Oral argument in Taitz v Barack Obama, Senator Diane Feinstein and Elizabeth Emken is scheduled for Monday, September 26, 9 am 601 West Santa Ana Blvd, Santa Ana, CA. Supporters are asked to be in court. Presence of supporters means a lot

Press release

Law offices of Orly Taitz

Oral argument in Taitz v Barack Obama, Senator Diane Feinstein and Elizabeth Emken is scheduled for Monday, September 26, 9 am 601 West Santa Ana Blvd, Santa Ana, CA. Supporters are asked to be in court. Presence of supporters means a lot. According to the clerk of the court the hearing panel is as follows

Chief Judge Kathleen O’Leary

Judge David Thompson

Judge Raymond Ikola

Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary was appointed to the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, in December 1999. Her appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on January 21, 2000. In November 2002, Justice O’Leary was elected by the voters of the Fourth District (Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties) to the same office.

In January 2006, Justice O’Leary received the Franklin G. West Award, the Orange County Bar Association’s highest honor. This award is presented each year to an outstanding attorney or judge whose lifetime achievements have advanced justice and the law.

Throughout her judicial career, Justice O’Leary has been active in judicial and law-related education efforts. She is a past member and past chair of the Governing Committee of the California Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER). She has consistently worked to improve the administration of justice through comprehensive and quality education and training for judicial officers and other judicial branch personnel. In addition to teaching a number of courses for California judicial officers, judicial branch staff, law enforcement and lawyers, she has taught courses for the judiciary of sister states, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Judicial College. In 2003, Justice O’Leary was presented with the Bernard S. Jefferson Award for Distinguished Service in Judicial Education by the California Judges Association.

Justice O’Leary has served by appointment of the Chief Justice as a member of the Judicial Council of California, the constitutionally mandated body responsible for improving the administration of justice in California, on a number of its advisory committees, and on numerous Judicial Council task forces. Justice O’Leary’s contributions to judicial administration were recognized by the Judicial Council when she was named Jurist of the Year in 1999.

Prior to her appointment to the appellate court, Justice O’Leary served on the Orange County Superior Court. She was appointed to the Orange County Superior Court on July 1, 1986, by Governor George Deukmejian, and was in her third term as the Presiding Judge of that court when elevated to the Court of Appeal. Justice O’Leary began her judicial career at the West Orange County Municipal Court in 1981, where she also served both as the Presiding Judge and the Assistant Presiding Judge.

Justice O’Leary attended Marymount College at Loyola University, now Loyola Marymount University and received her juris doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law.

Justice O’Leary and her husband reside in Orange County.

Associate Justice David A. Thompson was appointed to the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, on May 18, 2012, and was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on June 28, 2012. The California State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation unanimously ranked Justice Thompson “exceptionally well qualified” for appointment to the Court of Appeal.

Before being elevated, Justice Thompson was an Orange County Superior Court judge for fifteen years, and served as the Assistant Presiding Judge of that court in 2011 and 2012. As a Superior Court judge, he presided over all types of civil and criminal matters at both the general and limited jurisdiction levels. He was a member of the felony panel from 2008 to 2011, the general civil panel from 2002 to 2008, and the limited jurisdiction panel from 1997 until 2001.

Prior to taking the bench, Justice Thompson was an attorney with Morrison & Foerster LLP in Irvine. As a member of the litigation group in 1996 and 1997 he handled general civil, construction defect and product liability cases. As a member of the real estate group from 1988 until 1996 he was involved in the acquisition, sale, development and financing of real property.

Justice Thompson was a civil litigation attorney with Rutan & Tucker LLP in Costa Mesa from 1983 until 1988. He maintained a general civil trial practice, handling contract and business tort cases, subsidence litigation, product liability defense and landlord‑tenant disputes. He also handled numerous writs and appeals.

In 1983 Justice Thompson was a staff attorney for Associate Justice Edward J. Wallin of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three. He prepared draft opinions and performed research for Justice Wallin and other members of the Court. He was also an extern in 1982 with Justice Wallin, then sitting as an Orange County Superior Court judge.

Justice Thompson received his Juris Doctor from the University of California at Los Angeles (Order of the Coif) in 1983 and his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration (Finance) from Georgetown University (Summa Cum Laude) in 1980. He was born in Pasadena, California, in 1956 and was raised in Orange County.

Justice Ikola was born and grew up in Michigan. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, receiving B.S.E and M.S.E. (electrical engineering) degrees in 1962 and 1963 respectively. From 1963 to 1971 he worked as a research engineer at RCA Laboratories, David Sarnoff Research Center, in Princeton, New Jersey. During these years, he continued his education at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic University) and was awarded a Ph.D. (electrophysics) degree in 1972.

Making a career change, Justice Ikola studied law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. While at Hastings, Justice Ikola was an articles editor of the Hastings Law Journal and a member of the Thurston Society. He was awarded the J.D. degree in 1974, graduating as a member of Order of the Coif.

Following graduation from law school, Justice Ikola practiced civil business litigation in Orange County as an associate and then a partner with Wenke, Evans & Ikola (and predecessor firms) from 1974 to 1987, a partner with Hufstedler, Kaus & Beardsley (and predecessor firms) from 1987 to 1990, and as a partner with Snell & Wilmer LLP from 1990 to 1995.

Appointed as a judge of the Orange County Superior Court in November 1995 by Governor Pete Wilson, Justice Ikola served on that court’s civil panel, the high impact trial team, the appellate division of the superior court, and the complex civil litigation panel. He served as supervising judge of the civil panel in 2000. During his tenure on the superior court, he received several awards: Distinguished Service Award from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County, 1996; Judge of the Year from the Orange County Bar Association Business Litigation Section, 2000; Judicial Civility Award from the Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court, 2001; Judge of the Year from the American Board of Trial Advocates, Orange County Chapter, 2001; Judge of the Year from the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, 2001; and Judge of the Year from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County, 2001.

In 2002, the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California ranked Justice Ikola as “exceptionally well qualified” (highest possible ranking) for appointment to the Court of Appeal, and in December 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed Justice Ikola as an Associate Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed his appointment on January 10, 2003.

Justice Ikola’s current professional affiliations include: California Judges Association (1995 to present); Orange County Bar Association (1974 to present); Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court (1996 to present, program chair 1997-1998, president 1998-2000); Board of Governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Orange County Chapter (2001-2003); Judicial Advisory Board, Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County (2000 to present); and member of the Court Technology Advisory Committee to the California Judicial Council (2005 to present). He has also been a frequent lecturer in continuing education programs for lawyers and judges, including presentations for California Continuing Education of the Bar, Orange County Bar Association, Center for Judicial Education and Research, and the Rutter Group.

In his spare time, Justice Ikola enjoys computer programming, classical music, photographing California courthouses, and spending time with his wife, two children and five grandchildren.