California Judicial Council 2008 Snapshot Study: Center for Families, Children and the Courts - 75 Percent of Litigants Self-Represented

This Research Update provides an overview of the major findings from the 2008 Statewide Uniform Statistical Reporting System—also known as the Snapshot Study—conducted by the Administrative Office of the Courts, Center for Families, Children & the Courts. The 2008 study was the sixth since 1991 and involved surveys of parents and mediators involved in court-based child custody mediation sessions statewide during a one-week period in June 2008.

 

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

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Facebook Family Court Watchdog Group Reaches Landmark, Continues Growth Trajectory

Sacramento Family Court Corruption Facebook Community Logs 500 Follower "Likes" 

Sacramento Superior Court Supervising Family Law Judge James Mize is featured on the home page of the Sacramento Family Court Corruption Facebook group. 

A Facebook group that catalogs examples of Sacramento Family Court problems and scandals, and acts as a de facto support group for unrepresented, pro per family court victims of the alleged racketeering organization operating in the court has just reached a Facebook milestone of 500 "Likes." The achievement was announced by group facilitator and veteran court watchdog Ulf Carlsson. 

"Our outreach to family court victims continues to deliver results," Carlsson said."The egregious corruption in this court continues because the responsible parties assume that the victims will never come together and exchange information. This Facebook group enables victims to connect, share experiences and be able to show oversight authorities and law enforcement that the problems are systemic, and not one-off, isolated events," Carlsson explained.  

To visit the Sacramento Family Court Corruption Facebook page, click here. Family court victims can also contact group facilitator Ulf Carlsson directly by email by clicking here. Carlsson was featured in the 2014 documentary film, Divorce Corp. View the Carlsson Divorce Corp video clip at the SFCN YouTube Channel. The full movie is now available on Netflix.  

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:

To continue reading, click Read more >> below...

Controversial Judge James Mize Named Judicial Officer of the Year by State Bar Family Law Section

Judge James Mize Named Judicial Officer of the Year by Family Law Section of State Bar 

Family Court Supervising Judge James Mize

Sacramento County Superior Court has announced that family court Supervising Judge James Mize will receive the "Judicial Officer of the Year" award from the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California. 

Sacramento Family Court reform advocates were baffled by the selection of Mize, who they say since being named supervising judge has done nothing to correct long-running problems and infighting at the William Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. 

Mize took the helm of the troubled family court system in April after controversial Judge Jaime Roman stepped down from the post before serving out his full term. Roman's premature exit was attributed to harassment by former Supervising Judge Matthew Gary, who Roman replaced mid-term under a cloud of controversy on orders from Presiding Judge Laurie Earl. 

Family court watchdogs assert that Mize is too cozy with lawyers from the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section, has neglected the needs of the 70 percent of court users who can't afford legal representation, and refuses to enforce court employee and judge disciplinary polices.   

To view the Sacramento County Superior Court press release about the Judicial Officer of the Year award, click Read more >> below:

Divorce Lawyers at Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Reap Consequences in New Law - RoadDog Sunday Funnies

Judge Pro Tem Divorce Attorneys at SCBA Family Law Section Beneficiaries of New Self-Help Legislation

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

Newly enacted Family Code § 3050 authorizes self-help remedies in Sacramento Family Court 

cases meeting a specific criteria.

The California Legislature last week authorized a unique, jurisdiction-specific set of self-help remedies in family court cases which meet a designated criteria. To meet the criteria, a family court case must originate in the State Capitol jurisdiction of Sacramento County. 

In addition, the parties to the case must consist of an unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigant against an opposing party represented by a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section who also serves as a judge pro tem in the same court, or works at a law firm with a judge pro tem. The criteria also requires issuance of a "no contact" child custody order prohibiting the unrepresented litigant from all contact with the child or children of the parties.

To continue reading, click Read more >> below:  

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.

To continue reading, click Read more>> below...

Judge Sharon A. Lueras Targeted in Protest Supporting Jessica Hernandez and Exposing Family Court Bias Against Parents Without Lawyers

Judge Sharon Lueras and Family Court Indifference To Unrepresented Parents Targeted in Protest Supporting Jessica Hernandez

Protester at demonstration supporting family court victim Jessica Hernandez and charging Judge Sharon Lueras with aiding and abetting the hatchet murder of Jessica's 9-year-old son, Matthew. 

