CALIFORNIA BRIEFING

SACRAMENTO

Woman nominated for federal judgeship

President Obama on Wednesday nominated a magistrate judge to serve on the U.S. Eastern District Court, the busiest of federal courtrooms, where a flood of lawsuits and petitions from the state’s prison network swells the annual caseload to more than 1,100 per judge.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate to fill the vacant sixth judgeship on the Sacramento-based court, Kimberly Mueller would become the first woman to serve on the Eastern District bench, which handles cases from the broad interior stretch of the state from the Oregon border to south of Bakersfield.

Mueller, 53, has served as a magistrate judge since 2003, handling civil cases, pretrial matters and death row inmates’ petitions for habeas corpus relief.

A graduate of Pomona College and Stanford Law School, Mueller was recommended to the White House by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). In a statement announcing the nomination, Boxer hailed Obama’s choice of Mueller, saying her “sharp intellect and broad experience will be an asset to the Eastern District of California, the nation’s busiest federal court.”

Mueller has also worked as a sole practitioner, at the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, and served on the Sacramento City Council.

-- Carol J. Williams SACRAMENTO

Court to review body armor ban

The California Supreme Court decided Wednesday to review a state law that prohibits convicted felons from owning body armor.

An appeals court overturned the ban last year on the grounds the law was too vague.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, whose office appealed the ruling, called the state high court’s decision to examine the law “a clear victory for police officers everywhere.”

A ruling by the state high court is probably a year away.

The ban was passed in 1998 in response to a North Hollywood shootout between police and two heavily armored bank robbers. The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles struck down the ban in December in a challenge brought by Ethan Saleem, a parolee who was arrested for wearing a 10-pound bulletproof vest under his shirt.

-- Maura Dolan GLENDALE

Member of pop group arrested

More than a dozen plastic bags of cocaine were found in the Gucci purse belonging to a member of the pop group Girlicious after the entertainer and a man were pulled over for speeding, authorities said Wednesday.

Natalie Mejia, 21, of Diamond Bar was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale or distribution, said Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz. Also arrested on the same charge was Peter Asencio, 28, of Burbank.

They were pulled over at Victory Boulevard and Winchester Avenue about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday after an officer noticed a 1998 Ford Mustang speeding through traffic, Lorenz said.

Mejia, a passenger in the car, was heading to the airport and late for a flight.

Police determined that Asencio was driving with a suspended driver’s license.

A search of the car turned up the bags in Mejia’s purse, Lorenz said. Mejia told officers the drugs did not belong to her and she did not know how they got into her purse.

Lorenz said a preliminary investigation found that the drugs may have belonged to Asencio, although investigators are trying to determine Mejia’s role.

Mejia posted $30,000 bail Wednesday afternoon and is due in court April 15.

-- Andrew Blankstein LOS ANGELES

Plea deals to be offered

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office will offer plea deals to alleged members of the “bling ring,” the circle of friends accused of burglarizing the homes of young Hollywood celebrities, Deputy Dist. Atty. Sarika Kapoor said Wednesday.

The defendants, who have pleaded not guilty, are charged with first-degree residential burglary, a crime that carries a sentence of up to six years in prison. Two are also charged with receiving stolen property.

Authorities blame the group for a string of burglaries that netted $3 million in designer clothing, jewelry, art and other goods from the residences of actors Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and others.

-- Harriet Ryan LAKESIDE

60 dogs found inside home

A Lakeside woman was arrested on suspicion of felony animal neglect Wednesday after authorities found 60 dogs in filthy, cramped conditions inside her home.

Alice Via, 65, was taken into custody after San Diego County animal control officers served a search warrant at her home, where she operates a rescue shelter. The dogs were in small crates stacked on top of each other inside the 750-square-foot residence, authorities said.

Many of the dogs were covered with ticks, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county Department of Animal Services.

One dog was so thirsty that it was licking the condensation off the side of its crate when officers arrived at the home.

Via is also facing misdemeanor charges of illegal confinement, failure to provide veterinarian care and failure to possess a kennel license, DeSousa said.

-- Robert J. Lopez