Systemic Temporary Judge Conflict of Interest Disclosure Law Violations Confirmed by Supreme Court Committee

The Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions has issued an important "Formal Opinion" confirming that conflict of interest disclosures by judges be made in writing when no court reporter is present.

Presiding Judge Robert Hight Responsible for Legal Error Tainting Hundreds of Cases

An attorney and Sacramento Family Court News reader provided the California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions Formal Opinion embedded at the end of this article. The opinion provides an additional legal reference confirming that family court judges must disclose potential conflicts of interest on the record. 

At court hearings where no court reporter is present, the disclosure must be in writing, according to the CJEO. A SFCN investigation last year revealed that family court judges were not in compliance with conflict of interest disclosure laws. Judges continue to ignore conflict laws, according to recent case audits conducted by SFCN.

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Obstruction of Justice Crimes Alleged Against Family Court Temporary Judge and Sacramento County Bar Officer Paula Salinger

Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner and Salinger partner Paula Salinger allegedly engaged in obstruction of justice crimes against an indigent, disabled domestic violence victim without an attorney. Oversight authorities, including Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully and the State Bar have declined to investigate the allegations. 

Whistleblower leaked records from a Sacramento Family Court case - embedded at the bottom of this post - indicate that criminal acts were committed by family law attorney and temporary judge Paula Salinger against an indigent, unrepresented, pro per family court party.

The pro per was a victim and witness in a family court criminal contempt case filed against a Salinger client, and the pro per also is disabled with a cognitive disability, and is a domestic violence victim, according to court records.

Family court reform advocates say the case is another example of the complete lack of oversight and accountability of attorneys who engage in egregious misconduct against disadvantaged, pro per litigants who can't afford legal representation.

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Hon. Peter J. McBrien Leaked $1 Million Statement of Economic Interests for 2010 - Redacted

Judge Peter McBrien Whistleblower Leaked $1 Million Statement of Economic Interests for 2010

Friday Document Dump

Click here to view our recently expanded collection of whistleblower leaked documents about Judge Peter McBrien at the Sacramento Family Court News Scribd page. 

Sacramento Superior Court watchdogs allege that McBrien is responsible for, and profits from a family court criminal racketeering enterprise involving collusion and kickbacks between judges and divorce attorneys who also work as part-time judges in the same court. Click here for our investigative report. According to Schedule A-2 of the Statement of Economic Interests, the judge controls a trust with over $1 million in assets. 

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:

Attorney Misconduct: Diane Wasznicky Illegal Court Filing Not In Compliance With State Law - Ignored by Court Filing Clerks

Family Court Clerks File Non-Conforming Documents for Judge Pro Tem Attorneys - Reject Pro Per Documents

Monday Document Dump

As the court filing embedded at the bottom of this article reflects, Sacramento Family Court clerks file paperwork for Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section attorneys which, by law, they are required to reject for filing. The document does not conform with the state law requirements for filing documents in California courts. 

The California Rules of Court specify the format of papers filed with every court in the state. The requirements are mandatory, not optional. Under rule 2.118, court clerks must reject any papers that do not comply with court rules. Click here to view the rule. For example, under rule 2.108, line numbers must be placed in the left margin of papers filed with a court. 

Family court watchdogs assert that Diane Wasznicky and other
judge pro tem attorneys receive preferential treatment, and kickbacks
in the form of "rubber-stamped" court orders in exchange for running
the family court settlement conference program. 

The declaration filed by judge pro tem attorney Diane Wasznicky with the request for order embedded below is drafted on blank paper without line numbers. 

The illegal and unethical litigation tactic - which also is used by other judge pro tem lawyers - prevents the opposition from filing written evidentiary objections. 

Line numbers are required because in order to make written objections to false or inadmissible evidence contained in a declaration, the opposing party must, by law, specify the line numbers to show exactly which portions of the declaration contain false, misleading, or incomplete facts. If inaccurate evidence is not objected to it is by law considered accurate. 

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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.

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Sacramento County Court Corruption: Judge Pro Tem Attorney Caught in Cover Up of Judge Misconduct - Shifts Blame to Disabled Victim of Illegal Courtroom Arrest

Part-Time Judge Gives False Testimony, Blames Victim for Judge Matthew Gary Misconduct and Abuse of Disabled, Unrepresented Pro Per Litigant

The Historical Revisionism of Sworn Temporary Judges Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren - Part 2
A Special News and Analysis Series by Pelican Briefed

This is Part 2 of our series "The Historical Revisionism of Sworn Temporary Judges
Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren." To view Part 1, click here.

