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07 July 2014
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Woodruff O'Hair Posner & Salinger Inc Criminal Conduct by Partner Paula
D. Salinger Alleged and Documented in Leaked Court Records - All Firm
Partners Hold Office of Temporary Judge
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
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Obstruction of Justice Crimes Alleged Against Judge

Pro Tem Attorney Paula Salinger, Sacramento Bar
Association Family Law Executive Committee Officer
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Allegations thatjudge
pro temlawyerPaula Salingercommittedobstruction of justice crimesagainst an
indigent, unrepresented pro per havegone viralthroughout family court reform social
media.
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Whistleblower leaked records from a Sacramento Family Court case indicate that criminal acts were committed
by family law attorney and temporary judgePaula Salinger against an indigent, unrepresented, pro per family
court party. The pro per was a victim and witness in a family court criminal contempt case filed against a Salinger
client, and the pro per also is a domestic violence victim, according to court records. Family court reform
advocates say the case is another example of the complete lack of oversight and accountability of attorneys
who engage in egregious misconduct against disadvantaged, pro per litigants who can't afford legal
representation.
To continue reading, click Read more >> below:
As Sacramento Family Court News previously reported, Salinger has been caught in several scandals
includingfiling counterfeit documents in court, violating state laws and court rules, illegally attempting to
obtain a final divorce judgment while an appeal in the same case was pending, and obtaining a questionable
waiver of the requirements to become a temporary judge. Salinger also obtained from controversial Judge
JAMES M. MIZE
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(10)
Matthew Gary an illegal order for more than $10,000 in attorney fee sanctions against the same contempt and
domestic violence victim. To benefit Salinger, Gary also illegally attempted to use fee waiver law to obstruct an
appeal of several orders he issued for Salinger in the same case. Salinger's firm, Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner &
Salinger Inc., previously was sued for legal malpracticein a case alleging more than $1 million in damages.
The new, criminal allegations first surfaced last month on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, where
several posts linked to supporting documents posted at Docstoc and Calameo. Due to the serious nature of the
claims, SFCNdid not report on the assertions pending authentication of the records. SFCN has now verified the
accuracy of the documents and posted the complete set at our Scribd account. The Scribd document set is
embedded below.
Obstruction of Justice
The records indicate that Paula Salinger, a Sacramento County Superior Court sworn temporary judge and
officer of the Sacramento Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee violated CaliforniaPenal Code
sections prohibiting witness intimidation and deceit of a witness. Under California law, both offenses are
designated as obstruction of justice crimes. The circumstances also reveal new collusion between Salinger and
Judge Matthew Gary.
As reflected by page one of the document set, at an unrelated court hearing held three weeks before the date
calendared for the contempt case, in open court Gary disclosed to Salinger that he would deny the contempt
claims, even though Salinger had yet to file a response to the contempt pleading. Garys prejudgment of the
contempt matter was a clear violation of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, the state laws governing judge
conduct.
The state Commission on Judicial Performance has publicly disciplined several judges for acting in a way
that manifested prejudgmentA trial judge should not prejudge the issues but should keep an open mind
until all the evidence is presented to him. In one CJPjudicial discipline case, Judge Bruce Van Voorhis was
disciplined for creating "the appearance of prejudgment in your discussion of the case in open court by
improperly predicting the outcome of the case," according to CJP records. Click herefor a compilation ofCJP
disciplinary decisions about prejudgment.
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Salinger then used the judge's unlawful disclosure in a threatening letter to the unrepresented opposing party:
"As the court indicated at the hearing on October 27, 2010, your Order to Show Case (sic) Re:
Contempt does not contain sufficient factual basis to sustain the contempt. At the hearing on
November 17, 2010, I intend to request the court dismiss the matter and order sanctions
pursuant to Family Code section 271 for proceeding with the contempt...Should you provide
written proof (a copy of a confirming letter to the court) by Monday, November 1, 2010 at 5:00
p.m. that the above matters have been dropped, I shall withdraw my requests for sanctions
pursuant to FC 271,"Salinger wrote in a letter to the contempt victim and witness. Page one of
the document set below is an authenticated copy of the threatening letter.
The alleged criminal acts were committed after the indigent,
unrepresented pro per filed a criminal contempt of court
allegation against a Salinger client. The contempt filing
charged several violations of the Standard Family Law
Restraining Orders, which are issued in all divorce
proceedings. SFLRO's are automatically ordered against
both parties when a dissolution of marriage is initiated in
family court.
As page one of the document set reflects, Salinger illegally

threatened the victim and witness with financial harm in the
form of attorney fee sanctions if they did not drop the
criminal contempt case. As page three and four reflect,
Salinger concurrently filed an illegal responsive declaration
in the contempt case with a demand for $1,000 in attorney
fee sanctions against the contempt victim and witness.
As the page two legal reference reflects, under California

law the response to a contempt allegation may only be used
to answer the contempt charge, or move to discharge the
State Bar Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim has been criticized
for not enforcing state attorney ethics laws against lawyers
contempt on appropriate grounds. Requesting "affirmative
- like Paula Salinger - for misconduct against pro per litigants.
relief," including attorney fee sanctions, in response to a
contempt allegation is prohibited by law. As page five of the
document set shows, Salinger's threat coerced the victim and witness to drop the contempt matter.
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Witness Tampering Law

As reflected by pages 6-16 of the document set below,Penal Code 133 makes it a crime to use fraud or deceit to
affect the testimony of a victim or witness.Penal Code 136.1(a) & (b) make it a crime to maliciously prevent or
discourage a witness or victim from giving testimony at a judicial proceeding. Salinger has not been charged with
either crime, disciplined by the State Bar, Supreme Court or Judicial Council, or otherwise held accountable for
the misconduct. Pro per advocates call the absence of accountability more proof that attorneys are effectively
immune from punishment for egregious misconduct against unrepresented pro pers who can't afford a lawyer,
and make up 70 percent of family court litigants.
Civil law statutes, including wrongful use of civil proceedings, and abuse of process may also apply to
Salinger's lawbreaking acts. In addition, an attorney who intentionally deceives a party to a court case is subject to
misdemeanor criminal prosecution under Business and Professions Code 6128.SFCN is completingan indepth investigative report on the criminal contempt incident and other troubling proceedings and documents from
the same case. Our report will be published in the near future.
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An attorney who intentionally deceives a judge or any party is guilty of a misdemeanor crime under California law. Family court reform
advocates assert that many family court lawyers routinely and deliberately engage in deceptive tactics, and that the law goes unenforced
by judges, prosecutors, and State Bar Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim.
Family court reform advocates say the latest revelations are additional proof that the court operates effectively as
a racketeering enterprise that deprives the public of the federally protected right to honest government
services. Court watchdogs assert and have documented that judge pro tem attorneys receive kickbacks in the
form of rubber-stamped orders and other preferential treatment from family court judges and employees. The
divorce lawyers who also hold the Office of Temporary Judge operate the family court settlement conference
program in exchange for the kickbacks andemoluments,watchdogs charge. California Penal Code 94makes
receipt of an emolument by a judicial officer a crime, and several federal criminal statutes prohibit similar
conduct. The 2014 documentary film Divorce Corp designates Sacramento Family Court as the most corrupt in
the United States.For our complete coverage of the movie, click here.
Click to visit Sacramento Family Court News on: Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Scribd, Vimeo, and Twitter.
For additional reporting on the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below the document
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SHOW ME MORE LIKE PAULA SALINGER - WITNESS INTIMIDATION-INFLUENCE

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Criminal Conduct by Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger Inc Partner Paula D.
Salinger Alleged and Documented in Leaked Court Records - All WOPLAW Partners
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Hon. Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Susan Ferris Case and Appeal Front
Page News at Sacramento Bee
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Judge Matthew Gary Abuse of Disabled,

Unrepresented Mom Results in Landmark Appeal to
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The Sacramento Bee today published a front page story about the pending appeal in theSacramento Family
Court Susan Ferris case.Sacramento Family Court Newshas been covering the case for more than a year and
has published several articles, including anexclusive video interviewwithSusan Ferris. Ferris is represented on
appeal by a team of lawyers led by prominent San Francisco attorney James Brosnahan of the international law
firmMorrison & Foerster.
"This is at the point where a lot of us think it's a disgrace," Brosnahan said. "You can't take
someone's child and that person doesn't have an attorney when you do it...It's an outrage,"
Brosnahan explained toSacramento Bee reporter Brad Branan.
Click hereto read the full article at the Bee.For a list of SFCN articles about the case, including our exclusive
Susan Ferris interview,click here.
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Hon. Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Susan Ferris Case and Appeal Front Page News at
Sacramento Bee
Judge Matthew Gary Abuse of Unrepresented Mom Results in Landmark Appeal to Establish
Constitutional Right to Counsel in Civil Cases The Sacramento Bee today published a front
page story about the Sacramento Family Court Susan Ferris case . Click here to ...
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19 June 2013
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Judge Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Victim of Illegal Order Issued for

Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff Homeless But Surviving
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Judge Matthew Gary Order for Partner of Judge Pro

Tem Attorney Scott Buchanan Results in
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Larscheid, Buchanan & Zeff family law attorney Timothy Zeff requested and was granted an unlawful $920 child support order byJudge
Matthew J. Gary. Zeff's partner, Scott Buchanan, is a family court judge pro tem. The order financially devastated 52-year-old disabled,
single parent Susan Ferris. Evicted from her Sacramento home and now homeless, she sleeps on the couch of a Bay Area friend.
SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS SPECIAL REPORT

The disturbing aftermath of an unconscionable $920 child support order issued by Judge Matthew J. Gary
shows one of the ramifications, and the inexorable human cost of what court watchdogs contend is unchecked
family court corruption and cronyism.The April, 2012 order gutted the monthly disability income of unrepresented,
financially disadvantaged family court litigantSusan Ferris from $1,256 to $336. Gary previously issued an
equally unlawful order prohibiting the 52-year-old single parent from having any contact with her daughter,
Megan.
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The April support order financially devastated Ferris, leaving her with far less income than she needed for food,
utilities, and rent. After several months under the order and behind on her rent, Ferris was evicted from her East
Sacramento home and became homeless.The same court order records that her ex-husband, David Ferris,
earns $8,089 per month. Click here to view Gary's minute order, obtained and posted online exclusively by
Sacramento Family Court News. As a result of the order, Susan Ferris' credit has been thrashed, the repo man
came for her car, and the eviction will now be part of her renter's report, making it virtually impossible for her to rent
a home in the future.
To continue reading, click Read more>> below:

Likeorders issued by the same judge in other cases, both minute orders contain no facts or law justifying the
draconian rulings, making them patently illegal under state law. The comparison to orders in other cases reveals a
consistent pattern that infers a calculated and deliberate intent to conceal from review the judge's misuse of Family
Code statutes for the prohibited purpose of punishing unrepresented parties. Gary, a fervent right-wingideologue,
also detests what he reportedly calls the "entitlement mentality" of family court parties who obtain fee waiver orders
or are on public assistance, according to a court employee. The template-like repetition of the judge's bad faith
tactics and overt socioeconomic bias also evinces an abdication of oversight responsibilities by Court Executive
Officer Chris Volkers, superior court Presiding Judge Laurie Earl, and family court Supervising Judge James
Mize.
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Family law attorney Timothy Zeff obtained a child support order for his client, David Ferris, who makes $8,089 per month. The order made
his disabled ex-wife, Susan Ferris, homeless. In this exclusive SFCN photo, Susan sleeps with her Yellow Lab "Buddy" on the couch of a
Bay Area friend. Family law attorney J. Scott Buchanan, Zeff's partner, holds the Office of Temporary Judge in Sacramento Superior
Court.
Gary issued the $920 child support order against Susan Ferris at therequest of veteran family law attorney
Timothy Zeff of the Sacramentofamily law firmLarscheid, Buchanan & Zeff. Zeff's partner is attorney and family
courtjudge pro tem J. Scott Buchanan.At a subsequent hearing three weeks later, Zeff requested and Gary
issued an additional illegal order directing Susan Ferris to pay $2,500 to her ex-husband for Zeff's attorney fees.
Click here to view the May attorney fees order, which also is barren of any facts or law justifying the ruling.
The order also is unlawful because it does not record consideration by the judge of the comparative wealth of the
parties as required by FamilyCode 271, the statute Gary used for the order. Click here to view the law
applicableto the comparative wealth assessment requirement. Gary has a documented history of issuing unlawful,
appeal-proof orders in cases where one party is represented by a judge pro tem family law attorney and the
other party is unrepresented and indigent or otherwise financially disadvantaged.
Serial Misuse ofFamilyCode 271 Sanctions Against
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Judge pro tem attorney Paula Salinger requested and was granted this unprecedented sanctions order by Judge Matthew J. Gary against
an indigent, unrepresented litigant. Gary recorded no facts, law or evidence in support of the order, making it virtually appeal-proof.
Sacramento Family Court News audits of other family court case files show that Judge Matthew Gary routinely
issues severe, disproportionate Family Code 271 attorney fee sanction orders against unrepresented, financially
disadvantaged litigants. The statute requires a judge to compare the income, assets and liabilities of both parties
before making a sanction ruling. The law is impossible to misconstrue:
"In making an award pursuant to this section, the court shall take into consideration all
evidence concerning the parties' incomes, assets, and liabilities." reads Family Code271.
Court reporter transcripts, minute orders and other records indicate that Gary - a former family law attorney - does
not consider the income, assets and liabilities of both parties, and in cases where only one party has an attorney
consistently omits the mandatory comparative wealth assessment required by the law.The draconian sanction
orders are unlawful but nonetheless effective against pro per parties with little knowledge of family law, much less
knowledge of the appellate law and procedure required to contest the order.
In one example cataloged by court watchdogs and memorialized by a court reporter's transcript, when directly
asked if he had considered the comparative wealth of the parties before assessing more than $10,759 in attorney
fee sanctions against an indigent, self-represented party, Gary conceded he had not, and appeared to express, or
feign ignorance of the law.The transcript records the judge repeatedly using a verbal diversion to the payment
terms of the sanction, a separate component of the sanction law unrelated to the comparative wealth
consideration. To view thetranscript excerpt,click here. To view the complete transcript, click here.
The separate and distinct comparative wealth assessment is required specificallyto prevent the misuse of Family
Code 271 sanctionsto discourage an economically weaker party from asserting their rights, according to
bothstate lawand the family law legal referenceused by judgesand attorneys,California Practice Guide:
Family Law, published byThe Rutter Group. To view view thePractice Guidereference,click here.To view
comparative wealth decisional law references,click here.
Sanction Payment Terms That Ensure Default
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Knowing the litigant would default on the first payment, Judge Matthew Gary ordered an indigent party without assets or income of any
kind to make sanction payments of $25 per month on a balance of $10,759. If the payments were made, it would take 35 years to pay off
the debt. For the benefit of judge pro tem divorce attorney Paula Salinger, the judge sua sponte - on his own -also made the payment
terms subject to "adjustment at trial."
FamilyCode 271(c)provides that:

