By Greg Mitchell

Division Five seems to be under a microscope lately. The Supreme Court has moved to review an unusually high number of the panel's cases in the last couple of years, including five issued by Orville "Jack" Armstrong. That's a little surprising, as Armstrong seems like one of the more careful members of the panel. His track record with the Supreme Court so far is pretty good: None of the opinions he has authored from 1996 to 1998 has been depublished. In fact, the Supreme Court has directed that a couple of opinions he issued as unpublished be published.

A former president of the State Bar, Armstrong has relatively little trial experience, having been elevated after less than two years as a superior court judge. As an attorney, however, he specialized in business litigation and is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He seems modest and interested in the judicial process -- once, after sitting pro tem on a case with the California Supreme Court, he joined the audience to watch the remainder of the cases on that morning's calendar.

His approach seems cautious and restrained. After his colleague, Justice Paul Turner, sent a "Three Strikes" case back for resentencing, Armstrong wrote separately to emphasize that the judges weren't suggesting any particular result.

Armstrong's Division Five fell in the middle range of efficiency on the Second District, according to the Judicial Council statistics culled in October 1998, with a median 100 days from briefing to decision in civil appeals, 58 in criminal appeals.

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Gave $500 each to Pete Wilson's 1990 gubernatorial campaign and Dan Lungren's 1990 AG campaign.