DR. BELINDA JO LOPES: Family Court Child Custody Evaluator Accused of Misconduct Surrenders Psychologist License

PRO PER LITIGANT WARNS CONTRA COSTA COUNTY JUDGES: "The Court will be outraged by the negligence of Dr. Lopes as more family law cases come forward. I am committed to socializing the negligence of Dr. Lopes that has fractured families through her negligence and willful deception in Court proceedings."

California Judicial Council 2008 Snapshot Study: Center for Families, Children and the Courts - 75 Percent of Litigants Self-Represented

This Research Update provides an overview of the major findings from the 2008 Statewide Uniform Statistical Reporting System—also known as the Snapshot Study—conducted by the Administrative Office of the Courts, Center for Families, Children & the Courts. The 2008 study was the sixth since 1991 and involved surveys of parents and mediators involved in court-based child custody mediation sessions statewide during a one-week period in June 2008.

 

Read our Special Report: Sacramento County Family Court Operates as RICO Racketeering Enterprise, Charge Whistleblowers.

SACRAMENTO SUPERIOR COURT WHISTLEBLOWERS REPORT FAMILY LAW SYSTEM REMAINS INFECTED BY CRONYISM, "HIRED GUN" PSYCHOLOGISTS, THERAPISTS, AND EVALUATORS

The report embedded with this post is by investigative reporter and attorney Karen Winner, and is provided by the California Protective Parents Association. Court watchdogs assert that the problems highlighted 17 years ago in this 2000 report have not been corrected. A subsequent audit by the California State Auditor found additional problems, many of which the court refused to fix, according to follow up reports from State Auditor Elaine Howle.

Whistleblowers allege that the Sacramento Family Court system continues to operate as what amounts to a racketeering enterprise which deprives the public of the federally protected right to honest government services.

Read our Special Report: Sacramento County Family Court Operates as RICO Racketeering Enterprise, Charge Whistleblowers.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Raises Awareness of Family Court Victim Childhood Trauma

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is part of a growing network of leaders working to increase awareness and understanding of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the need to develop effective innovative interventions. 

Alleged judge-attorney collusion and racketeering in Sacramento Superior Court spanning more than 20 years has traumatized hundreds of children, according to court reform advocates. The documentary film Divorce Corp designated the Sacramento County Family Court system as one of the most corrupt in the United States. 

Infographic: The Truth About ACEs by RWJF on RWJF.org

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Institutionalized Socioeconomic Bias by Family Court Judges Alleged in Federal Class-Action Lawsuit with Sacramento Plaintiff

Systemic socioeconomic bias by family court judges who misuse state vexatious litigant law against financially disadvantaged parents in child custody disputes is alleged in a federal class-action lawsuit filed by attorney Archibald Cunningham. 

Cunningham's rebuttal argument in the case at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on December 8, 2015 is recorded in the video above. The case was heard by circuit judges Alex Kozinski, Jay Bybee and Morgan Christen. To view video of the complete oral argument at the Sacramento Family Court News YouTube Channel, click here. 

Sacramento Family Court litigant Andrew Karres - who without a court hearing was summarily declared a vexatious litigant by Judge Jaime Roman - is a plaintiff in the case. Related SFCN coverage includes: 

• Judge Jaime Roman Designates Party Vexatious Litigant, Sanctions $2,500 and Makes 13 Other Rulings - Without Court Hearing Required by Law, click here. 
• Appeal Filed of Unprecedented Orders Issued by Judge Jaime Roman for Judge Pro Tem Charlotte Keeley,click here. 
• Controversial Order for Judge Pro Tem Attorney Charlotte Keeley by Judge Jaime Roman Challenged in Federal Class Action Lawsuit - Taxpayers Face Financial Liability, click here. 
• Judge Jaime Roman Misstates Law, Uses Overruled Case to Justify Vexatious Litigant and Other Orders Without Court Hearing, click here.  
• Judge Jaime R. Roman Vexatious Litigant Order for Attorney Charlotte Keeley Shows Judge Pro Tem Monopoly - Unfair Competition at Work, click here. 

For a complete list of all articles about the Karres case, click here. 

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: 9th Circuit Oral Argument in Case Alleging Judge Jaime Roman Ruling Unconstitutional

Judicial Council chair and former Sacramento Superior Court Judge Tani Cantil-Sakauye is a defendant in a federal civil rights class action alleging systemic misuse of vexatious litigant law against family court parents in child custody disputes. 

Oral argument in Pierce v. Cantil-Sakauye will be heard this week in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. The class action civil rights case challenges the use of state vexatious litigant law against family court parents involved in child custody disputes. The plaintiffs include Sacramento Superior Court litigant and parent Andrew Karres.

In 2012, without the court hearing required by law, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jaime Roman issued an order declaring Karres a vexatious litigant.  The issuance of a vexatious litigant determination without a court hearing was, and is unprecedented, and the ruling remains controversial. 

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Judge Matthew Gary Orders Indigent, Disabled Parent To Pay Attorney Fee Sanctions Based on "Body Language"

Judge Matthew Gary assessed draconian attorney fee sanctions against a disabled, indigent family court parent without an attorney based on her "body language," according to court records from the case. 

