March 26, 2019 Joint Inn Meeting
On March 26, 2019, the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court (San Bernardino) hosted the Joint Meeting of the four (4) Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inn of Court. Members of the Leo A. Deegan American Inn of Court (Riverside), Warren Slaughter-Richard Roemer American Inn of Court (Desert), and Southwest American Inn of Court (Southwestern Riverside County) were present.
Those present on behalf of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court were as follows: L. Alexandra Fong (Atttorney Master and President), Abram Feuerstein (Attorney Master and Member-at-large of the Board of Directors), Hon. Bambi Moyer (Judicial Master and President-Elect), Hon. Randall Stamen (Judicial Master), Mary Anne Forrest (Attorney Master), Chris Heikaus Weaver (Barrister), Diana Renteria (Barrister), Mark Mellor (Barrister), Peter Mort (Emeritus), Jean-Simon Serrano (Barrister), and Gabriel White (Barrister).
Nick Hanna, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is the featured speaker.
(L-R) Joseph Widman (Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and President-Elect of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court). Hon. Antoine “Tony” Raphael (San Bernardino Superior Court Judge), and Abram Feuerstein (Assistant U.S. Trustee for the Region 16 of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California and Member-at-large of the Leo A. Deegan American Inn of Court).
(L-R) Joseph Widman (Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and President-Elect of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court). Hon. Antoine “Tony” Raphael (San Bernardino Superior Court Judge), and L. Alexandra Fong, President of the Leo A. Deegan American Inn of Court
Nick Hanna, United States Attorney for the Central District of California, was the featured speaker. He opened his speech with jokes about the college admission scandal and arresting “Aunt Becky” from “Full House.”
Nick Hanna, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California
Mr. Hanna spoke about the history of the Central District of California and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this district. The Eastern Division of the district is larger than all other divisions combined and accounts for 25% of the population. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is the second largest office in the country, only behind Washington DC.
His priorities as U.S. Attorney include increasing the footprint of the Inland Empire by hiring new Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Riverside branch office and increase filings in the region, hoping to spark an increase of U.S. District judges for this area. The Eastern Division of the Central District of California only has one full time U.S. District Judge so many of the cases are being heard in Santa Ana and Los Angeles, creating a hardship for witnesses.
Mr. Hanna spoke about two programs which he is focused on: Operation Safe Neighborhoods, to combat gun crimes, and Operation Hypocritical Oath, to combat the opioid crisis by locking up “dirty doctors” and shutting down “crooked pharmacies.”
As U.S. Attorney, he created the National Security Division for the district, which started operations approximately two months prior to the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino.
After his speech, Mr. Hanna answered questions from the audience, moderated by Jack Osborn, past president of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court. These questions related to the prosecution of crimes relating to marijuana usage (still an illegal substance under federal law), the office’s autonomy, the names of his operations (created by law enforcement), and other priorities.
(L-R) David Collela (President of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court), Jack Osborn (Past President of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court), Nick Hanna (U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California), and Joseph Widman (Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and President-Elect of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court)