Tani Cantil-Sakauye Still Unaccountable, Unpunished for Alleged Misuse of State Funds, Financial Fraud Against Taxpayers

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and Chairperson of the California Judicial Council.

Watch the ABC news report video:

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye Caught Using Highway Patrol as Personal Limo and Security Service from Sacramento Superior Court News on Vimeo.

Liar Liar: Santa Clara County Judge Erica Yew Condemns Self to Eighth Circle of Hell in Testimony to Legislature

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Judge Erica Yew believes
the California Commission on Judicial Performance "has done a great job."

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Santa Clara County Judge Erica Yew has made the demonstrably false claim that the California Commission on Judicial Performance is effective at its mission to oversee and hold accountable judges in the state. 

To the legislature.

On video.

To be precise, Yew said this:

"[The Commission on Judicial Performance] has done a great job of making sure that judges who shouldn't have that job are removed from office, or are disciplined, or receive some indication that what they're doing is not proper, privately, so that they can readjust."

Seeing is believing: With your own eyes, watch Yew make this statement - incredibly, with a straight face - in the video at the bottom of this post.

In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, part of the Divine Comedy, Malebolge is the eighth circle of Hell. In Dante’s version of hell, categories of sin are punished in different circles, with the depth of the circle (and placement within that circle) symbolic of the amount of punishment to be inflicted.

Sinners placed in the upper circles of hell are given relatively minor punishments, while sinners in the depths of hell endure far greater torments. As the eighth of nine circles, Malebolge is one of the worst places in hell to be. It is where the souls of alchemists, impostors, counterfeiters, and liars are sent.

Judge Erica Yew Misconduct Allegations: Meme Collection Commemorating Seven Years of Incompetence Released

Santa Clara County Judge Erica Yew in 2010 was appointed to the California Commission on Judicial Performance by the Supreme Court and controversial Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. The CJP is the independent state agency responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct and for disciplining judges.

Yew was reappointed to the CJP in 2011 and 2015, and her current term ends in 2019. Court reform advocates assert that Yew has failed at the job, and instead of protecting the public from bad judges, Yew has protected bad judges from accountability for misconduct. Yew has played a critical role in maintaining the code of silence about the epidemic level of lawbreaking by judges in California, according to judicial branch whistleblowers.

In recognition of her commitment to concealing judge misconduct, in 2017 Tani Cantil-Sakauye and the Judicial Council of California gave Yew a "Distinguished Service Award."

In recognition of her seven years of disservice to the public as a member of the CJP, Anonymous Whistleblowers recently issued a special, limited edition set of memes featuring Judge Erica Yew.

The anonymous group monitors judges who fail to comply with section 3D(1) of the California Judicial Ethics Code. Section 3D(1) requires judges to self-police, and to report misconduct by other judges. Court reform advocates have documented that judges throughout the state routinely ignore the law. 

State Auditor Files Response to Vexatious Litigation by Commission on Judicial Performance Director Victoria Henley

Commission on Judicial Performance
Director and Chief Counsel Victoria Henley

From the Daily Journal: 

Attorneys for the California State Auditor submitted a response Monday to a writ filed last month by the Commission on Judicial Performance challenging the auditor's jurisdiction.

The CJP sued Auditor Elaine M. Howle in San Francisco Superior Court in October, seeking to limit the scope of an audit ordered by the Legislature in August. The CJP is the state agency that investigates and disciplines judges charged with misconduct...

Myron Moskovitz, who represents Howle, said the CJP's arguments seek to sidestop decades of well-established law around the auditor's office and its functions.

"After they see the answer, if they still want to go to trial we will," said Moskovitz, legal director of the Moskovitz Appellate Team in Piedmont. "I don't know why they would want to. I don't think they have much of a case...

"This is the first time anyone has ever complained about their right to audit a public agency that gets public money and is supposed to serve the public," explained Moskovitz. "I don't know what they are afraid of."  

CJP Director/Chief Counsel Victoria Henley is paid $194,000 per year by California taxpayers. 

text 

Former Sacramento Family Court Judge Tani Cantil-Sakauye Blamed for Statewide Court Corruption Problems

California court watchdog groups charge that the leadership of the state Judicial Council bears primary responsibility for a string of court scandals compiled in this video from the California Courts News YouTube Channel. An ABC News 10 investigation into misuse of the California Highway Patrol by the chief justice as a taxi and shopping service is included. 

