Chamber Chats - Family Law

On Thursday, February 15, 2024, The Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (“Deegan Inn”) hosted Chamber Chats, a continuing series of chats by Riverside County judicial officers to answer any questions our Inn members may have. Chamber Chats began in 2018-2019 program year, as the official mentoring program of The Deegan Inn.

Hon. John Vineyard, a judicial master and Board Member of The Deegan Inn, invited members to his courtroom, which is in Department F501 of the Family Law Courthouse, located at 4175 Main Street, Riverside, California.

Hon. John Vineyard. Photograph courtesy of Malvina Ovanezova, Esq.

Courtroom personnel. Photograph courtesy of Malvina Ovanezova, Esq.

Members of The Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court. Photograph courtesy of Malvina Ovanezova, Esq.

Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court to host Joint Meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inn of Court

The Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court will host the joint meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inns of Court. Members from the Hon. Joseph Campbell Inn (San Bernardino), Southwest Inn (Temecula), and Richard Roemer-Warren Slaughter Inn (Desert) will travel to Downtown Riverside for the joint meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at The Cheech - The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, a public-private partnership between Riverside Arts Museum, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin—one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art.

Image Credit to Riverside Art Museum

Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court Seeks Sponsors for Joint Inn Meeting

The Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court is seeking sponsors to help defray the costs of the Joint Inn Meeting. Please see the flyer for details.

December 6, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

At the December 6, 2023 Dinner Meeting, President of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court, Attorney Stefanie Field, welcomed all new and returning members to the Inn. The meeting was held at our regular location, Canyon Crest Country Club, and was preceded with a social where the members mingled.

Stefanie introduced the Inn’s new Executive Director, Thelma Collins, who is a retired judicial secretary with the Riverside Superior Court. Stefanie reminded Inn members to check their emails, sent via the Inn Management System (IMS) to reply to a specific email address (Thelma’s) with your RSVP and meal selection. Please don’t “reply” to the original message because our emails are generated from IMS!

Stefanie announced the winning team of The Leo A. Deegan Best Team Presentation Award for the 2022-2023 Program Year, which was Team Dolly Parton (Community Service Team). The team members are Hon. Randall Stamen (Judicial Master), Diana Renteria (Attorney Master), Mary Reyna (Attorney Master), Matthew Kraus (Barrister), Dani Mouri (Barrister), Kimberly Prendergast (Barrister), Michelanne Hrubic (Associate) and Dawn Saenz (Associate). Congratulations Team Dolly Parton! Hon. Randall Stamen was present to accept the award on his team’s behalf.

Hon. Randall Stamen

Winning Team Presentation Award

Stefanie announced the winner of The Leo A. Deegan Award for Outstanding Jurist for the 2022-2023 Program Year. Normally, these are announced at the final meeting of the program year of the award, but due to delays and schedules, it was not announced until tonight. Hon. Mac Fisher was posthumously named the recipient of the award and his widow, Gretchen, was on hand to receive this honor.

Hon. Mac Fisher (August 26, 1952 – July 15, 2022). Judge of the Riverside Superior Court from 2007 - 2022.

Hon. Randall Stamen and Gretchen Fisher, widow of Hon. Mac Fischer

After the presentation of the awards, the team presentation began. Team Yada Yada Yada, led by Hon. Joshlyn Pulliam, introduced the team members and shared a tidbit about each team member’s favorite holiday snacks.

The team showed scenes from various sitcoms, including “All In The Family” and “Night Court.”

The five other teams were assigned holiday icons, to play a game to catch Santa Claus and answered trivia questions based upon the scenes from the sitcoms and the law, including the ADA, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, The Civil Rights Act, and other areas of civil law. These holiday icons included a reindeer resembling Rudolph, a Snowman resembling Frosty, a penguin, hot cocoa, and a Gingerbread Man.

The winning team - Team Reindeer - won lottery scratchers after getting 9 spaces toward Santa. The other losing teams were not too far behind, with 5-7 spaces toward Santa.

After the team presentation concluded, President Stefanie Field had a few more reminders for Inn Members as follows:

• Riverside County Bar Association continues to seek Money Elves to donate funds towards purchasing holiday gifts, Shopping Elves to spend the donated funds to purchase holiday gifts, Wrapping Elves to wrap the purchased gifts, and Delivery Elves to deliver the purchased gifts. Contact RCBA for further details;

• The Joint Inn Meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inns of Court will be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at the Riverside Superior Court - Historic Courthouse. Our keynote speaker will be motivational speaker Jeff Barnes.