The appellate brief excerpt embedded at the bottom of this post recounts one instance of Judge Matthew Gary's misconduct in the Susan Ferris case, in connection with an illegal attorney fee sanctions order. The appeal in the case is pending at the controversial 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. 

The embedded document package also includes the court reporter transcript from a hearing in the case recording that Gary ordered Ferris to pay $2,500 to the opposing attorney, Timothy Zeff, based on Ferris' "body language." Zeff's partner, Scott Buchanan, is a part-time judge in the same court. 

Court records indicate that the judge pro tem conflict of interest was not disclosed as required by state law. The conflict disclosure violation has occurred in hundreds of other cases involving temporary judge lawyers.

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Illegal Child Custody Order, Judge Approved Child Abduction Among Issues in Landmark Appeal

Judge Matthew Gary's authorization of a criminal child abduction by the client of attorney Timothy Zeff is one of several judicial misconduct issues raised in the Susan Ferris appeal. Zeff is the law partner of temporary judge divorce attorney Scott Buchanan. Court whistleblowers allege that judge pro tem attorneys receive preferential treatment that amounts to racketeering.  

Friday Document Dump

The opening brief filed in an appeal from orders issued by Judge Matthew Gary and embedded at the bottom of this post documents misconduct by the controversial judge in the Susan Ferris case. Court records show that Ferris - who is indigent, disabled and did not have a lawyer - was illegally stripped of her parental rights, subjected to draconian financial sanctions that made her homeless, and denied her constitutional rights to due process, access to the courts and equal protection.

For our complete coverage of the trial court proceedings which resulted in this landmark appeal, click here. For Sacramento Bee coverage of the case, click here. For complete coverage of Judge Matthew J. Gary, click here. To view an exclusive SFCN video of Ferris describing her ordeal in her own words, click here.

Judge Matthew Gary Misconduct, Collusion with Attorney, Accessory After the Fact to Criminal Child Abductio... by California Judicial Branch News Network

Divorce Corp Family Law Report: Interview with Civil Rights Attorney Leon Koziol - Child Custody

Divorce Corp Director Joe Sorge Exposes Government Financial Interest in Instigating Child Custody Disputes

Released nationwide in January, the documentary film Divorce Corp designated the Sacramento Superior Court family law system as one of the most corrupt in the United States. The local family court cases of Andrew Karres, Mike Newdow, Robert Saunders and Ulf Carlsson all were used in the movie. The movie devoted a significant segment to a startling account and reenactment of egregious misconduct by Judge Peter McBrien in the Carlsson case. Even before the documentary release, McBrien's conduct in the case was called a "judicial reign of terror" by 6th District Court of Appeal Presiding Judge Conrad Rushing.

In this follow-up video, Divorce Corp director Joe Sorge interviews New York civil rights attorney Leon Koziol. The family law experts discuss federal government financial incentives that reward state governments for marginalizing one parent after a separation or divorce. 

Sacramento Superior Court watchdogs and whistleblowers have long asserted that the local family court system operates as a Kids-for-Cash-style racketeering enterprise where children effectively are bought and sold for the financial gain of unethical lawyers. The criminal organization includes the active involvement of several family court judges, and the acquiescence of other Sacramento Superior Court judges who are aware of, but turn a blind eye to the corruption, according to court reform advocates.

Click to visit Sacramento Family Court News on: Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Scribd, Vimeo, and Twitter. For additional reporting on the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below:

Sacramento Family Law Court Parents Hold State Capitol Candlelight Vigil for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day

Family Court Reform Advocates Hold Candlelight Vigil for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day 

A coalition of family court reform groups on April 25 will hold a candlelight vigil at the California State Capitol for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day. According to Wikipedia:

"Parental alienation is a social dynamic where one parent sabotages the relationship of the other parent with the child - sometimes euphemistically called 'aggressive parenting', generally occurring after divorce or separation. This happens physically by boycotting or 'hijacking' any contact between them, but also psychologically by bullying the other parent away and by brainwashing the child. This will lead up to a situation where ultimately the child itself expresses unjustified hatred or unreasonably strong dislike of one parent, making access by the rejected parent even more difficult or impossible. The alienating parent can now hide very well that he/she was solely responsible for this destruction of the relationship with the other parent, and the crime is complete: the child has lost a parent and grandparents. To the child, this siding with the perpetrator feels like the only option to avert the loss of the second parent too. Characteristics with the child, such as lack of empathy and warmth between the rejected parent and child are other indicators."

To continue reading, click Read more >> below...

Judge Thadd Blizzard Controversy: Court Order Authorizes Criminal Child Abduction for Judge Pro Tem Attorney Richard Sokol - Whistleblower Leak

A whistleblower leaked court reporter transcript records Judge Thadd Blizzard approving a
criminal child abduction by a client of part-time judge divorce lawyer Richard Sokol. 

