Northern District of California Chapter

Officers
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A Message from the Chapter President

Our predecessor Chapter, the San Francisco Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, was established in 1941. The Chapter changed its name to The Northern District of California Chapter in 1994 and changed its boundaries to be identical to those of the Northern District. The Chapter focuses on bench/bar activities, both social and educational.

Since 1976, the Chapter has held an annual lunch honoring the judges of the Ninth Circuit. The most recent lunche was in March 2007 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. After an introduction by Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Chief Judge Mary Schroeder of the Ninth Circuit reported on the state of the Circuit. More than 40 of our federal judges and nearly 500 lawyers attended the event.

Our chapter also hosts an annual dinner for the judges of the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Recent dinners have been at Rubicon and at Jeanty at Jacks in San Francisco, and this year’s dinner is on October 10 at Butterfly.

The Chapter periodically hosts continuing educational events of interest to its members.
• On December 7, 2005, the Chapter presented a program in memory of Cecil F. Poole, who served as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for twenty years. Friends and colleagues shared memories of Judge Poole, who battled discrimination to become the first African-American to serve as a U.S. Attorney, the first African-American to serve as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and the second African-American to be appointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The program was held in Courtroom One of the James R. Browning United States Courthouse and was followed by a reception in the Great Hall.
• On April 20, 2006, the Chapter hosted a dinner that began with champagne and hors d’oeuvres at the Bubble Lounge and continued with dinner at Villa Taverna, with a CLE presentation by Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker on “How Federal Judges Won the West: A History of the Northern District of California.” Over 100 lawyers attended the event.
• On September 15, 2006, the Chapter presented a program in honor of Constitution Day entitled “Legends Discuss the Most Important Constitutional Decisions of the Past 100 Years.” The panel was moderated by Professor Rory Little of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and of counsel at McDermott Will and Emery, and featured the Honorable John T. Noonan, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Professor Jesse Choper, Professor of law, University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, and Ephraim Margolin. The program was held at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and was followed by a reception in the Great Hall.
• Every two years, the Chapter and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals jointly sponsor an appellate workshop at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California. The speakers are either Ninth Circuit judges or distinguished appellate lawyers. As part of the workshop, the participants prepare and submit an appellate brief based on an actual appellate case. The workshop also includes panels on brief writing and oral argument, a mock oral argument and mock judicial conference, and an individual critique of the participant’s brief by either a Ninth Circuit judge or an experienced appellate lawyer. The most recent workshop was on October 25 and 26, 2006.
• On January 18, 2007, the chapter sponsored a CLE program on “Federal Criminal Post-Conviction Sentencing and Designation Issues,” with a panel moderated by vice-president Valerie Stewart from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and featuring a defense attorney, a former prosecutor, a former probation officer and current sentencing specialist, and a former drug abuse counselor at the Bureau of Prisons (and current consultant).
• On May 30, 2007, the chapter, the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, the Ninth Circuit Historical Society, and the Northern District of California Historical Society co-sponsored a CLE program in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on “Significant Legal Decisions In the Northern District of California Affecting Asian Americans: A Discussion of the Legal And Social Impact of Cases Including Yick Wo v. Hopkins, Lau v. Nichols, Wong v. Hampton, and Korematsu v. U.S.. The Honorable Edward M. Chen, Magistrate Judge from the Northern District of California, moderated a panel that included Karen Kai from the Korematsu Coram Nobis Team, Edward Steinman, Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law, and Malcolm Yeung from the Asian Law Caucus. The event was followed by a wine-and-hors-d’oeuvres reception in the Great Hall and tours of the historic courtrooms and chambers of the Ninth Circuit.
• On October 25, 2007, the Chapter will co-host with the Litigation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the SF Jurisprudence Café their “First Annual Jurisprudence Luncheon,” featuring a panel on “How Judges Decide Cases.” The speakers include the Honorable Joseph R. Grodin (former Justice, California Supreme Court, and Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings College of the Law) and the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt and the Honorable Alex Kozinski (both circuit judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit). The moderator is James Brosnahan from Morrison & Foerster, LLP. Program highlights will include Jim Brosnahan’s discussion of a brief history of jurisprudence, Justice Grodin’s discussion of the American realists Holmes and Cardozo, Judge Reinhardt’s discussion of the practice and theory of deciding cases, and Judge Kozinksi’s discussion of the foundation of strict construction.
• In the coming months, the Chapter will host regular CLE events on topics of interest to the federal bench and bar.
The Chapter has also taken positions on legislative and other issues important to its members.
• The Chapter continues to oppose proposed legislation to split the Ninth Circuit. In connection with hearings on proposed legislation, the Chapter has sent letters to the members of the United States and the House of Representatives supporting the existing structure of the Ninth Circuit, and opposing proposed legislation to split the Circuit.
• The Chapter has actively supported the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in their efforts to inform the public and other branches of the government of the dire consequences of proposed budgets on the federal judiciary. Chapter members coordinated with the District Court to contact legislators and other members of the public to explain the extent of the cutbacks foreseen in court services in the upcoming budget, and to urge increased funding. The Chapter has also sent letters to Senator Diane Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, and House of Representative members Nancy Pelosi, Mike Thompson, Lynn Woolsey, George Miller, Barbara Lee, Ellen Tauscher, Tom Lantos, Pete Stark, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eschoo, Richard Pombo, Sam Farr and Michael Honda, urging that they support the increased funding level approved by the House Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Chapter also works with the Court on projects of interest or utility to the federal bench and bar.
• In the fall of 2006, the Chapter, working with other lawyer groups and the district court, developed a survey on the Court’s case management, administration, and local rules, and circulated it to members of the Chapter, the Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit, the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Litigation Section, and other lawyer groups. We then organized the responses into a comprehensive memorandum and presented the findings to the judges at their October 2006 retreat.
• Members of the Federal Bar Association sit on court committees at the Ninth Circuit and the Northern District of California, including the Court’s non-appropriated funds committee, the Criminal Justice Working Group, and the media room working group.

