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| March 27, 2012 | California Judicial Council votes to end Court Case Managment System | Signaling a big win for the Alliance of Judges, the financially crippling brainchild of former Chief Justice Ronald George known as Court Case Management System, intended to unite all 58 counties was mortally wounded today after the California Judicial Council finally voted to end funding to the array of private vendors who contracted with the State to build it. | Examiner.com |
| August 11, 2011 | "California judges immune from even voluntary pay cuts this year" | "As California court employees across the state brace for the possibility of more layoffs and hour reductions, the paychecks of those who actually sit on the bench continue to enjoy a constitutional protection from cuts." | The Sacramento Bee |
| August 1, 2011 | "9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Kozinski's Porn Site and Legal Justice" | Stimac added, "I posted two articles on this blog expressing my disapproval of Judge Kozinski’s porn site.* Less than three weeks later he dismissed six complaints of judicial misconduct arising solely from his personal ill will for me without any investigation. It seems very revealing that Judge Kozinski also called my contentions 'bizarre' and lacking a 'shred' of evidence". "In addition to issues related to Judge Kozinski’s porn site, my six complaints provided evidence he and other federal judges stole and deleted documents from court files to cover up judicial corruption. | Salem-News.com |
| July 27, 2011 | "Congress, DOJ Grapple With Revising Corruption Laws" | "The U.S. Justice Department threw its weight today behind legislation that would expand the ability of prosecutors to bring cases of alleged public corruption. ... At a hearing today before the House’s crime subcommittee, the Justice Department’s Mary Pat Brown said the department supports the proposal. She praised a section that would address public officials who attempt to profit from an official act while evading disclosure rules that would show their interest — so-called “undisclosed self-dealing.” ...The legislation contains a smorgasbord of other proposals. It would apply mail- and wire-fraud statutes to licenses and other intangible rights, a response to the Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Cleveland v. United States involving a Louisiana video-poker license. It would also override the Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling in United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers, which interpreted federal bribery law to require a specific link between a gift and an official action." | The National Law Journal |
| July 8, 2011 | "State Bar Undergoes Shakeup as Top Trial Lawyers Are Fired" | | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| June 27, 2011 | "Billionaire George Soros Trying To Stack the Courts, Critics Say" | | Fox News |
| June 24, 2011 | "A.G. Seeks Input on Questions Regarding Judicial Benefits" | "The Commission on Judicial Performance submitted two questions to Harris in late May, inquiring whether lawmakers would have the authority to pass a measure which 'purports to preclude the [CJP] from disciplining California superior court judges for authorizing supplemental compensation to be paid to themselves from public funds, and/or receiving that supplemental compensation, on the ground that such benefits were or are not authorized by law.' Harris was also asked to address the scope of SBX2 11, special legislation passed in 2009 which the Fourth District last year said adequately addressed the deficiencies which had led it to declare the supplemental benefits unconstitutional in Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 630." | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| June 19, 2011 | "HUD Demands That Citizen Group Return Marina del Rey Records" | "While his initial interest was determining whether developers made disclosures about abandoned oil wells on the Shores property, Gottlieb said the paperwork brought up other concerns. He questions why one page that discusses Epstein's credit history does not mention a past bankruptcy for a limited liability corporation of which he was a member. Records listing Levine, Epstein and a third party as members of the entity - Westside Condominium Partners, LLC - show they filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2006. The case was closed a year later. [Their debt was not discharged, meaning they were unable to get out of paying them.]" | Daily Breeze |
| March 30, 2011 | "Angry Citizens Protest Small Claims Kangaroo Court" | Witnesses describe an absent minded Judge who skipped the Oath to tell the truth and witness testimony in a Kangaroo Small Claims Court proceeding. Witnesses who were never allowed to testify tell of Superior Court Judge Lawrence Cho rendering a decision without any sworn testimony, witnesses or evidence in a billing dispute before him. | Full Disclosure Network® TV Series Online |
| March 23, 2011 | AOC Executive Makes Retirement Announcement | Kenneth Kann, director of the Executive Office Programs division, will retire in August, according to an email sent by Vickrey to AOC employees today. Kann was the target of a 2010 lawsuit alleging that employee Jack Urquhart was forced out of his job after telling the media about an expensive Judicial Council gathering in San Francisco. The AOC denied any wrongdoing but paid Urquhart $53,000 to settle his claims. | Legal Pad |
| March 23, 2011 | "State Courts' Embattled Administrator to Retire" | | San Francisco Chronicle |
| March 18, 2011 | CA Judiciary Rigs Small Claims Court | On-Going Scheme Defauded 3,500,000 Taxpayers | DoubleFixed.org |
| March 17, 2011 | "Bell's Rizzo ordered to stand trial on another charge" | At the conclusion of the third and final preliminary hearing in the Bell corruption scandal, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Henry J. Hall said Rizzo hid his business relationship with Bell's privately contracted planning director, Dennis Tarango, on economic interest disclosure documents filed with the city each year. "The fact that Mr. Rizzo did not disclose (the partnership) shows there is ample evidence he knew this cozy relationship with Mr. Tarango did create a conflict," Hall said. | ABC News |
