February 24, 2022
A communication from California Judges Association,
The VOICE of the California Judiciary
IN THIS ISSUE:
  • President's Message
  • 2022 Midyear/Retired Conference
  • Have you joined the American Judges Association yet? 
  • Berkeley Judicial Institute Offers Program
  • CJF Corner: The Adam Z. Rice Law School Scholarship is open for 2022! 
  • Webinars
  • Board Boasts
  • Hotline Info
Ethics Hotline
Calls 2021:
306
Pension Equity:
CJA Sponsored Pension Equity Bill AB 2443 authored by Assemblymember Ken Cooley. More information below.
February is Black History Month and Black History is indeed American History!

Black History Information: I was the plaintiff in the seminal case establishing the analytical framework for employment discrimination cases. I was a mechanic and laboratory technician laid off by McDonnell Douglas in 1964 during a reduction in force at the company. I was active in the civil rights movement and I protested that my discharge was racially motivated. McDonnell Douglas advertised for vacant mechanic positions, jobs for which I was qualified as I had been doing them prior to the layoff! I applied, but was not hired.
I filed a lawsuit that ultimately was decided by the United States Supreme Court, unanimously (9-0) in my favor. My case, McDonnell Douglas Corp. v Green (1973) 411 U.S. 792, is cited in nearly every employment discrimination case since. In other words, my case opened the courtroom doors to claims of discrimination based on race, gender, sex, disability, sexual orientation and identity, age, religion, and ethnicity, impacting millions of Americans. 

My name is Percy Green.
CJA MIDYEAR/RETIRED JUDGES CONFERENCE

April 28-30, 2022
Santa Barbara

Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
Have you joined the American Judges Association yet?
First time members can enjoy one free year of membership. Learn more and join today HERE. Interested in learning more about the Association in person? The AJA is holding its Mid-Year Conference April 25-27, 2022 in Napa, CA. Learn More HERE.
CJA Pension Update
CJA is proud to introduce our Pension Equity Bill: AB 2443! AB 2443 is authored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley of Rancho Cordova. You might remember Asm. Cooley as the author of CJA-sponsored bill AB 1293, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom last year. CalPERS informs us that AB 1293 has provided much more of a significant beneficial impact for judges who reached the Internal Revenue Code 415 limit than previously anticipated.

AB 2443 is our 2022 bill to pursue meaningful changes to the JRS II pension system. The introduced version, however, is merely a “spot bill,” or placeholder, as it was filed to ensure consideration in the current legislative cycle; by mid-March AB 2443 will be amended with substantive language to reflect the change sought and the bill will be referred to the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee.

As CJA’s lobbyists continue to negotiate other meaningful pension changes with the Governor’s Administration, CalPERS and the Legislature, AB 2443 will proceed through the legislative process. Keep in mind that the substance of the legislation only really matters once the bill reaches the Governor’s desk; thus, we anticipate that AB 2443 won’t resemble the final product until much later in the legislative process. This approach is not uncommon in Sacramento and CJA’s lobbyists have achieved legislative success in this manner previously.

Finally, please know that CJA is putting an “all-hands-on-deck” effort into passing AB 2443. Our goal is to make the substantive changes that will benefit most of the judiciary. CJA has hired experts to address actuarial issues with CalPERS as their ability to communicate the fiscal impact to CalPERS is critical. CJA’s Compensation and Benefits Committee, led by Chair Judge Dean Hansell of Los Angeles Superior Court, along with CJA’s Executive Board, is actively working with CJA lobbyists on AB 2443. Please stay tuned on ways you might help AB 2443 cross the finish line!
Berkeley Judicial Institute Offers Program
Berkeley Judicial Institute is pleased to announce a virtual program for judges featuring some of the many bright lights of the Berkeley faculty: Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and BJI Executive Director Judge Jeremy Fogel will speak, as wells as other who form the stellar faculty of presenters. This program commences Sunday, May 1, and concludes Tuesday, May 3. 

We invite all judges to apply to join us; we expect a fascinating group of speakers talking about cutting-edge issues affecting the courts. We hope to have 35 judges in the audience and that the group will reflect a combination of judges with a wide range of experiences and viewpoints.

Please apply only if you can participate in all three days of the program. This event will be provided at no cost to participants. Can a three-day virtual program be fun and engaging? It can, and we can’t wait for this one!

We anticipate sessions on:

  • Bias in the courts
  • Criminal law
  • Decision making
  • The Impact of Clerking
  • Intellectual property law
  • Mindfulness

While our speakers will be great, our audience will be as well! The program will be enhanced by your engagement, comments and questions. Materials and a full program will be posted to the BJI website by early April, 2022.
CJF Corner: The Adam Z. Rice Law School Scholarship is open for 2022!
CJF offers a need-based scholarship to aspiring law students in California through the Adam Z. Rice Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship fund celebrates the life of a young man, Adam, who always tried to help others in need, whether it was the homeless or his classmates. Adam died at the very young age of 21. CJF now has an incredible opportunity to both continue Adam’s legacy and fulfill its mission, promote education, and make a lasting impact on future generations devoted to the rule of law and equal access to justice.

Our Post-COVID World: How Has COVID Affected the Law and Changed the Way We Handle Cases?
March 7-11, 2022

click on image below for full brochure & registration information
When a Judge Has a Mental Illness—Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Serving Successfully on the Bench
March 9, 2022 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm | Virtual

Can a judge have a mental illness? As bench officers, we are under constant pressure and scrutiny—from litigants, lawyers, our community—and often experience multiple stressors simultaneously: high case volumes, violent facts causing a judge secondary trauma, emotionally charged hearings, compassion fatigue, lack of court funding, staffing issues, and, lately, constant pandemic stress. At the same time, we may be experiencing family or personal losses and challenges. Yet we feel that we have to be perfect.

