Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 107 Magistrate Judge Scott (Continued from Page 6) Has practicing in the Orange County community in particular contributed your work as a judge? I grew up in Fullerton and went to high school in Placentia, so my so my experience with Orange County started even before I began practicing law. I worked at Rutan & Tucker, which is the oldest es- tablished law firm in Orange County. Rutan took that seriously and strove to establish its legacy as a leader in the county by setting an example for the Orange County legal community. What is a problem (if any) facing the Central Dis- trict that you wish more people were aware of? While others hearing that question might think of limited court funding or e-filing issues, the problem that comes to my mind is one facing the broader community, and that is substance abuse. Now that I am handling a criminal docket, I have been shocked to learn how many stories in the criminal cases seem to start with some form of substance abuse, which leads to impaired judgment, criminal behavior and then severe consequences. As a community, we need to do a better job of keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol before it becomes too difficult to break those habits and before they are facing lengthy prison sentences. Is there a part of the job you find most interesting? I had not practiced criminal law in private practice, so learning criminal law as a magistrate judge is particularly interesting. I now handle issuing search warrants, and it is interesting to read the facts in the probable cause affidavits and see the methods used to develop probable cause including surveillance and computer forensics. Do you have any tips for attorneys appearing in your court? As a magistrate judge, some of my matters involve discovery disputes. I know some practitioners may complain about the local rules regarding joint stipu- lations, but I find that format helpful in evaluating discovery motions. On the other hand, some discov- ery disputes may not need full briefing, and I wel- come attempts at informal resolution such as letter briefs or phone calls. Practitioners should keep in mind that a magistrate judge does not have the au- thority to move deadlines set by a district judge, so discovery disputes should be identified as early as possible to ensure there is adequate time to resolve them. Do you handle many settlement conferences? If so, what approach do you take during these settle- ment conferences? I do handle settlement conferences. I usually issue a standard order that asks the parties to exchange a demand and an offer prior to the settlement confer- ence. Parties should be prepared with a brief open- ing statement, though one may not be necessary de- pending on the particulars of each case (e.g., if the settlement conference is taking place after summary judgment or if the parties are represented at the con- ference by sophisticated in-house counsel). When a party is requesting nonmonetary terms for a settle- ment agreement, that party should be prepared with a copy of the specific terms, or bring a laptop to write out the terms as the negotiations progress. How does your background as a civil litigator in- form your work as a magistrate judge? In the latter part of my career I handled complex class action defense, which often involved phased discovery. That experience informs my duties as a magistrate. Though some case management is de- termined by district judges, I do need to work out the case management for some of my civil rights cases. It helps to have the experience of streamlin- ing litigation and strategically managing a case. One thing I can do as a magistrate judge for some cases, such as those involving prisoner civil rights or cases where litigants seek to waive filing fees, is to screen the complaint to ensure that only the necessary defendants are forced into court. ________________________________________ * Tu-Quyen Pham and Samrah Mahmoud are asso- ciate attorneys in the Orange County office of Crowell & Moring.