FORTNER NAMED COUNTY COUNSEL.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Interim County Counsel Raymond Fortner was promoted Tuesday to the permanent post by a unanimous vote of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County supervisors. Fortner, a 34-year veteran of the office, has served as interim county counsel since former County Counsel Lloyd Pellman retired in March amid criticism over his handling of the state's open-meeting law and the county's litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. costs. The county's legal costs - which include judgments, settlements and outside legal fees - jumped from $89 million in fiscal 1999-00 to a record $109 million in 2002-03. The costs fell to $64 million the past fiscal year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. information provided by the County Counsel's Office pursuant to a Public Records Act request that took more than a year to fill. Fortner agreed to take the job until his planned retirement in early 2006, at which time he will help in the recruitment of his successor. Pellman was earning $176,778 when he retired. Fortner's salary is still being negotiated. He did not return phone calls. Fortner's selection in executive session came under immediate criticism by First Amendment proponents, who maintain that he was ultimately responsible when the supervisors violated the state's open-meeting law last month. On Friday, District Attorney Steve Cooley Stephen Lawrence ("Steve") Cooley (born May 1, 1947 in Los Angeles, California) is a veteran prosecutor who was elected as Los Angeles County's 36th District Attorney on November 7, 2000. He was sworn in for his second term on December 6, 2004. said the supervisors violated the Brown Act when they decided in closed session to close the trauma center trauma center n. A medical facility that is designated to treat severe physical trauma as a result of the specialized training of its staff and the availability of appropriate diagnostic and treatment tools. at Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center. ``What is their criteria to pick a county counsel if they pick someone who participated in what the district attorney says is a violation of the Brown Act?'' asked Karen Ocamb, a representative of the Los Angeles Sunshine Coalition. David Hernandez, chairman of the Committee to Support the Los Angeles County Seal Ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been , said Fortner also wrote the opinion that recommended the supervisors not fight a demand by the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. to remove a small cross from the official county seal. Hernandez's group has gathered 40,000 of the more than 341,000 signatures needed by March 1 to force the supervisors to call for a special election giving voters a chance to decide the controversial issue. On Tuesday, 240 Catholic parishes and the county's Republican Party began circulating cir·cu·late v. cir·cu·lat·ed, cir·cu·lat·ing, cir·cu·lates v.intr. 1. To move in or flow through a circle or circuit: blood circulating through the body. 2. the petition. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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