1984). 

11 ABA Standards for Criminal Justice prosecution Function and 

Defense Function (3d ed. 1993) 


Past, Present and Future 

SANTA BARBARA PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION & 

CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE OF PARALEGAL ASSOCIATIONS 

with the gracious support of the 

Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office 

present a 

Full Day Fall MCLE Conference 

AT THE HISTORIC SANTA BARBARA COUNTY COURTHOUSE 

(a portion of your registration proceeds will be donated 

to the Courthouse Legacy Foundation) 

Up to five Mandatory Continuing Legal Education credits 

will be available — including the rare and hard to obtain 

ELIMINATION OF BIAS ethics credit. 

A wide variety of timely topics will be offered, followed 

by a wine and cheese reception and optional docent led 

courthouse tour. 

More information and registration forms are available at: 

www.sbparalegals.org 

or contact: Barbara Liss at (805) 963-2014 

barbara@eatonjones.com 

August 2010 25

Legal Community 

Barristers On BBQ 

By Ja s o n Fr a n t z 

T 

he Santa Barbara Barristers (SBB) hosted its Third 

Annual Summer BBQ on Wednesday, June 23, 

2010, at La Mesa Park. This was the largest BBQ 

yet, with approximately 45 people attending, including 

various local attorneys and their families, members who 

were recently sworn in, and law students. 

As the warm afternoon turned into a cool evening, attendees 

were treated to cheeseburgers, hamburgers, veggie 

burgers, hot dogs, and various side dishes and beverages. 

One of the Barrister’s newest board members, Matthew 

S. Mazza, manned the grill for most of the evening, with 

President Casey Nelson stepping in when needed. Guests 

were treated to live music by talented local musician Jamie 

Green, whose beautiful voice and talented acoustic guitar 

playing filled the park with a mixture of original tunes and 

covers of great rock classics. 

Many thanks to the Barristers Board of Directors for 

planning another fun evening! Please keep your eye out 

for more great SBB events, such as the mobile mixer / tour 

of SB on the Land Shark in August and Lunch with a Judge 

in September. 

For additional information about SBB, please visit www. 

sbbarristers.com 


Congratulations to Joyce 

Dudley who was elected this 

past June as the Santa Barbara 

County District Attorney. 

Ms. Dudley was sworn 

in early to complete former 

District Attorney Christie 

Stanley’s term which was set 

to expire in January. Prior to 

becoming District Attorney, 

Ms. Dudley had served as a 

deputy district attorney since 

1990. 

J. Lee Johnson has joined 

Ambrecht & Associates as 

an associate. Mr. Johnson’s 

focus is complex estates 

and trusts, tax minimization 

techniques, and IRS 

tax controversy matters. 

Before joining Ambrecht 

& Associates, Mr. Johnson 

worked for eleven years 

in the Midwest, eight as a 

partner with a Kentucky 

firm. Mr. Johnson earned 

an LLM in Estate Planning 

at the University of Miami School of Law, graduated from 

the University of Missouri School of Law, and graduated 

from Principia College summa cum laude. 

Please join Santa Barbara Barristers for the Land Shark 

Land & Sea Tour. This event will begin and end at the 

Santa Barbara Courthouse on Anacapa St. on Thursday, 

August 26 at 6:00 PM. The cost to attend is $35/$40 members/non-members, 

and includes appetizers and drinks. 

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Monday, August 23 to 

gary Semerjian at Gary@sbbarristers.com. 


Reed Olmstead has joined 

local bankruptcy firm Hurlbett 

& Faucher as an associate. 

While in law school 

Mr. Olmstead interned under 

Judge Robin Riblet at 

the U.S. Bankruptcy Court 

in Santa Barbara. He graduated 

from the Santa Barbara 

College of Law with 

Honors and obtained his 

Bachelor of Arts Degree 

from UCSB. 

Legal Community 

Michael Brelje has recently 

joined grokenberger 

& Smith as an 

associate. Mr. Brelje’s 

practice will focus on 

general and complex civil 

litigation. Mr. Brelje graduated 

from the Santa Barbara 

College of Law and 

the University of California 

at Santa Barbara 

(UCSB) with Honors. 

Santa Barbara Women Lawyers (SBWL) seeks 

nominations for the 2010 Deborah Talmage Attorney 

of the Year Award. The nomination form can be 

obtained from Alison Holman at aholman@hdlaw. 

com and must be returned by October 30, 2010. This 

award will be presented at the SBWL Annual Dinner 

set for December 13, 2010. 

If you have news to report - e.g. a new practice, a new hire or 

promotion, an appointment, upcoming projects/initiatives by local 

associations, an upcoming event, engagement, marriage, a birth 

in the family, etc… - The Santa Barbara Lawyer editorial board 

invites you to “Make a Motion!”. Send one to two paragraphs 

for consideration by the editorial deadline to our Motions editor, 

Justin Greene at Justin@greenelawsb.com. If you submit an accompanying 

photograph, please ensure that the JPEG or TIFF file 

has a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Please note that the Santa 

Barbara Lawyer editorial board retains discretion to publish 

or not publish any submission as well as to edit submissions for 

content, length, and/or clarity.

