Bar to Investigate Leaking of Report on Court Nominee

The State Bar said Wednesday it will investigate the leaking of an unfavorable report about Gov. Pete Wilson’s latest state Supreme Court appointee and review the rules of its own judge-screening commission to see whether changes are needed.

The bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, known as the JNE or Jenny Commission, came under attack by prominent conservatives last week for giving an “unqualified” rating to Supreme Court nominee Janice Rogers Brown.

Appeals Court Presiding Justice Robert Puglia, a member of the state commission that confirmed Brown’s nomination, called the bar panel “institutionally flawed” and said it was widely perceived as biased against conservatives.

He and Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, who also voted for Brown’s confirmation, criticized the Jenny Commission report and said they thought someone in the commission or bar had leaked the confidential report to The Times the previous week. Later, retired state Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian and state Republican Party official Shawn Steel called the commission biased and said it should be abolished.

On Wednesday, State Bar President James Towery, a San Jose attorney, said a three-member panel would be named within 10 days to investigate the leak, in response to requests from all 27 members of the Jenny Commission as well as questions raised at Brown’s hearing.

“Although I have great faith in JNE, any process is capable of being improved,” Towery said. He called criticism of the commission and its members “unfortunate and unwarranted” and said the panel has served the public well for 16 years with no political agenda.

The commission, whose members are appointed by the bar’s board of governors, was created by law in 1979 to evaluate every candidate submitted by a governor for a judgeship and prepare a confidential report for the governor. Evaluations are based on surveys of hundreds of lawyers and judges familiar with the candidate, followed by an interview with the candidate.