Indifference and incompetence by Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye and senior management at the agency has resulted in an epidemic of court corruption in California, including a Los Angeles County court clerk accused of stealing $6,000 from people filing name changes, a case fixing scheme uncovered by the FBI in Orange County, and a massive, statewide traffic courts scandal. 

Commission on Judicial Performance Director Victoria B. Henley Makes Bank at CJP Protecting Judges

Commission on Judicial Performance Director Victoria Henley is paid more than the Governor of California for running a protection racket for judges. 

Special Sunday Satire by RoadDog

Keeping a lid on the epidemic of judicial corruption in California don't come cheap. The Boss of Bosses of the California Commission on Judicial Performance - the state agency that used to be responsible for keeping the state's judges in line - banked $194,000 in pay last year. Can you say "protection racket?" That's some OG gangsta shit. Who wants Victoria Henley's job? Raise your hand.   

California Commission on Judicial Performance Assessed FAILing Grade for Judicial Accountability in National Government Corruption Study

The California Commission on Judicial Performance and Director Victoria B. Henley are responsible for judicial oversight and accountability in the state.

Read the full article at the San Jose Mercury News. 

Commission on Judicial Performance Controversy: Judge Discipline Process Secrecy Questioned

The Commission on Judicial Performance and Director Victoria B. Henley have long been criticized for excessive secrecy when investigating allegations of judge misconduct in California. 

A Central Valley political science professor has published an editorial criticizing the state Commission on Judicial Performance for conducting secretive, "under the radar" deliberations when it considers allegations of judge misconduct brought by the public. After he filed a complaint against a court commissioner - which was summarily dismissed by the CJP - Tamir Sukkary was surprised at what he learned about CJP procedures. 

"[I] found out from my state senator's office that the CJP's meetings are neither open to the public, nor subject to the California Public Records Act, Brown Act or Freedom of Information Act," Sukkary wrote. "Not even the CJP clerical staff is allowed to attend during deliberations. Why is the commission operating in such a secretive fashion? Isn't the commission supposed to be serving the public?"

The full editorial is posted below, or at this Scribd page. Sukkary has been profiled by CBS News in Sacramento and runs a YouTube Channel featuring educational videos on political science and the Middle East. For additional reporting about the CJP, visit California Commission on Judicial Performance News.   

CJP Secrecy Questioned by Academic in Daily Journal Editorial: Deliberations of Judicial Watchdog Should Be... by California Judicial Branch News Network - Independent Investigative Reporting on California Courts

Judge Robert Hight Misconduct: Sacramento County Presiding Judge Rehires Ex-Con Judge Peter McBrien

Criminal Investigation Against Judge Peter McBrien: Whistleblower Leaked Report from Sacramento County District Attorney's Office

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

The 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. 

Court watchdogs allege that the judge also is responsible for a family court criminal racketeering enterprise involving collusion and kickbacks between judges and divorce attorneys who also work as part-time judges in the same court. Click here for an investigative report by Sacramento Family Court News. 

McBrien retired from the bench in 2014, but was authorized to continue working as a family court commissioner by controversial Sacramento County Presiding Judge Robert Hight and troubled family court Supervising Judge James Mize. 

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

Judge James Mize Corruption, Cronyism: Rehires Dishonest, Controversial Judge Peter J. McBrien

Perjury and Lies by Judge Peter McBrien Documented by the Commission on Judicial Performance in Whistleblower Leaked Records

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Peter McBrien's personal vendetta
against Ulf Carlsson was detailed and reenacted in the 2014
documentary Divorce Corp.

False testimony under oath by Judge Peter McBrien is documented by the Commission on Judicial Performance in this set of whistleblower leaked documents, embedded below. The CJP is the state agency responsible for the oversight and accountability of judges in California. 

McBrien's serial misconduct in the Carlsson divorce case led to his prosecution by the CJP and was chronicled in the 2014 documentary film Divorce Corp. To view a clip from the movie featuring an interview with Ulf Carlsson describing what a court of appeal judge called McBrien's "judicial reign of terror," click here.

