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20 March 2022

VIRAL VIDEO: Bay Area Family Court Private Judge Threatens Reporters, Refuses Access To Court Records

Support investigative reporting on family court corruption by subscribing to investigative reporter Susan Bassi's YouTube Channel. From the description for this viral video with 91,000 views: 

"One nurse, several dogs, slammed doors and calls for police and security over private judge records. Private judges are lawyers or retired public court judges who are privately paid. We have been seeking access to their records under California Rules of Court 2.400 and state and federal open proceeding laws. Links to those laws can be found here."

The private judge in this video is Gilroy attorney Richard P. Roggia, State Bar #54430. California Judicial Branch whistleblowers allege that the superior courts are being privatized, with private sector, for-profit judges taking over many of the functions of public judges. 

The Second District Court of Appeal has criticized the practice of using for-profit private or temporary judges to privatize the courts:  

Judge James T. Ford of the Sacramento County Superior Court wrote that privately compensating temporary judging was probably criminal. "Penal Code section 94 bars judicial officers from accepting gratuities for performing public acts. Judges pro tempore [i.e., temporary judges] have identical powers as sitting judges, and their decisions are those of the court without any further intervention by sitting judges. Accordingly, they must be deemed judicial officers within the meaning of the section."
Judge Ford also wrote that privately compensating temporary judges was unethical under the California Code of Judicial Ethics...
Judge Ford wrote: "While clearly not adopted with this recent phenomenon in mind, the Code stands for an important principle: justice and money do not mix. Judging is not in any way a private function; it is a quintessential public function, and should be administered without regard to compensation of the judge." Judge Ford concluded by asking the Judicial Council not to authorize privately compensated temporary judges: "I urge the judiciary to recognize that privately compensating judges pro tempore is illegal and pernicious. We are not for sale, nor is the product of our labor."

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

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