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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Sacramento Family Court News Participates In Sunshine Week 2013 - Defends Your Right To Know

Sunshine Week Promotes Dialogue About the Importance of Open Government

Sunshine Week is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Bloomberg LP, the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Sacramento Family Court News is participating in Sunshine Week 2013, a non-partisan, non-profit initiative celebrated annually in mid-March to coincide with James Madison's birthday on March 16. This year, Sunshine Week takes places from March 10-16. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. 

Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know, according to the Sunshine Week website. For the list of Sunshine Week participants, click here. Many Sacramento Family Court News articles are based on information obtained from public records. Without public records laws, much of our most important reporting would not be possible.    

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