News Scrapbook 1988

San Pedro, CA (Los Angeles Co .) News Pilot (Cir. D. 14,248) JAN 2 6 198B

LOS Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co.) Metropolitan News (Cir. SxW 2,500)

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Poligflg physicians houtcf:~alifornia's. medical judgments in excess of $3,000 profeBB1on be subJected to against doctors, instead of the cur- more scrutiny by the state? rent notification requirement for those ~hysicians who are placed on es~ Law _at the Umvers•f;f of . San probation by committees of the Diego~thinks so. And so do we. medical quality review board n~ .Petfectly rea~onable that should be required to notify their phys1c1ans be monitored more patients of that fact closely, con idering the irreparable · harm th y can cause. It will be another year before the There are 92,000 physicians li- Center for Public Interest Law censed to practice in California. completes its recommendations Yet only 62 doctors had their which will be forwarded to th~ licenses revoked during the past Legislature. Unfortunately, pros- two years, despite more than 5 500 pects for passage are slim because pati nt complaints that warr~ted the politically powerful California formal investigation. Medical Association, like the Cali- ne of the center's recommenda- fomia Trial Lawyers Association tio would require the state medi- is reluctant to police its own ranks.' ,c_al board to immediately pull the In short, doctors can only be c nses of physicians convicted of held to a neceBBary standard of a medical-related felony. professionalism in California if the The state medical board also lawmakers will stand up to the should be notified of malpractice physicians' lobby in Sacramento. .Attorney Robert~h. who directs the Center f(?r P~6ITclnter- awards of more than $30,000. And

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/ Bar Governors Vote to Hike Dues to as Much as $470 a Year

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said some of the changes will be incorporated in Presiey's SB1498, now on the Senate floor. In other actions Saturday, the bar governors: •Voted to oppose a proposal that would transfer to the Court of Appeal any State Bar disciplinary matters coming before the Supreme Court "which do not present i ues of great importance." •Amended its rules to increase from $200 to $900 the filing fee for a reinstatement petition. •Authorized the chief trial counsel to release non-confidential information on disciplinary matters/

to get their house in order before there·~ go111g to be any significant due~ increase." But another leading critic of the bar, Sen . Rubert Pre ley, D Riverside, may support even higher dues than the bar is proposing if additional reforms are adopted, said stall aide Robert Holmes. Among other things, Holmes said, Presley wants a bar fund for victims of dishonest lawyers to raise the maximum payout from $50,000 to $75,000, wants all negligence judgments against lawyers to be reported to disciplinary officials, and wants the bar to study "ambulance-chasing" by lawyers at maior disasters. He

Most of Funds Would Go Toward Beefing Up Disciplinary System -Proposal for Mandatory Continuing Lf!98I Education Put Over to March Meeting

