HORRIFIC FACTS OF NEW YORK DIVORCE CASE MIRROR TACTICS USED BY MANY SACRAMENTO COUNTY DIVORCE LAWYERS AND JUDGES, SAYS WHISTLEBLOWER

The federal lawsuit embedded with this post originates in a state court divorce case in New York. It describes illegal or unethical litigation tactics often seen in Sacramento County divorce and family court cases, according to local court watchdogs.

"The allegations in this new federal lawsuit, including misconduct by the judge, are virtually identical to what we've seen in Sacramento County for more than 20 years," said California judicial branch whistleblower Ulf Carlsson. "It is so bad here they made a documentary about the corruption. And Presiding Judge David De Alba has played deaf, dumb, and blind to the problems."

Learn more:

• Al D'Amato's ex-wife sues him for $100 million amid cutthroat custody battle. New York Daily News. 
• Alfonse D'Amato's estranged wife files suit against former senator. New York Newsday. 
• Former GOP senator accused of lying to cops to put his wife in a psych ward. Law & Crime.
• Sacramento County family law court operates as RICO racketeering enterprise, chare whistleblowers. Sacramento Family Court Report. 
• Divorce Corp documentary.  

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

Sacramento Superior Court Corruption: 2014 the Year of the Disgruntled Litigant - Holiday Edition RoadDog Satire

In this YouTube video from the Times Leader newspaper in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania, Judge Mark Ciavarella is confronted by Sandy Fonzo during his federal criminal prosecution for racketeering, deprivation of the right to honest services, and other charges. Fonzo attributes the suicide of her teenage son to Ciavarella's criminal conduct in the Luzerne County Pa., Kids for Cash scandal. 

Sacramento Family Court reform advocates assert that similar charges against judges, employees and the judge pro tem attorney "cartel" are warranted. The deaths of 9-year-old Matthew Hernandez and 8-month-old Ryder Salmen have been blamed on Judge Sharon Lueras. Other cases with high conflict child custody disputes, including parents Andrew Karres, Susan Ferris, and Robert Saunders involve extreme economic disparities between the parties. 

In all three, the wealthy parent has paid significant sums to effectively terminate the parental rights of the economically weaker parent. In all three, the wealthy parent is represented by a judge pro tem attorney or firm. Court watchdogs assert that these, and similar cases show the court operates its own version of the Pennsylvania Kids for Cash system, and deprives the public of the federally protected right to honest government services.   

New Legislation Needed in 2014 to Curtail the Incidence of Disgruntled Litigants

Special Holiday Satire by RoadDog

The screeching harpy in the video above is Sandy Fonzo. Do. Not. Read. This. until you watch the video. Sandy Fonzo is a disgruntled litigant. Fonzo is disgruntled because her teenage son took his own life after being traumatized in a privately run juvenile detention facility in Luzerne County Pennsylvania. 

An all-star wrestler, her son was sentenced to the facility by Judge Mark Ciavarella, who, it turned out, received $997,600 from the developer who built the private juvenile detention facility. Sandy Fonzo and other disgruntled litigants joined forces and tricked the federal government into investigating Judge Ciavarella, his buddy Judge Michael Conahan, and their cohorts in government and the private sector. 

A May, 2013 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania summarized the scope and outcome of the investigation, prompted by disgruntled litigants:

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

Sacramento Superior Court Misconduct: Court Employees Protected by State Whistleblower Law

Whistleblower Protection Act Shields Court Employees From Retaliation for Reporting Misconduct  

California State Auditor Whistleblower Hotline

Several family court users have asked Sacramento Family Court News to update our September, 2011 article about the expansion of the California Whistleblower Protection Act. 

At that time, the Act was revised to protect from retaliation court employees who report misconduct by judges or co-workers, including violations of the California Rules of Court. 

The 2011 law designates a violation of state court rules as an improper governmental activity, in the same category of misconduct as corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraud, coercion, willful omission to perform duty, and similar types of misconduct. 

Court watchdogs allege that in Sacramento Family Court, a number of state court rules are routinely ignored by judges and court clerks. We're investigating the allegations, and will report our findings in the near future. We've also had reports that courtroom bailiffs are not enforcing the law, which one national family court website has documented is a common problem. Familylawcourts.com notes that some bailiffs act as "judicial puppets," and has called for bailiff education. 

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: