SACRAMENTO COUNTY COURT EMPLOYEES NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH CODE OF ETHICS, CHARGE WHISTLEBLOWERS

Self-represented court users report that Sacramento County Superior Court employees do not follow the Code of Ethics for Court Employees mandated by the California Judicial Council.

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

Whistleblowers Blame Systemic Statewide Court Corruption on Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye

Supreme Court Chief Justice Implicated in California Court Corruption Epidemic

California Judicial Branch watchdogs allege that Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye is responsible for a court corruption epidemic sweeping the state. 

Case Fixing Scandal, Racketeering Scheme, Whistleblower Retaliation Attributed to Leadership of Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye 

Sacramento Family Court News has published an exhaustive, investigative report alleging that a criminal organization involving judges and local attorneys operates within the Sacramento County family law court system. The report is the latest allegation that corruption has reached epidemic levels in California courts.

Court whistleblowers and watchdogs charge that California Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye has used her position to quash investigations into the alleged criminal conduct of her former coworkers in Sacramento Superior Court, and the adjacent, and troubled 3rd District Court of Appeal.

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Sacramento Superior Court Criminal Activity Alleged At Judicial Council Meeting Protest & Public Comment

Family Court Judge-Attorney Collusion, RICO Racketeering and Other Crimes To Be Submitted at Judicial Council Meeting

The Center for Judicial Excellence, a Marin-based family court reform organization, has initiated a "Year of Action to Stop Court Crimes" campaign throughout California.

Evidence of alleged criminal activity by Sacramento Superior Court judges, employees, and part-time judges who also work as for-profit divorce lawyers will be presented by court watchdogs and whistleblowers at a Judicial Council meeting in Sacramento on Thursday, February 19. The presentation is a component of the "Stop Court Crimes" campaign sponsored by the Center for Judicial Excellence, a Marin-based family court reform organization. 

The statewide CJE "Year of Action to Stop Court Crimes" campaign kicked-off in September with a rally at the Judicial Council in San Francisco, and is slated to run throughout 2015. Family court watchdogs from 16 California counties attended, including a strong Sacramento County contingent. The event generated press coverage by the San Francisco Examiner. In addition to the rally, the group made a formal, written request for an audience with the Chair of the Judicial Council to present evidence and discuss alleged criminal activity and other misconduct by family court judges and employees throughout the state. The request was denied, and the group was directed to express their concerns at the public comment segment provided at regularly scheduled Judicial Council meetings.

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Sacramento Superior Court Corruption: Family Court Reform Advocates To Attend Judicial Council Protest

Criminal Activity by Family Court Judges, Employees, and Part-Time Judges To Be Reported To Judicial Council

The Center for Judicial Excellence will initiate
a year-long "Stop Court Crimes" campaign on
September 19.

Evidence of alleged criminal activity by Sacramento Superior Court judges, employees, and part-time judges who also work as for-profit divorce lawyers will be submitted by court watchdogs and whistleblowers at the Judicial Council headquarters in San Francisco on Friday, September 19. The protest event is a component of the "Stop Court Crimes" campaign sponsored by the Center for Judicial Excellence, a Marin-based family court reform organization. 

The statewide CJE "Year of Action to Stop Court Crimes" campaign will start with a rally at the Judicial Council, and is slated to run throughout 2015. Family court watchdogs from counties across California are expected to attend, including a Sacramento County contingent. 

The Stop Court Crimes initiative plans to expose corruption and improve court accountability and transparency through an education campaign targeting the Judicial Council, Legislature, State Bar, Commission on Judicial Performance and other agencies responsible for Judicial Branch oversight.  

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.

Event details from the Center for Judicial Excellence: 

Judicial Council Protest - Center for Judicial Excellence Stop Court Crimes Campaign - Sacramento Superior... by California Judicial Branch News Network

Court Employee Misconduct: Family Court Whistleblower Emily Gallup Describes Family Court Employee Incompetence, Corruption in Divorce Corp Documentary

Divorce Corp Movie Features Interview with Family Court Whistleblower Emily Gallup and Sacramento Family Court Demonstration

In this excerpt from the documentary Divorce Corp, family court employee-turned- whistleblower Emily Gallup recounts her unsettling experience attempting to report misconduct by her Nevada County Family Court coworkers to the state Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Courts. Gallup concludes the interview by describing her realization as a court employee that the people she assumed were disgruntled litigants - angry that they had lost in court - were in fact not disgruntled litigants. Gallup ultimately concluded that their anger was justified because court users were subjected to misconduct and mistreatment by court employees, who were not, and could not be held accountable by anyone, including the state Judicial Council and AOC.