| March 17, 2011 | "Judge leaning toward dismissing attorney general's case against Bell officials" | "Former Bell City Council members cannot be sued for passing ordinances that awarded them hefty salaries, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ralph W. Dau tentatively ruled Thursday. ... The tentative ruling would effectively cripple the sweeping civil lawsuit filed by then-Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown against former City Administrator Robert Rizzo and seven other current and former city officials who have been criminally charged with misappropriation of public funds." | Los Angeles Times |
| March 15, 2011 | "Dissident Judges Challenge California Chief Justice's Power " | "In 2009, Horan helped found a group of judges to challenge the power and authority of the state's judicial leadership. After two years of being marginalized as a fringe clique of black-robed dissidents, the group of largely anonymous judges is now making friends in Sacramento and gathering strength. The insurrection has sparked new legislation, generated hostility toward the judicial leadership, inundated judges' mailboxes with caustic e-mails and threatened to throw the state's new chief justice off-step just as she assumes the reins of the California judiciary." | Los Angeles Times |
| March 10, 2011 | "Verbal Warfare Breaks Out Within Judiciary" | California's court leadership is taking the offensive against its critics, bringing a reaction equally as powerful from judges and legislators. The most recent clash has been played out on the editorial pages of the San Diego Union Tribune, where a trial judge first said the judiciary's system of governance is broken, followed by an answer from an appellate justice who said trial judges are trying to establish separate fiefdoms, which in turn brought a rebuke from a powerful legislator who said judiciary leaders are displaying "arrogance." | Courthouse News Service |
| March 8, 2011 | "Hundreds of Council Tax Protesters Storm Courtroom In Attempt To Make Citizens' Arrest of Judge" | | Daily Mail UK |
| March 4, 2011 | "A Judicial Hierarchy Out Of Control", by Judge Charles Horan | The auditor’s findings were devastating, but the reactions of the Administrative Office and Council were equally disturbing. Confronted with 138 pages documenting years of mismanagement, misrepresentations, scripted responses to criticism and an absence of Judicial Council oversight, the Administrative Office and Judicial Council responded with a scripted video produced by the Administrative Office’s own phony “News Bureau” which reassured us that all was well, and that any problems would somehow be solved simply by its director, William Vickrey, creating a new committee. After roughly 24 hours of repeating this flapdoodle, they proclaimed that they were now “ready to move on.” Indeed. Enough is enough. The auditor gets it. The press gets it. The public gets it. The Legislature most certainly gets it. We must get it. | Sign On San Diego |
| February 28, 2011 | "Critics Cry 'Reboot' at Troubled Court Case Management" | "The discrepancy has led some lawmakers to question whether the AOC is keeping a second set of books." | Law.com |
| February 24, 2011 | "Law Profs Urge Ethics Rules for Supreme Court Justices" | In making their case, the professors invoked the Court's own language from the 2009 decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., which disapproved of a state judge's refusal to step aside from a case that involved a major campaign donor. "Judicial integrity is," the Court said, "a state interest of the highest order." | Legal Times blog |
| February 9, 2011 | "California Court Computer Project Deeply Flawed, State Auditor Says" | "A scathing audit from the Bureau of State Audits found the state courts' administration failed to adequately plan a massive court computer system now in development, allowed bills to balloon and hasn't ensured the quality of the system that could ultimately cost $2 billion." | Sacramento Bee |
| February 7, 2011 | "For Fixer Beth Jay, a Lavish Awakening" | "Similarly, in an article published by the Recorder on November 19, 2008 Mr. Scott Drexel -- former [State Bar] Chief Trial Counsel -- also alluded to meeting Supreme Court personnel multiple times." | Leslie Brodie blog |
| February 2, 2011 | Supreme Court Rejects 5 Rulings in a Row From 9th Circuit | "" | Fox News |
| January 3, 2011 | California Judges Honor State Senator Darrell Steinberg | (for achieving pardons for the judges' commission of ten million felonies) | California Courts - YouTube |
| January 1, 2011 | "Order in the Courts" | (How Ronald George's scam to control the judiciary began) | California Lawyer |
| December 31, 2010 | "LA's Man of the Year: Dennis Zine -- Symbol of City Hall's Deceit and Dishonor" | "He broke promises to protect his constituents from over-sized developments, sought to let the Community Redevelopment Agency seize property and give it to developers anywhere in the city with additional subsidies, shielded the Department of Water and Power from public scrutiny and oversight, backed AEG's football stadium plan sight unseen.." | Ron Kaye L.A. |
| December 28, 2010 | "Leslie Dutton's Videos Freed Richard Fine From Jail. But Who Can Stop Charles McCoy & Friends' $57,000 Bonuses?" | "Richard Fine challenged the judges' nasty enrichment scheme as illegal. It probably is, but it's abetted by the legislature and L.A. County Board of Supervisors. As journalist RonKayeLA.com explains, Fine's 18-month jailing was a rare U.S. political imprisonment. He got freed after Leslie Dutton, Full Disclosure Network queen, relentlessly videotaped sources outing the judges' money scam" | LA Weekly |
| December 23, 2010 | "Justices Assigned to Suit Over State Buildings Sale" | Plaintiffs Jerry Epstein and Redmond Doms filed suit challenging the sale in November. They claimed the governor removed them from the Los Angeles State Building Authority governing board because they opposed the sale proposal as “a waste of taxpayer dollars.” Epstein and Doms contend the state will wind up paying more in rents to lease the buildings back from the new owner—a private partnership called California First—than it would gain from the sale, and that the deal constitutes an unlawful gift of public funds. | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| November 19, 2010 | "Saying he was accused of leaking to TMZ.com, fired L.A. County Superior Court spokesman fires back" | Allan Parachini denies rumors that he took bribes from the celebrity gossip site and says he was fired for giving reporters access to legitimate court information. | Los Angeles Times |
