Whistleblower Divorce Attorney Edward Lyman Reveals Systemic Misconduct at Family Law Firm

Divorce and family law attorneys are often accused of misconduct. In this case, a whistleblower family law lawyer detailed attorney misconduct common with divorce lawyers throughout California. 

Lyman came forward when he observed a senior associate attorney at the Firm repeatedly violating the laws, rules, and regulations promulgated by the Legislature and State Bar of California that are designed to protect clients—and the public at large—from attorney misconduct.

Plaintiff Edward M. Lyman III, is a Private Attorney General authorized to act on behalf of the State of California to collect civil penalties for the government, himself, and the other aggrieved employees, against the Defendant law firm of Walzer Melcher LLP. Plaintiff also brings this action individually against all defendants for inter alia general, special, and punitive damages. Plaintiff alleges on the basis of personal knowledge and/or information and belief as follows:

 

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

Judge Matthew Gary Outraged at Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Ruling - SFCN Sunday Funnies - RoadDog Satire

Judge Matthew Gary to Speak on How Homos Harm Kids at Right-Wing Ideologue Evangelical Church 

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

The Right-Wing Evangelical Church in Fair Oaks next Sunday will host
a talk by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Matthew Gary.

In reaction to the recent US Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, controversial Sacramento Superior Court Judge Matthew Gary will give a talk next Sunday on the effects of homosexuality on children. 

"How the homos harm kids" is the title of a speech Gary will give at the Right-Wing Ideologue Evangelical Church in Fair Oaks, according to a press release from Gary's publicist and court clerk Christina Arcuri.

"The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is an outrage, and an outrage that will have far-ranging consequences," Gary is expected to rant. "The legalization of same-sex marriage will cause irreparable harm to countless children throughout the United States. As a family court judge, I am an unimpeachable authority on this subject," Gary will rightly point out. "These gay homos are criminalizing Christianity and the beliefs of Evangelicals and someone must make a stand."  

To continue reading, click Read more>> below: 

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye - Quotes of the Month: Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act & Public Confidence in Judicial System

Tani Cantil-Sakauye Entrusted with Legacy of Chief Justice Ronald George to Preserve Public Confidence in Courts

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is charged with maintaining the vision of former Chief Justice Ronald George to increase the availability of legal representation for indigent litigants. Cantil-Sakauye previously was a judge of Sacramento Superior Court.

"Increasing the availability of legal representation for litigants who must currently represent themselves or face loss of their legal rights is a key priority of the Judicial Council and Chief Justice Ronald M. George. As the Chief Justice has noted, the large and growing number of self-represented litigants is one of the most challenging issues in the coming decade, imposing significant costs on the judicial system and the public by impairing the ability of the courts to efficiently process heavy caseloads, and eroding the public's confidence in our judicial system." 
AB 590 - Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act.

Four years ago today a historic vote was held in the California Senate Judiciary Committee. The final vote tally was was 3-2, allowing Assembly Bill 590 to move forward in the legislative process. AB 590 included the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act, which proposed to establish a pilot program for the appointment of legal representation for unrepresented low-income parties in civil matters involving basic human needs. 

"Legal and judicial leaders increasingly recognize the need to fix a system that is not only failing to meet the needs of so many court users, and the courts themselves, but also failing to honor basic constitutional and common law principles underlying the doctrine of equal justice under the law," according to a legislative analysis of the bill. "[AB 590] builds on a 2007 budget proposal advocated by Chief Justice Ronald George and backed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger." 

Current Chief Justice Tani Catil-Sakauye was nominated to the high court by Schwarzenegger on July 22, 2010. Assembly Bill 590 was part of a still expanding, nationwide movement known as "Civil Gideon." In the landmark 1963 United States Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court decided that indigent defendants have a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney, at no charge, in state criminal cases. 

The term "Civil Gideon" refers to a growing national movement to provide legal counsel, as a matter of right and at public expense, to low-income persons in civil legal proceedings where basic human needs are at stake, such as those involving housing, and specific family court issues, such as child custody. Civil Gideon advocates cite startling statistics showing that people without lawyers who face off against attorneys in court often lose cases or rulings they should have won. 