"An award of attorney's fees and costs as a sanction pursuant to this section is payable only
from the property or income of the party against whom the sanction is imposed, except that
the award may be against the sanctioned party's share of community property."
In addition to ignoring the comparative wealth legal requirement, Gary also ignores this mandatory component of
the law. Knowing an indigent litigant without assets or income will be unable to make a monthly sanction payment,
the judge orders the litigant to do so, ensuring default when the first payment comes due. When the payment is
missed, after 10-days the entire balance is due, as shown in the order above. Click here to view the complete
order.
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And like the minute orders in the Ferris case, the facts and law justifying the unprecedented$10,759 attorney fee
sanction are omitted from Gary's minute order.Published by the Judicial Council, the California Judges
Benchguide Courtroom Control: Contempt and Sanctions instructs judges who issueFamily Code 271
sanctions
"[t]o issue a written order and to avoid stating conclusions in the words of the statute. Give a
factual recital, with reasonable specificity, of the circumstances leading to the order. If
desired, incorporate by reference portions of a party's papers that adequately set forth the
conduct, circumstances and legal arguments providing the bases for the court's
conclusions." Click here to view this section of the Benchguide.
The Benchguide directions mirror California Rules of Court rule 2.30 - sanctions for rules violations in civil cases
- and the elementary principle of law that "An order imposing sanctions must be in writing and must recite in detail
the conduct or circumstances justifying the order." Click here. Without any factual recital, portions of the party's
papers, or references to the conduct and circumstancesjustifying the ruling, Gary ordered the unrepresented,
indigent litigantto pay a $10,759 sanction for the attorney fees ofjudge pro tem family law attorney Paula
Salinger.
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Cathy Cohen
Salinger isan officer of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Sectionand partner at the
controversial family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner and Salinger. To view the astonishing, complete hearing
transcript - which SFCN will report on in an upcoming article - click here. Original, court case file records from this
and other cases indicate that Gary routinely uses unlawful sanction orders for the explicitly prohibited purpose of
discouraging economically weaker parties from asserting their rights, and to send the message that returning to
court will result in still more financial punishment.
ST Thomas
PR Brown
PelicanBriefed
In addition, to prevent the one-sided, unfair outcomes previously common in family court cases with socioeconomic
imbalances between the parties, the Legislature has explicitly mandated equalizing wealth disparities in a variety of
family court proceedings. For example, in the context of providing financially disadvantaged parties with attorney
representation, to ensure parity between the parties attorney fee awards must be "just and reasonable," and take
into account the "relative circumstances" of each spouse. Click here to view more than 40 court of appeal
decisions emphasizing this critical, long-established principle of family law.
Concealment of Errors and Misconduct UsingAppealProof Orders
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To avoid being reversed on appeal, unethical judges will leave out of an order the facts, law and evidence on which an order is based,
according to California Practice Guide: Civil Appeals and Writs, published by The Rutter Group.
Gary also has perfected the use of "appeal-proof" orders, which make appeals attempted by indigent, selfrepresented litigants futile, according to court reform advocates. Court watchdogs have collected minute orders
authored by Gary in cases where one party is unrepresented and financially disadvantaged, and compared them
with the orders of other judges. The orders issued by Gary consistently show that the judge does not memorialize
the facts, law and evidence supporting the ruling(s) issued, which virtually always are against the pro per. Appellate
courts have emphasized that a basic, fundamental duty of a trial court judge is to protect the appeal rights of all
litigants by making and filing in the trial court record findings on all material issues.
"Under our system it is mandatory that the superior court make and file its finding of the
ultimate fact on each material issue created by the pleadings," Herman v. Glasscock. Click
here.
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"It is elementary that a failure to find on all material issues raised by the pleadings is ground
for reversal." Kaiser v. Mansfield. Click here.
By comparison, this order from a different judge in aSacramento Family Court case also involving modification of
a child support order contains seven pages of the facts, evidence and law which the judge relied on in making the
order. Click here to view the order. And this order from another judge involving modification of custody/parenting
time contains 16 pages of facts, evidence and law in support of the order. To view the order, click here. Gary
uses the family law legal reference work California Practice Guide: Family Law to provide monthly "Bench
Tips" for family law attorneys in the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section newsletter, The
Family Law Counselor.
Gary's own preferred legal reference source makes clear that in child support modification proceedings the order
issued by the judge must include a statement of information or reasons. Click here for the Practice Guide
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reference. "Such findings not only will enable the parties to appreciate the basis for the child support order,
they will facilitate judicial review in any future appeal..." according to In re Marriage of Hubner, one of the
decisional law references cited by the Practice Guide. Click here to view the Hubner case.
Although Gary has an legal and ethical obligation to preserve the appeal rights of all litigants, including the poor,
under the doctrine of implied findings any appeal taken from an order authored by the judge is all but futile.
Where a trial court order is barren of facts supporting the order, the doctrine requires a reviewing court to infer that
the trial court judge made all factual findings necessary to support the order. A related legal principle, the
presumption of correctness, requires an appellate court to "indulge all presumptions supporting the judgment or
order" when the order issued by a trial court judge omits the facts, law and evidence on which the ruling is based.
Unethical judges who issue rulings they know could be reversed on appeal will "cloak" the rulings in the
presumption of correctness by leaving an incomplete record for review, according to the legal reference used by
judges and attorneys for appellate court procedure, California Practice Guide: Civil Appeals and Writs,
published by The Rutter Group. The orders issued by Gary also violate the Trial Court Performance Standards
specified in theCalifornia Rules of Court Standards of Judicial Administration, including the following
provisions of Standard 10.17:
(3)(A) Trial court procedures faithfully adhere to relevant laws, procedural rules, and established
policies...
(3)(D) Decisions of the trial court unambiguously address the issues presented to it and make clear how
compliance can be achieved...
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An example of an attempted appeal of a ruling which Judge Matthew Gary cloaked in the presumption of
correctness is thisunpublished3rd District Court of Appeal decision.The reviewing court noted that the facts,
law and evidence recited in the written trial court order issued by Gary consisted entirely of "insufficient facts/res
judicata." The court of appeal mechanically invoked presumption of correctness and implied findings principles,
writing "we must conclusively presume evidence was presented that is sufficient to support the court's findings,"
and upheld Gary's ruling. Click here to view the court of appeal decision. Click here to view appellate court docket
information verifying Matthew Gary as the trial court judge.
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"Entitlement Mentality" of Disabled and Indigent

Witnesses who attended the April and May 2012 Susan Ferris
hearings said that Judge Matthew Gary became embroiled
and appeared to issue the child support and attorney fee
sanction orders to vindictively punish Susan Ferris for
asserting her rights in prior proceedings - including an
unsuccessful attempt to disqualify the judge - and
forassociating with a group of court reform advocates,
including Robert Saunders, whoalso act as court watchers
for the indigent and disabled.
CALIFORNIA
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(3)(F) Records of all relevant court decisions and actions are accurate and properly preserved.
Click here to view these portions of Standard 10.17.
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Gary reportedly has been livid at Saunders - also indigent,

unrepresented and disabled - since
Saunderssuccessfullyhad the judge removed from his own
case by a neutral, outside judge from San Joaquin County in
2010. Click here for our exclusive coverage of Gary's
disqualification by Saunders.
GARY
(2)
DSM-301.7
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Gary and his long time court clerk Christina Arcuriallegedly

are right-wing ideologues who despise what they refer to as
the "entitlement mentality" of indigent, family court litigants
Judge Matthew Gary favors "judicial restraint"
and admires U.S. Supreme Court JusticeAntonin Scalia,
who obtain fee waiver orders, and disabled litigants on public
according to an interview inSacramento Lawyer magazine.
assistance, according to a family courtemployee
whistleblower who provided the information on the condition of
anonymity because they could be subject to retaliation for the disclosure. To view a description of retaliation
against a previous Sacramento County Superior Court employee whistleblower,click here.
Court records indicate that both Gary and Arcuri convey socioeconomic bias in performing their employmentrelated functions and duties. Bias based on socioeconomic status is explicitly prohibited by four separate sections
of the California Code of Judicial Ethics [pdf]. Canon 3B(5) requires judges to perform all judicial duties without
bias or prejudice, including bias or prejudice based on socioeconomic status. Judges must require staff and court
RICHARDS
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DIANE WASZNICKY
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(1)
AWARD
(1)
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(3)
(4)
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(18)
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(2)
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(1)
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(2)
EX PARTE
(1)
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personnel to do the same under Canon 3C(2). A judge must also perform administrative duties - which includes
the ministerial duty of accurately drafting and filing court orders - without bias or prejudice based on socioeconomic
status, according toCanon 3C(5).
Judge Matthew J. Garyis paid $169,289 per year, and was
appointed to the bench byGov. Arnold Schwarzeneggerin
2007. Schwarzenegger was named in the 2010Worst
Governors Reportby the government watchdog
groupCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington.Among other charges, Schwarzeneggerwas
faulted forproviding "state jobs to friends with dubious
qualifications."Click here.In a 2007 interview with
Sacramento Lawyer magazine, Gary characterized his legal
philosophy as "favoring judicial restraint," and said he
admired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Judge Gary was found guilty in 2010 by San Joaquin

County Superior Court Judge Xapuri B. Villapudua of not
following proper contempt procedures when he had a
disabled litigant arrested and forcibly removed from his
courtroom. As SFCN reported in 2011, Gary's wife, Donna
Gary provides law firm administrative services and sells a
client management software program to family law attorneys.
Click here for our exclusive report. In 2011 a controversial
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
ruling issued by Gary was reversed in full by the 3rd District
Court of Appeal. In 2012 Gary was involuntarily demoted from his position as the supervising family court judge.
Gary is a graduate ofEl Camino High Schoolin Sacramento and previously worked at his fathers law firm,Gary,
Till & Burlingham. His father,Richard Gary,is a family law attorney. Links on the firm'sresources pageinclude
theChristian Legal Societyand theChristian Counseling & Educational Foundation.
Nonexistent Oversight and Accountability by Court

Administrators
Court watchdogs and whistleblowers point out that the flagrant lawlessness of
Judge Matthew Gary's series of orders in the Ferris case, and conduct in
other casesis additional evidence that accountability and oversight by court
administrators, including Court Executive Officer Christina Volkers, Presiding
Judge Laurie Earl, and family court Supervising Judge James Mizeis
nonexistent in Sacramento County Superior Court. Sacramento Family
Court News has reported on multiple instances of misconduct by family court
judgesandclerks and employees, egregious violations of conflict of interest
laws and the preferential treatment of attorneys who also act as temporary
judges in family court.
Supervising Family Court
Court administrators and oversight officials have repeatedlydeclined to provide

JudgeJames M. Mize.
information about what corrective measures, if any, have been initiated to
address the problems. As state court judges, Mize and Earl are required by state law to take appropriate
corrective action when another judge violates state law, court rules, and the state Code of Judicial Ethics. The
obligation is a critical self-policing component of judicial ethics standards and ensures that the rule oflaw is
maintained. To view a Judicial Council directive about the duty to take corrective action, and the types of
corrective action required, click here. In addition, Judge Gary's unlawful conduct has been witnessed by several
court employees, including clerk Christina Arcuri, and bailiff J. Strong. As government employees, each has a
legal and ethical duty to report the misconduct.
2014 UPDATE: Judge Matthew Gary's outrageous treatment of Susan Ferris resulted in a team of attorneys - led
by prominent San Francisco trial attorney James Brosnahan of Morrison & Foerster - taking over her case after
she filed an appeal in the 3rd District Appellate Court. The Sacramento Bee published a front page story about
the appeal on March 26, 2014:
"This is at the point where a lot of us think it's a disgrace," Brosnahan said. "You can't take
someone's child and that person doesn't have an attorney when you do...It's an outrage,"
Brosnahan explained to Sacramento Bee reporter Brad Branan.
For additional reporting on the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below:
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29 April 2013
SUBJECTS AND POSTS
Judge Matthew Gary Misconduct: Leaked Court Reporter Transcript

Records Flagrant State Law Violations at Unlawful Fee Waiver Hearing
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(63)
Judge Matthew Gary Orders Illegal Fee Waiver

Hearing to Obstruct Appeal of Own Orders, Help
Judge Pro Tem Lawyer
Monday Document Dump
JUDGE PRO TEM

