Claims of California Pro Pers Vindicated: Prominent Federal Judge Verifies Institutionalized Pro Per Bias in US Courts

ABA Journal: Posner: Most judges regard pro se litigants as 'kind of trash not worth the time.'

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin: Posner says friction on 7th Circuit bench led to his retirement.

Above the Law: The Backstory Behind Judge Richard Posner's Retirement.

New York Times: An Exit Interview With Richard Posner, Judicial Provocateur. 

Above the Law: Judge Posner, Uncensored: 'I Don't Really Care What People Think.'

Cleveland State Law Review: Socioeconomic Bias in the Judiciary. 

Five Year Update: Santa Clara County Judges Responsible for Probate Court Scandal Remain Unpunished, Unaccountable

County judges must impose tighter rules for managing vulnerable residents' estates:

Disqualification Motion Allegations Include Serial Code of Judicial Ethics Violations Against Judge James Towery

Judge James E. Towery

An exhaustive, 57-page motion to disqualify controversial Santa Clara County Judge James Towery recently was filed in a family law dissolution case. A court whistleblower provided a copy of the filing to Commission on Judicial Performance Report. The motion is embedded at the end of this post.

The motion includes allegations that Towery engaged in multiple violations of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, and conveyed gender and other forms of bias against Susan Bassi, the respondent in the divorce case. Court whistleblowers assert and have documented that flagrant gender bias against divorcing wives who helped start or run family businesses is common in the Silicon Valley family court system.

Traffic Court Judges Responsible for Statewide, Institutionalized Socioeconomic Bias Against Poor Remain Unaccountable, Unpunished

Statewide traffic courts scandal news reports expose institutionalized socioeconomic bias against the poor by California courts and judges. Bias based on socioeconomic status is illegal and prohibited by state law in four separate sections of the Code of Judicial Ethics, covering both the adjudicative and administrative responsibilities of judges.  

Over one year later, no disciplinary action taken against a single judge by the California Commission on Judicial Performance. In fact, the CJP has never disciplined a judge for bias based on socioeconomic status, according to CJP data. Read, download, and share the special 38-page compilation below: 

CJP and Director Victoria Henley Grant De Facto Immunity to Supreme Court Chief Justice for Abuse of Authority, Administrative Malfeasance

From Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award winning KXTV ABC 10 News investigative reporter Thom Jensen: 

Court Watchdog Group Invokes Canon 3D(1), Demands Sacramento Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin Culhane Rectify Improper Judge-Clerk Relationship

Kern County Judge Cory Woodward was punished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for having an improper personal relationship with his courtroom clerk. Sacramento County Judge Matthew Gary reportedly has had a similar relationship with his courtroom clerk, Christina Arcuri, for at least four years. 

"[I]t is time for this charade to end." 

Sacramento Family Court Corruption, a Facebook watchdog group with over 600 followers, has issued an open letter to Sacramento County Presiding Judge Kevin Culhane regarding an alleged improper relationship between a Sacramento Superior Court judge and his courtroom clerk. 

The whistleblower group alleges that Judge Matthew Gary has been in a consensual, personal relationship with his clerk, Christina Arcuri for more than five years. Both Gary and Arcuri also have been involved in a number of controversies involving the alleged mistreatment of indigent, disabled, and financially disadvantaged family court parties who are self-represented.

Rule of Law Breakdown in Sacramento County Attributed to Commission on Judicial Performance Inaction

Sacramento County judges who facilitated criminal child abductions in two family court cases remain unpunished and unaccountable, according to an updated report from Sacramento Family Court Report, a nonprofit news agency.  

Controversial Judge Matthew Gary assisted a criminal abduction by a client of divorce attorney and Sacramento Superior Court temporary judge Richard Sokol over two years ago. Judge Thadd Blizzard approved an out-of-state criminal child abduction by a client of divorce lawyer Timothy Zeff more than five years ago. Zeff's partner, attorney Scott Buchanan, also is a part-time judge in the same court. 

In both cases, the judges approved the abductions after-the-fact, weeks after they occurred.  California child abduction law specifies that post-abduction court authorization does not negate the crime. 

California Commission on Judicial Performance Receives Failing Grade in Nationwide State Integrity Investigation Project

An investigative report by Center for Public Integrity has criticized California for its lack of judicial accountability. In a nationwide state integrity investigation, California received a failing grade in the category. 

The Center is one of the country's oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. The mission of the Center is "to serve democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of public trust by powerful public and private institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism." 

Commission on Judicial Performance Fails To Investigate, Prosecute Serial Misconduct Spanning Years by Sacramento County Judge

The appellate brief excerpt embedded at the bottom of this post recounts one instance of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Matthew Gary's alleged misconduct in the high profile Susan Ferris case, in connection with an illegal attorney fee sanctions order. 

The appeal in the case is pending at the controversial 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. 