Verdicts & Decisions 

verdicts & 

Decisions 

Sugar v. Ridgell et al. 

SANTA BARBARA SUPERIOR COURT, ANACAPA DIVISION 

TYPE OF CASE: Premises liability 

TYPE OF PROCEEDING: Jury trial 

JUDGE: Hon. James W. Brown 

LENGTH OF TRIAL: Portions of each of May 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 20 

LENGTH OF DELIBERATIONS: 45 minutes - 1 hour 

DATE OF VERDICT OR DECISION: May 20, 2010 

PLAINTIFF: Lura Sugar 

PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL: Russell R. Ghitterman of Ghitterman & Ghitterman 

DEFENDANTS: Andrea Ridgell dba Mishay Salon; The Elizabeth Arwyn Drew Trust; Spender 

Eliason Drew Trust; Jackson Sproul Trust; Cynthia DDE Howard Trust 

DEFENDANTS’ COUNSEL: Shelby Crawford and David Phillips of Pollard, Mavredakis, Cranert, Crawford 

& Stevens 

ExPERTS: Treating physicians: William Gallivan, M.D. and Steven Hollstein, M.D.; For 

Plaintiff: Mark Sanders, Ph.D. (human factors) and Richard Scheinberg, M.D. 

(orthopedist); For Defendant: Michael Price, M.D. (orthopedist) 

FACTS: On October 17, 2006, Plaintiff Lura Sugar had a 10:30 a.m. hair appointment at the Mishay Salon, owned and 

operated by Andrea Ridgell. Ms. Sugar parked in the rear of the salon and walked through a breezeway to enter into the 

rear of the salon. The rear entry had a 3 ¾” drop. She stepped into the salon and fell, resulting in injuries. 

CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff Sugar alleged that Defendant Ridgell knew that the drop was a dangerous condition and had 

ordered permanent signs warning of the condition before the accident. Plaintiff Sugar maintained that she thought the 

entrance was flat, that Defendant Ridgell did not post warning signs, and that even if warning signs were posted they 

were inadequate based on location and size. 

Defendant Ridgell alleged the step down did not present a dangerous condition and that there was no evidence of 

any code violations. Defendant Ridgell further alleged there were two temporary signs on 8 ½ x 11 paper affixed to the 

outside wall at the rear entrance stating “Watch Your Step”. Defendant Ridgell presented several witnesses that were at 

the salon on the date of the incident who testified that signs were present and that one was located just to the left of the 

rear door. Defendant Ridgell further alleged that Plaintiff Sugar was comparatively at fault. 

SUMMARY OF CLAIMED DAMAGES: Plaintiff claimed $465,549.89 in past medical specials based on aggravation of 

pre-existing right knee and left knee conditions, resulting in knee replacements, as well as aggravation of her back resulting 

in the increased need for epidural injections. Defendant alleged that Plaintiff’s pre-existing conditions were not worsened 

due to the fall at the salon and that her subsequent knee replacements in 2009 were unrelated to the fall. 

RESULT: 8-3 defense verdict (the parties stipulated to an 11 person jury after losing two jurors on the first day of trial, 

which were replaced by alternates, and a third juror during closing arguments) 


The Santa Barbara County Bar 

Association Family Law Section 

presents…. 

WE’RE ALMOST THERE – 

HALF-WAY THROUGH 2010 

FAMILY LAW UPDATE LUNCHEON 

When: 

Friday, August 13, 2010 

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM 

Where: 

Louie’s California Bistro 

1404 De La Vina, SB 

Topic: 

WE WILL REVIEW THE PUBLISHED FAMILY LAW 

CASES THROUGH JULY 2010: WHAT THEY ARE, 

WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW THEY IMPACT YOUR 

PRACTICE. 

MCLE: 

1.5 hours of Continuing Legal Education Credits) 

Cost: 

$45 before August 6; $50 after August 6 

Registration: 

Name: ________________________________________ 

Address: ______________________________________ 

Phone: _______________________________________ 

Email: ________________________________________ 

Lunch Choice: 

___ Chicken & Romaine Salad 

___ Fettuccine with Tomato & Basil (vegetarian) 

___ Meatloaf 

Send reservation and payment to: 

Vanessa Kirker 

350 Chapala Street 

Suite 207 

Santa Barbara, California 93101 

Questions? Email us! 

jdrury@drurypullenlaw.com 

vk@kirkerlaw.com 


Classifieds 

BOOKKEEPER AVAILABLE 

Self-employed bookkeeper with legal experience and excellent 

references. Experienced in QuickBooks, TimeSlips, 

Excel, etc. Telephone # 963-6994. 

Not in a position to 

provide service? 

Conflict of interest? 

Out of your practice area? 

