About the Authors; Consultants

Transcription

1 About the Authors; Consultants AUTHORS Malvina E. J. Abbott is a retired Deputy Public Defender IV, Branch Leader (Juvenile Dependency) for the Office of the San Diego County Public Defender. She is a former member and chair of the Executive Committee of the Law Practice Management and Technology Section of the State Bar; a former member of the Senior Lawyers Committee of the State Bar; and a member of the San Diego County Bar Association and the California Public Defenders Association. She was the author of many of the updates to California Juvenile Court Practice, vol 2 (Cal CEB 1981), which this book replaces. Ms. Abbott received her B.S. from Cornell University in 1964 and her J.D. from Thomas Jefferson Law School (formerly Western State University College of Law) in Carol B. Barnett is an Associate Dependency Attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender s Office. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989, her M.A. from George Washington University in 1993, and her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in Hon. Patricia Bresee retired as a Commissioner of the San Mateo County Superior Court in 2002, after serving as a commissioner for 15 years. Since 1988, Commissioner Bresee has served on the Judicial Council s Juvenile Law Advisory Committee (she now chairs its Rules and Forms Committee) and on the Faculty and Planning Committees of the CJER (Center for Judicial Education and Research) Juvenile Law Institute. She has served on the Faculty of the Judicial College and has trained judicial officers newly assigned to juvenile court since Commissioner Bresee received the California Judge s Association Juvenile Court Judge of the Year Award in 1994 and was named National Judge of the Year by the National CASA Association in She has served on the National Council of Juvenile and Family Law Judges Permanency Planning Committee and is presently on its Juvenile Drug Committee and co-chair of its Adoption Committee. She also serves on the Children and Family First Commission, County of San Mateo. Commissioner Bresee received her J.D. in 1972 from the San Francisco Law School.

2 Bradley A. Bristow is a Staff Attorney with the Central California Appellate Program. He is a member of the California Public Defenders Association and serves on its Amicus Committee and Dependency Hotline Panel. Mr. Bristow is a former member of the Sacramento County Voluntary Legal Services Program and received its VLSP Award in He received his B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1975 and his J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in L. Michael Clark is a Lead Deputy County Counsel in the Office of the County Counsel, Santa Clara County. He currently serves on the Judicial Council Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee. He is a past chair of the County Counsel s Association of California, Child Welfare Study Section; a contributing editor to the California Attorney General s Child Abuse Prevention Handbook and Intervention Guide (2000); and Editorial Consultant on Children and the Law for Attorney s BriefCase, Inc. He also serves as an Adjunct Instructor for the Forensic Certificate Program at the San Jose State University Graduate School of Social Work, a Judge Pro Tem, and a Special Master for Search Warrant Proceedings. Mr. Clark is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the National Association of Counsel for Children, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Christian Legal Society. He is a frequent lecturer on dependency law for a wide variety of groups. Mr. Clark received his B.A. from Westmont College in 1977, his J.D. from Santa Clara Law School in 1980, and his M.A. in 1990 from the Fuller Theological Seminary. David A. Donner is in private practice in San Francisco, specializing in juvenile dependency, child custody, foster parent adoptions, mental health consulting, probate guardianships, and mediation and special master work in family law custody matters. Mr. Donner previously practiced as a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco. He has served as Chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco s Juvenile Justice Section ( ) and as a Mentor Attorney in the San Francisco Juvenile Court and now serves as a Pro Tem in the dependency court. Mr. Donner has taught continuing education courses in trial skills, client interviewing, and child advocacy and has been a frequent speaker and consultant on dependency and mental health issues. He is a Board Member of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California and a founding member of the Children s Psychotherapy Project. He is also a member of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the CASA Regional Advisory Board. Mr. Donner received his

