Judge Matthew J. Gary Conflict of Interest Misconduct: Wife's Legal Services and Attorney Software Companies Undisclosed

Judge Matthew Gary Undisclosed Conflict of Interest with Wife's Legal Services Company

The wife of Sacramento Family Court Judge Matthew Gary owns a legal services company that provides administrative services to law firms and attorneys. Although Donna and Matthew Gary reportedly were divorced in 2012, the judge has never disclosed to attorneys and unrepresented litigants - before or after the divorce - the conflict of interest posed by his wife's company, Legal Administrative Services. 

As the graphic below indicates, Donna Gary has close ties to the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. And as we reported in 2011, Donna Gary also owns ClientTickler, a client management software program for attorneys. Sacramento Superior Court judge pro tem divorce attorneys Jackie Eston and Nancy Perkovich endorsed the software in a Sacramento Business Journal article published in June, 2011. For our earlier report, including the Business Journal article and the state laws which require the judge to disclose the conflict of interest, click here. 

Family court reform advocates have documented that a local group of attorneys who also serve as temporary judges often receive favorable treatment from full-time judges in exchange for running the family court settlement conference program. For additional reporting about other conflict of interest issues in Sacramento Family Court, click here.

For complete coverage of the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below the graphic.   

Donna Gary, ex-wife of Judge Matthew Gary, will address the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. 

Tani Cantil-Sakauye Defendant & Jaime R. Roman Implicated in Federal Class Action Lawsuit for Misuse of Vexatious Litigant Law

Controversial Order for Judge Pro Tem Attorney Charlotte Keeley by Judge Jaime Roman Challenged in Federal Class Action Lawsuit

Taxpayers Face Financial Liability

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye is named as a defendant in this federal court litigation stemming from a vexatious litigant court order issued by Sacramento Family Court Judge Jaime Roman for Judge Pro Tem Charlotte Keeley.

SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS EXCLUSIVE

A November, 2012 court order designating a Sacramento Family Court party as a vexatious litigant is being challenged in a landmark federal class action lawsuit filed yesterday in United States District Court in San Francisco. The controversial order was issued by family court Judge Jaime Roman at the request of temporary judge and veteran family law attorney Charlotte Keeley in a case with a long-running child custody dispute between Andrew Karres and Mel Rapton Honda heiress Katina Rapton. 

The order blacklisted [pdf] Karres as a vexatious litigant [pdf] and raised eyebrows in the legal community because Roman issued the ruling without providing Karres the court hearing required under state law and the due process provisions of the state and federal Constitutions. 

The vexatious litigant designation severely restricts a litigants access to the courts by requiring them to get pre-approval from a presiding judge before they are permitted to file pleadings in any court in the state. Sacramento Family Court News in Nov. 2012 reported exclusively on Judge Roman's unorthodox order, which also is pending review by the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. Taxpayers likely will now get two substantial bills in connection with the Keeley-Roman ruling. 

The state court appeal will cost the public between $8,500 and $25,500, according to recent appellate court decisions. The public cost of defending the federal case could be significantly higher. For several years, court watchdogs and whistleblowers have asserted that full-time judges give preferential treatment to judge pro tem attorneys. They charge that the Rapton-Karres case is one of several cases emblematic of judge-attorney cronyism and its effects, including the unnecessary use of scarce court resources and the financial burden on taxpayers. 

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Judge Sharon A. Lueras Targeted in Protest Supporting Jessica Hernandez and Exposing Family Court Bias Against Parents Without Lawyers

Judge Sharon Lueras and Family Court Indifference To Unrepresented Parents Targeted in Protest Supporting Jessica Hernandez

Protester at demonstration supporting family court victim Jessica Hernandez and charging Judge Sharon Lueras with aiding and abetting the hatchet murder of Jessica's 9-year-old son, Matthew. 

