Schwarzenegger appoints four new judges in LA County TRIAL, from page 1
The deputy district attorney in charge of prosecuting a man charged with killing a Santa Monica woman has been taken off the case after being named a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge.
Governor Arnold Schwarz-enegger announced Wednesday that Deputy District Attorney Eleanor Hunter has been appointed to a judgeship for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Deputy DA Doug Sortino has taken over the case against Victor Paleologus, who’s charged with capital murder for allegedly killing Kristine Johnson in February 2002. Sortino was present for a pre-trial conference on Wednesday in a downtown LA courtroom.
Sortino has been familiarizing himself with the case for more than a month, said Terry Hall, Johnson’s mother, who lives in Los Gatos, Calif. She said met with him briefly on Wednesday and is confident he will prevail at trial, which is expected to begin in April.
“It renewed my faith that there was an actual DA and an actual judge,” Hall said, referring to the lapse since she’s sat in on the court proceedings. “He still pursuing a lot of (evidence).”
Paleologus’ attorney, Andrew Flier, said he was disappointed that he won’t be battling it out with Hunter.
“I was looking forward to beating her in court,” he said.
Sortino is the lead prosecutor in the murder case against rock music producer Phil Spector who was charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson in 2001. That trial is expected sometime this year.
Hunter, 43, of Los Angeles, has served for the last 16 years as deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, focusing primarily on criminal prosecution.
Prior to her service with the county, Hunter, a democrat, was an associate with the law firms Malek and Malek and Sheild and Smith. Hunter earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of LaVerne and a bachelor of science degree from California State University, Long Beach. She is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the California Bar Association. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Oale Fisher.
Schwarzenegger also appointed Michael I. Levanas, Scott T. Millington and Dorothy B. Reyes to judgeships in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Levanas, 55, of Pacific Palisades, has served as commissioner of the Los Angeles Superior Court for the past three years. Prior to that, he owned and operated a law firm for 25 years, where he handled primarily criminal defense, juvenile dependency and family law cases. Levanas earned his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the California Bar Association. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Margaret Hay. Levanas is a Democrat.
Millington, 44, of Manhattan Beach, has served for the last 15 years as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, working in criminal litigation. Prior to that, he worked as a bankruptcy associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton for over a year and as a FBI investigative specialist from 1982 to 1985. Millington earned his Juris Doctorate and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the California Bar Association. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Chesley N. McKay. Millington is a Republican.
Reyes, 52, of Pasadena, has more than 22 years of insurance defense experience. For the past three years she has owned and operated a law firm, where she has handled primarily insurance defense litigation. Prior to starting the firm, Reyes worked as a partner for LaFollete Johnson from 1982 to 2001. Reyes earned her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Law School and her Bachelor of Science degree from Grambling State University. Reyes fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Alan B. Haber, who was the presiding judge at the Santa Monica Courthouse. Reyes is a Democrat.
The compensation for each of the positions is $139,784.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 17, 2005. Read the original PDF.