I encourage all who are interested in federal practice in the Northern District of California to join the Chapter and to participate in its activities.

Laurel Beeler
Northern District of California Chapter President

Upcoming Events

December 20, 2007
Oral Motion in Remembrance of George Duff, a member
of the Bar of the Northern District of California
(dedication of the proceedings for the day.)
Motion presented by Laurel Beeler, President,
Northern District of California Chapter, Federal Bar Assoc.
Time: 11:00 A.M.
Location: Civil Law & Motion Calendar, Judge William H. Alsup
Courtroom 9, 19th Flr. U.S. Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Ave,
San Francisco, CA

January 15, 2008
Dedication of Memorial to George Duff, Past President Northern District of California Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Attorney Lounge, 18th Flr. U.S. Courthouse,
450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA
Remarks by: Current/Past Chapter Officers, Thomas Turner, Esq.,
Judges of the Court
Reception to follow in the Attorney Lounge.

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Recent Events

October 10, 2007
Third Annual FBA Dinner with the Judges of the Ninth Circuit and the Northern District of California
Time: 6:00 p.m. cocktails, 7:00 p.m. dinner
Location: Butterfly at the Embarcadero, Pier 33 at Bay Street
Cost: $150 ($100 public sector/public service)
Registration: View flyer and RSVP by October 4 to fbaNDCA@hotmail.com or to 415/436-6765; checks payable to FBA/NDCA and mailed to Laurel Beeler, US Attorney’s Office, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102

October 25, 2007
First Annual Jurisprudence Luncheon on “How Judges Decide Cases”
Time: 11:30 registration, lunch and program 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: BASF Conference Center, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco
Cost: $30 public sector/public service; $40 FBA, $50 BASFD, $65 all others
Regstration: View flyer and register online at sfbar.org or make checks payable to BASF (event code G073107 10/25/07) and mail to CLE Department, the Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 (can register with Visa, Mastercard or American Express by including the card number and expiration date)

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Chapter News

Click here to view the chapter's letter to Senator Diane Feinstein concerning the fiscal year 2005 funding for the federal courts. The chapter also sent letters to Senator Barbara Boxer and House of Representative members Nancy Pelosi, Mike Thompson, Lynn Woolsey, George Miller, Barbara Lee, Ellen Tauscher, Tom Lantos, Pete Stark, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eschoo, Richard Pombo, Sam Farr and Michael Honda.

Click here to view the San Francisco Chronicle article “DEFENDING DOUGLAS,” on the chapter-sponsored program “Remembering William O. Douglas: a Response to Recent Critics.”

Click here to view the chapter’s Letter to the Editor in The Recorder, “THE NINTH CIRCUIT SHOULD STAY INTACT.”

Click here to view the chapter’s letter to the Committee on the House Committee on the Judiciary concerning proposed legislation to split the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Click here to view the chapter’s letter to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure in opposition to proposed Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1.

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