• If any member is interested in being part of the committee to plan the joint Inn meeting, please contact Stefanie

Happy Holidays!

October 25, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

At the October 25, 2023 Dinner Meeting, President of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court, Attorney Stefanie Field, welcomed all new and returning members to the Inn. The meeting was held at our regular location, Canyon Crest Country Club, and was preceded with a social.

Stefanie announced the winner of the Terry D. Bridges Outstanding Attorney Award for the 2022-2023 Program Year, Jeremy Roark of Holstrom, Block & Parke APLC. Jeremy has practiced in the field of family law for over 10 years and is a volunteer educational representative with Project Graduate. Congratulations Jeremy!

The announcement of the winner of The Leo A. Deegan Outstanding Jurist Award and the winning team for The Leo A. Deegan Award for Best Team Presentation for the 2022-2023 Program Year was deferred to another date, due to the delay in obtaining the awards from the trophy company.

After announcements concluded, dinner and the first team presentation began. Team Friends of the Court, led by Hon. Jennifer Gerard, presented on the sitcom “Friends.” Team members Maryann Briseno, Dani Mouri, Jeremy Roark, Bryan O. Sahagun, Summer DeVore, Danielle Linker, and Lauren Vogt dressed in costumes inspired by the Friends’ Halloween episode (officially, there was only one Halloween episode) - “The One With the Halloween Party.”

A query for our readers: Which team member dressed as Chandler Bing’s Pink Bunny?

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing aka Big Pink Bunny in the Friends episode “The One With The Halloween Party.” RIP: Matthew Perry.

The answer to our faithful readers is…. Jeremy Roark!

Jeremy Roark, as the Big Pink Bunny, holding his Terry Bridges Outstanding Attorney Award

Close-up of award

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2024 Orientation Meeting.

Congratulations to Kelly Moran

Kelly Moran, Barrister member, has been elected a Commissioner of the Riverside Superior Court. She will take her oath of office and begin her new position on November 6, 2023.

September 27, 2023 Orientation

On the evening of September 27th, the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court held its yearly orientation meeting at the RCBA’s Gabbert Gallery.  New and returning members enjoyed an informal social hour, just getting to know one another over light refreshments. 

Current President and long-time member Stefanie Field spoke about the history of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court.  Teams were announced for our group presentations, and teams drew lots to decide what month they will get to present.  Our theme for the year will be “Sitcoms,” with teams largely free to interpret that broad category as they please.  The exception is that one lucky team was assigned the specific task of putting together a presentation that will qualify for ethics credit for MCLE.  The teams then each met separately for the first time.

Painting of a hallway at the Historic Courthouse (Riverside County) displayed in the John Gabbert Gallery

Four Inn Members Installed as Officers of the Riverside County Bar Association

Four members of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court were installed as officers of the Riverside County Bar Association (RCBA) on Thursday, September 25, 2023. The installation ceremony was held in the Music Room of The Mission Inn.

The four Inn members installed are as follows:

• Kelly Moran, President of RCBA;

• Elisabeth Lord, Chief Financial Officer of RCBA;

• Goushia Farook, Secretary of RCBA; and

• Malvina Ovanezova, Director-At-Large (1st year) of RCBA.

In addition, one former Inn member (Megan Demshki) was installed at Vice President of RCBA. Congratulations to all!

May 24, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

President Hon. Jennifer “Jen” Gerard began the meeting by welcoming all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (Deegan Inn) members to the meeting, which was held indoors at the Canyon Crest Country Club. Judge Gerard introduced our esteemed guest, Minh Tran, County Counsel for the County of Riverside and provided a brief biography of Minh.

Minh Tran, County Counsel

Picture credit

Judge Gerard announced the winners of the Biddle Book Award, Malvina Ovanezova of Schwartz, Godbey & Ovanezova and Danielle Linker of Bratton and Razo. In a surprise twist, both are family law attorneys! Each attorney received the book “The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law” by Nancy Levitt.

Danielle Linker and Malvina Ovanezova (L-R).

Judge Gerard reminded Inn members that Board elections were ongoing and introduced each of the five candidates for the two open attorney Board positions. Ballots were placed on each table for Inn members to vote for two candidates so that the winners could be announced at the end of the meeting.

