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 Presiding Judge Matthew J. Gary Provides Details On Court Cutbacks To Family Law Bar - Leaves Public In Dark

Court Earns FCAC Poster Child of the Month Award

Family Court Presiding Judge Matthew J. Gary recited a laundry list of family court services cuts in an exclusive, February 2012 presentation to attorneys from the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. 

 

Gary has yet to provide the same statistics and data to the general public, including the 75 percent of family court users who don't have a lawyer. The March, 2012 issue of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section newsletter, Family Law Counselor, reported what the presiding judge revealed to the for-profit attorneys who practice in family court:

• Family Court Services (FCS) is down two mediators and has no ability to replace them.
• Public counter wait times routinely exceed five hours.
• Processing of drop box legal documents may be delayed for days or weeks due to lack of staff resources.
• Court phones are shut off at noon for lack of staff to field calls.
• The branch law library was closed.
• The Computer Room at the Self-Help Center was closed.
• The Self-Help Center itself is now serving 10,000 fewer litigants than in years past due to the lack of resources.
• The court no longer pulls retention or related files for hearings because of the lack of staff in the court's records unit. This means that the court routinely does not have the entire file for review at a hearing.

In addressing the 75 percent of family court litigants who cannot afford legal representation, Judge Gary provided the following abridged version of his speech, which is posted throughout the public areas of the courthouse: 

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