| November 11, 2010 | "Rep. Adam Schiff calls on feds to open local corruption investigations " | "U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, Thursday called on federal prosecutors to examine political corruption in Los Angeles County. " | Pasadena Star-News |
| November 3, 2010 | California Election Results | | Los Angeles Times |
| November 3, 2010 | Tribune Creditor Group Alleges Fraud in 2007 Deal | (The Los Angeles Times is owned by Tribune Co.) | FoxNews.com |
| November 3, 2010 | Iowans vote to oust all three Supreme Court justices | Around 54 percent of Iowans voted not to retain each of the three judges: Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and associate justices Michael J. Streit and David L. Baker. The campaign for the judges ouster was based on the court’s unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa. | Iowa Independent |
| October 28, 2010 | Protest Over $1 Million Pay Hike | California courts are in trouble, cutting back staff and reducing pay to make ends meet. Some courts even had to close one day a month. But tomorrow, retiring Supreme Court Justice Ronald George is expected to approve a 3.5% pay hike, worth over one million dollars, for most of the 1,000 employees of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The Judge chairing that committee recommending the pay hike, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, in on the ballot herself this Tuesday, seeking voter approval to become the next Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. | CBS 13 |
| October 28, 2010 | Trial Judges Not Allowed to Speak on Pay | The trial court judges had planned to speak against a proposal by incoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to increase pay for court administrators retroactively by 3.5 percent. According to a statement from the Judicial Council, the incoming chief plans to recommend reinstatement of a pay increase that was put on hold last year, as a result of California's fiscal woes. Cantil-Sakauye is scheduled to present the pay raises as chairperson of outgoing Chief Justice Ronald George's new committee on finance and accountability. | Courthouse News Service |
| October 26, 2010 | Court Tosses 18 Criminal Cases for Lack of Judges | The California Supreme Court on Monday dismissed 18 criminal cases, including two felonies, in Riverside County, citing a shortage of judges and courtrooms to accommodate the county's burgeoning population. | Courthouse News Service |
| October 4, 2010 | " In the News -- Freeing jailed lawyer a big win for Full Disclosure’s activist journalism and validates non-profit business model" | "Today, a Marina del Rey video news website is flush from a victory earned from old-fashioned crusading journalism. Full Disclosure Network spent a year and a half championing the cause of debarred Beverly Hills tax attorney Richard Fine after he was jailed for contempt of court. The non-profit, which aired weekly phone interviews with Fine and fought a legal battle with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to gain jail access for an on-camera interview, was more or less vindicated last month when the judge who jailed Fine ordered his release." | Los Angeles Business Journal |
| September 27, 2010 | Mexican townsfolk take terrible revenge on kidnap gang who had been terrorising them | On Wednesday, the mayor of Ascensión, Rafael Camarillo, said it was clear the power of the residents on Tuesday was greater than that of the authorities. Although he opposes the way residents acted, Camarillo does not want the people of Ascensión to face homicide charges. "It would make them even angrier," he said. Camarillo on Wednesday fired his 14 municipal police officers. He said people demanded the firings, and he did not want any more conflicts. | El Paso Times |
| September 27, 2010 | "L.A. County delays release of names and salaries of its highest-paid employees" | "Los Angeles County officials are taking steps to keep secret the names and salaries of some highly paid county employees, saying they need more time to comply with public records law to protect workers who claim that disclosure could put them at risk." | Los Angeles Times |
| September 21, 2010 | "L.A. County Supervisors seek receivership for Bell" | Molina noted in her motion that ... the council "continues to meet regularly -- often in closed session." [LA County Supervisors do the same, even holding secret meetings in Washington, D.C.] | Daily Breeze |
| September 21, 2010 | "Bell officials arrested as prosecutors are set to file criminal charges" | "Cooley has said his office was examining whether the various financial transactions in Bell amounted to thefts of public funds. The office is also looking into allegations of voter fraud and whether the high salaries earned by Rizzo and others were legal. " | Los Angeles Times |
| September 21, 2010 | "Only one county employee disciplined for fraudulent claims" | "In one of the cases involving CEO Bill Fujioka's office, an unidentified employee used $516 in charitable giving funds for personal use. Employees contribute to the funds voluntarily through payroll deductions to support charities of their choice. Another employee used $280 from the same fund to buy tickets to a sporting event. After they were caught, the employees reimbursed the county. "The auditor has since determined there was no fraud by either of these employees," Chief Deputy CEO Brence Culp said." | Daily Breeze |
| September 20, 2010 | "Financial Disclosure Forms for Federal Judges Can Be Hard to Track Down" | "Reports that could signal potential conflicts of interest in pending lawsuits are often censored" | Law.com |
| August 3, 2010 | "Judicial Perks Come Under Fire in California" | "The Judicial Council issued a report last December that concludes that the mishmash of county-provided judicial benefits across the state could hurt the recruitment of future judges. A new task force -- co-chaired by Chief Justice-nominee Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Rosenberg said -- is studying ways to improve the benefit offerings to judges statewide. Final recommendations may go to the Legislature." | Law.com |