To continue reading, 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:  

Sacramento Superior Court Judges Violate State Law & Code of Judicial Ethics In Temporary Judge Conflict of Interest Disclosure Controversy

Sacramento Family Court reform advocates say the tattered flag that flies above the courthouse is emblematic of the systemic rule of law breakdown - including serial conflict of interest disclosure violations - which they assert has taken place in court proceedings.

Judges Fail To Make Conflict Disclosures: Systemic Legal Error Taints Countless Cases

UPDATE: Supreme Court Committee Confirms Temporary Judge Conflict Disclosure Violations

In hundreds of cases, Sacramento Family Court judges have failed to make critical conflict of interest disclosures required by state law and the Code of Judicial Ethics, according to a courthouse whistleblower. 

The disclosure omission is ongoing and infects additional cases each week. The legitimacy of orders and judgments in cases tainted by the error are subject to challenge by trial court set-aside motions or costly appellate court review.  

In most of the cases, one party is unrepresented and indigent - substantially reducing the chances that relief will be sought, but nonetheless requiring taxpayers to foot the bill in the event of subsequent proceedings due to the error. The potential public financial liability is significant. The current cost to taxpayers for a single appeal is between $8,500 and $25,500, according to recent appellate court decisions.

New court records leaked by a whistleblower and posted online exclusively by Sacramento Family Court News, including a conflict of interest disclosure filed by a civil court judge, and another filed by a federal judge, show that other Sacramento County Superior Court judges - and federal judges - do comply with conflict laws.

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

Sacramento Divorce Lawyers and Family Law Attorneys: Family Court Sacramento - Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Monopoly - Sunday Funnies

Bar Association Family Law Attorneys 

vs. The 70 Percent*

Sacramento Bar Association Family Law Section vs. the 70 Percent

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

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

Divorce Attorneys Sacramento and Family Law Lawyers Family Court Child Custody / Visitation Orders Cause Unhappy Holidays

Illegal "No Contact" Child Custody & Visitation Orders Cause Mental and Emotional Trauma, Especially During Holidays, say Protest Organizers

Summer 2012 family court reform group protest. Among other issues, court reform advocates assert that "no contact" child custody orders issued by Sacramento Family Court judges are drafted intentionally to obstruct the oversight functions of the 3rd District Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court.

Child Custody/Visitation Issues: On Tuesday Nov. 20 two family court reform organizations will hold a rally across from the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. The groups seek to raise awareness of the mental and emotional trauma experienced during the holidays by parents who, due to family court child custody and visitation orders, have been denied contact with their own children. 

Court watchdogs have documented that family court judges routinely issue as punishment unlawful "no contact" orders which prohibit a parent from having any contact with their own children. The orders - issued without the legal grounds required by state law - effectively terminate all parental rights, and are intentionally worded so that any attempted appeal is futile, according to reform advocates. 

"Many parents throughout America get to spend a traditional day of feasting, socializing, fraternizing, watching football, etc., with their children, relatives and friends. Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone. Too many parents have been denied what many Americans get to enjoy every year, and take for granted - an opportunity to spend Thanksgiving Day with their children," said Robert Saunders of Fathers4Justice.

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

Family Court Sacramento U.N. Takeover Update: Hit Music Video Gangnam Style Linked To Family Court Sacramento - Sunday Funnies

PSY Links Family Court Issues with Music Video Theme After Meeting with U.N. Secretary General

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday met with South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer and record producer Park Jae-sang, commonly known by his stage name "PSY," to discuss the Sacramento Family Court scandal and the power of music to overcome intolerance.

As reported exclusively by Sacramento Family Court News, the United Nations last month declared the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse a crime scene. A criminal indictment issued by the U.N. charged prominent Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section attorneys and several family court judges with violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and with operating the court as an organized criminal enterprise. To read our original report on the United Nations courthouse takeover, click here.  