After announcements, the team presentation began. Team Dolly Parton is comprised of Hon. Randall Stamen (Judicial Master), Mary Reyna (Attorney Master), Diana Renteria (Attorney Master), Matthew Kraus (Barrister), Dani Mouri (Barrister), Kimberly Prendergast (Barrister), Michelanne Hrubic (Associate), and Dawn Saenz (Associate).

Each member of Team Dolly Parton introduced themselves and provided a fun fact about him/her self.

The presentation began with Attorney Master Mary Reyna providing a biography of their team namesake.

Individual members of the team introduced various community service projects that the team participated in throughout the program year and speakers from each of those projects, including Rebirth Homes, UCR Career Center, Reaching New Heights Foundation

Sergeant Major Greg Coker (Reaching New Heights Foundation), Tami Thacker (UC Riverside Veterans Resource Center), Isabela Lacsina, Michelle Gomez, Sean Gill (UC Riverside Career Center), Debbie Martis (Rebirth Homes) and Hon. Randall Stamen (L to R)

Mary spoke about a program that is close to her heart, Musicians On Call. Join her in raising $500 to sponsor a hospital room for one year that a musician visits weekly. Click here to donate. If every Inn member donates $10 to this organization, Mary’s goal will be reached!

Inn of Court members entered a free raffle to win a Ride-A-Long with a Riverside Police Department officer, donated generously by Chief Larry Gonzalez. At the end of the presentation, a winner was drawn. Congratulations Christopher Ortega!

Hon. Randall Stamen and Christopher Ortega

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

Judge Gerard advised Inn members that the winners of the Outstanding Jurist Award and Outstanding Attorney Award, which can be found on our website, will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

Judge Gerard announced the winners of the election for the two open attorney positions on the board as Past President Abram Feuerstein and Kiki Manti Engel will no longer be board members as of June 30, 2023. The winners are Maryann Briseno and Jeremy Roark. Congratulations to both of you!

Jeremy Roark, Board Member beginning with the 2023-2024 program year

President-Elect Stefanie Field thanked Hon. Jennifer Gerard for her service to the Inn and presented her with flowers and a plaque.

Hon. Jennifer Gerard and Stefanie Field

Stefanie advised Inn Members that Hon. Matthew Forsee accepted the open judicial position on the board and an announcement would be forthcoming for the second judicial position on the board within the next few months.

See you all in a few months!

April 26, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

President-Elect Stefanie Field began the meeting by welcoming all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (Deegan Inn) members to the meeting, which was held indoors at the Canyon Crest Country Club. Stefanie announced that the Board was accepting nominations for the Outstanding Jurist Award, and Outstanding Attorney Award. Prior winners can be found on our website.

After the announcements, Stefanie announced there are two attorney board positions open, as well as two judicial board positions available. If you are interested in the open position, please send an email to Sherri Gomez. 

Stefanie introduced the presenting team, Team Queens, and the team’s co-judicial masters, Hon. Joshlyn Pulliam and Hon. Carol Greene. Hon. Pulliam and Hon. Greene introduced the team members: Attorney Master Dwayne Beck, Attorney Master Kristine Borgia, Attorney Master Diane Mar Wiesmann, Barrister Kamola Gray, Associate Erik Oh, Associate Christopher Ortega, Associate Malvina Ovanezova, and Associate Bryan Owens Sahagun.

Team Queens began their presentation with the introduction to the movie Wayne’s World featuring the song Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen.

Attorney Master Mar Wiesmann introduced the theme of the group presentation, Bias in the Music Industry. Freddie Mercury, Queen, and Elton John were introduced as the first musicians or groups to break the homophobic stigma of the music industry.

 Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, and moved with his family to England in 1964.  He was a founding member and lead singer of the rock group "Queen." Mercury was the subject of a biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Mercury died in 1991 of AIDS, only three days after publicly announcing he was afflicted.

Mercury named the band "Queen" because he thought it sounded regal. He designed the logo, which remains the same today, to include lions, a crab and fairies to represent the astrological signs of the founding members:  Leo, Cancer, and Virgo.

 Queen is known for its fusion of heavy metal and glam rock, and received a number of honors:  In 2001, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and later "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Sir Elton Hercules John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947 in Pimmer, Middlesex, Great Britain. He was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother.  He lived at home and wrote his music until he had four albums simultaneously in the American Top 40.