A court reporter transcript obtained by Sacramento Family Court News records divorce attorney Richard Sokol making demonstrably false statements at a court hearing before Judge Thadd Blizzard. 

Sokol's apparent motive was to demonize and discredit the opposing party in a family court child custody dispute. Sokol is a Sacramento County Superior Court sworn temporary judge and Sacramento Bar Association Family Law Section member. 

Sokol is caught on court reporter transcript giving a false account of a prior court hearing before controversial Judge Matthew Gary in the same case. At the previous hearing, Gary had Robert Saunders, the disabled, unrepresented pro per opposing party, arrested and jailed for contempt of court. 

Saunders also was charged with resisting arrest by Gary's courtroom bailiff, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Deputy J. Strong. As Sacramento Family Court News reported in 2012, two outside, independent judges who later reviewed the incident found that Gary was at fault, and cleared Saunders of all charges. 

Gary was involuntarily disqualified, and banned from hearing further proceedings in the case by San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapudua. 

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Sacramento Superior Court Corruption: Part-Time Judge Caught on Transcript Lying About Illegal Courtroom Arrest of Disabled Parent

Judge Pro Tem Divorce Lawyer Caught in Cover Up of Judge Matthew Gary Misconduct 

The Historical Revisionism of Sworn Temporary Judges Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren - Part 1
A Special News and Analysis Series by Pelican Briefed

One form of historical revisionism is the “illigitmate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favorable light,” according to Wikipedia. The distortion of history to deny historical crimes is sometimes called negationism. 

Historical revisionism is often associated with after-the-fact justifications for, or denial of war crimes, such as the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. 

Some countries have laws making it a crime to disseminate revisionist material, such as Holocaust denial propaganda. Revisionist tactics include deception, denial and trivialization. 

A court reporter transcript obtained by Sacramento Family Court News shows that the same tactics have recently been used in Sacramento Family Court by judge pro tem attorneys Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren. Van Beveren currently also is an officer of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee. 

The transcript records Sokol and Van Beveren disseminating subtle and overt falsehoods, deceptions, denials and trivializations about the unlawful 2009 assault and arrest of indigent, disabled litigant and family court watchdog Robert Saunders, in the courtroom of Judge Matthew Gary. Both Sokol and Van Beveren were eyewitnesses to the incident. 

In April, 2012 SFCN published an in-depth, investigative report on the debacle and subsequent events, including the vindication of Saunders by two outside, independent judges. Click here to read our report.

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Judge Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Victim of Illegal Order Issued for Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff Homeless But Surviving

Judge Matthew Gary Order for Partner of Judge Pro Tem Attorney Scott Buchanan Results in Homelessness for Disabled Mom 

Larscheid, Buchanan & Zeff family law attorney Timothy Zeff requested and was granted an unlawful $920 child support order by Judge Matthew J. Gary. Zeff's partner, Scott Buchanan, is a family court judge pro tem. The order financially devastated 52-year-old disabled, single parent Susan Ferris. Evicted from her Sacramento home and now homeless, she sleeps on the couch of a Bay Area friend.  

SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS SPECIAL REPORT 

The disturbing aftermath of an unconscionable $920 child support order issued by Judge Matthew J. Gary shows one of the ramifications, and the inexorable human cost of what court watchdogs contend is unchecked family court corruption and cronyism. The April, 2012 order gutted the monthly disability income of disabled, unrepresented, financially disadvantaged family court litigant Susan Ferris from $1,256 to $336. Gary previously issued an equally unlawful order prohibiting the 52-year-old single parent from having any contact with her daughter, Megan. 

The April support order financially devastated Ferris, leaving her with far less income than she needed for food, utilities, and rent. After several months under the order and behind on her rent, Ferris was evicted from her East Sacramento home and became homeless. The same court order records that her ex-husband, David Ferris, earns $8,089 per month. Click here to view Gary's minute order, obtained and posted online exclusively by Sacramento Family Court News. As a result of the order, Susan Ferris' credit has been thrashed, the repo man came for her car, and the eviction will now be part of her renter's report, making it virtually impossible for her to rent a home in the future.