To continue reading, click Read more >> below: 

Sacramento Family Law Court Protest: Hon. Robert C. Hight - Hon. James M. Mize - Hon. Peter J. McBrien

Sacramento Family Court Protest Against Corruption and Judge Peter McBrien - Kept in Office by Testimony from Judges Robert Hight and James Mize 

From the documentary film Divorce Corp. 

Sacramento Family Law Court Protest - Judicial Council of California - California Supreme Court - CJP Victoria Henley from Sacramento Family Court News on Vimeo.

Sacramento Family Court reform activists conduct a demonstration in this clip from the documentary Divorce Corp. Among other issues, the demonstration raised awareness of family court corruption and the failure of the Commission on Judicial Performance to remove Judge Peter McBrien from the bench after his second misconduct prosecution by the CJP. Defense character witness testimony on McBrien's behalf by Sacramento Judges Robert Hight and James Mize was cited by the CJP as a mitigating factor which reduced McBrien's punishment and allowed him to remain on the bench.

For the full article, click Read more >> below...

Documentary Film Divorce Corp Opens Nationwide January 10 - California Courts Most Corrupt in U.S.

Caught on Transcript: Justice Arthur G. Scotland Provides Misleading Character Witness Testimony for Judge Peter J. McBrien at CJP

Leaked Court Reporter Transcript Catches 3rd District Justice Arthur G. Scotland 2009 Deceptive Testimony for Judge Peter McBrien

To help Sacramento County Family Court Judge Peter McBrien avoid removal from the bench for misconduct, 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Arthur Scotland misleads the Commission on Judicial Performance about McBrien's reversal rate in the court of appeal. Click here for the full story. 

Also included with the transcript is the felony charging document from McBrien's criminal case. Click here for more on 3rd District Appellate Court controversy. Click here for additional reporting on ethically-challenged Judge Peter McBrien at Sacramento Family Court News. Scotland is now Of Counsel at the high-power Sacramento lobby firm Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP.

Sacramento Judge Jaime R. Roman Issues Illegal Blanket Order Exempting Government From State Court Rule in Child Support Cases

Judge Jaime Roman (L) with Judge Matthew Gary.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jaime Roman last month issued an illegal, standing order exempting government attorneys from state court rule requirements in child support cases. 

Roman authorized an unlawful blanket order applicable to all child support cases in Sacramento County Superior Court where the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) is directed by the court to prepare the proposed order after hearing.

To benefit the government, the order eliminates the order after hearing notice and approval requirements of Cal. Rules of Court rule 5.125. The rule specifies that modifications to the rule can only be made when appropriate to specific cases, not all cases on a blanket basis. 

The order also was issued more than a month before the rule takes effect. Both the order and rule 5.125 appear below. Judge Roman has been involved in a number of additional controversies reported by Sacramento Family Court News.   

Roman's unilateral action exceeds his authority and violates several sections of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, according to past judge misconduct prosecutions by the Commission on Judicial Performance. Among other ethical implications, providing preferential treatment to the government creates an impermissible two-track system of justice, according to the CJP. 

Roman has worked for the government most of his career, including eleven years as a Solano County prosecutor. 

Judge Jaime Roman Issues Illegal Blanket Order for Government Waiving Court Rule Requirements in Child Supp... by Sacramento Family Court News

Sacramento County Family Court Hon. Peter J. McBrien Felony Charging Document from 2000

Sacramento County Family Court Judge Peter McBrien Charged with Felony Criminal Conduct 

Family Court Controversy Documents

Family court Judge Peter McBrien 2000 felony charging document with attached D.A. investigator report. Summons in lieu of arrest warrant charging Peter James McBrien with the commission of a violation of Penal Code section 594, a felony. With the five-page investigation report of Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Criminal Investigator Craig W. Tourte detailing Judge McBrien's responsibility for the destruction of public owned trees valued at more than $20,000 in the Ancil Hoffman Park Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael, California. Judge McBrien had the trees destroyed to improve the view from his home, according to the investigators report. 

The case was resolved when McBrien pleaded no contest to a reduced, misdemeanor charge. Click here for the full story. Click here for local coverage of Judge McBrien at Sacramento Family Court News. Hon. Peter J. McBrien, is a Sacramento County Superior Court, family court judge. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye was a Sacramento Superior Court Judge from 1997-2005 and presided over the first court in Sacramento dedicated solely to domestic violence issues, working closely with Judge McBrien.