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

A group of family court reform advocates yesterday held a demonstration outside the Sacramento County Main Jail courthouse where an arraignment was held for Phillip Hernandez. Hernandez is charged with the Feb. 26 hatchet murder of his 9-year-old son, Matthew. Jessica Hernandez, Phillip's ex-wife, asserts that Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras bears responsibility for Matthew's death. Last November, Jessica filed papers in family court seeking custody of her son because his father was back on drugs, acting irrationally and posed a threat to their two children. In court, Jessica was self-represented because she couldn't afford an attorney.

To continue reading, click Read more>> below:

Judge Sharon Lueras Misconduct: Lueras and SCBA Family Law Section Divorce Attorneys Targeted In Family Court Reform Group Demonstration

Judge Sharon Lueras Protest by Family Court Reform Group Seeks to Raise Awareness of Systemic Problems

Jessica Hernandez at the March 9 funeral of her son Matthew.  In November, 2012 Sacramento Family Court Judge Sharon Lueras denied Jessica's request for custody of her two sons. 

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

A family court reform group will hold a demonstration on Thursday, March 14 outside the Sacramento County Main Jail at 651 I Street. The event is scheduled to coincide with a jailhouse court hearing for Phillip Hernandez, who is charged with the Feb. 26 murder of his 9-year-old son, Matthew. The Sacramento Family Court watchdog group asserts that oversight and accountability of judges and court employees is nonexistent and contributed to the death of Matthew Hernandez. 

The group has documented that some judges misuse child custody and visitation orders as a way to punish a parent, and as a method of churning legal fees for favored attorneys and mediators, rationales which are prohibited by state law. With the help of courthouse whistleblowers, the watchdogs also have cataloged an assortment of institutionalized family court problems including judicial misconduct, undisclosed conflicts of interest, preferential treatment of attorneys who also serve as temporary judges, employee misconduct, and systemic mismanagement by Court Executive Officer Chris Volkers and family court Director of Operations Julie Setzer. 

The court operates a two-track system of justice for the financial benefit of a cartel of Sacramento County Bar Association family law attorneys who represent the 30 percent of family court litigants who can afford an attorney, while the 70 percent of court users who are unrepresented are relegated to second-class status, according to the group. The demonstration will take place beginning at 8:00 a.m. 

Judge Sharon A. Lueras Misconduct: Child Custody Order Results In Memorial Service For Matthew Hernandez

An overflow crowd attended the memorial service for Matthew Hernandez. Many children at the service wore Spider-Man masks, Matthew's favorite superhero.

Matthew Raymond Hernandez

July 27, 2003 - February 26, 2013

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Click here for our full coverage of the Jessica Hernandez case. 

Click here for our expanded coverage of the Matthew Hernandez memorial service.

Hon. Sharon A. Lueras Misconduct: Matthew Hernandez Funeral Services Announced by Mom Jessica Rose Hernandez

Funeral Services for Matthew Hernandez to be Held Saturday March 9 

Jessica, Matthew, and Phillip Hernandez. Source: KXTV News10.

Jessica Rose Hernandez has announced that funeral services for 9-year-old Matthew Hernandez will be held on Saturday, March 9 at Victory Outreach Church in South Sacramento:

Matthews services will be held this Saturday 10 am at Victory Outreach 6555 44th Street Sacramento, the burial will follow at St. Marys Cemetary 6700 21st Ave. Sacramento. Afterwards we are returning to Victory Outreach for the repass to celebrate his life. We will be having a potluck as well and having an open mic to share stories and memories of my precious baby. I would like Saturday to be all about MATTHEW and ONLY about the joy of his life so please respect that and save the negative aspects of the case and situation for later ((there's a time and a place)) and keep this day sacred for me. All are invited. Thank you 1 Love ♥

Click here to read our complete coverage of the Matthew Hernandez case.

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Hon. Sharon A. Lueras Blamed by Jessica Hernandez in Hatchet Death of 9-Year-Old Matthew Hernandez

Judge Sharon Lueras Held Responsible By Mom In Hatchet Death of Child by Phillip Hernandez

JUDGE ADMITS "I HAD NEVER PRACTICED FAMILY LAW"

UPDATE: A UC Davis graduate student has started a petition at Change.org to ask the California State Auditor and Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate Judge Sharon Lueras for misconduct in connection with the deaths of Ryder Salmen and Matthew Hernandez. To view the petition, click here.

