Riverside Lawyer Magazine
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March 2007 • Volume 57 Number 3 MAGAZINE IN THIS ISSUE: The Importance of Advance Directives Distribution of Property without Probate The Outsourcing of Government The official publication of the Riverside County Bar Association Publications Committee Kirsten Birkedal Rick Lantz Yoginee Braslaw Robyn Lewis Charlotte Butt Mark Mellor Mike Cappelli Richard Reed CONTENTS Cosmos Eubany Donna Thierbach Donna Hecht Bruce Todd Dorothy Honn Allen Turner Gary Ilmanen Lisa Yang Columns: Editors ........................................................... Michael Bazzo 3 ................... President’s Message by David T. Bristow Jacqueline Carey-Wilson Design and Production ........................ PIP Printing Riverside 6 ........................... Humor Column by Michael J. Cappelli Cover Design ........................................ PIP Printing Riverside 8 ........................ Litigation Update Officers of the Bar Association COVER STORIES: 10 ............... The Importance of Advance Directives President President-Elect by Robyn A. Lewis David T. Bristow Daniel Hantman (951) 682-1771 (951) 784-4400 ........... Distribution of Property Without Probate [email protected] [email protected] 12 by Tiffany Dou Vice President Chief Financial Officer E. Aurora Hughes Harry J. Histen, III (909) 483-6700 (951) 682-4121 14 ..................... The Outsourcing of Government [email protected] [email protected] by Richard Brent Reed Secretary Past President Harlan B. Kistler Theresa Han Savage (951) 686-8848 (951) 248-0328 [email protected] [email protected] Features: 16 ..................... Justices Visit North High School Directors-at-Large by Robyn A. Lewis Jacqueline Carey-Wilson Daniel E. Katz (909) 387-4334 (951) 682-1771 [email protected] [email protected] 18 ...................... The RCBA Elves Program 2006 by Brian C. Pearcy Richard A. Kennedy Robyn A. Lewis (951) 715-5000 (951) 686-8848 [email protected] [email protected] 20 ......Judicial Profile: Commissioner Mark Petersen by Donna Johnson Thierbach Executive Director Charlotte A. Butt (951) 682-1015 22 ...................... Opposing Counsel: Grover Trask, [email protected] the End of an Era Officers of the Barristers Association by Donna Johnson Thierbach 24 .......................Historic Riverside: M.H. Simons President Treasurer Undertaking Chapel John D. Higginbotham Christopher L. Peterson (951) 686-1450 by Bruce E. Todd [email protected] Secretary Matthew M. Benov .......................................... Justice in a Box Vice President 26 Charles P. Boylston Member-at-Large by Richard Brent Reed Jerry C. Yang Riverside County Bar Association Departments: 4129 Main Street, Suite 100 Riverside, California 92501 Calendar . 2 Membership . 28 Telephone Facsimile 951-682-1015 951-682-0106 Classified Ads . 28 Internet E-mail www.riversidecountybar.com [email protected] Riverside Lawyer, March 2007 1 MMISSIONISSION SSTATETATEMMENTENT CALENDAR Established in 1894 MARCH The Riverside County Bar Association, established in 1894 to foster social interaction between the bench and bar, is a professional organization that pro- 21 CLE Brown Bag Series vides continuing education and offers an arena to resolve various problems that "Voir Dire" face the justice system and attorneys practicing in Riverside County. Speaker: Judge Gloria Trask Historic Courthouse, Dept. 4 – Noon (MCLE) RCBA Mission Statement Inland Empire Federal Bar The mission of the Riverside County Bar Association is to: Association Serve its members, and indirectly their clients, by implementing programs “A Federal Practice Seminar for the Central that will enhance the professional capabilities and satisfaction of each of its District of California, Eastern Division” members. 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Serve its community by implementing programs that will provide opportu- George E. Brown Courthouse, Riverside. nities for its members to contribute their unique talents to enhance the quality (MCLE) of life in the community. Serve the legal system by implementing programs that will improve access 23 Joint RCBA/RLPA General to legal services and the judicial system, and will promote the fair and efficient Membership Meeting administration of justice. “The Seventh Amendment: Preserving the Right to Trial by Jury” Arbitration Clauses & Membership Benefits the Law Involvement in a variety of legal entities: Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), Pub- Speaker: Michael Bidart, Esq. lic Service Law Corporation (PSLC), Tel-Law, Fee Arbitration, Client Relations, RCBA Bldg., 3rd Floor – Noon Dispute Reslution Service (DRS), Barristers, Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court, Inland (MCLE) Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Assocition, Mock Trial, State Bar Conference 28 Inn of Court of Delgates, and Bridging the Gap. Victoria Club – 6:00 p.m. Membership meetings monthly (except July and August) with keynote speak- ers, and particpation in the many committees and sections. 