 John wrote "Philadelphia Freedom" for his friend Billie Jean King's World Team Tennis (WTT) team, the "Philadelphia Freedoms."  He founded the "Elton John AIDS Foundation" in 1992 after losing two friends, Freddie Mercury and Ryan White, to AIDS.  The Foundation raised over $600 million to support HIV-related programs in 55 countries.

 John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.   In addition to five Grammy Awards, he won an Oscar for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King and other awards for Best Original Score for Aida, and "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman, the biopic of his life.

Hon. Joshlyn Pulliam and Hon. Carol Greene then hosted the game “Name That Tune.”  The rules were that Team Queens would play a song, while providing up to three hints.  Each table/team was provided with a rainbow flag.  Each team designated a flag bearer to waive the flag for the table.  When someone from the table recognized the song, the first group to waive their flag had the chance to name the song and win a prize.  For each song named correctly, each team received a scratcher lottery ticket as the prize.  There were four rounds of name that tune, with three songs at each round, for a total of 12 songs.

Between each round of “Name That Tune,” Deegan Inn Members learned about bias within the legal profession and the community. Attorney Master Beck and Barrister Gray presented on HIV/AIDS and Long COVID-19 as disabilities. The penultimate movie about HIV/AIDS is “Philadelphia.”

Attorney Master Mar Wiesmann and Associate Ovanezova spoke about Bias in the Music Industry, touching upon Taylor Swift and her legal issues and Rap & Stigma of Sexuality & Sexual Orientation/ Identification.”

Associate Sahagun spoke about the Gender Tax Repeal Act of 1995, (Cal. Civ. Code, § 51.6) and what businesses were affected by the act and provided examples of who violates the act.  Finally, Mr. Sahagun explained the remedies for any violations.

Riverside County became the battleground for the Gender Tax Repeal Act.

Subsequently, there was a backlash to the “Pink Tax” and the state attempted to expand the gender tax repeal act with AB1576 and SB320. Currently, the Pink Tax has been modified by AB1287 (Effective January 1, 2023), which adds Civil Code, § 51.14.

Associate Ortega and Attorney Master Borgia discussed “Court Matters and Queen.”

Associate Ortega and Attorney Master Borgia started the section with the copyright infringement case between the Estate of Freddie Mercury and the charity initiative, “Go Go Gorilla.”  The dispute involved a gorilla sculpture dressed like Freddie Mercury without obtaining permission from the Estate of Freddie Mercury.  Go Go Gorilla’s sculpture was dressed in the distinctive yellow and white suit worn by the late rock star, Freddie Mercury, which the estate claimed was an unauthorized use of the late Freddie Mercury’s image and likeness.

Team Queens concluded their presentation with the music video “We are the Champions” by Queen.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

March 22, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

President Hon. Jennifer “Jen” Gerard began the meeting by welcoming all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (Deegan Inn) members to the meeting, which was held indoors at the Canyon Crest Country Club. Judge Gerard announced that the Board was accepting nominations for the Outstanding Jurist Award, Outstanding Attorney Award, and Biddle Book Award. Prior winners can be found on our website.

After the announcements, Judge Gerard introduced Judge Mona Nemat of Team Sign “O” The Times. The team members are Hon. Mona Nemat (Judicial Master), Sophia Choi (Barrister), Gregory Rollins (Barrister), Gabriel White (Barrister), Goushia Farook (Associate), Matthew Forsse (Associate), Danielle Linker (Associate), Jeremy Roark (Associate), and Xinia Williams (Associate). One team member was absent due to illness.

Each team member introduced themselves and provided a fun fact about themselves and music. The theme for the presentation is Copyright Law. The presentation began with a discussion of Elvis Presley and the song “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Mr. Blackwell sold this song and five others to a company for $150. As the Inn members listened, it became obvious that Elvis Presley drew a lot of inspiration from Mr. Blackwell.

Inn members learned that Elvis Presley required publishing rights to songs he would record, even if he did not write them.

FUN FACT (not discussed within the presentation): The same request was made of Dolly Parton for her song “I Will Always Love You.”

Judge Nemat then began the game show “Family Feud.”