| July 27, 2010 | "California Officials Reduce Salaries in Response to Outcry" | "Also on Monday, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is running for governor, said he subpoenaed hundreds of records from Bell as part of an investigation to determine whether civil or criminal action should be taken against any city leaders. 'These outrageous pay practices are an insult to the hard-working people of Bell and have provoked righteous indignation in California and even across the country,' said Brown. He added his office will review salaries in other jurisdictions around the state to see whether similar abuses might be happening elsewhere." | CNN |
| July 14, 2010 | Ronald George's Press Release re Retirement | | Judicial Council of California |
| June 6, 2010 | "DA Asked to Investigate Brown Act Violations By Los Angeles County Supervisors in Capitol Hill Meetings " | | Full Disclosure Network |
| June 3, 2010 | "Should Judge David Yaffe Be Proscribed?" | "It all started when some unknown person in Los Angeles County government came up with the idea that one of the ways the County could reduce the amount and number of lawsuits against its various departments was to bribe the Superior Court judges of Los Angeles." | Examiner.com |
| May 31, 2010 | "California Officials Caught On Tape in DC Violating Open Meeting Law" | | EXCLUSIVE by Full Disclosure Network |
| May 25, 2010 | "Supreme Court Denies Writ for Certiori to Crusading Attorney Richard Fine: Incarceration Continues" | "Those who want to free Mr. Fine have no immediate financial interest in his release. Those who speak for keeping him in jail profit from the payments made to the judges that Mr. Fine calls bribes, and they benefit from the ability to give judges retroactive immunity for criminal acts. Also, the fight to free Richard Fine is paid for from private donations. His imprisonment and the lobbying to gain retroactive immunity for criminal acts by judges is funded by you, the tax-payer." | Examiner.com |
| May 24, 2010 | "Supreme Court rules against jailed lawyer Richard Fine" | "What will happen if Fine refuses to cooperate, and Judge Yaffe doesn't put an end to this?" Boudreau asked. "Could this go on for another year, or maybe even more? At what point does `coercive confinement' become nothing more than an indefinite jail sentence?" | L.A. Daily News |
| May 20, 2010 | "AOC Settles Lawsuit with Whistleblower" | "The AOC [Calif. Admin. Office of the Courts] appears to have settled a lawsuit brought against it by former AOC employee and whistleblower Jack Urquhart." | AOC Watcher |
| May 14, 2010 | Calif. Trial Judges Make Grab for $1.3 Billion | "The principal budget controversy within the court system is tied to an ambitious computer project that is predicted to cost $1.3 billion when it is completed. A group of trial judges wants that money, as well as funds intended for new court construction, redirected to keep courtrooms open." | Courthouse News Service |
| May 3, 2010 | "Ethics Commission Levies Record Fine Against Texas Judge" | "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller faces a hit to the pocketbook. In an order signed Wednesday, the Texas Ethics Commission levied a $100,000 civil penalty against Keller for multiple omissions on her 2007 and 2008 personal financial statements." | Law.com |
| April 28, 2010 | LA Mayor Villaraigosa: "Redirect Court Construction Funds" | "Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge Charles McCoy got a big boost of support today for his plan of redirecting court construction funds back to courts for day-to-day operations of trial courts with an opinion piece printed in this morning’s Daily Journal written by Los Angles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Mayor Villaraigosa lays out the all the unfortunate details we’ve come to understand of the crisis faced by Los Angeles Superior Court. Forced closures of nine courthouses resulting in 180 closed courtrooms and planned layoffs of 1,800 court employees resulting in a 34% deduction of the court workforce." | AOC Watcher |
| April 27, 2010 | Judicial Wars: Judicial Council to LA Superior Court… "You Ain’t Gettin’ A Dime" | "Instead of dipping into the court construction fund, the AOC will now work to ask the Legislature to cough up more funds to cover the deficits faced by the courts." | AOC Watcher |
| March 18, 2010 | Schwarzenegger Asked To Investigate Corruption By State Bar Board Members | "CEO Phil Stimac is asking him to investigate State Bar Board members William Gailey, Laura Chick and Paul Kramer. The three are part of an alleged conspiracy to cover-up state-wide Bar related corruption, including the disbarment and imprisonment of Beverly Hills Attorney Richard Fine." | Lawyers & Judges Whistleblower Network |
| March 12, 2010 | "Charging Corruption, House Impeaches Federal Judge" | | Law.com |
| March 12, 2010 | "Reinhardt Stands Alone on 9th Circuit's Pledge of Allegiance 'Under God' Ruling" | | Law.com |
| February 24, 2010 | Keeping a Republic: Overcoming the Corrupted Judiciary | by The Honorable Robert Bork | Heritage Foundation |
| February 11, 2010 | "2 former San Bernardino County officials accused of bribery" | ""I've never seen corruption like this before, where a Board of Supervisors is induced through the payment of $400,000 to various individuals to vote [to spend] $102 million of taxpayers' money when they should have kept that money for the people of San Bernardino," said state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, whose office is assisting the county district attorney's office with the investigation." | Los Angeles Times |
| January 27, 2010 | "Bogus Disbarments Entangle Bar Execs & Board Members In Civil Liability" | | The Elite Ones blog |
| January 26, 2010 | "Sandra Day O'Connor talks politics, judicial independence" | | CNN.com |
