17 Years Later, Sacramento County Family Court Problems Persist - Whistleblowers Allege Court Operates as Racketeering Enterprise

The report embedded with this post is by investigative reporter and attorney Karen Winner, and is provided by the California Protective Parents Association. Court watchdogs assert that the problems highlighted 17 years ago in this 2000 report have not been corrected.

A subsequent audit by the California State Auditor found additional problems, many of which the court refused to fix, according to follow up reports from State Auditor Elaine Howle.

Whistleblowers allege that the Sacramento Family Court system continues to operate as what amounts to a racketeering enterprise which deprives the public of the federally protected right to honest government services.

Sacramento Superior Court Corruption: Local Court Reform Group Logs 700 Followers on Facebook

A Sacramento County court reform group has announced that they have just surpassed 700 followers on Facebook. The Sacramento Family Court Corruption group posts information about incidents of judge and attorney misconduct, and an alleged Kids for Cash-style racketeering enterprise they contend operates in the family court system.

The court reform advocates also engage in direct action campaigns to raise awareness and compel enforcement of state judicial ethics laws. In the most recent action, the group published and mailed a letter to Sacramento County Presiding Judge Kevin Culhane demanding that he enforce the state Code of Judicial Ethics against Judge Matthew Gary. 

Gary reportedly is involved in an improper, personal relationship with his court clerk, Christina Arcuri. Under state law, a judge is not permitted to engage in a consensual relationship with a court employee under his supervision.

The group has compiled and posted on Facebook dozens of examples of what they contend is corruption throughout the court.   

"We continue to gain Facebook followers because every week a new victim of court corruption is created in Sacramento Family Court," said Susan Ferris, a group administrator. "At some point, oversight agencies who have ignored this for so long won't be able to ignore the sheer volume of victims." 

The group says they have been frustrated by inaction and indifference by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, responsible for oversight and accountability of judges in California, the State Bar, responsible for attorneys, and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. 

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert has refused to enforce perjury, obstruction of justice, child abduction, court document counterfeiting, false arrest, and other laws, the group charges. 

"Our local DA has made clear she would rather be a judge. To be elected a judge you need the endorsement of other judges and prominent attorneys, and Schubert is not enforcing these laws because they implicate several local judges, along with attorneys who have aided and abetted client misconduct, including criminal child abductions," Ferris explained.

"This is all about politics and ambition. There are so many unprosecuted crimes that Schubert has all but issued a decree that local judges and attorneys are immune from criminal prosecution. This preferential treatment for the legal community should ensure her election or appointment as a judge," Ferris added. 

The 2014 documentary film Divorce Court cataloged corruption in family courts throughout the United States, and designated the Sacramento County system as one of the worst in the nation. 

Related links:

• Sacramento Family Court Corruption Group on Facebook. 
• Sacramento County Family Law Court Operates as RICO Racketeering Enterprise, Charge Whistleblowers
• Judge Thadd Blizzard and Matthew Gary, and Attorneys Who Aided Criminal Child Abductions Remain Unaccountable.  
• Sister of Prop 8 Mastermind Runs for Judge in Sacramento
• Prop 8's Schubert Supports Gay Sister's Bid for Judge
• Lesbian DA Ends Campaign to Become Judge

Tani Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento Family Court Alumnus Earns Worst Supreme Court Opinion Runner-Up Title

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye Supreme Court Opinion Called 2nd Worst of 2012-2013 Term

A California Supreme Court opinion authored by former Sacramento Family Court Judge Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye was called the second-worst opinion of the 96 rulings issued over the high court's 2012-2013 term, according to an annual review published in the August issue of California Lawyer.

Complete story at Sacramento Family Court News: click here. 

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.

Court Records Show Sacramento County Court Clerks Play Favorites with Temporary Judge Divorce Attorneys

Sacramento County Court Clerks File Non-Compliant Documents for Judge Pro Tem Attorneys

Sacramento County Family Court watchdogs and whistleblowers allege that the public court is operated by, and for the financial interests of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. The organization dictates court policies and procedures, including local rules, which work to the advantage of member attorneys and to the disadvantage of "outsider" attorneys and especially the 70 percent of litigants who cannot afford counsel and are self-represented. 

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

Paula D. Salinger Violates State Law, Court Rules: No Enforcement by Sacramento Court Clerks and Judges - Judge Pro Tem Preferential Treatment

Sacramento County Judge Pro Tem & Divorce Attorney Paula Salinger Allowed to File Unlawful Documents with Court

Sacramento County Family Court watchdogs and whistleblowers allege that the public court is operated by, and for the financial interests of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. The organization dictates court policies and procedures, including local rules, which work to the advantage of member attorneys and to the disadvantage of "outsider" attorneys and especially the 70 percent of litigants who cannot afford counsel and are self-represented. 

This responsive declaration filed by a pro per litigant details unlawful tactics used by SCBA Family Law Section attorneys. Divorce attorney Paula Salinger is a sworn temporary judge of Sacramento County Superior Court and a member of the SCBA Family Law Section. Sacramento Family Court watchdogs and whistleblowers have documented that court administrators and employees unlawfully provide preferential treatment for divorce lawyers who also serve as judge pro tems in the same court. This is the first document in a two-document set consisting of this responsive declaration and the companion memorandum of points and authorities. Click here to view the memorandum.

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.