Tuesday Document Dump

A whistleblower leaked court reporter transcript obtained by Sacramento Family Court News reveals that Judge Thadd Blizzard last November retroactively endorsed an unlawful out-of-state "move away" and child abduction at the request of local judge pro tem attorney Richard Sokol.  The transcript is embedded at the end of this article.

The unprecedented ruling went against San Francisco attorney Archibald Cunningham, who the transcript reflects was dumbfounded by the decision.

The bizarre chain-of-events began after Cunningham's disabled client, Robert Saunders, filed paperwork seeking child visitation under an existing temporary custody order. After the visitation paperwork was lodged, Sokol's client, April Berger, abruptly moved to Hawaii with the parents' twin daughters without the permission of the court.

To continue reading, and to view the complete court reporter transcript, click Read more >> below...

Divorce Lawyers at Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Reap Consequences in New Law - RoadDog Sunday Funnies

Judge Pro Tem Divorce Attorneys at SCBA Family Law Section Beneficiaries of New Self-Help Legislation

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

Newly enacted Family Code § 3050 authorizes self-help remedies in Sacramento Family Court 

cases meeting a specific criteria.

The California Legislature last week authorized a unique, jurisdiction-specific set of self-help remedies in family court cases which meet a designated criteria. To meet the criteria, a family court case must originate in the State Capitol jurisdiction of Sacramento County. 

In addition, the parties to the case must consist of an unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigant against an opposing party represented by a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section who also serves as a judge pro tem in the same court, or works at a law firm with a judge pro tem. The criteria also requires issuance of a "no contact" child custody order prohibiting the unrepresented litigant from all contact with the child or children of the parties.

To continue reading, click Read more >> below:  

Divorce Attorneys and Family Law Industry Called Corrupt and Collusive in Groundbreaking Documentary Film To Include Sacramento Family Court Case

Divorce Corp Documentary Film Nationwide Search for Corrupt Family Court Cases Hits Paydirt in Sacramento County 

SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Click here for updated news about Divorce Corp.

Divorce Corp, a scathing, full-length documentary film about family court corruption produced by Joseph Sorge and Candor Entertainment reportedly will include a Sacramento Family Court case study. The film "exposes the corrupt and collusive industry of family law in the United States," according to a plot summary posted at the Independent Movie Database. 

Sorge's production team conducted a nationwide search for the most egregious family court cases and apparently found what they were looking for in Sacramento County Family Court. A local case will be prominently featured in the movie, according to a person with direct knowledge of the project but not authorized to speak on the record. According to the storyline posted at IMDb: 

Divorce Corp exposes the corrupt and collusive industry of family law in the United States. While the system is intended to effect marital dissolution, it instead escalates and prolongs the conflict. Judges tout 'the best interests of the child standard' as their rationale for using children to extort families with limited assets to feed an increasingly voracious corps of lawyers and experts. The tabloids are full of epic divorce battles of the ultra wealthy, but the middle class are truly the grist for the mill. Divorce, now cited as the number four cause of bankruptcy in the US, has become a $50 billion a year industry that often destroys family ties in its wake. 

Movie release date and more, click Read More >> below to continue reading. 

Judge Jaime Roman Embroilment, Abuse of Authority Against Outside Attorney Suggests Judge Pro Tem Attorney Monopoly, Implicates Anti-Trust, Unfair Competition Laws

Divorce attorneys Sharon Huddle (R) and Charlotte Keeley face-off at a hearing before Judge John Winn. 

News Analysis & Opinion

For Roseville family law attorney Sharon Huddle, the Sacramento Family Court proceedings surrounding issuance of a controversial order designating her client Andrew Karres a vexatious litigant may be déjà vu all over again. Throughout the 20-page order, written by Judge Jaime R. Roman, Huddle and her client are demeaned, disparaged and ridiculed. 

The opposing attorney - Judge Pro Tem Charlotte Keeley - and her client, Mel Rapton Honda heiress Katina Rapton, are portrayed by Roman in the patently unlawful order as victims. For our complete coverage of the vexatious litigant order and the Rapton-Karres case, click here. 

Judge Jaime Roman Controversy: Issues Vexatious Litigant Order Against Opposing Party for Part-Time Judge Divorce Attorney Charlotte Keeley Without Holding Required Court Hearing

Controversial divorce attorney and part-time Sacramento Superior Court judge Charlotte Keeley (R) leaves a family court hearing with client Katina Rapton. Keeley works as a volunteer judge in the same court.  

News Analysis & Opinion

The Sacramento Family Court News analysis team has been working overtime scrutinizing and trying to make sense of a controversial 20-page statement of decision issued on Nov. 14 of last year by Supervising Family Court Judge Jaime R. Roman. Click here for our initial report from 2012.

Roman's decision is now being challenged in both the Third District Court of Appeal, and in a federal class action lawsuit filed March 22 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. It is certain that taxpayers will get a substantial bill for each case.

Court watchdogs contend Roman's order exemplifies the overt lawlessness that occurs weekly in family court, and the preferential treatment that full-time judges provide for-profit attorneys who also serve as temporary judges. 

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. 

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

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. 

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.