3 B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1979 and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco in Mark R. Murray is a private practitioner in San Francisco who emphasizes juvenile law and civil litigation in the Bay Area counties. Mr. Murray serves as a Judge Pro Tem, a Commissioner Pro Tem, and a Dependency Mentor Attorney for the San Francisco Superior Court. He has served as Chair of the Juvenile Justice Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, coordinator of mandatory dependency training for the panel attorneys in the San Francisco Superior Court, lecturer at the State Bar Conference on dependency issues, member of the San Francisco Dependency Court Advisory Committee, delegate of the Bar Association of San Francisco to the State Bar Conference of Delegates, and dependency expert witness. Mr. Murray is a member of the National Association of Counsel for Children, the California Public Defender Association, the San Francisco Trial Lawyer s Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the St. Thomas More Society. He received a B.A. and a B.S. from St. Mary s College in 1983, and his J. D. from Golden Gate University in Hon. Amy M. Pellman is a Commissioner of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. She formerly served as the Legal Director of The Alliance for Children s Rights, Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that represents children in poverty. Commissioner Pellman has experience as a juvenile dependency trial and appellate lawyer and as a civil litigator. She has coordinated programs such as National Adoption Saturday and is a frequent lecturer for a variety of groups, among them the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Bar Association, the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) office, foster family agencies, the University of California at Los Angeles Law School, and Loyola Law School. Commissioner Pellman is an adjunct professor at Southwestern University of Law where she teaches Children and the Law and is a member of the faculty of the National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Her publications include The Alliance for Children s Rights vs. Los Angeles County Dept. of Children and Family Services, 1 Whittier J of Child and Family Advocacy 64 (2002) and Married Women s Property Rights, Women and the Law (Clark Boardman 1987). She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1982 and her J.D. from the City University of New York in John E. Philips is a Senior Deputy County Counsel and team leader supervising attorneys in the Office of the County Counsel, San Diego County. He received his B.A. in child psychology in 1981 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his J.D. from

4 Southwestern University School of Law in Mr. Philips has represented the prevailing party in several appellate cases that resulted in published opinions, including In re Troy Z. (1992) 3 C4th 1170, 13 CR2d 724, and In re Stephanie M. (1994) 7 C4th 295, 27 CR2d 595. Mary J. Risling is the former Directing Attorney of California Indian Legal Services (CILS), Eureka, where she engaged in a federal, state, and tribal administrative and judicial practice with emphasis on federal Indian Law. She has conducted training on specialized legal and Indian law issues for tribes, the CILS client community, state and federal agencies, postsecondary institutions and continuing legal education providers, including the Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER). Beginning in 1994, she served three terms on the California Judicial Council s Family and Juvenile Law Standing Advisory Committee. Ms. Risling is the author of the updated California Judges Benchguide The Indian Child Welfare Act, developed by CILS under a contract with the Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and updated under a project funded by the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning. Elaine S. Rosen is a private practitioner in Redlands. She is the former Director of the Department of Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside, Extension. She has served as a judge pro tem in the Juvenile Department of the Riverside County Superior Court; as a juvenile projects attorney with the Administrative Office of the Courts, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, San Francisco; and as president and executive director of the Juvenile Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles. Ms. Rosen has practiced juvenile dependency law in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, and was the prevailing trial and appellate counsel in Ansley v Superior Court (1986) 185 CA3d 477, 229 CR 771, and the trial counsel for the prevailing appellant parent in In re Dolly D. (1995) 41 CA4th 440, 48 CR2d 691. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1975 and her J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in Janet G. Sherwood, a private practitioner in Corte Madera, limits her practice to juvenile dependency, adoption, and related child custody issues. A frequent speaker and consultant on juvenile dependency issues, she is on the dependency panels for the First and Sixth District Appellate Programs and the Central California Appellate Program. She has practiced as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, representing health, education, and welfare agencies and as Staff Counsel for the State Department of Social Services. Ms.