(49)
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(35)
MATTHEW J. GARY
(33)
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(22)
Unilaterally overriding state law, constructing his own ad hoc interpretation of legislative intent, and legislating from
the bench, Judge Matthew Gary denies a fee waiver request by an indigent, unrepresented litigant in this startling
court reporter transcript.The fee waiver request was for trial court appellate costs for an appeal of several orders
issued by the judge. The pro per had an existing fee waiver which by lawautomatically applied to the trial
courtappeal costs, making the hearing ordered by the judgepatently unlawful. To view the order Gary issued
after the hearing, click here.The opposing party is represented by divorce attorney Paula Salinger, partner at the
prominent Sacramento family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger Inc., sworn Sacramento County
Superior Court temporary judge, and current officer of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law
Executive Committee or FLEC. Days after the hearing, Gary issued a second order reversing himself and
granting the fee waiver request, but at the same time embedding in the order a sham finding designed to help
Salinger and her client at a pending trial in the case.
To continue reading, and to view the court reporter transcript click Read more >> below...
The second ordermischaracterized the facts and testimony recorded in the hearing transcript, and included false
statements intended to create a misleading record to enable Salinger to use the order at a pending trial to avoid
a potential spousal support obligation of her client.
"[T]he court does not find [respondent's] assertion of poverty credible and that, even if he
were, the state of 'poverty' is self induced & is a deliberate effort on his part to manipulate this
ongoing dissolution case," the judge wrote in his revised order.Click here to view the order.
Under judicial ethics rules, Gary's written statement indicates that he was not acting as an impartial judge,
according to the Commission on Judicial Performance, the state agency responsible for oversight and
accountability of California judges. Gary also is caught on the transcript probing the pro per about the pending
trial and spousal support issue, subjects with no logical connection to the fee waiver hearing. Click here to view
this portion of the transcript. As the transcript records, the judge manipulated the hearing through intentional
misstatements and omissions of material fact to achieve his desired result - fabricating false findings to help the
judge pro tem attorney at trial - also a judicial ethics violation, according to the CJP. In essence, Gary used the
illegalfee waiver hearing for an unrelated and improper purpose: to influence and reduce or eliminate the potential
spousal support liability of Salinger's client at a subsequent trial before a different judge. The formal finding is
calculated to enable the attorney to argue that her client should not have to pay support because - according to a
finding by the judge assigned to pre-trial proceedings in the case -the unrepresented spouse'slack of income is
"self-induced."
As the transcript records, Gary abandoned the role of judge and assumed the role of advocate for the opposing
ARTS & CULTURE

(21)
CHILD CUSTODY
(21)
PETER J. McBRIEN
(20)
ROBERT SAUNDERS
(20)
WATCHDOGS
(19)
CHARLOTTE KEELEY
(18)
CJP
(18)
EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT
(18)
PRO PERS
(18)
DOCUMENTS
(16)
DIVORCE CORP
(13)
JAMES M. MIZE
(12)
COLOR OF LAW SERIES
(11)
(11)
SATIRE
(11)
WOODRUFF O'HAIR
POSNER and SALINGER
(11)
JAIME R. ROMAN
(10)
attorney. Acting as an advocate for a party or attorney is expressly prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics and
multiple judge disciplinary decisions by the Commission on Judicial Performance. Click hereto view CJP
decisions. Revealing additional bias and prejudgment, the judge speculatively accused the unrepresented litigant
of "voluntarily" becoming unemployed a year before his wife filed for divorce so that he would be eligible for
spousal support. Click here and here to view these excerpts from the court reporter transcript. A fervent right-wing
ideologue, Gary reportedly detests what he calls the "entitlement mentality" of family court pro pers who obtain fee
waiver orders or are on public assistance, according to a court employee. A trial court judge who obstructs an
appeal, or retaliates against an attorney or litigant for taking an appeal is subject to discipline by the CJP for
violating the Code of Judicial Ethics. Click here to view a compilation of CJP disciplinary decisions. Judges also
have been disciplined for manipulating a hearing to achieve a desired result, click here, and for creating a
misleading record, click here. Despite documented, serial violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics, Gary has
never been publicly disciplined by the CJP. The judge's unlawful conduct in connection with the fee waiver hearing
was witnessed by several court employees, including clerk Christina Arcuri, and bailiff J. Strong. As government
employees, each had a legal and ethical duty to report the misconduct. Neither, apparently, did.
For additional articles about the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below the
document.
LAURIE M. EARL
(10)
NO CONTACT ORDERS
(10)
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(10)
WHISTLEBLOWERS
(10)
CARLSSON CASE
(9)
RAPTON-KARRES
(9)
CHRISTINA VOLKERS
(8)
FERRIS CASE
(8)
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(8)
JULIE SETZER
(7)
YOUTUBE
(7)
3rd DISTRICT COA
(6)
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(6)
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(5)
CONTEMPT
(5)
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(5)
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(4)
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(3)
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(2)
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PR Brown 1 year ago - Shared publicly
Judge Matthew Gary Leaked Court Reporter Transcript Records Flagrant State Law
Violations at Unlawful Fee Waiver Hearing
Judge Matthew Gary Orders Illegal Fee Waiver Hearing to Obstruct Appeal of Own Orders,
Help Judge Pro Tem Monday Document Dump Unilaterally overriding state law,
constructing his own ad hoc interpretation of legislative intent, and legislating from the

California Statutes
+1
1 Reply
Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Watchdog & Whistleblower
News via Google+ 11 months ago (edited) - Shared publicly
Divorce lawyer Paula Salinger collusion with Judge Matthew Gary is evident in this leaked
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26 April 2013
SUBJECTS AND POSTS
Sacramento Family Court Administrators Chris Volkers, Julie Setzer and

Clerk Christina Arcuri Violate State Law, Court Rules In Fee Waiver Errors
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(63)
Defective Fee Waiver Orders Show Family Court

Clerks Violate State Laws, Block Court Access of
Indigent Litigants
ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT
(35)
Supervision, Oversight & Accountability Absent
JUDGE PRO TEM

(49)
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(33)
FLEC
(28)
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(22)
ARTS & CULTURE
(21)
CHILD CUSTODY
(21)
PETER J. McBRIEN
(20)
ROBERT SAUNDERS
(20)
WATCHDOGS
(19)
CHARLOTTE KEELEY
(18)
CJP
(18)
EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT
(18)
PRO PERS
(18)
DOCUMENTS
(16)
DIVORCE CORP
(13)
JAMES M. MIZE
(12)
COLOR OF LAW SERIES
(11)
(11)
This fee waiver order filed by Department 121 courtroom clerk Christina Arcuri and stamped with the signature of Judge Matthew J. Gary
is useless. Incomplete, defective orders like this are refused by courthouse public counter filing clerks and the Sacramento County
Sheriff's Department Civil Division. Click here to view the full-size order. Click here to view the specific defects in the order. Click here to
view a complete, valid fee waiver order issued to the same person by a clerk at the Carol Miller Justice Center courthouse in Sacramento.
A Sacramento Family Court News audit of family court cases reveals that court clerks are issuing incomplete,
defective fee waiver orders which contain substantiveerrors rendering the orders useless. Under California law,
indigent and low income litigants are entitled to a waiver of court filing fees. Certain family court filings - including
SATIRE
(11)
WOODRUFF O'HAIR
POSNER and SALINGER
(11)
JAIME R. ROMAN
(10)
domestic violence and contempt actions - require proof of personal service and the fee waiver also entitles poor
litigants to have papers served by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Civil Division. The fee waiver
procedure is specified by California Rules of Court rules 3.50 - 3.58 and the process is standardized throughout
the state. But a comparison of orders issued in other courts with those issued by Sacramento Family Court clerks
shows the family court orders consistently are not in compliance with state law. Family court clerks issue
incomplete orders that often result in a Catch-22 situation: When a litigant later attempts to use the defective fee
waiver order to file documents the order is refused by public counter filing clerks for being incomplete. The orders
also are rejected as defective when a litigant attempts to have documents served by the Sheriff's Civil Division. In
addition, in all of the cases reviewed by SFCN, the orders also omitted mandatory Judicial Council form FW-010
- an entire page of the order required by state court rule 3.52(4).
LAURIE M. EARL
(10)
To continue reading, clickRead More >>below...
CHRISTINA VOLKERS
(8)
NO CONTACT ORDERS
(10)
SHARON A. LUERAS
(10)
WHISTLEBLOWERS
(10)
CARLSSON CASE
(9)
RAPTON-KARRES
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Carol Miller Courthouse Issues Accurate, Valid Fee

Waiver Orders
JESSICA HERNANDEZ
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This fee waiver orderissued to the same person by Deputy Clerk D. Turner at the Carol Miller Justice
Centerin Sacramento complies with state law governing fee waiver procedure.Click hereto view the order in a
new browser window.The family court fee waiver order issued by Christina Arcuri - courtroom clerk for Judge
Matthew J. Gary - is not only incomplete and missing the mandatory Judicial Council FW-010 form, it also is
filled out by Arcuri using the wrong Judicial Council form. As the accurate, Carol Miller Justice Center fee
waiver order reflects, the correct form is FW-003. Arcuri used the form for issuance of a fee waiver after a court
hearing, FW-008. The litigant listed in the defective order - who is disabled and on public assistance - was entitled
to an automatic, non-discretionary waiver and did not have a fee waiver hearing. Other fee waiver orders audited
by Sacramento Family Court News contained similar errors making the orders unusable. None of the orders
resembled the state law compliant fee waiver order issued at the Carol Miller Courthouse.
Oversight and Accountability

Family court watchdogs and whistleblowers have long asserted, and documented, that family court judges and
employees appear to be immune from oversight and accountability for misconduct. "Misbehavior in office, or
other willful neglect or violation of duty" by a clerk is punishable as contempt under Code of Civil Procedure
1209(a)(3). Under Canon 3C of the Code of Judicial Ethics, a judge's administrative responsibilities include
ensuring staff and court personnel under the judge's direction and control observe "appropriate standards of
conduct." As of 2011, the failure by Judicial Branch employees to comply with any state court rule is a violation of
the Whistleblower Protection Act, and constitutes government misconduct in the same category as corruption,
malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraud, coercion and similar types of misconduct. Employee
conduct that is economically wasteful, involves gross misconduct, incompetency or inefficiency is also covered by
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the act. The act is enforced by the California State Auditor. Court employees who violate court rules and other
laws also violate Tenet Five of the California Court Employee Code of Ethics. Yet from the local court to the
state auditor, all of these rules, laws and policies have been ignored and gone unenforced.
Court Administration Mismanagement

Court watchdogsalso point out that the fee waiver order problem is another example of systemic family court
mismanagement by Director of Operations Julie Setzer, Manager Colleen McDonagh and Supervising
Courtroom Clerk Denise Richards, and reflects a failure of oversight by Sacramento County Superior Court
Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl and Court Executive Officer Chris Volkers. Sacramento Superior Court
internal policies and administrative procedures specify a discipline process for court employees who violate
court rules, cause discredit to the court, or engage in discriminatory, dishonest, discourteous or unbecoming
behavior. Click here to read the court's employee discipline policy.
"It is understood that the Court has a critical role to play in the County's justice system. It is
vital that the public maintain its trust in the Court system. As a result, trial court employees
will be held to a higher standard of conduct than employees of other organizations,"reads the
Superior Court policy introduction.
The fee waiver order problem also exposes taxpayers to potential liability forcivil rights violationsagainst indigent
litigants, and violates several state laws, including theWhistleblower Protection Act,which classifies court rule
violations by court employees as animproper governmental activity.
In upcoming posts, SFCNwill report on additional problems with fee waiver orders and procedure in family court,
including an attempt by Judge Matthew J. Gary to block appellate review of his own orders by unlawfully using the
fee waiver review process against an indigent family court litigant.
Related articles:

Metropolitan News
Enterprise
California Statutes
CALIFORNIA JUDICIAL
BRANCH
California Courts
Homepage
Page
Judicial Council
Performance
Court
Sacramento Family Court chiefs Julie Setzer and Colleen McDonagh responsible for serial court rule
violations. Click here.
Family court appeals unit illegally rejecting appeals by unrepresented, financially disadvantaged litigants.
Click here.
Family Law Facilitator Lollie Roberts gives false info to indigent pro per litigants. Click here.