| January 17, 2010 | "Richard Fine Disbarment Shifts Consciousness Of State Bar Members" | “The State Bar’s record of the Fine disbarment is so at odds with the facts reported by Mr. Fine’s supporters, they suggest violations of the Rules of Professional Responsibility by State Bar attorneys. Furthermore, I believe intervention by Senator Feinstein, the U.S. Justice Department’s RICO task force, FBI and Federal Grand Jury is warranted before the Legislature passes another funding bill.” | Lawyers & Judges Whistleblower Network |
| December 18, 2009 | "Anonymous Blogger [AOC Watcher] Is Scathing Critic of AOC" | "In September, several members of the state court bench launched the Alliance of California Judges, an organization that is openly challenging the state’s judicial hierarchy." | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| December 17, 2009 | Judges Soon to Be Authorized to Receive Campaign Donations from Parties to Cases Before Them? | (But more than $1,500 disqualifies a judge from hearing a case involving a donor.) | San Francisco Chronicle |
| December 17, 2009 | "California Judges Association President Denounces Pay Raises" | | Law.com |
| December 14, 2009 | "Courts offset furloughs with raises, promotions, extra vacation" | "Between February 2008 and July 2009, the AOC elevated nearly 80 employees, and raised their pay as much as 31 percent, brushing aside its own self-imposed freeze on promotions, according to payroll records from the State Controller's Office. The records show that while the agency imposed once-monthly furlough days on employees with one hand, it has increased salaries so much with the other that, coupled with new hires, its payroll costs grew 6 percent from July 2008 to July 2009, for a total of nearly $4.2 million per year." | Sacramento Bee |
| December 14, 2009 | "Federal Judges Push Back Against Recusal Proposals" | | Law.com |
| December 14, 2009 | "L.A. County Superior Court faces budget ax; nine courthouses could close" | | San Gabriel Valley Tribune |
| November 17, 2009 | "9th Circuit Panel Rebukes Calif. Federal Judge Manuel Real" | | Law.com |
| November 16, 2009 | "Judges Quarrel as California Fiscal Crisis Worsens" | "Charles McCoy, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Super Court system, added more fuel this month in an article for Los Angeles Lawyer magazine, suggesting that the crisis is becoming so acute that it's time to short-circuit a new program that raises court fees and criminal fines to finance bonds for courthouse expansion, and redirect the money into operations." | Fresno Bee |
| November 6, 2009 | "Judicial Wars: Alliance of California Judges Request Financial Records" | "If the AOC and its army of supporters thought they got the upper hand at last month’s legislative committee hearing, they might want to think again. In fact, a letter sent by the Alliance of California Judges to the AOC requesting financial records makes it clear that the AOC will continue to face opposition to its current management of California Courts." | AOC Watcher blog |
| November 2, 2009 | "Sacramento Bee Editorial: Calls AOC’s Administration of CCMS 'Shockingly Inept'" | | AOC Watcher blog |
| November 2, 2009 | "To Know The Meaning of Things" | "In overwhelming measure it was because of the many people I came to know at the court, and especially people like Judge Wisot, and the example that they set for me, that I came to have a profound and deep trust, respect and belief in the California court system and the Judicial Branch. That trust, that respect, and that belief was shattered and destroyed by what I personally experienced and witnessed as an employee of the Judicial Council of California in the Administrative Office of the Courts." | AOC Watcher blog Op-Ed |
| November 1, 2009 | "We Need a Creative Solution to the Superior Court Funding Crisis" | By LASC Chief Judge Charles W. McCoy, who omits to mention that they all lied when proclaiming solidarity with court staff in pretending to take a cut in pay. | LA County Bar Assn. |
| October 30, 2009 | "To Shred or Not To Shred" | "I’ve been receiving information ... that deep within the walls of the AOC Death Star the Imperial shredders are working overtime shredding documents." | AOC Watcher blog |
| October 28, 2009 | " Justice Ronald George Thinks AOC Critics Are Shrill and Uninformed" | In a comment to the article: "And the AOC’s own magazine, California Courts Review (Spring 2006) noted another interesting statement from the Chief Justice: 'Even some of his supporters were dismayed when the Chief Justice told a 2003 gathering of the California Judges Association – an organization he had headed 20 years earlier – that any attempt to democratize selection of Judicial Council members and reduce his appointment power would be considered a ‘declaration of war.’ George … has said that his remark had its intended effect.'" | AOC Watcher blog |
| October 18, 2009 | "Something Stinks, But It Isn't The Voters" | "There were no knee-slappers when the honorable Ronald M. George, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, addressed the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge on Oct. 10, but the message he conveyed was Brooksian: The voters of California are revolting, and they stink on ice." | Boston Globe |
| October 10, 2009 | Ronald George Calls Calif. Government ‘Dysfunctional’ | And by the way, conservative voters are stupid and democracy is bad. | New York Times |
| October 8, 2009 | "Judge Removes Self From 'Double Dipping' Case" | | WBOY 12 TV |
| September 27, 2009 | "Judicial pay disparity drains talent from federal bench" | Even California state courts are feeling the pay pinch, despite salaries and benefits significantly higher than those for federal judges. In Los Angeles County Superior Court, a judge takes home $249,413 a year with locally paid extras, or 47% more than a federal district judge. "What that says is that the federal judges are way underpaid, and everybody knows it," said Presiding Judge Charles "Tim" McCoy of the Los Angeles County bench. The county Superior Court doesn't face as dire a situation in attracting and retaining judges as the federal judiciary, McCoy said, but the pressures are mounting there too. | Los Angeles Times |
| September 16, 2009 | "Judicial Pay Increase a Priority Despite Economy, Congressional Leaders Tell Judges" | | Law.com |
| September 15, 2009 | "Deception By Supreme Court Justice?" | Response to LA Times op-ed by Ronald M. George | Full Disclosure |
