Judges and Judiciary
Jun. 25, 2002
Juvie Bench Officer's Dual Role Concerns 2nd District Justices
LOS ANGELES - Justices at the 2nd District Court of Appeal were skeptical last week about the dual role played by Sanford Jossen, a part-time Los Angeles Juvenile Court bench officer, who routinely received from the presiding judge of the same court tort assignments to represent dependent children.
"It makes a lot of sense that people shouldn't put on two hats," said a doubtful Justice Patti S. Kitching.
Representing himself, Jossen is appealing his removal by a trial court judge as counsel in a class action against the county. He filed the lawsuit on behalf of dependent children allegedly injured by county employees at MacLaren's Children's Center, a county-operated shelter in El Monte. Jazzmon v. Co. of Los Angeles, BC153854. (L.A. Super. Ct., April 6, 2001; amended as a class action, July 11, 2001).
"When I read the motion myself, I said, 'This looks pretty bad.' It looks pretty bad until you look at the facts," Jossen said.
Oral arguments took place Wednesday before a three-member appellate panel of Justices Richard D. Aldrich, H. Walter Croskey and Kitching.
Kitching appeared to bristle as she admonished Jossen, on leave as a juvenile court referee, for his conduct. And she repeatedly said the Judicial Canons of Conduct are quite specific about what a bench officer can and cannot do.
"The courts are concerned about the appearance of impropriety," Kitching said. "You have attended meetings as a judicial officer where you learned things about MacLaren."
In response, Jossen denied using confidential information that he received while a bench officer to file the class action.
"How did I benefit?" he challenged.
Jossen said he appealed his removal from the class action because the criteria used by county attorneys to persuade the trial court judge to disqualify him could have an impact on other attorneys.
"It's a great litigation strategy to paint a picture that looks really bad," he said. "In this case, the trial judge made no findings of fact."
Croskey stepped in, noting that Jossen's situation presented an unusual set of circumstances with no wide-ranging implications for other attorneys.
"There is no rational basis to see this as a great threat to the bar," Croskey said. "Can you think of another judicial officer going out and doing what you have done here?"
In his oral argument, Los Angeles Deputy County Counsel Jerry M. Custis charged that, as a bench officer, Jossen attended judicial meetings and was privy to confidential information about MacLaren. County attorneys, he said, were unable to gain access to these meetings and could not see the confidential information available to bench officers.
Aldrich asked Custis to be more specific.
"What confidential information did Jossen receive?" Aldrich asked. "You haven't established what confidential information about MacLaren Hall. What if they were discussing the color of the walls?"
The real issue was the appearance of impropriety, Croskey said.
"The problem, it seems to me, is that [the county's] grounds may not be factually supported," he said.
County counsel responded by saying that Jossen, while serving as a children's tort counsel, failed to disclose for more than a year that he was sitting as a judge and sending children to live at MacLaren.
"He placed children at MacLaren and then was suing [the county] charging that the placement was harmful," Custis said. "It was prejudicial to his clients."
Jossen, however, denied the allegation, saying he relied on the ethical guidance of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Friedman, the former presiding judge of Juvenile Court, who was notified promptly of potential conflicts.
"That is false," Jossen said of the allegation. "I notified my judge, Judge Friedman."
Friedman appointed Jossen, an experienced tort attorney and a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's juvenile panel, to the bench in January 2000. Jossen continued to receive tort referrals from Friedman and now receives referrals from Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Michael Nash, the former supervising judge of dependency court.
In October, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Morris B. Jones disqualified Jossen from the MacLaren class action because of his "multiple conflicts of interest."
The chief conflict cited was Jossen's role as a Juvenile Court bench officer. In addition, Jones issued a restraining order barring the Manhattan Beach attorney from having any contact with the six named plaintiffs in the MacLaren class action.
Although the class action continues, the foster children are without counsel. Named plaintiffs are four girls and two boys, all of whom claim to have been injured by adult employees at MacLaren.
Jossen alleged the named plaintiffs and other minors living at the facility were being "routinely assaulted, battered, intimidated, bullied, strong-armed, coerced and ultimately physically and psychologically injured, all in violation of their federal and state constitutional rights."
Cheryl Romo
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