State Bar Court
Association
Family court clerks let judge pro tem attorneys file sham entry of judgment paperwork. Click here.
Court Executive Officer Chris Volkers silent on fixing appeals unit problems. Click here.
Other court employee misconduct articles: Click here.
be gender-specific)
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27 February 2013
SUBJECTS AND POSTS
Sacramento Superior Court Misconduct: Hon. Matthew J. Gary Order for

Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff - Notice of Appeal Illegally Unfiled Complete Original Document
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(63)
Court Clerk Blocks Appeal of Judge Matthew Gary

Order Issued for Judge Pro Tem Scott Buchanan
Partner Timothy Zeff
JUDGE PRO TEM

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(33)
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ARTS & CULTURE

(21)
In our initial reportdocumenting that Sacramento Family Court appeals unit clerks were unlawfully rejecting
appeals by unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigants, we redacted the name of the party whose
case was used as an example of the illegal practice. The litigant asked that we redact her name because she
feared she would be subject to retaliation for the disclosure by Judge Matthew Gary or court employees. For the
benefit of other indigent, pro per litigants, she has since requested that we tell her full story, and publish her name.
The document below is the complete notice of appeal filed by Susan Ferris, a disabled, unrepresented 52-year-old
single parent. Ferris also was subjected to an unlawful"no contact" child custody order issued by Judge Gary for
divorce attorney Timothy Zeff, the partner of Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section lawyer
and family court judge pro tem Scott Buchanan.
CHILD CUSTODY
(21)
To continue reading, and to view the notice of appeal document, click Read more >> below:
The notice of appeal Ferris subsequently filed was illegally "unfiled" by family court appeals unit Deputy Clerk
Stephanie Hinman. For more than six months, the error has not been corrected, and Hinman has not been held
accountable for her violation of the law and unlawful interference with court of appeal proceedings. The lack of any
corrective action indicates that the illegal act is condoned by family court supervisors. According to a criminal law
attorney,the elements of a violation of Penal Code 182 - conspiracy to pervert or obstruct justice or the due
administration of the laws - specify that an agreement or conspiracy may be inferred from the conduct of those
accused of the crime. Other criminal statutes that may apply include Penal Code 470(c), altering, corrupting or
falsifying a legal document, and Penal Code 470(d), altering a document with the intent to cause damage to a
legal, financial or property right. Hinman's action clearly deprived Ferris of her legal right to appellate review.Click
here to read the completeSFCN report on the unfiled appeal.Click here for our continuing coverage of the Susan
Ferris case. Click on the labels below the document for additional reporting on the people and issues in this post.
PETER J. McBRIEN
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27 April 2012
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Judge Matthew Gary Abuse of Authority: Indigent, Disabled, Unrepresented

Litigant Illegally Arrested and Jailed for Contempt of Court
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(63)
Judge Matthew Gary Escapes Accountability for

Illegal Arrest and Incarceration of Disabled Pro Per
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(49)
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(33)
Friday Document Dump
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As this document reflects, Sacramento County Family Court Judge Matthew Gary ordered his courtroom bailiff
to arrest and jail unrepresented, disabled litigant Robert Saunders for contempt of court on March 9, 2009. The
incident was witnessed by Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section attorneysRichard Sokol
and Elaine Van Beveren. Each lawyer also serves as atemporary judge in the same court.
Two independent judges subsequently determinedthat both the arrest and contempt charge were unlawful, and
the criminal case was dismissed. Both Sokol and Van Beveren had a legal and ethical duty to report Gary's
misconduct. Courtroom clerk Christina Arcuri also had a legal and ethical duty to report the misconduct.
None of the witnesses reported the misconduct or otherwise took any corrective action. At the same hearing, the
judge issued an illegal "no-contact" order prohibiting Saunders from having any contact with his twin daughters.
Saunders has not seen his children since. Gary has never been held accountable for his misconduct and violation
of Saunders' constitutional, civil, and parental rights. Click here to read the exclusive Sacramento Family Court
News report of the March 9, 2009 incident.
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Location:
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24 April 2012
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Hon. Matthew J. Gary Abuse of Authority: Code of Judicial Ethics and State
Law Violations - Ordered Removed From Family Court Case by Fellow Judge
for Misconduct, Bias & Abuse of Unrepresented Litigant
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(63)
Family Court Judge Matthew J. Gary Disqualified

From Case for Bias and Unlawful Arrest of Pro Per

Exclusive:
[Updated below]
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Internal court records obtained by Sacramento

Family Court news reveal that a San Joaquin
County judge in 2010 issued a court order
removingJudge Matthew Gary from a
Sacramento Family Court case for misconduct
and bias against a disabled, unrepresented
litigant. Although Gary contested the removal
action and denied the bias and misconduct
charges, after reviewing the evidenceSan
Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri
B. Villapuduarejected Gary's version of events
and ordered the controversial judge disqualified
from any further proceedings in the case.
The motion to recuse, or remove, Gary from the

case was filed by pro per Robert Saunders. In
accordance with state law, the motion was heard
and decided by a neutral, outside-the-county
Judge Matthew J. Gary, Sacramento CountySuperior Court.A fellow judge
judge. At the time the motion was
orderedGary removed from the RobertSaunderscase for abuse of the
unrepresented litigant and misuse of contempt law.
filed,California Supreme Court Chief Justice
Ronald George assigned Villapudua to decide
the case. In her ruling rejecting Gary's denial and removing the judge from the case, Villapudua made it clear which
of the conflicting stories was believable.
"Based on the evidence submitted the court does find that a reasonable person might
entertain a doubt that Judge Matthew J. Gary would be able to be impartial. Three separate
witnesses stated Judge Gary was impatient and rude to [Saunders]. Three separate witnesses
declared the judge appeared biased during the hearing, making snide or rude comments to
[Saunders]. From the sworn declarations submitted it appears Judge Gary became embroiled
during the hearing on March 9, 2009. Judge Gary appeared to lose his patience with
[Saunders]. He did not adhere to the proper procedure for contempt and had [Saunders]
arrested and forcibly removed from his courtroom by multiple bailiffs," Villapudua wrote in the
PETER J. McBRIEN
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(16)
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(13)
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(12)
COLOR OF LAW SERIES
(11)
(11)
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(11)
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(11)
JAIME R. ROMAN
(10)
court order ending Gary's jurisdiction over the case. Click here to view the order.
Villapudua's assessment of Gary's credibility and the unlawful arrest and incarceration of Saunders for contempt of
court was reaffirmed by a second judge who, at a subsequent court hearing in Sacramento County Superior
Court, dismissed a resisting arrest charge against Saunders from the same incident. Evidence in the criminal
case included a video recording of the debacle, according to thearrest reportof a courtroom bailiff. In addition,
the unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident was witnessed by judge pro tem attorneys Richard
Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren, both of whom failed to interveneas required by the Code of Judicial Ethics.
Gary currently is the Supervising Family Law, Probate and ADA Judge.
To continue reading, click Read more>> below...
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NO CONTACT ORDERS
(10)
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(10)
WHISTLEBLOWERS
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CARLSSON CASE
(9)
RAPTON-KARRES
(9)
CHRISTINA VOLKERS
(8)
"Gary Became Embroiled...Did Not Adhere To Proper

Procedure For Contempt"
FERRIS CASE
(8)
JESSICA HERNANDEZ
(8)
JULIE SETZER
(7)
YOUTUBE
(7)
3rd DISTRICT COA
(6)
CIVIL RIGHTS
(6)
CHRISTINA ARCURI
(5)
CONTEMPT
(5)
THADD BLIZZARD
(5)
(4)
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(4)
CANTIL-SAKAUYE
(3)
Assigned to the case by the California Supreme Court Chief Justice, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapudua ordered
Judge Matthew Gary disqualified to hear further proceedings in the Robert Saunders case.
In his motion to disqualify Gary from the case, Saunders asserted that the judge was rude, impatient, and abused
his authority by having him arrested and dragged from the courtroom. As Villapudua's order reflects, Saunders'
claims were supported by the sworn testimony of three separate eyewitnesses who confirmed Saunders' account
of the incident. The witnesses also testified that Gary m ade snide or rude comments directed at Saunders, and
appeared biased during the hearing. In his defense, Gary submitted to the San Joaquin County judge a onesentence answer denying the charges made by Saunders."I deny the allegations stated in Respondent's
Challenge," Gary stated under penalty of perjury. Click here to view Gary's denial. To view the minute order
issued by Gary after the hearing in which he charged Saunders with contempt of court, click here.
Second Independent Judge Vindicates Saunders

Judge Villapudua issued her order banning Gary from the Saunders case on January 7, 2010. Five months later, a
second judge with no connection to family court dismissed the resisting arrest charge filed against Saunders by
Gary's courtroom bailiff and Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Deputy J. Strong. The dismissal of the
criminal case by former prosecutor and veteran Sacramento County criminal courtJudge Richard Gilmour infers
that the video recording of the incident also supported Saunders' contention that both the contempt and resisting
arrest charges were baseless and motivated by Gary's temper, embroilment and abuse of authority.
UPDATE: A government whistleblower has leaked the courtroom security video of the illegal arrest and assault
of Robert Saunders. Click here.
MIKE NEWDOW
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The resisting arrest charge filed by Judge Matthew Gary's courtroom bailiff J. Strong against Robert Saunders was dismissed by Judge
Richard Gilmour on May 10, 2010.
Judge Pro Tem Eyewitnesses Fail To Intervene

The unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident was witnessed by attorneys Richard Sokol and Elaine
Van Beveren. Both attorneys are Sacramento County Superior Court sworn temporary judges. Judge pro tem
attorneys are by law required to take or initiate corrective action if they witness another judge violate the law or
any provision of the Code of Judicial Ethics. Canon 3D(1), an important self-policing component of the Code,
mandates the intervention to maintain public confidence in the courts and ensure that judge misconduct is kept in
check. As confirmed by two independent judges, Gary's actions were clear violations of several sections of the
ethics code, but court records and other eyewitness accounts indicate that neither Sokol, nor Van Beveren
complied with the misconduct reporting requirement. Click here to view an internal Judicial Council of California
memo about the legal duty. In addition, courtroom clerk Christina Arcuri had a legal and ethical duty to report
the misconduct by the judge, but took no action.

In a different case last year Judge Matthew Gary suffered a full reversal by theThird District Court of Appeal.
As in the Saunders case, inSeaton v. SeatonGary also did not follow established law. After conducting his own
investigation and forensic analysis on a 20-year-old marriage certificate signature, Garyconcluded thatthe
signature was not made by an extremely intoxicated person, as Patricia Seaton had claimed. The judge then
nullified a 17-year marriage so that Patricia would be deprived of all property, support and other rights associated
with a lawful marriage. The appellate courtreversed Gary's decision, noting that the issues Gary had with Patricia's
credibility were irrelevant to determining whether the marriage was valid.
Both Gary and Villapudua were appointed to the bench in June, 2007 byGovernor ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
Judge Gary is paid $169,289 per year.
Gary Receives "Poster Child of

the Month" Award from Family
Court Advocacy Group

Metropolitan News
Enterprise
California Statutes
CALIFORNIA JUDICIAL
BRANCH
California Courts
Homepage
Page
Judicial Council
Performance
Court
For his deference to attorneys, and mismanagement ofSacramento

County Family Court, Gary received a "Poster Child of the Month
Award" from theFamily Court Accountability Coalition, a
statewide family court watchdog group. Gary received the honor for
"serial due process, equal protection and access to the courts
violations," according to theFCAC Blog.
State Bar Court

Association
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that the current presiding

judge,Matthew J. Garyis a right-wing, anti-government
ideologue who believes government is dysfunctional and is
determined to prove it...while collecting a $170,000 annual
salary from the state."
FCACalso cited a 2007,Sacramento Lawyermagazine interview
with Gary:
be gender-specific)
Directory
San Joaquin County Superior Court
Judge Xapuri B. Villapudua
"Gary characterizes his legal philosophy as favoring judicial restraint. Among the U.S. Supreme Court
justices who he admires are Antonin Scalia..."

Parents Association
UPDATE:Family Law Courts.com askswhether Family Court bailiffs are enforcing the law or acting as judicial
puppets.
Center for Judicial

Excellence
Related Content:
* Controversial Judge Matthew Gary Removed from Supervisory Position
* Matt Gary Disqualification Records & Update
Divorce Corp
* Supervising Judge Matt Gary Warns Family Court Problems Will Get Worse
* Judge Matthew Gary Reversed by 3rd District Court of Appeal for Improper Investigation, Forensic
Analysis

FindLaw
Posted by
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at
9:16 PM
Labels:
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MISCONDUCT,
MATTHEW J. GARY,
NEWS,
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VILLAPUDUA
Location:
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3341 Power Inn Road, Sacramento, CA 95826, USA

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Sacramento Family Court News via Google+ 1 year ago - Shared publicly
FCAC News
Underdog wins one. Disabled, unrepresented and financially disadvantaged family court
litigant Robert Saunders wins disqualification order against Sacramento Family Court Judge
Matthew J. Gary. San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri B. Villapudua orders
Gary removed from Saunders' case for having him arrested and dragged from the
courtroom by multiple bailiffs. An extremely rare victory for a pro per, who, as a group,
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Hon. Matthew J. Gary - Sacramento County Superior Court

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11 months ago - Shared publicly
Judge Matthew Gary order removed from case by outside, independent judge for abuse of
authority, including illegal arrest of disabled, unrepresented litigant. Witnesses judge pro
tem attorneys Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beveren fail to intervene as required by Code
of Judicial Ethics. A second, independent judge dismissed a resisting arrest charge also
filed against the indigent pro per.
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jeremy fortik 1 year ago - Shared publicly

I have Judge Matthew Gary. It has been a horrendous experience. He seems to be
ambivalent to the best interest of children. I can't believe he's a judge actually just based on
his lack of any common sense. Please contact me at april_risse@yahoo.com if you would
like to together come up with a solution to get him permanently removed from this very
important position. Thanks, April
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Sacramento Family Court News Exclusive Investigative Report

This investigative report is ongoing and was last updated in September, 2014.
ARTS & CULTURE

(21)
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(21)
As many of the articles on our main page reflect,