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

A group of family court reform advocates yesterday held a demonstration outside the Sacramento County Main Jail courthouse where an arraignment was held for Phillip Hernandez. Hernandez is charged with the Feb. 26 hatchet murder of his 9-year-old son, Matthew. Jessica Hernandez, Phillip's ex-wife, asserts that Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras bears responsibility for Matthew's death. Last November, Jessica filed papers in family court seeking custody of her son because his father was back on drugs, acting irrationally and posed a threat to their two children. In court, Jessica was self-represented because she couldn't afford an attorney.

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Mute Court: Sacramento County Court Executive Officer Christina Volkers Silent on State Law Violations by Family Court Appeals Unit

Chris Volkers, Court Executive Officer for
Sacramento County Superior Court.

Christina Volkers, Court Executive Officer for Sacramento County Superior Court has declined to notify the public what corrective measures will be taken to ensure that family court clerks do not unlawfully obstruct appeals by unrepresented, financially disadvantaged litigants.

In an February 7 email to Volkers, Sacramento Family Court News asked for a response - including any planned corrective measures - to our report documenting that the family court appeals unit is illegally rejecting timely appeals as being untimely. Volkers, the court's CEO, did not respond to our request.

During the same time period, an article about court reporter cutbacks published in the Sacramento Business Journal on Feb. 15 included an email response and statement from Volkers.

Government officials are by law required to provide equal treatment and access to reporters and media organizations. If Volkers has invoked a code of silence and blacklisted Sacramento Family Court News in retaliation for its reporting, taxpayers could be liable for the costs of litigation challenging the unequal treatment.

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Judge Sharon Lueras Misconduct: Lueras and SCBA Family Law Section Divorce Attorneys Targeted In Family Court Reform Group Demonstration

Judge Sharon Lueras Protest by Family Court Reform Group Seeks to Raise Awareness of Systemic Problems

Jessica Hernandez at the March 9 funeral of her son Matthew.  In November, 2012 Sacramento Family Court Judge Sharon Lueras denied Jessica's request for custody of her two sons. 

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

A family court reform group will hold a demonstration on Thursday, March 14 outside the Sacramento County Main Jail at 651 I Street. The event is scheduled to coincide with a jailhouse court hearing for Phillip Hernandez, who is charged with the Feb. 26 murder of his 9-year-old son, Matthew. The Sacramento Family Court watchdog group asserts that oversight and accountability of judges and court employees is nonexistent and contributed to the death of Matthew Hernandez. 

The group has documented that some judges misuse child custody and visitation orders as a way to punish a parent, and as a method of churning legal fees for favored attorneys and mediators, rationales which are prohibited by state law. With the help of courthouse whistleblowers, the watchdogs also have cataloged an assortment of institutionalized family court problems including judicial misconduct, undisclosed conflicts of interest, preferential treatment of attorneys who also serve as temporary judges, employee misconduct, and systemic mismanagement by Court Executive Officer Chris Volkers and family court Director of Operations Julie Setzer. 

The court operates a two-track system of justice for the financial benefit of a cartel of Sacramento County Bar Association family law attorneys who represent the 30 percent of family court litigants who can afford an attorney, while the 70 percent of court users who are unrepresented are relegated to second-class status, according to the group. The demonstration will take place beginning at 8:00 a.m. 

Sacramento Family Court News Participates In Sunshine Week 2013 - Defends Your Right To Know

Sunshine Week Promotes Dialogue About the Importance of Open Government

Sunshine Week is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Bloomberg LP, the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Sacramento Family Court News is participating in Sunshine Week 2013, a non-partisan, non-profit initiative celebrated annually in mid-March to coincide with James Madison's birthday on March 16. This year, Sunshine Week takes places from March 10-16. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. 

Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know, according to the Sunshine Week website. For the list of Sunshine Week participants, click here. Many Sacramento Family Court News articles are based on information obtained from public records. Without public records laws, much of our most important reporting would not be possible.    

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Judge Sharon A. Lueras Misconduct: Child Custody Order Results In Memorial Service For Matthew Hernandez

An overflow crowd attended the memorial service for Matthew Hernandez. Many children at the service wore Spider-Man masks, Matthew's favorite superhero.