Teams were pitted against each other and the winning team would receive Starbucks gift cards. The first two challengers were Team Dolly Parton (Community Service Team) versus Team The Influencers. They were asked questions about Elvis Presley, his music, and his movies. Team The Influencers proved victorious in this round.

The next set of challengers were Team Britney Spears versus Team Etta James. The teams were asked questions about famous rap stars who became actors and music sharing sites. After two rounds, Team Etta James proved victorious.

Team Sign “O” The Times discussed music sampling and the high cost of using another artist’s copyrighted music.

Family Feud resumed with the final two teams participating. Team Dolly Parton competed again because they had the least amount of team members present for the dinner meeting and presentation. It was Team Dolly Parton vs. Team Queen. After two rounds of questions, which dealt with Taylor Swift, Team Dolly Parton emerged victorious.

The team discussed Taylor Swift and her recent legal troubles. The publisher of the 3LW song “Players Gonna Play” sued Ms. Swift for copyright infringement, claiming that Ms. Swift’s song “Shake It Off” was a copy of his song. Here are the two songs for you to decide:

3LW vs. Taylor Swift

The team discussed Prince, the artist behind Sign “O'“ the Times” and the final round of Family Feud was set up. Scores were tallied and the two teams who would competing in the final round of “Fast Money” were Team The Influencers and Team Etta James.

After both teams competed, the final winner emerged and Team The Influencers were declared the winners!

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

Team Members Danielle Linker and Matthew Forssee.

Team Members Matthew Forssee, Hon. Mona Nemat, and Greg Rollins.

Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court Presents Chamber Chats for 2022-2023 Program Year

The Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court will present three (3) Chamber Chats for the 2022-2023 Program Year as follows:

Family Law Chamber Chat on March 30, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

Criminal Law Chamber Chat on April 19, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

Civil Law Chamber Chat on May 18, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

Check your emails for further details. Attendance is limited to members of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court and is a benefit of your membership with our Inn.

Richard Roemer-Warren Slaughter American Inn of Court Hosts Joint Meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inns of Court

On Thursday, March 16, 2023, the Richard Roemer-Warren Slaughter American Inn of Court hosted the joint meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inns of Court. Members from the Leo A. Deegan Inn, Hon. Joseph Campbell Inn, and Southwest Inn traveled to Indian Wells (the desert region of the Inland Empire) to meet with members of Richard Roemer-Warren Slaughter Inn and enjoy an interview of Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, President of the American Inns of Court.

Due to the unexpected traffic into the desert (2 accidents each on Interstate 10 and 60), many members of the other Inns were unable to attend as they were sitting in 4+ hours of traffic. Nevertheless, several members of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court persevered and took an alternate route.

The event began with appetizers and camaraderie as the Inn members were excited to finally have an in-person Joint Inn meeting after years of COVID-19 cancelations.

President-Elect Stefanie Field, Attorney Master Mary Reyna, Attorney Master Diana Renteria, and Associate Christopher Ortega attended the joint inn meeting on behalf of the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court.

Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court Members Attorney Master Diana Renteria with President-Elect (and Attorney Master) Stefanie Field. Photograph courtesy of Attorney Master Mary Reyna.

Meal options were braised short ribs, chicken and vegetarian.

Braised short ribs - looks scrumptious

Roasted chicken - another good choice!

After dinner, the keynote speaker, Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, President of the American Inns of Court spoke. The presentation was completed in an interview format.

Warren Slaughter-Richard Roemer American Inn of Court Board Member Christoffer Thomsen interviews Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, President of the American Inns of Court.

Judge Lynn was such a dynamic and interesting speaker. She discussed her law practice and her judicial career, while being the mother of two children.

As President of the American Inns of Court, Judge Lynn has a goal to create 100 new Inns during her two-year term. She served as the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, based in Dallas from 2016-2022.

Thank you to the Richard Roemer-Warren Slaughter American Inn of Court for hosting our first Joint Inn Meeting since 2020!

Congratulations Matthew Forsee

Matthew Forsse, Associate Member and Winner of the Biddle Book Award for the 2021-2022 Program Year has been elected a Commissioner of the Riverside Superior Court. He will take his oath of office and begin his new position on March 27, 2023.

Joint Meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inn of Court

On March 16, 2023, the Inland Empire Chapters of the American Inns of Court - Warren Slaughter-Richard Roemer American Inns of Court, Leo A. Deegan American Inn of Court, Hon. Joseph Campbell American Inn of Court, and the Southwest American Inn of Court will have its joint meeting at The Pavilion at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, a premiere reception and private events venue in the Coachella Valley, located at 44-500 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210.