Send the client to 

Lawyer 

Referral 

Service 

805.569.9400 

Santa Barbara County’s ONLY 

State Bar Certified 

Lawyer Referral Service 

A Public Service of the 

Santa Barbara 

County Bar Association

Calendar 

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 


August 2010 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

Santa 

Barbara Lawyer 

Submission Deadline 

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 

29 30 Sept. 1 2 3 4 5 

Alternative Dispute Resolution 

David C. Peterson 441-5884 

davidcpeterson@charter.net 

Bench & Bar Relations 

Herb Fox 899-4777 

hfox@foxappeals.com 

Civil Litigation 

John C. Eck 965-5131 

eck@g-tlaw.com 

Eric A. Woosley 897-1830 

ericw@zwlegal.com 

Scott Campbell 963-9721 

Client Relations 

Thomas Hinshaw 729-2526 

th2@mindspring.com 

Lol Sorenson 649-1389 

lol@rsmediate.com 

Nicole Champion 963-4110 

nlchampion@sbfamlaw.com 

Family Law 

Section Morning 

Coffee 

Court Holiday 

2010 SBCBA SECTION HEADS Family Law 

Debtor/Creditor 

Robert Hurlbett 963-9111 

John Fancher (818) 889-8080 

Elder Law 

Denise Platt 604-7130 

denise@jodymoorelaw.com 

Jody Moore 604-7130 

jody@jodymoorelaw.com 

Employment Law 

Rafael Gonzalez 966-1501 

rgonzalez@mullenlaw.com 

Paul Wilcox 966-1501 

pwilcox@mullenlaw.com 

Estate Planning/Probate 

Lori Lewis 966-1501 

llewis@mullenlaw.com 

Family Law 

Section MCLE Luncheon 

Jennifer Drury 879-7523 

jdrury@drurypullenlaw.com 

Vanessa Kirker 964-5105 

vk@kirkerlaw.com 

In-House Counsel & Corporate Law 

Betty L. Jeppesen 963 -8621 

BtJpps@aol.com 

Intellectual Property/Tech. Business 

Christine L. Kopitzke 845-3434 

ipcounsel@cox.net 

Real Property/Land Use 

Bret Stone 898-9700 

bstone@paladinlaw.com 

John Thyne 963-9958 

Taxation 

Peter Muzinich 963-9721 

pmuzinich@rogerssheffield.com 

Joshua P. Rabinowitz 963-0755 

jrabinowitz@fmam.com

Need motivation 

sometimes? 

It’s all in the attitude: 

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their 

commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of 

endeavor. 

– Vince Lombardi 

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the 

success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a 

difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you 

will find joy in overcoming obstacles. 

– Helen Keller 

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. 

– Walt Disney 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an art, 

but a habit. 

– Aristotle 

Our life is what our thoughts make it. 

– Marcus Aurelius Antonius 

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every 

time we fall. 

– Confucius 

It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything 

but the best, you very often get it. 

– W. Somerset Maugham 

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they 

are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in 

this world are those who get up and look for the circumstances 

they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them. 

– George Bernard Shaw 


White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, 

Luna, Wolf & Hunt, LLP offers much 

more than accounting expertise. Our 

creative ideas and new strategies 

give our clients a competitive edge. 

In family law, you need professionals 

who can analyze financial situations 

and provide unimpeachable analysis 

and expert testimony. With decades 

of experience, we are highly qualified 

in all areas including: 

Business & Professional Practice 

Valuations 

Cash Flow Available for Support 

High Earner Child Support Situations 

Lifestyle Expense Analysis 

Community/Separate Property 

Balance Sheets 

Tax Effects of Divorce & Tax Planning 

Asset Tracing 

Reimbursement & Misappropriation 

Analyses 

Call us today so you can focus on 

what’s important – your clients. 

To attend our Santa Barbara Family Law 

Study Group, e-mail llasseube@wzwlw.com. 

There is no charge for the dinner or program 

and you will receive one hour of MCLE credit. 

Our three California locations include: 

Santa Barbara 

805-648-4088 

Los Angeles 

818-981-4226 

Orange County 

949-219-9816 

E-mail: expert@wzwlw.com www.wzwlw.com 

Certified Public 

ACCOUNTANTS 

Expert Witnesses 

Forensic Accountants 

Business Appraisers 

Marital Dissolution 

Lost Earnings & Profits 

Wrongful Termination 

Fraud Investigation


The Santa Barbara County Bar Association 

15 W. Carrillo St., Suite 106 


Change Service Requested 

Gary Goldberg 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Prsrt std 

U.s. Postage Paid 

santa Barbara, CA 

Permit #734 

For your Real Estate needs, choose 

carefully and choose experience! 

“I’ve been a Lawyer for 18 years and a Real Estate Broker with 

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Oce 805 969-1258Cell 805 455-8910 

gary@coastalrealty.com

¡Viva La Fiesta! - Santa Barbara County Bar Association

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