Matthew Raymond Hernandez

July 27, 2003 - February 26, 2013

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Click here for our full coverage of the Jessica Hernandez case. 

Click here for our expanded coverage of the Matthew Hernandez memorial service.

Hon. Sharon A. Lueras Misconduct: Matthew Hernandez Funeral Services Announced by Mom Jessica Rose Hernandez

Funeral Services for Matthew Hernandez to be Held Saturday March 9 

Jessica, Matthew, and Phillip Hernandez. Source: KXTV News10.

Jessica Rose Hernandez has announced that funeral services for 9-year-old Matthew Hernandez will be held on Saturday, March 9 at Victory Outreach Church in South Sacramento:

Matthews services will be held this Saturday 10 am at Victory Outreach 6555 44th Street Sacramento, the burial will follow at St. Marys Cemetary 6700 21st Ave. Sacramento. Afterwards we are returning to Victory Outreach for the repass to celebrate his life. We will be having a potluck as well and having an open mic to share stories and memories of my precious baby. I would like Saturday to be all about MATTHEW and ONLY about the joy of his life so please respect that and save the negative aspects of the case and situation for later ((there's a time and a place)) and keep this day sacred for me. All are invited. Thank you 1 Love ♥

Click here to read our complete coverage of the Matthew Hernandez case.

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Director Steven Spielberg Releases Lincoln Equal Protection of Law Clip To Sacramento Family Court News - Sunday Funnies

Steven Spielberg Approves Use of Lincoln Clip by Sacramento Family Court News

Sacramento Family Court News has been authorized by 20th Century Fox 
to use a portion of the Steven Spielberg directed film Lincoln. 

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

Sacramento Family Court News is pleased to announce that legendary director, writer and producer Steven Spielberg has authorized SFCN exclusively to use a clip from his award winning movie Lincoln. 

SFCN requested use of the segment for news and educational purposes, and to illustrate the origins of the constitutional right of equal protection of law. In the Lincoln excerpt, Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens makes an impassioned speech for the then-controversial proposition that all men should be treated equally before the law. Stevens is portrayed by Academy Award winning actor Tommy Lee Jones. 20th Century Fox initially made a copyright claim to prohibit use of the clip, but withdrew the objection after learning of the barbaric, anything-but-equal treatment of unrepresented, financially disadvantaged litigants in Sacramento Family Court. 

"We are grateful to Mr. Spielberg and FOX for allowing us to use the compelling reenactment of this historically important speech," said SFCN corporate counsel Vincent Gambini. "It is repugnant that more than 150 years after Stevens' speech, we still need to be reminded of this bedrock principle of American Democracy. Sacramento Family Court judges, administrators, the Family Law Facilitator, and other court employees act as if they've never heard that all court users, rich and poor alike, are entitled to be treated equally before the law."

Click here to view the website for the movie Lincoln.
Sacramento Family Court News thanks Steven Spielberg, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Dreamworks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment for permission to use the Thaddeus Stevens speech from Lincoln.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Hon. Sharon A. Lueras Blamed by Jessica Hernandez in Hatchet Death of 9-Year-Old Matthew Hernandez

Judge Sharon Lueras Held Responsible By Mom In Hatchet Death of Child by Phillip Hernandez

JUDGE ADMITS "I HAD NEVER PRACTICED FAMILY LAW"

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Jessica Rose Hernandez contends that Sacramento Family Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras is responsible for the Feb. 26 hatchet death of her 9-year-old son Matthew by ex-husband Phillip Hernandez, according to media accounts. Jessica went to court last November to request custody of her two children. At a court hearing before Judge Lueras, the mother of two attempted to introduce evidence, including text messages, to support her assertion that her ex-husband was back on drugs, acting irrationally, and posed a threat to their children. Judge Lueras refused to consider the evidence, and denied the custody change request, according to news reports. "I blame her for Matthew's death," Jessica told News10. 

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