5 Sherwood is a member of the boards of the Northern California Association of Counsel for Children and San Rafael s Family and Children s Law Center, and is President of Advokids, a nonprofit organization that provides resources, training, and assistance to children s advocates. She has served as a faculty member of the California Judicial Council s Child Advocacy Training Project, as a Marin County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commissioner, and as a member of the board of the Center for the Family in Transition. She is an Associate Member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and is a member of the Marin County Bar Association, Marin County Women Lawyers, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the California Appellate Defense Counsel. She is the author of California Juvenile Dependency Case Law Updates and is the editor of the NCACC s Dependency News. Ms. Sherwood received her B.A. from Raymond College, and her J.D. from McGeorge School of Law. Carmela F. Simoncini is a Staff Attorney with Appellate Defenders, Inc., San Diego. In 1994, she received the E. Stanley Conant Award presented by the Board of Directors of Defender Programs of San Diego. She is Chair of the Appellate Committee for California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and a member of the amicus committee of the California Public Defenders Association (CPDA). She serves as one of CPDA s Dependency Hotline attorneys. Ms. Simoncini is also a member of the Appellate Court Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association. She has been an adjunct professor of law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law since 1991, where she has taught courses on juvenile dependency and legal writing. Ms. Simoncini received her B.F.A. from Arizona State University in 1975, her J.D. from Western State University College of Law in 1978, and has nearly completed the degree requirements for her L.L.M. General/Criminal at the University of San Diego School of Law. Hon. Sherri Sobel is a Referee with the Los Angeles County Superior Court who specializes in juvenile dependency, Indian children, and special education. For 19 years (13 as a practicing attorney and 6 on the bench) she has taught, written, and served on more committees, boards, and commissions than she can count, on behalf of organizations ranging from the local to the national. She received her B.S. from Temple University in 1966 and her J.D. from Western State University College of Law in Beth L. Steigerwalt is an Associate with Friedman, Gebbie & Gardner, San Bernardino where she specializes in juvenile dependency law. She has taught for the University of California,

6 Riverside Extension, in its Paralegal Certificate Program. She received her B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1988 and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in Douglas J. Wolf maintains a private law and mediation practice in Woodland Hills (Douglas J. Wolf, A Professional Law Corporation), emphasizing family and juvenile dependency law. Mr. Wolf has served as both a mediator and arbitrator, as well as a Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and plays an active role in numerous civic and legal organizations. He has received many special awards, including Certificates of Recognition from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and City Council, for dedication to issues concerning victims rights, and the President s Certificate of Appreciation from Mothers Against Sexual Abuse. Mr. Wolf has lectured both in the public school and university system on law-related issues, as well as presenting at continuing legal education programs and testifying before the State Legislature on issues concerning family law and child abuse. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Davis, and his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles. Christopher N. Wu is a Supervising Attorney at the Administrative Office of the Courts, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, San Francisco. Before joining that office, he was the Managing Attorney at Legal Services for Children, San Francisco, a nonprofit law office providing direct services to children, using teams of attorneys and social workers. Mr. Wu is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counsel for Children, the National Center for Youth Law, and Legal Services for Children. He is also president of the Northern California Association of Counsel for Children and a member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. Mr. Wu received his B.A. from Shimer College in 1978 and his J.D. in 1984 from the University of Michigan Law School, where his interest in children s law began in the law school s Child Advocacy Law Clinic. CONSULTANTS Nancy Rabin Brucker Law Office of Nancy Rabin Brucker Los Angeles, CA E. Katherine Dashiell Central California Appellate Program Sacramento, CA Hon. Leonard P. Edwards

7 Santa Clara County Superior Court Hon. Terry B. Friedman Los Angeles County Superior Court Donna Wickham Furth Law Office of Donna Wickham Furth San Francisco, CA Bruce Goldstein Office of County Counsel Santa Rosa, CA Roberta C. Lagomarsini Office of County Counsel Stockton, CA Stephanie G. Miller California Appellate Project, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Hon. Arnold D. Rosenfield Sonoma County Superior Court Kenneth P. Sherman Dependency Court Legal Services Monterey Park, CA Hon. Gary J. Silber Commissioner, Contra Costa County Superior Court Neal Snyder Senior Staff Attorney California Department of Social Services Oakland, CA Richard Such First District Appellate Project San Francisco, CA Robert L. Walker Law Offices of Robert Walker San Francisco