Sacramento Family Law Court whistleblowers
and watchdogs contendthat a "cartel" of local
family lawattorneys receive kickbacks and other
forms ofpreferential treatment from family
courtjudges, administrators and
employeesbecause the lawyers are members
of the Sacramento County Bar Association
Family Law Section, hold the Office of
Temporary Judge,and run the family court
settlement conference program on behalf of
the court.
The kickbacks usually consist of "rubberstamped" court orders which are contrary to
established law, and cannot be attributed to the
exercise of judicial discretion.For a detailed
overview of the alleged collusion between judge
pro tem attorneys and family court employees
and judges, we recommend our specialColor of
Law series of investigative reports. The reports
document some of the preferential treatment
provided by family court employees and judges
to SCBA Family Law Section judge pro tem
lawyers. Click here to view the Color of Law
series. For a list of our reports about family court
temporary judges and controversies, click here.
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Sacramento Family Court reform advocates assert that collusion

between judges and local attorneysdeprives financially disadvantaged,
unrepresented pro per court users of their parental rights, community
assets, and due process and access to the court constitutional rights.
The current day Sacramento County Family Court system andattorney operated settlement conference program
was set up in 1991 by and for the lawyers of theSacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section,
according to the sworn testimony of controversial family court Judge Peter J. McBrien at his
2009Commission on Judicial Performance disciplinary proceedings. Click here to read Judge McBrien's
(11)
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(11)
WOODRUFF O'HAIR
POSNER and SALINGER
(11)
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(10)
testimony. In his own testimony during the same proceedings, local veteran family law attorney and judge pro
tem Robert J. O'Hair corroborated McBrien's testimony and attested to McBrien's character and value to
Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section members. Click here to view this excerpt of O'Hair's
testimony. To view O'Hair's complete testimony, click here.Court watchdogs assert that the settlement conference
kickback arrangement between the public court and private sector attorneys constitutes a racketeering enterprise
which deprives the public of the federally protected right to honest government services.
LAURIE M. EARL
(10)
Court reform and accountability advocates assert that the local family law bar- through the Family Law
ExecutiveCommitteeor FLEC - continues to control for the financial gain of members virtually all aspects of court
operations, and have catalogued documented examples of judge pro tem attorney preferential treatment and
bias against unrepresented litigants and"outsider" attorneys,including:
CARLSSON CASE
(9)
Divorce Corp, a documentary film that "exposes the corrupt and collusive industry of family law in
the United States" was released in major U.S. cities on January 10, 2014. After a nationwide search for
the most egregious examples of family court corruption, the movie's production team ultimately included
fourcases from Sacramento County in the film, more than any other jurisdiction. Judge pro tem
attorneys Charlotte Keeley, Richard Sokol, Elaine Van Beveren and Dianne Fetzer are each
accused of unethical conduct in the problem cases included in the movie. The infamous Carlsson case,
featuring judge pro tem attorney Charlotte Keeley and Judge Peter McBrien is the central case
profiled in the documentary, with Sacramento County portrayed as theGround Zeroof family court
corruption and collusion in the U.S. Click here for our complete coverage of Divorce Corp.
Judge Thadd Blizzard issued a rubber-stamped, kickback order in November, 2013 for judge pro tem
attorney Richard Sokol authorizing an illegal out-of-state move away and child abduction by Sokol's
client, April Berger. The opposing counsel is an "outsider" attorney from San Francisco who was
dumbfounded by the order. Click here for our exclusive report, which includes the complete court
reporter transcript from the hearing. Click here for our earlier report on the unethical practice of
"hometowning" and the prejudicial treatment of outsider attorneys.
Whistleblower leaked court records indicate that Sacramento Bar Association Family Law
Executive Committee officer and judge pro tem attorney Paula Salinger engaged in obstruction of
justice crimes against an indigent, unrepresented domestic violence victim. The victim was a witness in
a criminal contempt case against a Salinger client. The circumstances surrounding the obstruction of
justice incident also infer collusion between Salinger and controversial Judge Matthew J. Gary. For
our complete investigative report,click here.
Two "standing orders" still in effect after being issued by Judge Roland Candee in 2006 override a
California Rule of Court prohibiting temporary judges from serving in family law cases where one party
is self-represented and the other party is represented by an attorney or is an attorney. The orders were
renewed by Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl in February, 2013.Click here for details.
Sacramento Family Court judges ignore state conflict of interest laws requiring them to disclose to
opposing parties when a judge pro tem working as a private attorney represents a client in family
court. Click here for our exclusive investigative report. Click here for a list of other conflict of interest
posts.
Family court policies and procedures, including local court rules, are dictated by the SCBA Family Law
Executive Committeefor the financial benefit of private sector attorneys, and often disadvantage the
70 percent of court users without lawyers, according to family court watchdogs and whistleblowers.
For example, in sworn testimony by Judge Peter McBrien before the Commission on Judicial
Performance,McBrien described seeking and obtaining permission from FLEC to change a local rule.
Click here and here.
In November, 2012 Sacramento Family Court Judge Jaime R. Romanissued a rubber-stamped,
kickback orderdeclaring a family court party a vexatious litigant and ordering him to pay $2,500 to
the opposing attorney, both without holding the court hearing required by law. The opposing attorney
who requested the orders is Judge Pro Tem Charlotte Keeley. The blatantly illegal orders resulted in
both an unnecessary state court appeal and federal litigation, wasting scarce judicial resources and
costing taxpayers significant sums.Click here for our exclusive coverage of the case.
Judge Matthew Gary used an unlawful fee waiver hearing to both obstruct an appeal of his own orders
and help a client of judgepro tem attorney Paula Salinger avoid paying spousal support. Click here for
our investigative report.
An unrepresented, disabled 52-year-old single mother was made homeless by an illegal child support
order issued by Judge Matthew Gary for SCBA Family Law Section attorney Tim Zeff, the partner of
temporary judge Scott Buchanan. The rubber-stamped, kickback child supportorder, and other
proceedings in the case were so outrageous that the pro per is now represented on appeal by a team
of attorneys led by legendary trial attorney James Brosnahan of global law firm Morrison & Foerster.
For our exclusive, ongoing reports on the case, click here.
Judge pro tem attorneys Richard Sokol and Elaine Van Beverenhelped conceal judge misconduct
and failed to comply with Canon 3D(1) of the Code of Judicial Ethics when they were eyewitnesses to
NO CONTACT ORDERS
(10)
SHARON A. LUERAS
(10)
WHISTLEBLOWERS
(10)
RAPTON-KARRES
(9)
CHRISTINA VOLKERS
(8)
FERRIS CASE
(8)
JESSICA HERNANDEZ
(8)
JULIE SETZER
(7)
YOUTUBE
(7)
3rd DISTRICT COA
(6)
CIVIL RIGHTS
(6)
CHRISTINA ARCURI
(5)
CONTEMPT
(5)
THADD BLIZZARD
(5)
(4)
LUAN CASE
(4)
CANTIL-SAKAUYE
(3)
MIKE NEWDOW
(2)
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an unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident in Department 121. Both Sokol and Van
Beveren failed to report the misconduct of Judge Matthew Gary as required by state law.Van
Beveren isan officer of the SCBA Family Law Executive Committee.Click here for our exclusive
report...
...Four years later, Sokol and Van Beveren in open court disseminated demonstrably false and
misleading information about the unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident. The
apparent objective of the judge pro tem attorneys was to discredit the victim of Gary's misconduct,
trivialize the incident, and cover up their own misconduct in failing to report the judge. For our follow-up
reports, click here. In 2014, a video of the illegal arrest and assault was leaked by a government
whistleblower. Click here for details.

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In 2008controversial family courtJudge Peter J. McBriendeprived a family court litigant of a fair trial
in a case where the winning party was represented by judge protemattorney Charlotte Keeley. In a
scathing, published opinion, the 3rd District Court of Appealreversed in full and ordered a new
trial. 6th District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Conrad Rushing characterized McBrien's
conduct in thecase as a "judicial reign of terror."McBrien subsequently was disciplined by the
Commission on Judicial Performance for multiple acts of misconduct in 2009.Click here to read the
court of appeal decision. Click here to read the disciplinary decision issued by the CJP.
State Bar Court
Judge pro tem attorneysCamille Hemmer,Robert O'Hair,Jerry GuthrieandRussell Carlsoneach

testified in support ofJudge Peter J. McBrienwhen thecontroversialjudge was facing removal from
the bench by theCommission on Judicial Performancein 2009.As a sworn temporary judges aware
of McBrien's misconduct, each wasrequired byCanon 3D(1)of theCode of Judicial Ethicsto take or
initiate appropriate corrective action to address McBrien's misconduct. Instead, each testified as a
character witnessin supportof the judge. In theCJP'sfinal disciplinary decision allowing McBrien to
remain on the bench, theCJPreferred specifically to the testimony as a mitigating factor that reduced
McBrien's punishment.Click here. Court records indicate thatJudge McBrienhas not disclosed the
potentialconflict of interestto opposing attorneys and litigants in subsequent appearances by the
attorneys in cases before the judge.Click hereforSFCNcoverage of conflict issues.
Judge pro temattorneysTerri Newman,CamilleHemmer,Diane WasznickyandDonna
Reedwereinvolved in a proposedscheme to rig a recall electionofcontroversialJudgePeter J.
McBrienin 2008. The plan involved helping McBrien defeat the recall by electing him "Judge of the
Year" before the November election.Click herefor theSacramento News and Reviewreport.
Judge pro tem attorney Robert J. O'Hair testified as a character witness for controversial Judge Peter
J. McBrien at the judge's second CJP disciplinary proceeding in 2009.Paula Salinger, an attorney
at O'Hair's firm,Woodruff, O'Hair Posner & Salingerwas later granted a waiver of the requirements to
become ajudge pro tem. A family court watchdog asserts the waiver was payback for O'Hair's
testimony for McBrien.Click hereto read our exclusive investigative report.
In cases where one party is unrepresented, family court clerks and judges permit judge pro tem
attorneys to file declarations which violate mandatory state court rule formatting requirements. The
declarations- on blank paper and without line numbers - make it impossible for the pro per to make
lawful written evidentiary objections to false and inadmissible evidence. Click here for our report
documenting multiple state court rule violations in a motion filed bySCBA Family Law Section officer
and temporary judgePaula Salinger. To view the pro per responsive declaration objecting to the illegal

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filing click here, and click here for the pro per points & authorities.
Family court clerks and judges allow judge pro tem attorneys to file a fabricated "Notice of Entry of
Findings and Order After Hearing" in place of a mandatory Judicial Council Notice of Entry of
Judgment FL-190 form. The fake form omits critical appeal rights notifications and other information
included in the mandatory form. Click here for our exclusive report.
Sacramento Family Court temporaryjudgeandfamily law lawyerGary Appelblatt was charged with
13-criminal counts including sexual battery and penetration with a foreign object. The victims were
clients and potential clients of the attorney.The judge pro tem ultimately pleaded no contest to fourof
the original 13-counts, including sexual battery, and was sentenced to 18-months in prison. Court
administrators concealed from the public that Appelblatt held the Office of Temporary Judge.Click
hereto read our report.
Judge pro tem and SCBA Family Law Section attorneyScott Kendall was disbarred from the practice
of law on Nov. 24, 2011. Kendall was disbarred for acts of moral turpitude, advising a client to violate
the law, failing to perform legal services competently, and failing to keep clients informed, including not
telling a client about a wage garnishment order and then withdrawing from the same case without
notifying the client or obtaining court permission. Court administrators concealed from the public that
Kendall held the Office of Temporary Judge.Click here to view our report.
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Judge pro tem attorneys Nancy Perkovich and Jacqueline Estonin 2008 helped Donna Gary - the
wife of Judge Matthew J. Gary - promote and market ClientTickler, a client management software
program for attorneys. The judge reportedly has never disclosed the conflict of interest as required by
the Code of Judicial Ethics. Click here for our exclusive report on the controversy.
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In February, 2013 the website of family law firm Bartholomew & Wasznicky cut off the public from the
only online access to The Family Law Counselor, a monthly newsletter published by the Sacramento
Bar Association Family Law Section. Lawyers at the firm include judge pro tem attorneys Hal
Bartholomew, Diane Wasznicky and Mary Molinaro. As SFCN has reported, articles in the
newsletter often reflect an unusual, collusive relationship between SCBA attorneys and court
administrators and judges.Click here for our report.
FCAC News
Family court reform advocates assert that judge pro tem attorneys obtain favorable court rulings on
disputed issues at a statistically improbable rate. The collusion between full-time judges and judge pro
tem attorneys constitutes unfair, fraudulent, and unlawful business practices, all of which are
prohibited under California unfair competition laws, including Business and Professions Code
17200, reform advocates claim.
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Unfair competition and the collusion between judges and judge pro tem attorneys ultimately results in
unnecessary appeals burdening the appellate court system, and other, related litigation that wastes
public funds, exposes taxpayers to civil liability, and squanders scarce court resources.
Watchdogs point out that the court operates what amounts to a two-track system of justice. One for
judge pro tem attorneys and another for unrepresented, financially disadvantaged litigants and
"outsider attorneys." Two-track systems are prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics, according to
the Commission on Judicial Performance and the California Judicial Conduct Handbook, the gold
standard reference on judge misconduct.Click here for articles about the preferential treatment given
judge pro tem attorneys. Click here for examples of how pro pers are treated.
After representing a client in Sacramento Family Court, San Francisco attorney Stephen R. Gianelli
wrote "this is a 'juice court' in which outside counsel have little chance of prevailing...[the] court has now
abandoned even a pretense of being fair to outside counsel." Click here to read Gianelli's complete,
scathing account.
The Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section is led by an "Executive Committee"
("FLEC") of judge pro tem attorneys composed ofChair Russell Carlson, Vice Chair Elaine Van
Beveren, Treasurer Fredrick Cohen and Secretary Paula Salinger. Three of the four have been
involved in legal malpractice litigation, violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics, or as a defendant in
federal civil rights litigation. Click here to read SFCN profiles of the Executive Committee members.
Click here for otherarticles about FLEC.
Judge pro tem attorneys are by law required to take or initiate corrective action if they learn that
another judge has violated any provision of the Code of Judicial Ethics, or if a lawyer has violated any
provision of the California Rules of Professional Conduct. Family court watchdogs assert that
temporary judges regularly observe unethical and unlawful conduct by family court judges and attorneys
but have never taken or initiated appropriate corrective action, a violation of the judge pro tem oath of
office. To view the applicable Code of Judicial Ethics Canons,Click here. For a Judicial Council
directive about the obligation to address judicial misconduct, a critical self-policing component of the
Code of Judicial Ethics, click here.
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A Sacramento Family Court News investigation indicates that ideology and undisclosed conflicts of interest play a significant role in the
outcome of appeals in the Third District Court of Appeal.
An Exclusive Sacramento Family Court News Investigation
This ongoing investigative project was last updated in June, 2014.
CJP
(18)
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Sacramento Family Court Newsis conducting an ongoing investigationof published and unpublished 3rd District
Court of Appeal decisions in trial court cases originating from family courts. This page is regularly updated with
our latest news, analysis, and opinion. Our preliminary findings reveal an unsettling link between how an appeal is
decided and the political ideology, work history, and family law bar ties of the court of appeal justices assigned to
the appeal.Our investigation indicates that the outcome of an appeal is in large part dependent on the luck of the
justice draw. Appeals are assigned to three of ten justices. The background of each appears to play a significant
role in how an appeal is decided.
For example, 3rd District unpublished opinions show
that Court of Appeal justices who were elevated to
the appellate courtfrom Sacramento
CountySuperior Court will often effectively cover for
judicial errors in appeals from the same court. Third
District Justices George Nicholson, Harry E. Hull,
Jr.,Ronald B. Robie, and Presiding Justice Vance
W. Rayepreviously were trial court judges
inSacramento County Superior Court. Each have
social and professional ties to family court judges and
DOCUMENTS
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POSNER and SALINGER
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Filing an appeal in the 3rd District can be a gamble. Depending
JAIME R. ROMAN
(10)
on the three justices assigned, the outcomemay be influenced

