Court Hears Calendar in Classroom

Justices hear 10 cases during third annual trip to law school —By Lori Craig Between classes and study sessions, USC Law students, faculty and staff made their way to Room 3 of the law school to see the California Court of Appeal in action. The Court made its third annual visit to the law school March 25, with justices from Division One of the Second District hearing a calendar of 10 cases. Acting Presiding Justice Robert M. Mallano, Associate Justices Miriam A. Vogel and Frances Rothschild and Judge Frank Y. Jackson were joined by court personnel, including security staff, a bailiff, a court reporter and California Highway Patrol officers.

Justice Frances Rothschild, Justice Miriam A. Vogel, Justice Robert M. Mallano and Judge Frank Y. Jackson

The visit was coordinated by Legal Writing and Advocacy Director Jean Rosenbluth and Associate Director Rebecca Lonergan to expose students to the real work of attorneys and judges. Eight cases were heard during two morning sessions. Castaneda v. Lopez involved an attorney (Castaneda) who had won a $25,000 judgment for labor code violations for a client, plus attorney’s fees. The trial court had reduced Castaneda’s attorney’s fees — which were reported at $29,000 — by a third to make them less than the judgment. An attorney for Castaneda asked the judges to overturn the trial court’s decision and award his client the total fee amount. Justice Vogel protested. “It’s a discretionary call, and the fee is supposed to be a reasonable fee,” she said. “Judges are really going to balk at requiring the losing party to pay double” the judgment. She suggested Castaneda either charge low-income clients a partial fee, or approach the legislature to change the law that gives judges discretion over attorney’s fees awards.

An attorney argues during the Court of Appeal visit to USC Law on March 25

Other cases heard involved search and seizure, breach of contract and malicious prosecution issues. The justices will publish their decisions on each of the 10 cases within 90 days. A small group of first-year students joined the justices for a luncheon in the Faculty Lounge, where they debated the cases of the day and discussed law school and career paths for lawyers and judges. Associate Dean Gregory Keating thanked the justices and their staffs for enduring the trials and tribulations of hearing a day of cases outside the courthouse. “This is a great opportunity for our students to see what we law professors never show them: They get to see the kinds of cases they will encounter as attorneys, and they get to see good lawyers presenting real legal arguments,” Keating said.