| September 14, 2009 | "In California, justice takes a day off" | LA Times op-ed by CA Supreme Court Justice Ronald M. George | Los Angeles Times |
| September 11, 2009 | Justice George’s Speech to State Bar and California Judges Assn | | AOC Watcher blog |
| August 24, 2009 | " Seven LA Superior Court Judges Get Public Shaming in Daily Journal" | "Five Los Angeles judges have their pics splashed in the Daily Journal for not taking a paycut for each furlough day. All that’s missing is the word WANTED." | AOC Watcher blog |
| August 24, 2009 | "Judicial Wars: Judges upset with comment by Justice George" | | AOC Watcher blog |
| August 7, 2009 | "Legislative Voting Records Purged " | "Though it blatantly violates the key principles of democracy, lawmakers in the nation’s most populous state regularly expunge voting records on controversial legislation so that the public can never access the information that could later hurt them politically. " | Judicial Watch |
| July 31, 2009 | LA Superior Court Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen: Nominee for the Central District of California | | Talking Points Memo |
| July 26, 2009 | "Send the Legislators Home at Night" | "One can only imagine the glitches and screw-ups hidden in the roughly 30 bills the Legislature passed in its sleepless stupor over a 20-hour period that began about 7 p.m. Thursday and didn't conclude until the Assembly shut down around 3 p.m. Friday. The Senate had adjourned at 6:30 a.m. as sunlight began flooding the Capitol, jarring lawmakers back into the real world." | Los Angeles Times |
| July 11, 2009 | "Did Illegal County Payments From 1988 to 2009 Influence The Criminal Justice System?" | "... a felony arrest is almost twice as likely to result in a prison sentence than it was two decades ago." | Full Disclosure Network |
| June 10, 2009 | "Worker cuts buy judges' pay hike" | "The L.A. judges and other elements of the judicial community hired lobbyists and pushed for the legalization measure, which was placed into a massive slate of budget-related bills with no public airing." | OC Register.com |
| June 8, 2009 | "California Judges Association honors Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg with 2009 Scales of Justice Award 'in recognition of his contribution to our courts and the people we serve.'" | | CalJudges.org |
| June 5, 2009 | Calif. State Bar Dumps Top Prosecutor | "State Bar officials announced Thursday that Scott Drexel, who has served as chief trial counsel for four years and worked at the State Bar in other capacities for more than three decades, won't be reappointed when his term expires on Wednesday." | Law.com |
| June 3, 2009 | "L.A. judges agree to voluntary pay cuts" | | Los Angeles Times |
| May 21, 2009 | "Judges exempt from pay cut that will affect other court employees" | | Los Angeles Times |
| May 4, 2009 | Attorney Jeffrey P. Lustman Exposes State Bar Corruption | | Jeffrey Lustman |
| March 2, 2009 | "Judge McCoy Tells Breakfast Club Reallocation Needed" | LA Superior Court Presiding Judge Charles 'Tim' McCoy said the court had accrued a “cushion” [slush fund] of about $70 million dollars saved ... McCoy also thanked bar associations who “beat our doors down to come help us” by filing amicus briefs siding with the Superior Court’s judges after the Sturgeon decision. “The judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court are grateful,” McCoy said. “And that appreciation will last for a long time." | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| February 4, 2009 | "Proposal to Allow Supplemental Judicial Benefits Program Stalls" | "A proposed bill to create a statewide supplemental judicial benefits program in response to a ruling striking down Los Angeles County’s payment of benefits to Superior Court judges beyond that fixed by state law will not go forward, a spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg confirmed yesterday." | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| February 2, 2009 | "L.A. Losing Jurists Over Compensation Controversy" | | San Fernando Valley Business Journal |
| January 27, 2009 | "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth - Marina Strand Colony II vs The Shores" | "At a L A County Board of Supervisors hearing, R. J. Comer failed to tell the truth in his sworn testimony. R. J Comer is the lawyer for the Del Rey Shores Joint Venture which is pushing for permits to redevelop the Del Rey Shores apartment complex in Marina del Rey." | Marina del Rey - Revoltin' Development |
| January 17, 2009 | "L.A. County's Chief Land-Use Planner Fired" | "McClendon, reached by telephone, said he believed he had been fired in retaliation for blowing the whistle on county supervisors' aides. He said he had given Fujioka information that showed that aides to the county supervisors routinely sought to improperly influence decisions on whether to permit development plans. 'It was illegal, and they can go to jail for doing it,' said McClendon, 62. He said his meetings with Fujioka in recent weeks made it clear that he was likely to be fired. He said he recently began consulting with attorneys in preparation for filing a whistle-blower retaliation lawsuit." | Los Angeles Times |
| January 8, 2009 | "No Charge: In Civil-Contempt Cases, Jail Time Can Stretch On for Years " | | Wall Street Journal |
| December 26, 2008 | "California Judges to Lose Perks; Some May Leave State" | | J D Journal -- "Nothing But The Truth" |
| October 14, 2008 | "CA Holds Local Judges’ Extra Benefits Unconstitutional" | | Metropolitan News-Enterprise |
| August 10, 2008 | "Summary of Irregularities in MdR Redevelopment Process" | | WeAreMdR.com |
| August 1, 2008 | "California Court of Appeal Judge, a 'friend of Angelo,' ruled for Countrywide" | “Go ahead and approve the loan, and close it as soon as possible. Don’t worry about this deal, it’s golden.” | Portfolio Magazine |
| January 15, 2008 | "D.A. May Get a 23% Pay Hike" | "Cooley would make $292,300 a year, up from his current $236,829. Such a raise would make Cooley the highest-paid elected official in Los Angeles County government" | Los Angeles Times |
| January 14, 2008 | "Details are sought on legal settlements by L.A. County" | "$450,000 to the county's former litigation cost manager, Robert E. Nagle, who alleged that he was wrongfully terminated by County Counsel Raymond G. Fortner Jr. while preparing a report that would have criticized Fortner's management and identified claims that were mishandled." | Los Angeles Times |