Hear from a colleague, Judge Tim Fall, who shares his moving and personal experience of managing his mental illness while on the bench, in long-standing CJA service, and teaching judicial ethics statewide, all while facing an unexpected challenger in a re-election campaign. This program will inspire you and should not be missed.

Panelists:

Judge Michael Vicencia | Los Angeles Superior Court
Judge Tim Fall | Yolo Superior Court
Judge Erica Yew | Santa Clara Superior Court, Moderator
You're invited to the 2022 Bay Area Women Lawyers' Retreat March 25-27, 2022!
CLICK HERE OR ON IMAGE BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS
Judge Denise McLaughlin-Bennett 
“Endurance,” that’s the word Denise McLaughlin-Bennett would use to best describe what her mother taught her, the ability to endure difficult times. Her mother was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, and at the time of her birth, her family was impoverished—though rich in its Creole heritage. There was little work for people of color in Alexandria, so Denise’s grandfather, Thaddeus Victor Aguillard, moved the family, one member at a time, from Louisiana to South Los Angeles.

Denise recalls of her mother: “By the time the family arrived in California, my mother was in high school. She didn’t finish because she hated going to class. She was always teased because she had to wear ‘hand me downs’ from her older siblings. My mother later regretted her decision. She made sure I went to school and earned good grades. She would often emphasize that obtaining an education was the only way to make positive change in your life.”

In fact, education was stressed by everyone in Denise’s very large family. Her mother was the youngest daughter, and number six of nine children. While the family left Louisiana, they didn’t leave behind the traditions they embodied. Keeping family close and attending church on Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings are common memories of her childhood. Eating big Sunday dinners filled with cuisines that were characteristic of her mother’s hometown; meals such as jambalaya, etouffee, succotash with okra, corn, and andouille sausage, red beans and rice—and of course, gumbo—were favorites among her family.
When Denise was sworn in as a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge on August 11, 2010, she was delighted to see so many of her family present. The village that raised her was there to celebrate with pride. She felt especially blessed to have her mother witness the event. A little less than two years later, her mother passed away after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer.
Before her appointment to the bench, Denise was in private practice representing clients primarily in the area of criminal defense. Many of her former clients were from her childhood neighborhood where her mother still lived. Oftentimes, the way those clients got in touch with Denise was by knocking on her mothers’ front door. She grew up in a tight-knit community where everyone looked out for each other, another traditional value that was brought by the family from Louisiana.

A few years after her mother’s death, Denise learned about the richness of her heritage by travelling to Alexandria to see her mother’s hometown and meet relatives that had stayed instead of relocating to California. She also visited her paternal grandmother’s hometown of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and was amazed to learn how deep her Creole roots were in both places. Many locations related to her family have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, including a Catholic Church, St. Augustine, in Melrose, Louisiana.
Denise’s mother never spoke much about their heritage while she was growing up. She thinks it was because of the discrimination her mother endured while growing up in Louisiana. She regrets that she never had a chance to take the trip back home with her mother while she was alive.

There is a cemetery that is adjacent to St. Augustine where many of her relatives are buried. Among them are her great, great, maternal grandparents. Each have elaborate tombstones with embedded crowns to reflect their place in society. They were considered “personnes libres de couleur”—free persons of color. Their home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Carroll Jones House.
It was difficult acquiring accurate information on all her family because of lost or incomplete records. While the Catholic Church did maintain birth, marriage, and death records, there was some difficulty creating such records when it involved slaves. For example, when searching out her maternal grandmother’s family line, Denise was only able to completely trace the paternal side. “Apparently, we come from a slave owner who owned a great deal of land in Alexandria and has a lineage I was able to trace back to England, but as for the slave woman that gave birth to my great, great, grandfather, I don’t even know what part of Africa she was from because there are no records.”
Many in her family include the name Marie as the first or middle name to honor another matriarch Denise discovered on her journey back to Louisiana, a former slave woman who earned her freedom and then worked to buy her children out of slavery. “I always thought my middle name, Marie, was to honor my maternal grandmother. I had no idea how far back the tradition of this name went or why. Now that I know, it explains why I was taught never to hide who I am or be ashamed. The stories I heard about life in Louisiana couldn’t compare to what I saw myself when I visited. I have no reason to be ashamed of who I am. In fact, I’m proud.”

A year after that first visit to Louisiana, Denise took her husband, Tony, to meet her newly found relatives. But for the pandemic, this would have become a yearly trip. In fact, the pandemic has affected a favorite activity she and her husband share, travelling. Her birthday is two weeks before her husband’s, and since their birthdays are so close, they surprise each other with trips. “My husband started this competition a few years ago and we’ve had a lot of fun. So far, he is winning with a road trip he planned that started in Madrid and concluded in Rome in 2019.” They visited places in three different countries, Spain, France and Italy, during this epic trip.

They have eight children, ten grandchildren and are in ministry together. They transitioned from a large ministry to a smaller home group setting a few months before the pandemic.

Tony and Denise will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary later this year. There are plans to resume their travel competition in 2023.
HOTLINE INFO...
Ethics Hotline | Call: (866) 432-1CJA (1252)
Do you have questions about judicial ethics? Speak to a judge on the Judicial Ethics Committee for a quick informal response to your questions about the Code of Judicial Ethics.
Response to Unfair Criticism Hotline | Call: (866) 432-1CJA (1252)
When unjustified criticism substantially and negatively affects a judge, the judiciary, or the legal system, the CJA RTUC Team is available to advise and assist with that judge’s defense.
Retirement Hotline
Are you preparing for retirement? Have a specific question(s)? CJA members can visit the Retirement Webpage to contact Jim Niehaus, CJA's retirement consultant.