29 RCBA/SBCBA “So You Want To Be Eleven issues of Riverside Lawyer published each year to update you on State A Judge” Bar matters, ABA issues, local court rules, open forum for communication and RCBA Bldg., 3rd Floor timely business matters. 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Social gatherings throughout the year: Installation of RCBA and Barristers RCBA/SBCBA Members $30; Non-Members Officers dinner, Annual Joint Barristers and Riverside Legal Secretaries dinner, $40 Law Day activties, Good Citizenship Award ceremony for Riverside County high MCLE: 3.0 Hrs (includes .50 hr. Ethics) schools, and other special activities. Continuing Legal Education brown bag lunches and section workshops. 30 COURT HOLIDAY (Cesar Chavez Day) RCBA is a certified provider for MCLE programs. MBNA Platinum Plus MasterCard, and optional insurance programs. APRIL Discounted personal disability income and business overhead protection for 2 Continuing Legal Ed Committee the attorney and long-term care coverage for the attorney and his or her family. RCBA – Noon Riverside Lawyer is published 11 times per year by the Riverside County 3 Joint RCBA/SBCBA Environmental Bar Association (RCBA) and is distributed to RCBA members, Riverside Law Section County judges and administrative officers of the court, community leaders “Global Warming & Other Current and others interested in the advancement of law and justice. Advertising and Environmental Issues” announcements are due by the 6th day of the month preceding publications Speaker: Judge LeRoy Simmons, Ret. (e.g., October 6 for the November issue). Articles are due no later than 45 RCBA Bldg., 3rd Floor - Noon days preceding publication. All articles are subject to editing. RCBA members (MCLE) receive a subscription automatically. Annual subscriptions are $25.00 and single copies are $3.50. 4 Bar Publications Committee RCBA – Noon Submission of articles and photographs to Riverside Lawyer will be deemed to be authorization and license by the author to publish the material in 10 Joint RCBA/SBCBA Landlord- Riverside Lawyer. Tenant Law Section The material printed in Riverside Lawyer does not necessarily reflect the “Policies & Procedures in D-201, Moreno opinions of the RCBA, the editorial staff, the Publication Committee, or other Valley Court” columnists. Legal issues are not discussed for the purpose of answering specif- Speaker: Commissioner Rob Nagby ic questions. Independent research of all issues is strongly encouraged. Cask ‘n Cleaver, Riverside – 6:00 p.m. (MCLE) 2 Riverside Lawyer, March 2007 provides us with the means for enforcing our rights, which are reflected in our laws, both civil and criminal. Without access to our civil courts, we are powerless to protect our rights – any of our rights – which means we are powerless to protect our families, our homes, our property, and ourselves. Powerless to protect ourselves from intrusion by the govern- ment, and also powerless to enforce our government’s civil laws. Our civil courts are where accident victims obtain redress from those at fault. Where business owners protect their contracts and their investments. Where employers and employees resolve their disputes. Where foreclosures are carried out or stopped. Where our cities and our county enforce their ordinances. When we seek emergency relief, it’s where we turn. When we want to adopt a child, or change our name, or by David T. Bristow clarify who owns a piece of real estate, we do so through our civil courts. A crisis is looming over the courts of this Without a well-functioning civil court system, our ability to enforce each county, one of unprecedented scope and con- of these rights, as well as countless others, is threatened. sequence. Quite simply, we appear to have forgotten how important our courts If left unchecked, this crisis will poten- are to our system of government. Our great nation rests upon the bril- tially affect the rights of all who seek redress liance of our constitution, which mandates three branches of govern- in our courts – every person, every business, ment: The executive, the legislative and the judicial. Yet in our county, every public and private organization – for we have allowed our judicial branch to wither. years to come. At a time when our elected As the President of the Riverside County Bar Association, it is my officials boast of our region’s growing clout obligation, as well as that of our members, to reverse this trend and and significance, the abandonment of our to help ensure the soundness and sanctity of our court system. Every county’s court