Sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles has been at the heart of a number of car accidents, several of them fatal - including one in San Diego that cost the lives of an off duty police officer and three of his family members. Since then, the case against Toyota has more or less (unofficially) settled itself in California, with a great deal of consumer scrutiny coming from drivers in the state.

Many of the lawsuits against Toyota have also come from California consumers. Perhaps fitting, then, is the choice by a national panel to appoint Santa Ana Judge James V. Selna to hear the federal cases piling up against Japan's beleaguered auto manufacturer.