"I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that no one is holding them accountable for their actions. They've done a lot of damage to this community," Gallup said about her coworkers in the family court system. "At the time I thought 'well, yeah, half the people who've been through here don't like us because they didn't get what they wanted.' I realize now, no, that's not the problem. The problem is [court employees] were disrespecting people and they knew it." 

A protest demonstration at Sacramento Family Court is shown at the end of the clip. In 2012, a Sacramento County Superior Court jury awarded Gallup $313,206 in her lawsuit against Nevada County Superior Court and court employees for civil rights violations, whistleblower retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other grounds. To view the jury special verdict form at the Sacramento Family Court News Scribd page, click here. The initial complaint filed in the lawsuit is below. For more information about Divorce Corp, including how to order the documentary on DVD or by download at the iTunes store, click here. 

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 the document:

Emily Gallup Family Court Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Nevada County Superior Court and Court Employees -... by Sacramento Family Court News

Hon. Laurie M. Earl To Receive Judicial Council Distinguished Service Award

Judge Laurie Earl Named as Recipient of Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence

Judge Laurie M. Earl was named the 2013 winner of the
Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence.

Sacramento County Superior Court Presiding Judge Laurie Earl has been named as one of six winners in the 2013 Judicial Branch of California Awards. Earl was selected to receive the Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence. The award honors members of the judiciary for their extraordinary dedication to the highest principles of the administration of justice. The award was previously called the Jurist of the Year Award. Earl will receive the award later this year at a special ceremony in San Francisco. Past winners include former Sacramento County Superior Court judge and 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Arthur Scotland, and current Supreme Court Associate Justices Carol Corrigan and Ming Chin.  

According to the Judicial Council press release about the award:

Presiding Judge Laurie Earl, Superior Court of Sacramento County, chair of the Trial Court Presiding Judges Advisory Committee, and co-chair of the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee, was selected for her visionary and collaborative leadership and dedication in the groundbreaking effort over the past year to create greater equity in how funds are allocated among the 58 trial courts.

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Judicial Council Chief of Staff: Judge Laurie Earl, Court Executive Officer Chris Volkers Responsible for Judge Oversight & Accountability

Judicial Council 2nd-in-Command Verifies Presiding Judge, Court Administrators Responsible for Unlawful Orders, Socioeconomic Bias By Judge

Jody Patel, currently the Chief of Staff for the Judicial Council,
formerly was the CEO of Sacramento County Superior Court.

Jody Patel, Chief of Staff for the Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco has informed Sacramento Family Court News that local court administrators and the presiding judge are responsible for investigating and correcting the judge misconduct allegations detailed in our June 28 investigative report. 

The responsibility for Sacramento Family Court oversight and accountability rests with Presiding Judge Laurie Earl, Court Executive Officer Christina Volkers, and family court Director of Operations Julie Setzer, according to Patel, who previously held the same position as Volkers. 

Before her promotion to the Judicial Council in 2006, from 2001-2006 Patel served as CEO of the Superior Court of Sacramento County. The Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the California courts and is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial and accessible administration of justice, according to the council website. 

For an upcoming follow-up post to our June 28 report, SFCN asked several local and state court officials to respond to the documented allegations that Judge Matthew Gary and his clerk Christina Arcuri exhibit overt bias against socioeconomically disadvantaged pro per litigants, misuse Family Code §271 sanctions against the indigent, and issue inadequate, unlawful court orders, and to the evidence that court orders issued in Sacramento Family Court are not reasonably consistent from judge-to-judge, as required by state standards. 

Click here to view our initial inquiry to Judicial Council Chief of Staff Jody Patel. Click here to view Patel's response. Click here to read our follow-up email clarifying Patel's response. Click here to read our original, June 28 investigative report. For more articles about the issues and court officials in this post, click on the corresponding labels below.