attorney members of the Sacramento County Bar
byideology and unacknowledged conflictsof interest.
Association Family Law Section.After his retirement
in 2011, 3rd District Presiding Justice Arthur
Scotland described the professional and personal relationships he had with attorneys during his career on the
bench.
"[I] enjoy friendships...I go to all the county bar events. I do that for two reasons. One, I think
it's a responsibility of a judge to be active in the community, and the attorneys appreciate it.
But I really like the people. I really like going to these events. I enjoy friendships and that sort
of thing." Click here to view Scotland's statement.
To get a sense of the collusive atmosphere in Sacramento Family Law Court, we recommend reading our special
Color of Law series of investigative reports, which document the preferential treatment provided by family court
employees and judges to SCBA Family Law Section lawyers at the trial court level. Click here to view the Color
of Law series.Financially disadvantaged, unrepresented litigants who face opposing parties represented by SCBA
attorneys assert that the collusive collegiality taints appeal proceedings in the appellate court.
Pro per advocates contend that under Canon 3E(4)(a) and (c) of the Code of Judicial Ethics, Raye, Robie, Hull
and Nicholson should disqualify themselves from participating in any appeal originating fromSacramento Family
Law Court. Advocates argue that the same conflict of interest principles apply to family court appeals that resulted
in the self-recusal, or removal, of Vance Raye from participating in the 2002 Commission on Judicial
Performance prosecution of family courtJudge Peter McBrien. To view the 2002 Raye recusal andCJP decision
against McBrien, click here.The CJP has disciplined judges for violating the Code of Judicial Ethics rules
requiring judges to disclose conflicts. Click here for examples of CJP conflict of interest disciplinary decisions.
It is a basic principle of law that state appellate justices and federal judges with personal or professional
relationships with trial court judges connected to an appeal or federal court action should disqualify themselves to
avoid the appearance of partiality. Click here to view a recent order issued by a federal judge disqualifying the
entire bench of the Fresno Division of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Californiadue to personal
and professional relationships with local state court judges. The conflict disclosure problem infects the Superior
Court as well. To the benefit of local family law attorneys who also hold the office of temporary judge in the same
court, Sacramento Family Law Court judges effectively have institutionalized noncompliance with state conflict
of interest disclosure laws.Click here. For an example of a Sacramento County civil court trial judge who fully
complied with conflict laws, click here.Without oversight or accountability, family court judges routinely - and in
violation of state law - ignore the same disclosure requirements.
History & Origins of the Current Sacramento County

Family Court System
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WE SUPPORT
In 1991, as a superior court judge, current3rd District
Justice Vance Raye partneredwith controversial family
court Judge Peter J. McBrien and attorneys from the
Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law
Sectionin establishing the current, dysfunctional Sacramento
Family Courtsystem, according to the sworn testimony of
McBrien at his 2009 judicial misconduct trial before the
Commission on Judicial Performance.
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Behind closed doors and under oath, the judge provided

explicit details about the 1991 origins of the present-day
family court structure. The public court system was built to the
specifications of private-sector attorneys from the SCBA
Family Law Section Family Law Executive Committee,
according to McBrien's testimony.To view McBrien's detailed
description of the collusive public-private collaboration, posted
online exclusively by SFCN, click here. To view the same,
current day collusion, click here. The 1991 restructuring plan
began with a road trip suggested by the family law bar:
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"[T]he family law bar, and it was a fairly strong bar

here in Sacramento, initiated the concept of a trip
to Orange County and San Diego County to pick up
Tani Cantil Sakauye worked with Peter J. McBrien
some ideas about how their courts were structured.
in Sacramento County Superior Court from 1997-2005.

And myself and Judge Ridgeway and two family
law attorneys made that trip and came back with
various ideas of how to restructure the system," McBrien told the CJP.Click hereto view.

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But before his sworn 2009 CJP testimony, McBrien gave the public a different account of the road trip and who
restructured the family court system in 1991.As reported by the Daily Journal legal newspaper
McBriendishonestly impliedthat the system was conceived and implemented by judges alone after they made a
county-paid "statewide tour" of family law courts. The judge omitted from the story the fact that the trip was initiated
by the family law bar, and included two private-sector family law attorneys who took the county-paid trip with
McBrien and the late Judge William Ridgeway.
"[M]cBrien and a few other Sacramento judges went on a statewide tour of family law courts.
At the time, there were continual postponements of trials. 'This is how we came up with the
system today,' McBrien said. 'It was the best trip Sacramento County ever paid for.' The
judges changed the local system so that family law judges presided over both law and motion
matters and trials..."the Daily Journal reported. Click here to view.

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Under oath, McBrien admitted that the private-sector, for-profit family law bar dictated the public court facility
restructuring plan - conceived to serve the needs and objectives of SCBA Family Law Section member attorneys
- which then essentially was rubber-stamped by the bench.
"[T]he Bar culled through the various ideas and options, came up with a plan, presented it to
the family law bench. We made what adjustments we felt were appropriate and then presented
the whole of it to the full bench," and the plan was approved. Click here to view.
In essence, McBrien disclosed that the current public court system was set up by and for local attorneys with little, if
any, consideration of theneeds of the 70 percent of court users unable to afford counsel. The system also has
shown it is designed to repel carpetbagger, outsider attorneys, like Stephen R. Gianelli of San Francisco, and
Sharon Huddle of Roseville. Click here and here. "[T]his is a 'juice court' in which counsel outside Sacramento
have little chance of prevailing...[the] court has now abandoned even a pretense of being fair to out-of-town
counsel," Gianelli said.According to the Commission on Judicial Performance - the state agency responsible
for oversight and accountability of California judges - the structure is known as a "two-track system of justice."
"In this case, we again confront the vice inherent in a two-track system of justice, where
favored treatment is afforded friends and other favored few, and which is easily recognized as
'corruption at the core of our system of impartial equal justice, and...intolerable," the CJP said
in a 2005 judicial discipline decision involving a Santa Clara County judge.To view a list of
similar CJP decisions, click here.
According to the gold standard reference on judicial ethics, the California Judicial Conduct Handbook [pdf],
published by the California Judges Association, providing preferential treatment to local, connected attorneys
also is known as "hometowning," and is prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics.To view this section of the
Handbook, click here.
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Keeping Neutral Judges Out-of-the-Loop
One objective of the revamped system was to

keep all family court proceedings in-house: within
the isolated family relations courthouse. Prior to
the change, trials were conducted at the
downtown, main courthouse and before judges
more likely to have a neutral perspective on a
given case, and less likely to have ties to the
family law bar.
"The judges changed the local system
so that family law judges presided over
both law and motion matters and trials,
which used to be sent to a master
calendar department and competed
with criminal trials for scheduling," the
Daily Journal reported.
Family court watchdogs and whistleblowers
allege that under the system set up by Raye and
McBrien, the local family law bar - through the
Family Law Executive Committee or FLEC now controls for the financial gain of members
virtually all aspects of court operations, including
local court rules.A cartel of local family law
attorneys receive preferential treatment from
family court judges and appellate court
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justicesbecause the lawyers are members of the

Sacramento Bar Association Family Law
Section, hold the Office of Temporary Judge,
and run the family court settlement conference
program, court reform advocates charge.
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Justice Ronald Robie performs in the "Judge's Choir" for the
Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section
Holiday Luncheon.
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Leon Koziol.Com
Court watchdogs have catalogued and documented examples of judge pro tem attorney favoritism, and
flagrantbias against unrepresented litigants and "outsider" attorneys. Click here for a list of watchdog claims.
Published and unpublished 3rd District opinions indicate that Court of Appeal justices without direct ties to the
same superior court are more likely to follow the law, and less likely to whitewash trial court mistakes.
Carlsson Case Exposes 3rd District Ideology &

Undisclosed Conflict of Interest Issues
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One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others, By the time I finish my song?
Third District Court of Appeal Justices Ronald B. Robie, Harry E. Hull Jr., George Nicholson and Cole Blease.
Only Blease (R) has no past connection to Sacramento County Superior Court.
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One of the few Third District opinions to critically, and scathingly scrutinize the problematic Sacramento Family
Court system was the 2008 decisionIn re Marriage of Carlsson, authored by Associate JusticesM. Kathleen
Butz, Cole Blease and Rick Sims.The opinion criticized explicitly the conduct of controversial Sacramento
County Family Court Judge Peter J. McBrien. None of the three 3rd District justices who decided the appeal
had ever worked as a judge in Sacramento County. A fourth outsider jurist,Sixth District Court of Appeal
Presiding Justice Conrad L. Rushing subsequently characterized McBrien's conduct in the Carlsson case as a
"judicial reign of terror."In addition to ordering a full reversal and new trial, the 3rd Districtdecision subjected
McBriento a second disciplinary action by the state Commission on Judicial Performance.
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The judge's first go-round with the CJPstemmed from McBrien's 2000 arrest for felony vandalism under Penal
Code 594 in connection with the destruction of public-owned trees - valued at more than $20,000 - at the Effie
Yeaw Nature Center in Ancil Hoffman Park, Carmichael, California. McBrien had the trees cut to improve the
view from his home on a bluff above the park. Click here for the 2001Sacramento News and Review coverage
of the case.Click here to view the original summons charging McBrien with felony vandalism. Click here to view
the report of Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Criminal Investigator Craig W. Tourte detailing the
complete investigation of McBrien's crime, posted online for the first time exclusively by SFCN.
Less than 48 hours after the judge was charged with the felony, McBrien negotiated a plea bargain, pleading no
contest to a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code 384a,paying restitution of $20,000, and a fine of $500.The
improved view increased thevalue of the judge's home by at least $100,000, according to a local real estate
agent, and the sweetheart deal outraged the Ancil Hoffman Park personnel who originally discovered the
butchered trees and conducted the initial investigation. McBrien's subsequent 2009 sworn testimony before the
CJP recounting his criminal case starkly contradicted Tourte's report and the truth about his criminal conviction.
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(2)
ANDY
AOC
(1)
APPEALS
(10)
ARCHIBALD
CUNNINGHAM
(1)
ARTHUR G.
SCOTLAND
(5)
ARTS &
CULTURE
(21)
ATTORNEY
(4)
ATTORNEY
DISCIPLINE
(4)
ATTORNEY
ATTORNEY
MISCONDUCT
(35)
ETHICS
(2)
ATTORNEYS
(11)
BAR
ASSOCIATION
(11)
BARACK
OBAMA
(1)
BARTHOLOMEW
and WASZNICKY
(3)
BUNMI
AWONIYI
(1)
CALIFORNIA
JUDICIAL CONDUCT HANDBOOK
(1)
CALIFORNIA
LAWYER
(1)
CALIFORNIANS AWARE
(2)
CAMILLE HEMMER
(3)
CANTIL-SAKAUYE
(3)
CARLSSON CASE
(9)
CECIL
and CIANCI
(2)
CEO
(4)
CHARLOTTE KEELEY
(18)
CHILD CUSTODY
(21)
CHILD SUPPORT
(3)
In the documentary film Divorce Corp, Ulf Carlsson describes egregious misconduct by Sacramento Family Law Court Judge Peter McBrien. Using
misleading sworn testimony about McBrien's reversal rate in the appellate court, 3rd District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Arthur G. Scotland
effectively saved McBrien from being removed from the bench by the Commission on Judicial Performance.
Presiding Justice Arthur G. Scotland Intervenes in