| December 3, 2006 | Judgments about a chief justice ("King George") | "Ten years after Chief Justice Ronald M. George became head of California's courts and dramatically transformed the state's judicial branch, many Los Angeles judges remain resentful of their loss of power and control." | Los Angeles Times |
| October 25, 2006 | LA County Counsel's Office to be Investigated, Decision Followed Heated Debate by LA Supervisors | "After a rare and fiery debate, Los Angeles County's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to direct the county auditor to investigate allegations the County Counsel's Office manipulated reports to hide deteriorating litigation and trial results. The unusual request for an investigation into a department head follows the firing of litigation cost manager Robert E. Nagle of Agoura Hills, who helped cut the county's litigation costs in half in recent years." | Los Angeles Daily News |
| October 18, 2006 | "Legal Cost-Cutter Fired: Board Wants To Know Exactly Why Manager Terminated Despite Reducing Litigation Expense" | "At the time, the county's legal costs -- which include judgments, settlements and outside legal fees -- had jumped from $89 million in 1999-2000 to a record $109 million in 2002-03. After Nagel was hired in 2003, the tab dropped to $64 million in 2004-05. The most recent report puts the cost for the first three quarters of 2005-06 at $53 million." | Los Angeles Daily News |
| October 5, 2006 | "Montage Opponents Win Point With Judge [Yaffe], Then Suffer Knock Out" | | Beverly Hills Courier |
| August 21, 2006 | "Lincoln Place Tenants Upbeat Despite Court Setback" [from "clearly confused" Judge Yaffe] | | BeyondChron SanFran |
| June 8, 2006 | "In Las Vegas, They're Playing With a Stacked Judicial Deck" | This is a juice town, some Las Vegas attorneys openly concede. Financial contributions "get you juice with a judge -- an 'in,' " Ian Christopherson, a lawyer in Las Vegas for 18 years, said in an interview. "If you have juice, you get different treatment. This is not a quid pro quo town like, say, Chicago. This town is a juice town." | Los Angeles Times |
| October 24, 2005 | "Marina Del Rey Redevelopment Leads to Lawsuits" | "Lobbyist reports show that marina lessees and developers have spent nearly $700,000 lobbying county officials and the Board of Supervisors since 2000. Campaign reports show that marina lessees – including Doug Ring, Jerry Epstein, Jona Goldrich, Rick Caruso and others – have made nearly $110,000 in contributions to the five supervisors since 2000, with the most – about $45,000 – going to Knabe, whose district includes the marina. Two contributions last year, totaling $1,500 and made by the Jerry B. Epstein Management Co. – where Levine works as chief of staff – exceeded the $1,000 annual legal limit." | Sign-On San Diego.com |
| October 24, 2005 | "Marina del Rey redevelopment leads to lawsuits" | "Lobbyist reports show that marina lessees and developers have spent nearly $700,000 lobbying county officials and the Board of Supervisors since 2000. Campaign reports show that marina lessees – including Doug Ring, Jerry Epstein, Jona Goldrich, Rick Caruso and others – have made nearly $110,000 in contributions to the five supervisors since 2000, with the most – about $45,000 – going to Knabe, whose district includes the marina. Two contributions last year, totaling $1,500 and made by the Jerry B. Epstein Management Co. – where Levine works as chief of staff – exceeded the $1,000 annual legal limit. Marina developers made about $600,000 in campaign contributions to the supervisors in the early 1990s, according to one of the lawsuits. " | San Diego Union-Tribune |
| September 13, 2005 | "L.A. County Donor Curbs Lack Teeth" | | L.A. Times via Google Cache |
| May 17, 2004 | "Residents see red as county sees green at Marina: tenants sue to halt L.A.'s sale of apartments" | | Los Angeles Business Journal via FreeLibrary |
| May 12, 2003 | "State Workers Get FLSA Minimum, Overtime In Budget Impasse, California Justices Rule" | "Richard I. Fine of Beverly Hills, Calif., argued for the individual employee plaintiffs and the Taxpayers Association." | BNA Labor and Employment Law |
| July 1, 2002 | "Universal Corruption With the Los Angeles County Judges" (2002) | | Jail4Judges.com |
| June 26, 2002 | Richard Fine: "Payment To Judges History's Largest Corruption" (2002) | | Daily News |
| April 3, 2002 | "Judges Group Stops Use of Fees for Parties, Gifts" | "The changes in operation haven't put to rest the 7-year-old allegations of wrongdoing that prompted presiding Judge James A. Bascue to order the audit in February 2001. A handful of litigants had complained that the financial relationship among the judges, attorneys and some court-appointed officials led to unfavorable judgments in family court. Beverly Hills attorney and taxpayer advocate Richard I. Fine said Tuesday the only way the association can redeem itself is to repay to the court all of the money it misappropriated over the years." | LA Times |
| April 1, 2002 | "Judges' Party Time Ends Audit: Money From 'Slush Fund' Should Have Gone To Court's Account" | ``My gut reaction is very simple,'' said taxpayer advocate and Beverly Hills attorney Richard I. Fine. ``This is a typical 'misuse of funds' case. Should the taxpayers pay for judges to go on (ocean) dinner cruises? Should the taxpayers pay for judges to have golf tournaments? Should the taxpayers pay for retirement parties? Should the taxpayers pay for wine and cheese get-togethers? An accounting should be done and deduct the amount of dues judges paid from the amount of money paid for events and the difference is the amount the association has to pay back to the court.'' | Daily News via FreeLibrary |
| March 1, 2002 | "To curb the powers of the five supervisors, voters passed in March 2002 Measure B by more than 63%, to limit the terms of the supervisors to three consecutive four year terms." | "The provisions are not retroactive, meaning that Michael Antonovich, currently the longest serving supervisor, could serve until 2016." | Wikipedia |
| May 26, 2001 | "Judge [Yaffe] Denies Protection of Historic Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Shell" (with ridiculous ruling in favor of L.A. County) | | HollywoodHeritage.org |