Jessica Rose Hernandez contends that Sacramento Family Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras is responsible for the Feb. 26 hatchet death of her 9-year-old son Matthew by ex-husband Phillip Hernandez, according to media accounts. Jessica went to court last November to request custody of her two children. At a court hearing before Judge Lueras, the mother of two attempted to introduce evidence, including text messages, to support her assertion that her ex-husband was back on drugs, acting irrationally, and posed a threat to their children. Judge Lueras refused to consider the evidence, and denied the custody change request, according to news reports. "I blame her for Matthew's death," Jessica told News10. 

To continue reading, click Read more >> below:

Sacramento Superior Court Misconduct: Hon. Matthew J. Gary Order for Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff - Notice of Appeal Illegally Unfiled - Complete Original Document

Court Clerk Blocks Appeal of Judge Matthew Gary Order Issued for Judge Pro Tem Scott Buchanan Partner Timothy Zeff 

Wednesday Document Dump

In our initial report documenting that Sacramento Family Court appeals unit clerks were unlawfully rejecting appeals by unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigants, we redacted the name of the party whose case was used as an example of the illegal practice. The litigant asked that we redact her name because she feared she would be subject to retaliation for the disclosure by Judge Matthew Gary or court employees. 

For the benefit of other indigent, pro per litigants, she has since requested that we tell her full story, and publish her name. The document below is the complete notice of appeal filed by Susan Ferris, a disabled, unrepresented 52-year-old single parent. Ferris also was subjected to an unlawful "no contact" child custody order issued by Judge Gary for divorce attorney Timothy Zeff, the partner of Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section lawyer and family court judge pro tem Scott Buchanan. 

To continue reading, and to view the notice of appeal document, click Read more >> below:

Sacramento Superior Court Controversy: Court Clerks Allow Part-Time Judge Lawyers to File Counterfeit Entry of Judgment Forms

Sacramento Family Court clerks file these counterfeit entry of judgment forms for local divorce lawyers who also work as part-time judges in the same court, according to a government whistleblower.

Color of Law: The Conspiracy to Discourage and Obstruct Pro Per Appeals
A Sacramento Family Court Report Special Investigation: Part 4.

Sacramento Family Court News has obtained court records indicating that family court clerks allow judge pro tem attorneys to file counterfeit "Notice of Entry" paperwork in place of the Notice of Entry of Judgment that court clerks are by law required to file and serve on all parties.

The sham notice conceals a critical appeal rights notification from indigent, unrepresented family court litigants, and at the same time ostensibly constricts the time frame for filing an appeal from 180-days to just 60-days, according to a family court whistleblower. The fake form also omits an important clerk's certificate of mailing, which the California Supreme Court has said is designed to avoid ambiguity in appeal time frames.

Sacramento County Superior Court Misconduct: Family Court Appeals Unit Unlawfully Refusing Appeals by Indigent, Pro Per Litigants

Family Court Appeals Unit Illegally Rejecting Appeals By Unrepresented, Financially Disadvantaged Litigants

Color of Law: The Conspiracy to End Pro Per Appeals
A Sacramento Family Court News Exclusive Investigative Report. Part 3

This actual notice of appeal was filed by an unrepresented, indigent family court litigant and then unlawfully unfiled by a family court clerk. The clerk's conduct violates state law and constitutes unlawful interference with court of appeal proceedings. Click here to view the full image.  

Sacramento County Family Court clerks are unlawfully refusing to file appeals by unrepresented, financially disadvantaged family court litigants, according to a family court whistleblower. The policy constitutes an unlawful interference with court of appeal proceedings under California Rules of Court rule 8.23. 

The rejection occurs when a pro per party attempts to file a notice of appeal for child custody, support and other immediately appealable orders more than 60-days after order after hearing paperwork is filed. By law, the time frame to take an appeal from the orders is 180-days.The longer time frame applies because in family court cases, the court clerk must give the parties notice of entry of judgment using the Judicial Council FL-190 Notice of Entry of Judgment form. 

As policy, Sacramento Family Court does not issue the FL-190 form for appealable orders from motion and OSC hearings. When the form is not issued, the appeal time frame is 180-days. When the form is issued, the appeal time frame is 60-days. In Sacramento Family Court, all appealable motion and OSC orders are appealable for 180-days, yet court clerks are illegally rejecting the appeals after 60-days.  

To continue reading Part 3 of our series Color of Law, click Read more >> below.