McBrien CJP Prosecution
On his second trip to the CJP woodshed, Judge
PeterMcBrien needed all the help he could get to
save his job, and then-Third District Court of
Appeal Presiding Justice Arthur Scotland
delivered in a big way. Among other slight-of-hand
tricks, Scotland devised a clever artifice to make it
appear to the CJP judges assigned to decide
McBrien's fate that the trial court judge had a much
lower than average rate of reversal in the court of
appeal.
CHRISTINA ARCURI
(5)
CHRISTINA VOLKERS
(8)
CIVICS
(1)
CIVIL LIABILITY
(1)
CIVIL RIGHTS
(6)
CJA
(3)
CJP
(18)
ClientTickler
(2)
CNN
(1)
CODE OF JUDICIAL
ETHICS
(12)
CODE OF
SILENCE
(2)
COLLEEN
MCDONAGH
(3)
COLOR OF
LAW
SERIES
(11)
(11)
CONSTITUTIONAL
RIGHTS
(3)
CONTEMPT
(5)
COURT CONDITIONS
(2)
COURT EMPLOYEE
(1)
COURT
(1)
COURT POLICIES
(1)
COURT
RULES
(4)
COURTS
(1)
CPG
CRIMINAL
CONDUCT
(9)
CRIMINAL
FAMILY LAW
(1)
LAW
(3)
CRONYISM
(2)
DAVID KAZZIE
(4)
DEMOTION
Scotland's 2009 testimony on McBrien's behalf

also was controversial and may itself have violated
the Code of Judicial Ethics. A critical self-policing
component of the Code,Canon 3D(1) requires
judges who have reliable information that another
judge has violated any provision of the Code take
"appropriate corrective action, which may include
reporting the violation to the appropriate authority."
Click here to view Canon 3D(1).Click here to view
a Judicial Council directive about the duty to take
corrective action, and the types of corrective action
required.
(1)
DENISE
GARY
(2)
DSM-301.7
(1)
EDITORIAL
(1)
EDWARD
FREIDBERG
(2)
EFF
(2)
RICHARDS
(1)
DIANE WASZNICKY
(2)
DISQUALIFICATION
(2)
DIVORCE
(7)
DIVORCE
ATTORNEY
(5)
DIVORCE
CORP
(13)
DIVORCE
LAWYER
(5)
DOCUMENTS
(16)
DONALD TENN
(3)
DONNA
By his own admission, Scotland's career in the Judicial Branch of government was the result of connections and
preferential treatment. The former justice candidly recited his life history in a nearly three-hour interview for the
CaliforniaAppellate Court Legacy Project in 2011. Like other gratuitous "tough-on-crime"conservative
ideologues from a law enforcement background who rose to power in the 1980's, Scotland apparently lived the
cliche of beingborn on third base and going through life thinking he hit a triple. His interest in law developed
when he worked as an undercover narcotics agent for the state Department of Justice.
EFFICIENCY
IN
GOVERNMENT
ELAINE VAN
BEVEREN
(13)
ELECTIONS
(1)
AWARD
(1)
Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Arthur Scotland, George Nicholson and
While under oath before the CJP, Scotland verified
Peter McBrien all workedfor former California Attorney General

that he was aware ofMcBrien's misconduct in the
and Governor George Deukmejian.All were appointed to the
Sacramento County bench by Deukmejian.

Carlsson case.Scotland essentially defied the selfpolicing Canon and, in effect,the published Carlsson
opinion authored by his co-workers Butz, Blease and Sims, and instead testified in support of McBrien at the CJP.
In it's final decision allowing McBrien to remain on the bench, the CJP specifically cited Scotland's testimony as a
mitigating factor that reducedMcBrien's punishment. Click here.An examination of Scotland's career in
government - funded by the taxpayers of California - provides insight into the tactics, motives, and questionable
ethics behind his unusual involvement in the McBrien matter.
EMILY
GALLUP
(3)
(4)
EMPLOYEE
MISCONDUCT
(18)
EQUAL PROTECTION
(2)
EUGENE L. BALONON
(1)
EVIDENTIARY OBJECTIONS
(2)
EX PARTE
(1)
F4J
(4)
FAMILY COURT
(9)
FAMILY
COURT
COURT
AUDITS
(1)
FAMILY
CONDITIONS
(2)
FAMILY COURT
MEDIA COVERAGE
(1)
FAMILY COURT PROCEDURE
(1)
FAMILY
COURT
SACRAMENTO
(2)
FAMILY
COURTHOUSE
(1)
FAMILY
LAW
"[I] bluffed my way through the interview, and I got hired as a narcotics agent in 1969...I was
an undercover narcotics agent. I've bought a lot of dope in my life...all lawfully, but I've
bought a lot of dope," Scotland said. "And I testified in court. And that's what got me
fascinated in the legal process...and it got me involved in the law." Click here to view.
Having worked with prosecutors as an undercover cop, Scotland
decided he wanted to be one. But due to his lackluster
performance as a college student, law school presented a
problem, albeit a problem easily solved through a family
connection.
"[I] thought, I want to be a prosecutor. I'm going to go
to law school; I want to be a prosecutor. So I applied
in 1971. I applied to only one school: University of the
Pacific, McGeorge School of Law...[M]y grades weren't
all that great. I did very well on the LSAT test: I did
excellent on that. But I didn't figure I could get
accepted anywhere else, 'cause I really hadn't been a
serious student. So I went to University of Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law," Scotland explained. "I didn't
know [McGeorge Dean Gordon D.Schaber], but my
dad did. And my dad had done some life insurance,
estate planning work for McGeorge. And again, my
dad was an influence on my life because he knew
people and he set me up with jobs. And I'm sure that
one of the reasons I got selected for McGeorge School
of Law is my dad's relationship with the dean."Click
here to view.
(9)
FAMILY
LAW
COUNSELOR
(4)
FAMILY
LAW
FACILITATOR
(4)
FATHERS FOR JUSTICE

(1)
FEDERAL LAW
(2)
FEDERAL
LAWSUITS
(2)
FEE WAIVERS
(2)
FERRIS CASE
(8)
FIRST
AMENDMENT
(2)
FIRST
AMENDMENT COALITION
(2)
FLEC
(28)
FOIA
(2)
FOX
(1)
FREDRICK COHEN
(4)
GANGNAM STYLE
(1)
GARY E.
RANSOM
(1)
GARY
M.
APPELBLATT
(2)
GEORGE
NICHOLSON
(1)
GERALD UELMEN
(1)
GINGER
GREGORY
SYLVESTER
(1)
DWYER
(1)
HAL
BARTHOLOMEW
(1)
HATCHET
DEATH
(1)
HAZART SANKER
(2)
HONEST SERVICES
(4)
INDIGENT
(1)
INFIGHTING
(1)
J.
STRONG
(2)
JACQUELINE
ESTON
(2)
JAIME R.
ROMAN
(10)
JAMES
JAMES M.
MIZE
(12)
JEFFREY
POSNER
(6)
JERRY BROWN
BROSNAHAN
(1)
Arthur Scotland used a family connection to get into
a law schoolwith liberal admission standards.
After graduation, but before he was licensed to practice law, Scotland nonetheless practiced law while employed as
a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County. In the outside world, the unauthorized practice of law is a
crime. But in Scotland's protective law enforcement bubble, "laws" are only enforced against drug addicts and the
unwashed masses. As Scotland explained in his own words, laws are actually only "rules" when a sworn peace
officer breaks one.
"Actually, before I even got sworn in in the bar, I was assigned out to juvenile hall and we
prosecuted...I prosecuted cases without any supervision - you know, against...really against
the rules...we were trying cases without any supervision." Click here.
In McGregor v. State Bar, the seminal case on the unauthorized practice of law, the California Supreme Court
explained why a nonlicensed person is prohibited from exercising the special powers and privileges of a lawyer.
"The right to practice law not only presupposes in its possessor integrity, legal standing and
attainment, but also the exercise of a special privilege, highly personal and partaking of the
nature of a public trust. It is manifest that the powers and privileges derived from it may not
with propriety be delegated to or exercised by a nonlicensed person." Click here.
25 years after he obtained his license to practice law, Justice Arthur G. Scotlandexploited the implied integrity of
his court of appeal office and exercised his special privilege in a way that to many Sacramento Family Court
litigants was a manifest violation of the public trust.
The Artifice
(1)
JERRY
GUTHRIE
(1)
JESSICA HERNANDEZ
(8)
JODY PATEL
(1)
JOHN E.B. MYERS
(1)
JOSEPH SORGE
(1)
JOYCE
KENNARD
(1)
JOYCE TERHAAR
(1)
JUDGE
PRO TEM
(49)
JRC
(1)
JUDGE
(1)
JUDGE SALARIES
(1)
JUDGES
(10)
JUDICIAL CONDUCT
HANDBOOK
(1)
COUNCIL
JUDICIAL
(3)
JUDICIAL
MISCONDUCT
(63)
JUDY HOLZER
HERSHER
(1)
JULIE SETZER
(7)
KIDS FOR CASH
(2)
LAURIE M. EARL
(10)
LAW
LIBRARY
(1)
LAW SCHOOL
(5)
LAWYER
(1)
LAWYERS
(7)
LEGAL AID ASSOCIATION of
CALIFORNIA
(1)
LEGISLATURE
(1)
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LINCOLN
(1)
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(5)
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(1)
LUAN
CASE
(4)
MALPRACTICE
(4)
MARY
MOLINARO
(1)
MATTHEW
HERNANDEZ
(7)
MATTHEW J. GARY
(33)
MCGEORGE
MEDIA
(1)
MICHAEL
SOL
(2)
T. GARCIA
(1)
MIKE NEWDOW
(2)
NANCY
GRACE
(1)
NANCY PERKOVICH
(4)
NEW YORK TIMES
(2)
NEWS
(24)
NEWS
EXCLUSIVE
(26)
NEWS
YOU CAN USE

(3)
News10
(1)
To help his old friend Pete McBrien keep his job, Justice Arthur G. Scotland concocted a clever plan intended to deceive the judges
deciding McBrien's punishment at the Commission on Judicial Performance.
NO CONTACT ORDERS
(10)
OPEN GOVERNMENT
(2)
OPINION
(12)
PARENT
RIGHTS
(1)
PARENTAL
In his Commission on Judicial Performance sworn character witness testimony for his old friend and law
enforcement co-workerPeter McBrien, Arthur Scotland drew on his training and experience in deceit from his
days as a narc."[Y]ou have to be an actor, you have to play the game," Scotland explained in the 2011 interview.
In front of the three CJP judges responsible for hearing evidence and deciding McBrien's fate, Scotland concocted
a clever, deceptive plan - an artifice in legal terminology - and convincingly delivered an award worthy actor's
performance.
While testifying for McBrien,Scotland also revealed that his appearance on the troubled judge'sbehalf effectively
was voluntary. Before subpoenaing Scotland to testify, McBrien's defense attorney confirmed that Scotland would
not object to the subpoena. Click here. Judicial ethics Canon 2B restricts use of the prestige of judicial office to
advance the personal interests of the judge or others. Canon 2B(2)(a) permits a judge to testify as a character
witness only when subpoenaed. The transcript of Scotland's testimony also showed that -to prepare his CJP
testimony - the presiding justice of the 3rd District affirmatively and voluntarily took the initiative(presumably on
his own time) to research 3rd District family court appeals where McBrien was the trial court judge. His objective
was to show the CJP that McBrien had a low reversal rate in the appellate court.
"I also, by the way -- when you called me to ask if I would object to being Subpoenaed as a
witness, and I said no, I did research. I looked up -- I knew what this was all about, so I
researched the number of appeals from cases from Judge McBrien's court. And so I -- and I
looked -- I read all the opinions in which he was reversed in full or in part...
I've known Judge McBrien for 32 years. I got to know, then, Deputy Attorney General Pete
McBrien. When I left the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office and went to work for
the California Attorney General's Office, he was already a Deputy Attorney General there. So I
got to know him there, mainly professionally. Socially to a relatively minor extent. We had -we had two co-ed softball teams. He played on one; I played on another. Of course, we would
attend office functions together. His -- one of his very best friends was my supervisor in the
Attorney General's Office. So, on occasion -- not frequently, but on occasion we would attend
social events with others from the office....
[McBrien had] seven reversals in whole or in part, out of 110 appeals, which is about 6%,
which actually is a remarkably good reversal rate. Because our average reversal rate in civil
cases is 20 to 25 percent." Scotland testified at pages 549-553 of the reporter's transcript. Click
here.
(1)
PAULA
SALINGER
(15)
PETER J. McBRIEN
(20)
PHILLIP HERNANDEZ
ALIENATION
(3)
PRESIDING JUDGE
(2)
PRO
PERS
(18)
PROTEST
(7)
PSY
(1)
PUBLIC
RECORDS
RAOUL
M.
RAPTON(9)
KARRES
RECOGNITION/AWARDS
(3)
REVISIONISM SERIES
(2)
RICHARD SOKOL
(12)
ROBERT
HIGHT
(5)
ROBERT
O'HAIR
(8)
ROBERT SAUNDERS
(20)
ROLAND
L. CANDEE
(1)
RON BURGUNDY
(1)
RONALD
ROBIE
(1)
RUSSELL CARLSON
(4)
RUSSELL L. HOM
(1)
RYDER
SALMEN
(2)
S. HINMAN
(3)
SACRAMENTO BEE
(4)
SACRAMENTO
COUNTY
SUPERIOR
COURT
(2)
SACRAMENTO
FAMILY
COURT
(13)
SACRAMENTO
SUPERIOR COURT
(12)
SANCTIONS
(2)
SANTA
CLARA
LAW SCHOOL
(1)
SARAH ANN
STEPHENS
(1)
SATIRE
(11)
SCBA
(22)
SCHWARZENEGGER
(1)
SCOTT
BUCHANAN
(5)
SCOTT
KENDALL
(1)
SCSD
(1)
SEATON
CASE
(1)
SELF-HELP
(1)
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
Scotland's claim that McBrien had a