A ' DIEGO-The tate Bar Board of Governor on Saturday adopted a 1989 budget that could result in due, for lawyer, jumping to as much as $470 a year. Not tackled hy the bar governor was the proposal for J mand,Hory legal education program. D1scu ion on that ,uhJcct wa\ postponed to March. fht! hoard members, in voting to seek the largest du increa e in the organ1u1tion' history. pecified that mo,t ol the money will go to lawyer discipline. The b r h,1 been facing unrelenting critici m of its di ciplinary effort I'he hoard voted to increa uue for most of ( alifornia\ 110,800 lawyers to as much as $470 a year, c mpared wtth the current 275 for lawyers with three or more year of practtce. Lawyers with les. experience pay lower amounts. I he bulk of the incrca\C would go for improve- m nt in the u1 c1phnary ,ystem that were recommended 111 a cm1cal report b} a monitor appointed by Attorney C,cncral John Van de Kctmp. The larg1:st single it m would be the hiring of lull 11111e prore sional judges for d1 ciphnc cases. replac- in the 440 volunteer attorney and small numbers of n:t1red Judges and part time referee who now conduct tht: hearings. I he mone} also \\IOU kl expand the bar's staff of prosecutor, and investigators to tackle a per 1stent backlog of d1scipltnary cases. I'hc bar failed to meet a I ghl.ttivc deadline of the end of 1987 to clear up the ba klog ndcrlini ·ommcnh Bar Prestdent I err} nuerhnt said the actions i:nsurc that the maJor reforms of the discipline system "111 he completed. "I he fund111g will allow for additional investigators and attorneys to cope "1th continuing high caseloads, el11111nate the backlog and create a full time court." he said, adding: "At the ~,me time, it 1s vital that we carefully con~1der the implication of the increased costs on 111diqdual attorneys . special committee will tudy and make spei;1fic recommendations ." Bar leader have gone along with changes recom- mended by Robert l·ellmeth, a University of San Diego law profe~sor appoin1rn"B} Van de amp ast }'ear to ,tnalyze the dl\ciphne system and recommend changes. 1-ellmeth reported last year that the system, despite m.:cnl improvements, was incapable of handling com- plex cases, had little contact with the public, was too slow and inefficient in acting agamst lawyers guilty of crimes. and was so short staffed that 11 could reduce its backlog only hy dismissing large numbers of complaints with little investigation. In recommending the hiring of salaried judges to hear disciplinary cases and also to replace the bar's volunteer appellate court, Fellmeth said the volunteers had little training, used varying tandards and often issued incon istent decisions. Some bar leaders resisted the proposal because of the cost but went along after legislative action was threatened. Fellmeth has promised to lobby for the dues increase in the Legislature, saying the action showed courage on the part of bar leaders. But the large increase is expected to encounter opposition in the Legislature, where much . mailer increases have been delayed and trimmed the last several years. Using Staff Properly Anne Richards, spokeswoman for Assembly Mi- nority Leader Patrick Nolan, R-Glendale, said Friday that Nolan feels bar leaders "have not done a good job on disciplinary matters and that they have adequate staff to do it now if the staff is used properly. They have

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San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217 089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

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Glendale, CA (Los Angeles Co .) Daily News Press (Cir. D. 16,200) A " - 88

ever-increasing caseload, which weaknesses of the attorney 1sc1~

Club of San Diego State Bar As- sociation President Terry Ander- lini acknowledged that the asso- ciation's lax system of disciplin- g , ttorneys is "not one we can proud of." After this classic undcrstat men! Mr. Anderlini announced that membership dues would be increased by 68 percent next year to help pay for long- ·mprovements in the dis- : Overdue l Many lawyers are upstt at having to pay $450 in annual dues during the next three years, in- cisely what will happen if the attorneys don't get Each year, the state bar re- ceives roughly 11,000 client com- plaints, or approximately one for every 10 lawyers practicing in California. The number of com- plaints 1s probably closer to 25,000, inasmuch as bar bureau- crats routinely log complaints as "inquiries." Even when the com- plaints are acknowledged offi- cially, there is little chance they will receive prompt attention. A small staff of underpaid investi- ciplinary system. their house in order.

plinary system andf propose some bad_ly needed 1~ orms.. These mclude enhanced mter- im suspension power and better pay for state bar _prosecuto:s. He also propo~es hmng more mves- tigators and attorneys to prose- cute cases, expanding the legal to. disco~er attorney misconduct mcreasmg th_e mal- practice j1..dgment au on y, ~n empo~erm~ a pane~ of salaried a?mm1.str_ab.ve law Jud_ges to de- c1de d1sc1plme cases mstead of the 440 part-time volunteer attor- th t d The state bar has agreed to nearlv all of these proposed re- form; and is currently making policy changes to implement sev- eral of them. Yet, legislative ap- proval is required before two- thirds of the proposals can be im- plemented. The vehicle for such action is S.B. 1498, sponsored by Sen. Robert Presley, D-Riverside. The Legislature will soon con- sider this blueprint for overhaul- ing the state bar's shoddy disci- plinary system. Prompt approval of S.B. 1498 will ensure that the overdue reforms are implement- er au_thority 1 d neys who current y o so.