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

Sacramento County Superior Court: Divorce Lawyers, Family Law Attorneys and Pro Pers Notice - Family Court Ex Parte Procedure Revised By Judge Laurie M. Earl

Family Law Ex Parte Procedure Revised by Order of Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl

Sacramento County Superior Court Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl has issued the following standing order overriding existing Local Rules of Court and modifying ex parte application proceedings in family court: 

Notwithstanding Local Rules 14.08(A) and 14.02(B)(2), applications for ex parte orders and matters on shortened time will no longer be accepted for filing in the counter in Room 100 of the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse.
Effective August 1, 2012, applications for ex parte orders and matters on shortened time shall be filed directly in the department as assigned by case numbers...

All ex parte applications will be heard Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m. in the assigned department. In addition to giving notice to the opposing party/counsel pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1203, the moving party shall deliver a copy of the ex parte application to the opposing party/counsel at the earliest reasonable opportunity prior to the ex parte appearance. 

The order includes a chart providing the family court department number where ex parte orders are to be filed, based on the last two digits of a case number. Click here to view the chart and the complete order. 

To view other articles about the people and issues in this post, use the labels below. 

Family Court Sacramento - State Law Now Protects Court Employee Whistleblowers

New Law Designates Court Rule Violations as Improper Governmental Activity, Protects Court Employees From Retaliation  

California State Auditor 
Whistleblower Hotline

Governor Jerry Brown yesterday signed into law Assembly Bill 1102. The bill updated and revised a number of Government Code statutes designating the functions and powers of the California State Auditor. In addition, a violation of a California Rule of Court by a state or court employee is now classified as an improper governmental activity equal to corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraud, coercion, willful omission to perform duty, and similar types of misconduct.

The Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, superior courts and Administrative Office of the Courts are now included in the California Whistleblower Protection Act "state agency" definition. Among other ramifications, the revised definition ensures that the protections of the Act extend to court employees. Under the Act, state employees who make complaints about improper governmental activities are protected from retaliation. Retaliation includes intimidation, the denial of appointment or promotion, a threat of adverse action, a poor performance evaluation, involuntary transfer, or any form of disciplinary action.

Court employees can report improper governmental activities to the State Auditor using the Whistleblower Hotline, by mail, or using an electronic form at the State Auditor website. Under a variety of state statutes, rules, and regulations, state employees who fail to report misconduct may themselves be guilty of misconduct and subject to discipline, job termination, or criminal prosecution. Employee conduct standards include Article 20 of the California Constitution, California Rules of Court rules 10.16, 10.17, and 10.670 and the Court Employee Code of Ethics. 

Court employees may be subject to criminal prosecution under several statutes, including Penal Code sections 470(c) and 470(d), which prohibit altering, corrupting, or falsifying documents. Failing to report a co-worker engaged in criminal conduct may expose a court employee to the same criminal prosecution as an accessory, for aiding and abetting, conspiracy, or under the natural and probable consequences doctrine.   
For the complete California Whistleblower Protection Act, click here. 

Family Law Attorney References Used by Sacramento Family Court News - Newsroom Law Library Tour

Family Law Reporting Sources,  References & Newsroom Law Library

Family law references used by Sacramento Family Court News are the same as those 
used by judges and family law attorneys, including California Practice Guide: Family Law.

Thank you for visiting Sacramento Family Court News, a news website featuring independent reporting about family court, judges, attorneys, pro pers, family law, divorce, child support, child custody and more. To learn more about us, please visit our About Page. This post describes the legal references we use in our reporting.

Family law is complex. Family court cases often involve conflicting he said/she said testimony, or "both sides do it" moral equivalency arguments. Sorting out the facts is a daunting challenge and one reason why most mainstream media avoid reporting on family court issues. 

But almost all family law and procedure is codified or otherwise established by court rules and decisional law, and not subject to reasonable dispute. The news, analysis, and opinion content at Sacramento Family Court News is in large part based on the family law and court procedure references used by judges and attorneys. 

When issuing orders, rulings, and decisions, superior court, Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court judges and justices often rely on and cite legal references published by The Rutter Group. For example, a search for the phrase "Rutter Group" in published and unpublished California decisional law returns 3,270 results. Click here to see the Google Scholar case law search results. 

The Rutter Group publishes Practice Guides for virtually every area of law. "The judges and attorneys who write the Practice Guides are among the best in the nation," according to Rutter. 


Click here to continue reading...