The proceedings have been reported by the Sacramento Bee, and are being closely watched by court reform advocates. Interest in the case and family court corruption in Sacramento County on social media, YouTube, and Vimeo has reached viral levels among family court reform watchdogs.

The embedded document package also includes the court reporter transcript from a hearing in the case recording that Gary ordered Ferris to pay $2,500 to the opposing attorney, Timothy Zeff, based on Ferris' "body language." 

Judge Peter McBrien Felony Criminal Prosecution Records Leaked by Whistleblower Reveal False, Misleading Testimony to CJP

Friday Document Dump - CJPR Exclusive

In 2000, Judge Peter McBrien faced 
a felony criminal charge for the 
destruction of trees in a public park.

The whistleblower leaked criminal investigation report of Judge Peter McBrien by Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Criminal Investigator Craig Tourte is embedded at the end of this post.

To view additional records from the 2000 prosecution and conviction of McBrien, click here. To read the Sacramento News and Review cover story about the case, click here.

In 2009, McBrien was caught lying under oath to the Commission on Judicial Performance about the circumstances surrounding his 2000 criminal conviction. 

The CJP ultimately declined to remove McBrien from the bench, instead imposing ostensible discipline of "public censure."  The CJP did not hold McBrien accountable for his false testimony during the judicial misconduct prosecution. 

CJP Inaction Against Contra Costa County Judge Laurel Brady Enables Serial Unauthorized Practice of Law by Court Appointed Receiver

Whistleblower leaked court records indicate that Judge Laurel Brady
enabled the unauthorized practice of law by receiver Kevin Singer.

Court records leaked to CJP Report by a government whistleblower indicate that Contra Costa County Judge Laurel Brady aided and abetted the unauthorized practice of law by non-attorney court appointed receiver Kevin Singer.

The records are embedded at the end of this article, or available at this Scribd link.   

Singer is not a member of the State Bar of California yet was permitted by Judge Brady to file an unlawful notice of motion and motion for order. 

Court appointed receivers have limited powers defined by statute, and are not permitted to practice law unless they are a member of the state bar, according to attorney Peter Davidson.

CJP Ignores Video and Court Records Establishing Abuse of Authority, Code of Judicial Ethics Violations by Controversial Sacramento County Judge

A startling courthouse security video leaked by a government whistleblower records the illegal 2009 assault and arrest of indigent, disabled pro per litigant and family court reform activist Robert Saunders. 

During a March 9, 2009 court hearing, Judge Matthew Gary ordered the self-represented Saunders arrested and jailed for contempt of court. Two outside, independent judges who later reviewed the incident determined that both the contempt charge and arrest were illegal. 

Commission on Judicial Performance: About the CJP and Director-Chief Counsel Victoria B. Henley

Commission on Judicial Performance is an independent state agency responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct and judicial incapacity and for disciplining state judges (see article VI, section 18 of the California Constitution). 

The commission has authority to impose certain discipline on former judges and has shared authority with local courts over court commissioners and referees (see article VI, section 18.1 of the California Constitution). 

The commission does not have authority over temporary judges (also called judges pro tem) or private judges. All commission proceedings are required to be public after formal charges are filed.

Under article VI, section 18(d) of the California Constitution, the commission may

• Remove a judge or censure a judge or former judge for action that constitutes willful misconduct in office, persistent failure or inability to perform the judge's duties, habitual intemperance in the use of intoxicants or drugs, or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute;
• Publicly or privately admonish a judge or former judge found to have engaged in improper action or dereliction of duty; and
• Retire a judge for disability that seriously interferes with the performance of the judge's duties and is or is likely to become permanent.

The commission also may bar a former judge who has been censured from receiving an assignment, appointment, or reference of work from any California state court. Determinations by the commission to remove, censure, admonish, or retire a judge are subject to discretionary review by the California Supreme Court.

The commission is composed of 11 members: 3 judges appointed by the California Supreme Court, 4 members appointed by the Governor (2 attorneys and 2 nonattorney public members), 2 public members appointed by the Assembly Speaker, and 2 public members appointed by the Senate Rules Committee. Appointments are for four-year terms.

State of California Commission on Judicial Performance - Commission Rules
Article VI, section 18(i) of the Constitution authorizes the commission to make rules for conducting investigations and formal proceedings. The Rules of the Commission on Judicial Performance, rules 101 through 138, were adopted by the commission on October 24, 1996, and took effect December 1, 1996. The rules have been amended periodically thereafter.

State of California Commission on Judicial Performance - Policy Declarations
The Policy Declarations of the Commission on Judicial Performance detail the commission's internal procedures and existing policies. A Code of Ethics for Commission Members is set forth in Division VI of the policy declarations.

Related articles and resources: 

• Commission on Judicial Performance posts at Tumblr: click here and here. 
• Commission on Judicial Performance reviews at Yelp.
• CJP Director Victoria Henley articles on the Web, and at Tumblr.