accounts for the current backlog of 1,500_cases awaiting investiga- tion. Little wonder that so f~w attorneys are suspended or dis- Last year, the Legislature al- most created an independent commission to handle allegations of lawyer misconduct, thereby relieving the state bar of that re- sponsibility. But the lawmakers had second thoughts and gave the lawyers two more years to make things right under the oversight of a state-appointed watchdog. Fortunately, th at overseer is Rob r F llme th , a professor of law at th e Uni\'ersity of San Diego ao d director of th e sc ool's Center for Public IntereS t Law. succes st ul st ints as a deputy dis- tnct attorney for San Diego County a nd special assiS t ant U.S attorney specializing in th e pros- ecution of white-collar crime. The USD center has been moni- tormg the activities of the state bar since 1979, and Mr. Fellmeth has consistently chided lawyers for refusing to police their own barred in California. His credentials include highly

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Err. 1888 Doctors need tobeheldmore accountable for theirmistakes

for the state board to suspend a physician's license 1f he poses an imminent danger to his patients. 'I he pres- ent procedure requires a temporary restraining order, which is often difficult to obtain - only three such or- ders were granted in the 12 months ending June 30. The state medical board also should be notified of malpractice judgments in excess of $3,000 against doctors. instead of the current notification require- ment for awards of more than $30,000. And those phy- sicians who are placed on probation by committees of the medical quality review board should be required to notify their patients of that fact. It will be another year before the Center for Public Interest Law completes its recommendations, which will be forwarded to the Legislature. Unfortunately, prospects for passage are slim because the politically powerful California Medical Association, like the Cali- fornia Trial Lawyers Association, is reluctant to police its own ranks. ln short, doctors can only be held to a necessary standard of professionalism in California if the law- makers will stand up to the physicians' lobby in Sacra- mento.

S hould Ca~ii~s medical profession be subjected to more scrutiny by the state? Attorney Robert Fellm.:th. who directs the Center for Public Interest Law at the.: University of San Diego, thinks so. And so do we . The Slli;;enter. which ha proposed numerous re- forms of ti.~ state bar's haphazard system of disciplin- ing lawyer is weighing recommendations to hold in- competent doctors more accountable for their mis- takes. It's perfectly reasonable that physicians be monitored more closely, considering the irreparable harm they can cause. For example, reforms should be implemented making it easier for the state medical board to sanction dangerous doctors. There arc 92,000 phys1c1ans licensed to practice in California. Yet only 62 doctors had their licenses re- voked during the past two years, despite more than 5,500 patient complaints that warranted formal in- vestigation. One of the center's recommendations would require the state medical board to pull immediately the licenses of physicians convicted of a medical-related felony. Another sensible reform would make it easier

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In two comprehensive reports,

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir . D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

· Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co) Times (San Diego Ed .) (Cir. D 50,010) (Cir . S 55,573) JAN3 1188

JAN 27 1988

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l.,, San Die o Sport et Cetera Mowery's 2Goals Boost USIU to 7-2 ockeyWin ,~Ci~s Brent Mowery scored two goals nonconference game at Grossmont

found, his brother playing tight end for Cal's football team, and suffering from natural shyness, Munn learned , to entertain himself. His adolescence and puberty are best described by his reasons for staying with basketball. "All it takes is you and the ball," he said. "I could go out and do it on solitary pastime, winning rive state title~ in his preteen years. His mother, Josephine, did what she could, driving him around in search of vacant gyms during the week, taking him to see the sights in San F~ancisco on the weekends. All the. solitary hours of shooting result- e~ m se~eral scholarship offers. The frtendshtp developed with his mother prompted him to accept St. Mary's because it was close to home. "I wasn't too wise," he said. "I didn't check into it as well I should • The Gaels' offense was as patient and their defense as disciplined then as they are now. After three games, Munn quit. At the end of the semes- ter, he went back to Texas transfer- ring to Odessa Community College. There were a lot of other former Di- vision I players there, for a lot of have."

my old buddies."