The Joint Meeting of the Inland Empire Chapters will be hosted by the Warren Slaughter-Richard Roemer American Inns of Court.

American Inns of Court President, Barbara M.G. Lynn, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, will be the featured speaker at the event.

Please RSVP your attendance to Sherri Gomez at SherriGomez4@gmail.com by February 28, 2023.

Scavenger Hunts by Let’s Roam

Project Graduate is receiving vouchers from Let’s Roam to support Project Graduate!

Please check out their website here: https://www.letsroam.com

Thank you!

January 25, 2023 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

The social hour began with Team Etta James playing their namesake’s most famous song “At Last.”

President Hon. Jennifer “Jen” Gerard began the meeting by welcoming all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (Deegan Inn) members to the meeting, which was held indoors at the Canyon Crest Country Club. Judge Gerard reminded Deegan Inn members that the joint meeting of the Inland Empire chapters of the American Inns of Court will be held on Thursday, March 16, 2023 with details to follow. Jen also reminded the members of the importance of RSVP’ing to every meeting.

President Gerard called upon Hon. John Vineyard, Judicial Master, to begin the presentation on “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Team Etta James consists of Hon. John Vineyard (Judicial Master), D.W. Duke (Attorney Master), Abram Feuerstein (Attorney Master), Rebecca McKee (Barrister), Philip Johnson (Associate), Samantha Pruett (Associate), Jeremiah Raxter (Associate), and Marissa Stone (Associate). Judge Vineyard began the presentation by providing a biography of the late Etta James, who resided in Riverside.

Each team member introduced themselves when they began their portion of the presentation.

After Judge Vineyard concluded his biography of Etta James, Deegan Inn members were invited to sing along to “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, which was originally performed by Vicki Lawrence. Deegan Inn members were invited to sing along to the version by Reba McEntire. Unfortunately, no one took the team up on their offer to get the book “Gideon’s Trumpet” in exchange for performing.

The lyrics to the song were analyzed by the team members. Samantha and Marissa discussed domestic violence within the U.S. and cases where individuals were convicted of murder without a body ever being found. Excerpts of Taylor Swift’s “No Body, No Crime” and The Chicks’ "Goodbye Earl” were played for Deegan Inn members.

Rebecca introduced Riverside Police Department Chief Larry Gonzalez to speak about crime and the advances in technology and techniques when processing a crime scene.

Photograph courtesy of City of Riverside

Jeremiah spoke about the right to counsel, which transitioned into Abe’s portion of the presentation. Jeremiah also handled all technical aspects of the presentation.

Abe spoke about Gideon vs. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court case which resulted in the law that criminal defendants are guaranteed the right to representation by an attorney and the book inspired by the events “Gideon’s Trumpet”). When Mr. Gideon was retried after the SCOTUS ruling, he was found “not guilty.”

D.W. spoke about the process of becoming a judge in the State of California.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

Project Graduate Seeks Patrons for its April 2023 Fundraiser

Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court Emeritus Member, L. Alexandra Fong, is chair of the Project Graduate Steering Committee of the Riverside County Bar Association. Project Graduate is holding its annual fundraiser on Thursday, April 20, 2023 and is seeking sponsorships. Please see the flyer below for details and contact Alexandra at the email address provided within the flyer.

Tickets are also available for purchase. Please see the flyer below for details.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court Members!

December 7, 2022 Dinner Meeting and Team Presentation

The social hour began with the music of Britney Spears playing via a pre-selected playlist. The team wore Britney Spears t-shirts.

President Hon. Jennifer “Jen” Gerard began the meeting by welcoming all Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (Deegan Inn) members to the meeting, which was held indoors at the Canyon Crest Country Club. Judge Gerard announced to the Deegan Inn members that the joint meeting of the Inland Empire chapters of the American Inns of Court will be held on Thursday, March 16, 2023 with details to follow.

President Gerard called upon Hon. Irma Asberry, Judicial Master, to begin the presentation on “The Music of Britney Spears: Before, During and After the Conservatorship Battle.” Team Britney Spears is comprised of Hon. Irma Asberry (Judicial Master), L. Alexandra Fong (Emeritus), Chris Heikaus Weaver (Barrister), Kelly Moran (Barrister), Kiki Manti Engel (Associate), Andrea Garcia (Associate), and Daniel S. Shahidzadeh (Associate).

