Judge Peter McBrien Collusion with Judge Pro Tem Divorce Lawyer Charlotte Keeley Featured in Divorce Corp Documentary

In his own words, Sacramento Family Court victim Ulf Carlsson relates the details of his case, his personal financial ruin, and the loss of his job and career due to retaliation by Judge Peter McBrien. Carlsson also describes collusion - confirmed by other family law attorneys he consulted - between McBrien and the opposing attorney in his case, judge pro tem divorce lawyer Charlotte Keeley.

From the documentary Divorce Corp: www.divorcecorp.com

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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:

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California Judges Association Verifies Multiple State Law Violations by Part-Time Judge Attorneys - Judge Laurie Earl Responsible for Enforcement

Sacramento Superior Court Presiding Judge Laurie Earl has failed or 
refused to enforce state law against judge pro tem attorneys who
use their temporary judge status for personal gain. 

The California Judges Association this month issued a Judicial Ethics Update [pdf] confirming that many Sacramento Family Court judge pro tem attorneys are in violation of the California Code of Judicial Ethics for misuse of the judge pro tem title on firm websites.

Last month, we reported that prominent, local family law attorneys who also serve as temporary judges in the same court were using the judge pro tem title for advertising and promotional purposes on firm web pages. 

Using "the prestige of judicial office or use of the judicial title in any manner...to advance the pecuniary or personal interests of the judge or others" is prohibited by state law.

To clients and potential clients, the judge pro tem title implies "insider" status among family court judges and employees, and some lawyers misuse the position to promote their law practice.  

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Attorney Misconduct: Federal Indictment for Unethical, Illegal Attorney Conduct Includes Obtaining False and Misleading Testimony

Federal Conspiracy, Honest Services Fraud Indictment Includes Violations of Attorney Fiduciary and Legal Duties

Friday Document Dump

Violations of lawyer ethical standards can be used as evidence of criminal conduct, according to records from a U.S. District Court. A federal criminal indictment filed against an attorney in Nevada indicates that violations of professional standards are one component in a criminal prosecution for honest services mail or wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Personal injury attorney Noel Gage was charged in a scheme to defraud clients of the honest services of their attorneys, and obtain the money and property of others by false pretenses, representations, promises, omissions of material fact, and half-truths. The indictment recites the duties owed by an attorney to a client, including providing honest services that are free from self-dealing, corruption, fraud, deceit and conflicts of interest. According to the document, the duties include: 

• The duty to deal honestly and forthrightly with others in connection with a client's case;
• The duty to provide honest and independent counsel to clients;
• The duty to remain free of conflicts of interest with a client; 
• The duty to act at all times in the best interests of the client; 
• The duty to disburse money from the proceeds of a client's settlement or judgment honestly and with full disclosure to the client; and 
• The duty to ensure that others who are employed by the attorney in connection with a client's case comport with the same duties and obligations listed above.     

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