It is Marty Munn's policy not to look into the past, and considering what lurks there, that's understand- It's also inevitable that he will b~eak that pohcy at some time to- m_ght, when the University of San Diego and St. Mary's meet at 7:30 in St.~ary's is where Munn's college career began. Two of the Gaels' three seniors - Keith Martin and friends when he was there. David Carter and Matt Bair both junior guards, were recruits• he escorted around campus. He attended assist- ant coach Russ Critchfield's basket- Munn, a 6-foot-6 senior forward would like to show how much he ha~ learned in the interim. At the same time, he'd like to stop the Gaels from teaching his present team too many lessons. St. Mary's is 10-5 overall 2-2 in the West Coast Athletic Co;fer- ence. Munn is one of two seniors leading seven freshmen on a Toreros team that is 8-9 overall, 0-4 in the WCAC. Wish him luck. "This game really means a lot to me," he said. "It's not going to take much to get me motivated. There ball camps as a kid. able. the USD Sports Center. Scott Mayer - were his closest

If Munn pla~s up to par? it won't be so.great for his old buddies. Despite bemg the sixth man, he leads the Toreros in scoring ~ith a 14.9 aver- age and 1s second m rebounds per game (5.1). "I~ we had a consistent hneup, Marty d be a starter," said ~unn d1dn t always have the ma- tunty to accept such a role and still I ve seen. Marty develop more as a human ~;mg than anything else," Egan said. ~e was very shy when he got here. Hes _always been a verf, very g~d, carmg .P!;rson. Now hes be..a, team leader. Perhaps because he finally can. When you grow up as Munn did, in- dulgmg your sensitivity is not a wise preoccupation. First there was the separation of his parents when he was 1. Then came t~e move with his mother from Kermit, Texas, to Sali- nas when he was 3, the age at which he attempted his first two-handed dunk. Marty, clutching a basketball, was hoisted to the rim by high school te~,m!°ates of his only sibling, Greg. Right when I was in the thick of sports," Marty said, "Greg went off hel.ps us. We Juggle him in for whoev- er isn't work1,ng." begmmng to show 1t.

College.

just seven seconds apart midway through the second period Satur- day night to snap a 2-2 tie, and United States International Uni- versity went on to a 7-2 victory over St. Mary's College of Minne- sota in a nonconference ice hockey game at the San Diego Ice Arena. Joe Schwartz and Blake Jurgens each scored twice for USIU (15-11 ), which scored three times m the third period to put the game away. St. Mary's fell to 11-6-1. MEN'S BASKETBALL Jeff Martineow scored 17 points and Paul Horn added 14 to lead Biola College, the nation's No. 3-ranked NAIA school, to a 78-63 victory over Point Loma Nazarene College at B1ola. Mark Bulgin scored 16 points and Jimmy Hill added 12 for Point Loma, which fell to 7-14. Biota, which led 35-25 at halftime, im- proved to 22-1. D Dwayne Burton scored 18 points and four other players were in double figures as Christian Heri- tage College defeated West Coast (Fres o) College, 114-67, in a

------------ WOMEN°S BASKETBALL three-point shot with I minute 11 seconds to play snapped a 65-65 tie and sent California's St. Mary's College on to a 69-67 victory over the University .Qf.__ful...!l... Diego jn a West Coast Athletic Conference game at the USD Sports Center. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL Hugh Foster had 26 kills and Marc Jones 25 to lead No. 8-ranked San Diego State to an 8-15, 15-13, 15-11, 3-15, 15-12 Western Inter- collegiate Volleyball Assn. victory over No. 4-ranked Hawaii in Pe- terson Gym. D Jeff Babcock had 16 kills and Nick Rothman and John Lim had 13 apiece to lead host UC San Diego to a 16-14, 11-15. 15-8, 2-15, 15-6 nonconference victory over Cal State Northridge. UCSD, ranked No. 18 in NCAA D1v1s1on III, is 4-7. Cal State Northridge, ranked No. 9, fell to 4-6 despite Jeff Campbell's 21 kills. Gee Gee Golote's

Coach Hank Egan. "His versatility my own." He also ran track another

Marty Munn Faces former teammates no one else could handle " he said "There were quite a few 'that wer~ kicked out of Division I schools for criminal charges." He transferred again, this time to Hartnell CC, then to USD before his junior year. He was the eighth man on last year's 24-6, NCAA playoff team. Now he is the sixth man on a squad being built for a time when he and Danny Means, USD's other sen- ior, will be gone. "This being a rebuilding year, those are the ones that you really feel sorry for," Egan said. "What they have was last year." But that's in the past, a place Munn does not visit too often. To- night will be an exception. z

other reasons.

"I was on a team with players that

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