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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.

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Sacramento Superior Court Corruption: Leaked Court Reporter Transcript Records Flagrant State Law Violations at Unlawful Fee Waiver Hearing

Judge Matthew Gary Orders Illegal Fee Waiver Hearing to Obstruct Appeal of Own Orders, Help Judge Pro Tem Lawyer

Monday Document Dump

Sacramento Superior Court whistleblowers allege that the court acts as a
racketeering enterprise involving collusion between judges and
lawyers who also work as part-time judges in the same court.

Unilaterally overriding state law, constructing his own ad hoc interpretation of legislative intent, and legislating from the bench, Judge Matthew Gary denies a fee waiver request by a disabled, indigent, unrepresented litigant in this startling court reporter transcript, embedded at the end of this article. 

The fee waiver request by a litigant with a cognitive disability was for trial court appellate costs for an appeal of several orders issued by the judge, including an illegal, non-conforming order for more than $10,000 in attorney fee sanctions to the opposing attorney. Click here to view the order.  

The pro per had an existing fee waiver which by law automatically applied to the trial court appeal costs, making the hearing ordered by the judge patently unlawful. To view the order Gary issued after the hearing, click here. 

The opposing party is represented by divorce attorney Paula Salinger, partner at the prominent Sacramento family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger Inc., sworn Sacramento County Superior Court temporary judge, and current officer of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee or FLEC. Days after the hearing, Gary issued a second order reversing himself and granting the fee waiver request, but at the same time embedding in the order a sham finding designed to help Salinger and her client at a pending trial in the case.

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Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Defective Fee Waivers Issued by Judges and Clerks Violate State Law, Block Court Access of Indigent Litigants

This defective fee waiver order was issued by courtroom clerk Christina Arcuri. The complete order contains multiple errors and was rejected by law and motion filing clerks and the Sheriff's Civil Division. 

A Sacramento Family Court News statistical sampling audit of family court cases reveals that court clerks are issuing incomplete, defective fee waiver orders which contain substantive errors rendering the orders useless, and depriving indigent litigants the ability to file court paperwork. 

Under California law, indigent and low income litigants are entitled to a waiver of court filing fees. Certain family court filings - including domestic violence and contempt actions - require proof of personal service and the fee waiver also entitles poor litigants to have papers served by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Civil Division.

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. 

Hon. James M. Mize Misconduct: Leaked Commission on Judicial Performance Testimony for Judge Peter McBrien

Judge James Mize CJP Testimony for Judge Peter McBrien Defense Team - Whistleblower Leak

Thursday Document Dump

Sacramento Family Court News has obtained the court reporter transcript of Sacramento County Family Court Supervising Judge James Mize's 2009 testimony before the Commission on Judicial Performance for controversial family court Judge Peter McBrien. With McBrien's felony indictment records.The CJP is the government agency responsible for oversight and accountability of California judges.Mize testified as a character witness in defense of McBrien at the judge's second prosecution by the CJP. 

According to the CJP, Mize's testimony was considered a mitigating factor that reduced the level of punishment McBrien ultimately received after being found guilty. McBrien was charged with multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics in connection with his misconduct in the Carlsson family court case. Sixth District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Conrad L. Rushing characterized McBrien's conduct in the Carlsson case as a "judicial reign of terror." 

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Mute Court: Sacramento County Court Executive Officer Christina Volkers Silent on State Law Violations by Family Court Appeals Unit

Chris Volkers, Court Executive Officer for
Sacramento County Superior Court.

Christina Volkers, Court Executive Officer for Sacramento County Superior Court has declined to notify the public what corrective measures will be taken to ensure that family court clerks do not unlawfully obstruct appeals by unrepresented, financially disadvantaged litigants.

In an February 7 email to Volkers, Sacramento Family Court News asked for a response - including any planned corrective measures - to our report documenting that the family court appeals unit is illegally rejecting timely appeals as being untimely. Volkers, the court's CEO, did not respond to our request.

During the same time period, an article about court reporter cutbacks published in the Sacramento Business Journal on Feb. 15 included an email response and statement from Volkers.

Government officials are by law required to provide equal treatment and access to reporters and media organizations. If Volkers has invoked a code of silence and blacklisted Sacramento Family Court News in retaliation for its reporting, taxpayers could be liable for the costs of litigation challenging the unequal treatment.

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