| June 10, 1999 | Big-time lobbyist set to reap county lease deal | As county officials decide who will be the chosen ones on hand for future bounty, the deliberations over Ring’s status raise questions about the county’s own performance. Based on the record to date, neither the supervisors nor their minions at the department of Beaches and Harbors have proved capable of managing the competing interests and myriad problems arising from a public asset that some consider a crown jewel of L.A. County real estate. | L.A. Weekly |
| May 3, 1999 | Alleged slush fund for Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Association | | Studimonetari.org |
| April 11, 1999 | "Is Justice for Sale in L.A.?" | "Law-enforcement sources are nervous and concerned about the LASCJA accounts. They and county officials tell Insight not the least of the concerns is that for years county employees, paid by the taxpayers, were at the same time working on the LASCJA's books. This is because before filing for federal tax-exempt status in late 1997, the LASCJA was using the federal employer-identification number, or EIN, of Los Angeles County, which in turn covered the fact that the judges were not paying taxes on the outside income they moved through their association." | Insight Magazine |
| February 20, 1999 | "Suit Seeks D.A.'s Release of Child Support Funds" | | Los Angeles Times |
| February 19, 1999 | "D.A. Keeps The Cash" | Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti's child support office has illegally held millions of dollars owed to thousands of families, according to a lawsuit filed Friday (2-19-99) that seeks to have the funds distributed immediately. The lawsuit, filed by taxpayers advocate attorney Richard I. Fine, specifically targets funds that have been held - sometimes for years - by Garcetti's office, most often because it says it cannot locate the people entitled to the money. "It isn't their money," Fine said of Garcetti's Bureau of Family Support Operations. "The money belongs to the parents." | WorldFreeInternet.net |
| October 25, 1998 | Richard Fine's letter to editor re "Naval Base Complex" | | Long Beach Press-Telegram |
| September 7, 1998 | "Fate of Long Beach port still up in air - Federal judge's ruling keeps door open for plaintiffs" | | WND.com |
| June 24, 1998 | "Taxpayer Suit Filed to Stop State Controller From Paying Bills Without a Budget" | "The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association helped sponsor Proposition 13, the property tax-cutting initiative in California in 1978 which slashed property taxes by fifty-seven percent and initiated a national tax revolt. It was founded by California republican Howard Jarvis." | Business Wire via FreeLibrary |
| April 1, 1998 | "Mr. Dune Speaks Out" | "Thanks to the hard work of plaintiffs' attorney Richard I. Fine and scores of persons and OHV organizations, the courts have finally found the State of California guilty of stealing millions of our dollars from the OHV fund. ... The lack of bookkeeping suggests the state stole the money and had no intention of ever making repayments to the Green Sticker Fund, now or in the future." | Off-Road.com |
| March 20, 1998 | Richard Fine forces State to repay $12.5 million illegal loan taken from off-highway vehicle park funds | | San Diego Off-Road Coalition |
| December 31, 1997 | "Courthouse Scandal Rocks [Antelope] Valley" | | AVPress.com |
| December 11, 1995 | "Ex-Judge Still Agonizes Over Antonovich's '88 Phone Call - Ethics: Eric E. Younger believes he was wrongly admonished after the supervisor called about a case he was hearing." | "For Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, last week's favorable ruling by the state Supreme Court was little more than the predictable outcome of a nuisance lawsuit he always figured he'd win, another day in the rough-and-tumble world of politics." | Los Angeles Times |
| December 2, 1995 | "Decision Exonerating Antonovich Is Upheld - State Supreme Court declines to hear the case in which he was spared $1.2-million judgment despite 'reprehensible' action." | In seeking state Supreme Court review of the matter, Kasparian's lawyer, Bruce Altschuld, wrote that the appeals court had misstated the businessmen's legal obligations and hurt public confidence in the justice system by letting Antonovich off the hook. "What litigant will now lose without wondering, 'Did someone get to my judge?' " Altschuld wrote. | Los Angeles Times |
| October 15, 1995 | "Court Calls Acts by Antonovich 'Reprehensible'" | | Los Angeles Times |
| September 15, 1995 | "Appeals panel rules Antonovich call to judge was not improper, voiding $1.2-million judgment " | "That's a pretty complete decision," said Ken Klein, Antonovich's attorney. "If we had written it ourselves, we couldn't have asked for more." (Two of three appellate judges were formerly LA County Superior Court judges.) | Los Angeles Times |
| August 17, 1995 | "County Appeals on Behalf of Antonovich - Court: Jury levied $1.2-million judgment against supervisor in 1993 over phone call made to judge in 1988" | "In the civil trial, the jury got swayed by emotion," said Pamela Dunn, a Los Angeles attorney representing Suri. "They had this vision of a politician smoking cigars in the back room with a judge. . . . [But] there's no evidence." | Los Angeles Times |
| March 27, 1995 | "L.A. gets to keep $69 million taken from port over 2 years" | | AllBusiness.com |
| September 28, 1994 | "Wilson Signs 3 Bills Inspired by Antonovich Case - Court: Tax revenue will no longer be used to pay damages when elected officials are found guilty of improprieties." | | Los Angeles Times |
| April 15, 1994 | Bill Would Limit Public Funds for Judgments Against Officials | "The measure stems from $1.2 million in damages that Los Angeles County was ordered to pay last year as a result of charges that Supervisor Mike Antonovich tried to influence the outcome of a lawsuit by making a telephone call to a judge in charge of a case. The county has appealed the decision." | Los Angeles Times |
| | History of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County | | LASuperiorCourt.org |
| | Court Closures: A Battle of He Said, He Said….He Said | | AOC Watcher blog |