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To promote the honor and dignity of the legal profession, to educate its members and the public, to foster the highest professional standards, to encourage collegiality among its members, to advance the fair and effective administration of justice, and to provide and recognize public service as it relates to this mission. |
The State Bar seeks active members of the State Bar, former members of the judiciary, and members of the public who are interested in volunteering to serve on the 2014 Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE Commission). The application deadline is June 3, 2013.
The JNE Commission, established pursuant to Government Code Section 12011.5, evaluates all candidates who are under consideration for a judicial appointment by the governor. It is composed of attorneys and public members (i.e., those who are not lawyers or who are not admitted to practice in California) who represent a broad cross-section of California's diverse legal profession and general population. Appointed by the State Bar's Board of Trustees, the volunteer commission cannot nominate or appoint judges; it does, however, thoroughly investigate candidates for judicial appointment while maintaining a code of strict confidentiality. Commissioners serve terms of approximately one-year and may serve up to three consecutive terms.
The application form is available from the State Bar’s website at http://cc.calbar.ca.gov/ (select link to Other Entity Appointments for details on the JNE Commission) or from the State Bar's Appointments Office: 415/538-2370; fax 415/538-2305.
The Board of Trustees will make the appointments at its July meeting. The 2014 terms commence February 1, 2014.
The so-called “workers’ compensation bargain” has been a part of California law since 1911. The “workers’ compensation bargain” was designed to provide a no-fault system which guaranteed relatively swift delivery of medical and disability benefits and limited damages in exchange for the workers’ relinquishment of the right to sue their employers in tort for unlimited damages, a fault system. Cole v. Fair Oaks Fire Protection (1987) 43 Cal. 3d 148.
Based on recent reforms in workers’ compensation many workers, and those who represent them, believe that employers continue to receive the greater benefit from the “workers’ compensation bargain”.
Les Miserables, the historical French novel by Victor Hugo, as we all know, has been reduced to a Broadway play and is now on the silver screen as a musical. Injured workers have heard a similar tune, the “miseries” of the California Workers’ Compensation System. These “miseries” are caused by draconian changes (lightly referred to as reforms) particularly under SB899 promoted by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2004 and subsequently by Governor Brown under SB866 including:
• A reduction in permanent disability monetary benefits between 40% to 75%;