In August 2014, Commission on Judicial Performance Report posted an article about a government whistleblower leaked courtroom security video from Sacramento County. The video recorded controversial Judge Matthew Gary ordering the arrest and incarceration of family court reform activist Robert Saunders in 2009.
As we reported, two outside independent judges who reviewed the incident determined that the arrest was illegal. The criminal charges against Saunders, including resisting arrest, were dismissed by Judge Richard Gilmour.
Despite both video and documentary proof that Judge Matthew Gary's actions were illegal, and a violation of multiple sections of the Code of Judicial Ethics, after seven years the Commission on Judicial Performance has failed or refused to discipline the judge.
In fact, much of the evidence suggests that the arrest was retaliation and punishment for Saunders' court reform activism and his related exercise of free speech rights outside of court, a significantly more egregious form of judicial misconduct.
Florida Judge Jerri Collins was disciplined by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission less than a year after she used an "intemperate and argumentative tone" in the course of ordering the legal arrest of a domestic abuse trial witness.
Watch the video below. Saunders is disabled, 5' 8" tall, weighs 162 pounds, relies on a cane to walk and, at the time of the incident, was 57-years old, according to the police report.
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