Judge Asberry began the presentation with the biography of Britney Spears, which contained many clues which would be used later in the main presentation. A Power Point presentation played in the background, showing Deegan Inn members Britney Spears, throughout the years. Daniel handled the technology aspect of the entire presentation.

During a brief break, the Britney Spears Christmas song “My Only Wish (This Year)” played while the five participating teams drew for the opportunity to pick first in Britney Spears Team Jeopardy. Team Sign ‘O The Times won the draw!

Team Britney Spears members also distributed buzzers (paddles) to the five participating teams during the brief break, which was also used to set up the Team Jeopardy presentation including a score board so that the teams could see their standings.. The buzzers (paddles) also contained answers to clues which would be revealed during Jeopardy.

Front of the buzzers (paddles)

Back of the buzzers (paddles).

Chris introduced tonight’s contestants (teams), The Influencers, Etta James, The Queens, Sign O’ The Times, and Dolly Parton. Chris also introduced the host of Jeopardy, Alexandra! Team Sign O’ The Times picked first, as chosen by random draw. Each of the categories was assigned to a member of Team Britney Spears and when the participants chose that category, the assigned team member read the clue aloud. Host Alexandra determined whether the answer provided by the contestant was correct.

In the Jeopardy round, the following categories were played:

• The All-New Mickey Mouse Club with Alexandra reading the clues;

• Baby One More Time with Daniel reading the clues;

• I’m a Slave 4 U with Chris reading the clues;

• Overprotected with Kiki reading the clues;

• Everytime with Andrea reading the clues; and

• Toxic with Kelly reading the clues.

Kelly and Andrea kept score on the white board, so that the participants would know what each of the players’ scores were.

The teams ran through the Jeopardy board and a commercial break was taken between the Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy rounds. The Britney Spears Pepsi UK commercial Right Now (Taste the Victory) for the World Cup was shown to the audience. This was a timely commercial, as the 2022 World Cup takes place November 20 – December 18, 2022.

After the commercial break, Double Jeopardy began. Since Team The Influencers had the lowest score after the Jeopardy round, Team The Influencers picked first.

In the Double Jeopardy round, the following categories were played:

• (You Drive Me) Crazy with Alexandra reading the clues;

• Oops! ... I Did It Again with Daniel reading the clues;

• I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman with Chris reading the clues;

• Circus with Kiki reading the clues;

• If U Seek Amy with Kelly reading the clues;

• Hold Me Closer with Andrea reading the clues.

Just like the Jeopardy round, the host, Alexandra, determined whether the answer provided, in the form of a question, was correct. At the end of Double Jeopardy, the scores were:

• The Influencers with $0;

• Etta James with $13,400;

• Sign O’ The Times with $6800;

• The Queens with $9400;

• Dolly Parton with $3600.

The Influencers’ “True Daily Double” wager on the last question proved to be their downfall and they were eliminated from the competition before Final Jeopardy.

The Final Jeopardy topic was revealed and the topic was Britney Spears.

During the break between the Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy Rounds, several of Britney Spears’ fragrance commercials were shown.

During the break, contestants made their Final Jeopardy wagers on the paper provided by Team Britney Spears which was collected before the clue was revealed.

After the commercial break, the Final Jeopardy clue was revealed.

Teams wrote down their responses, in the form of a question, which was collected by Team Britney Spears after the music stopped. The answer to the clue was given at the beginning of the presentation, in the biography of Britney Spears.

The responses and wagers were revealed and Team Etta James was the winner of Jeopardy. Team Dolly Parton came in second place and Team Queen came in third place.

The Jeopardy champions were able to choose between Britney Spears Funko Pops! or individual trophies. The champions also received a single trophy, to share among themselves. The Jeopardy Champions chose the Britney Spears Funko Pop. Team Dolly Parton chose the trophies with the microphone and Team Queen received the trophies with the musical note.

Britney Spears Funko Pop! (Circus)

Trophies for Britney Spears Jeopardy!

At the conclusion of the presentation, Deegan Inn members were invited to score the presentation from a ranking of 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The team and winning presentation will be announced at the September 2023 Orientation Meeting.

The full Jeopardy presentation can be seen below.