"remarkably good reversal rate" was,
at best, a half-truth. Under the legal
and ethical standards applicable to
lawyers and judges, a half-truth is the
same as a "false statement of fact" or
what the general public refers to as a
lie. Click here.
What Scotland withheld from the CJP

is the fact that the vast majority of
appeals from family court are never
decided on the merits. Unlike appeals
from civil cases, most family court
appeals are taken by unrepresented
parties who fail to navigate the
complexities of appellate procedure
and never make it past the preliminary
stages of an appeal. In other words,
Scotland rigged his statistics. While
McBrien may have had seven
reversals out of 110 appeals filed, only
a small portion of the 110 appeals filed
were actually decided on the merits.
(1)
THORBOURNE
(1)
(2)
SFCN READERSHIP DATA
(4)
SHARON A. LUERAS
(10)
SHARON HUDDLE
(6)
SO YOU WANT TO GO TO
LAW
SCHOOL
(4)
SOCIOECONOMIC BIAS
(5)
STATE AUDITOR
(6)
STATE BAR
(5)
STEPHEN
WAGNER
(2)
LEAVENWORTH
WHITE
(2)
BURLINGHAM
GEVERCER
STEUART
(1)
STEVE
STEVEN
(1)
(1)
STEVEN
STEVEN
SUNDAY
FUNNIES
(15)
SPIELBERG
(1)
SUNSHINE
WEEK
(2)
SUPERIOR COURT
(2)
SUPREME COURT
(3)
TAMI
Arthur Scotland poses with the fruits of a drug bust from his days as an
undercover cop. Trained to lie and deceive in order to make undercover
drug buys, Scotland acknowledged his skill in the role.
"You have to be an actor, you have to play the game," he said in 2011.
Scotland then made a disingenuous, self-serving apples-to-oranges comparison between the reversal rate in civil
case appeals - where both sides are usually represented by an attorney, or team of attorneys, and appeals are
decided on the merits - with the reversal rate in family court cases, where neither qualifier is true.SFCNcurrently is
conducting an audit of 3rd District family court appeals, and will have more on this subject in the near future.
Blame the Victim
BOGERT
(1)
TAXPAYERS
(1)
TERRY FRANCKE
(1)
BLIZZARD
(5)
THADD
THADDEUS
STEVENS
(1)
THE RUTTER GROUP
(1)
THOMAS M. CECIL
(4)
THOMAS WOODRUFF
(5)
TIMOTHY ZEFF
(5)
TOMMY
ULF
LEE
JONES
(1)
CARLSSON
(5)
UNITED
NATIONS
(1)
UPDATE
(2)
VANCE W. RAYE
(3)
VEXATIOUS LITIGANT
(2)
VICTORY OUTREACH CHURCH

(1)
VL-CLASS-ACTION
(1)
WALL
STREET JOURNAL
(1)
WASTE
(1)
In a final act of both flagrant cronyism to his friend and former Department of Justice co-workerPete McBrien,
and disrespect to the work of his fellow 3rd District Court of AppealJusticesKathleen Butz, Cole Blease and
Rick Sims whose published opinion in the Carlsson caseresulted in McBrien's prosecution by the CJP, Scotland
had the balls to suggest that disciplining McBrien for his conduct in Carlsson would be a "miscarriage of justice,"
that would allow "incompetent attorneys to run the court instead of competent judges."
"And you haven't asked me this question, but if [McBrien] were, for some reason, to be found
to have violated the canons of judicial ethics, or whatever, I frankly -- I know about these
cases; I know about the Carlsson case. I think it would be a miscarriage of justice. I think it
would send the wrong signal to judges and practitioners that you don't allow -- that you would
be allowing incompetent attorneys to run the court instead of competent judges," Scotland
testified at the CJP.
Like Scotland, 6th District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Conrad Rushingknew well the Carlsson case,
which he said "developed a certain notoriety."Unlike Scotland, Rushing wasn't an old friend and coworker of
McBrien who would disingenuously suggest the blame for McBrien's "reign of terror" lay with an incompetent
attorney. Scotland's colleagues at the 3rd District,Butz, Blease and Sims reversed and remanded the Carlsson
case for retrial based on extremely rare, reversible per se, egregiousstructural and constitutional error by Judge
McBrien.Aftercarefully scrutinizing the trial court record, the panel made no mention of attorney "incompetence" in
their published opinion.
However, Scotland's incompetence assertion to the CJP did, coincidentally, perfectly dovetail with
thecarefullycrafted defense McBrien's legal team presented during three days of CJP testimony to the three-judge
CJP panel assigned to decide McBrien's fate. A key component of McBrien's defense relied on suspiciously
consistent witness testimony portraying Ulf Carlsson's attorneySharon Huddle as incompetent and effectively
provoking McBrien's multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics. CJP prosecutor Andrew Blum mocked the
risible defense in a confidential court reporter transcript leaked to SFCN. Click here to view the transcript.
Ironically, the time-tested, repugnant but effectiveblame the victim strategy, was coldly aided and abetted by
Scotland, a justice who rose to power with the backing and endorsements of victims rights groups
includingCrime Victims United of California, and the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau. To help McBrien's
defense team, Scotland dusted off thedog-eared playbook of exploiting victims, one way or another, to advance
his personal agenda.
Scotland's irony-infusedblame the victim testimony, misleading appeal reversal data, and theweight of
character witness testimonyfrom a sitting Court of Appeal presiding justice, along with similar character
testimony from Sacramento CountySuperior Court Judges James Mize, Thomas Cecil (currentlyOf Counsel
at the family, family law firm Cecil & Cianci) , Michael Garcia and Robert Hight, and Sacramento County Bar
Association Family Law Section attorneys and judge pro temsCamille Hemmer, Jerry Guthrie, Robert O'Hair
and Russell Carlson all tipped the scale just enough to enable McBrien to keep his job. Click here to view the
complete, 12-page CJP summary of the McBrien character witness testimony.
Despite the parade of former law enforcement co-workers, friends, and family court judge pro tem
croniesMcBrien marshaled on his behalf, two of the voting CJP members saw through the ruse and dissented
from the decision to let the judge remain on the bench, stating they would have removed McBrien from
office.Click here.When he referred to McBrien's conduct in the Carlsson case as a "judicial reign of terror," 6th
District Justice Rushingalso noted that "two of the nine participating members [voted] to remove him from
the bench." Click here.
The Carlsson case is prominently featured in Divorce Corp, a documentary film that "exposes the corrupt and
collusive industry of family law in the United States." The production team for the film conducted a nationwide
search for the most egregious examples of family court corruption and collusion, and four Sacramento County
cases are included in the movie. Narrated by Dr. Drew Pinsky,Divorce Corp opened in theaters in major U.S.
cities on January 9, 2014. Following the theatrical run, the documentary will be released on DVD, RedBox, Netflix,
broadcast and cable TV. Click here for our continuing coverage of Divorce Corp.To view trailers for the movie on
YouTube, click here.
Rehabilitation FAIL
The near-career death experience apparently has had no discernible corrective effect on the ethically-challenged
judge. In subsequent proceedings in his courtroom involving the judge pro tem attorneys (and lawyers at the
same firms as the judge pro tems) whose CJP testimony effectively saved his $170,00 per year job,McBrien
reportedly has never disclosed to opposing parties and attorneys the potential conflict of interest as required by
Canon 3E(2) of the Code of Judicial Ethics. The failure to disclose the potential conflict is a violation of the canon
and other state laws, according to the CJP, Judicial Council, and California Judges Association. For the
exclusive SFCN report on conflict of interest law, click here.
Justice George Nicholson & the Law Enforcement
WATCHDOGS
(19)
WHISTLEBLOWER
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(2)
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(4)
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(7)
BlueCode of Silence
In addition, unpublished Third District Court of
Appealdecisions indicate that justices who come
from a law enforcement background appear to take
to the bench with them the "Blue Code of Silence"
culture often found in law enforcement agencies.
3rd District Associate Justice George Nicholson
worked as a prosecuting attorney for more than
15 years before being appointed to the bench in
Sacramento County. The first time Governor
George Deukmejian submitted Nicolson's name to
the bar for review as a judge in 1983, he was rated
as "not qualified," according to the Sacramento
Bee.
"George Nicholson, Republican candidate
for attorney general in 1982, has been
pursuing all manner of public legal
positions: U.S. District Court judge,
California Superior Court judge, U.S. Attorney, public defender in Riverside County. The other
day, when Gov. George Deukmejian appointed him a Sacramento Municipal Court judge, he
finally got one. It's an appointment that ought to cause serious concern both within the State
Bar and in the community. When Deukmejian submitted Nicholson's name to the bar for
review on a possible appointment to the Superior Court in 1983, he was rated 'not qualified.'
The bar now ranks him 'qualified', the lowest acceptable rating of three the bar can give.
Third District Court of Appeal Associate Justice George Nicholson
rode to the benchon a "law and order" agenda.
No one can be certain precisely why Nicholson received such low ratings, but there is enough
in his public record to raise serious questions about his temperament and judgment. In 1979,
he left a job as director of the District Attorneys Association after an audit showed that the
organization's finances had been badly mismanaged and that it was on the verge of
bankruptcy. Later, as a senior assistant attorney general, he was twice admonished by
superiors for promoting a ballot measure in ways that could be mistaken as an official state
Justice Department endorsement of the measure. More recently, a federally funded $4 million
'National School Safety Center' affiliated with Pepperdine University that he directed was
embroiled in an extended controversy during which 18 of 30 staff members either resigned or
were fired.
The U.S. General Accounting Office, which conducted an audit into the management of the
Pepperdine program and into how the federal money was being spent, cleared the center of
fiscal irregularities, attributing the problems to Nicholson's 'combative' personality and
management style. But because of those problems, Pepperdine named a new executive
director, who, the auditors said, restored stability to the management of the program 'while
retaining Nicholson's creative talents,'" the Sacramento Bee said in 1987. Click here.
Nicholson subsequently was elected to both Sacramento County Superior Court and the 3rd District Court of
Appeal with backing from law enforcement, Crime Victims United and other Astroturf "victims rights" and "law
and order" groups. Crime Victims United is funded by - and acts essentially as asubsidiaryof - the California
Correctional Peace Officers Association, the controversial prison guard union.
A principal architect of Proposition 8 the "The Crime Victims' Bill of Rights", after a failed run as the GOP
candidate for attorney general Nicholson rode an anti-Rose Bird, tough-on-crime platform to the bench. Over
several decades, Associate Justice Nicholson played a significant role in giving the United States one of the
highest per capita rates of incarceration in the world. Thanks to Nicholson, the prison guard union, and
Astroturf "victims rights" groups bankrolled by the union, California now spends a significantly larger portion
of the state budget on corrections than on higher education.
Role of Political
Ideology
In 1985, Nicholson was demoted
from his position as director of the
federally financed National School
Safety Center in Sacramento. The
center was administered by
Pepperdine University at Malibu,
and established with a $3.8 million
Justice Department grant awarded
without competitive bidding. Under

Nicholson's leadership, 20 of the
original 30 staff members who set up
Third District Court of Appeal justices who previously were Sacramento
the Center resigned or were
County Superior Court judges include Harry E. Hull Jr., Ronald B. Robie,
dismissed. The Associated Press
George Nicholson Louis Mauro, and Presiding Justice Vance Raye.
reported that that the debacle was
rooted in ideological conflicts between Nicholson and staff whom Nicholson perceived as too liberal. According to
the AP coverage:
"Several [staffers] described Nicholson as a political conservative who mistrusted his mostly
liberal staff members, argued with them unceasingly about the direction of projects, and
accused them of disloyalty when they questioned his ideas.
'When it became obvious to him he attracted a number of us with a different political
philosophy, we were not permitted to do our work,' said Shirley Ruge, a former principal of
schools for delinquent children and one of those dismissed. 'We were considered
troublemakers and he wanted to shut us up.'"
Nicholson and former 3rd District Presiding Justice Arthur Scotland have been close friends and colleagues for
more than 30 years. For the California Appellate Court Legacy ProjectNicholson conducted an almost threehour interview with Scotland on December 8, 2011. The transcript of the interaction reads like a meeting of the
Nicholson-Scotland mutual admiration society. Nicholson opened the interview detailing the joint work history of the
BFFs.
"George Nicholson: We are here with retired Presiding Justice Arthur G. Scotland, who served
on the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, for more than 20 years, from 1989 to 2011,
and that...the last dozen of which he was the Administrative Presiding Justice. I'm George
Nicholson, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, and I had the pleasure of
serving with Presiding Justice Scotland for 20 years on this court. Before that, we served
together as trial judges on the Sacramento Superior Court, and even before that we served
together in the Governor's Office during the Deukmejian administration and in the California
Department of Justice. This has been a long time coming, Scotty, hasn't it?Arthur Scotland:
Nick, it has, and it's a delight for me to have you interview me for this project."
Click here to view the full interview transcript.
"Judgment Roll" Standard of Review Hits Hardest

Indigent and Low-Income Litigants
In addition, the Third District Court of Appealin Sacramento applies a unique and previously rarely used
"judgment roll" standard of review that in virtually every case where applied results in affirmance of trial court
rulings. Appeals brought by self-represented indigent and low-income litigants make up the vast majority of appeals
where the 3rd District applies the judgment roll standard of review. Although the appellate court has authored
dozens of decisions invoking the draconian standard against family court litigants, it has managed to keep the
assembly line, boilerplate process under the radar. The court has not published a single judgment roll appeal
originating from family court. Click here to see a list of unpublished 3rd District opinions archived by Google
Scholar. The judgment roll summary affirmance process helps the court maintain its title as the most
efficientCourt of Appeal in the state. Equal protection of the law is implicated because other appellate court
districts do not apply the standard nearly as often as the Third District. Equal application of the law is a
foundational attribute of American Democracy.
Justices of the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento:

Vance W. Raye, Administrative Presiding Justice.
Cole Blease
Ronald Robie
William Murray Jr.
George Nicholson
Kathleen Butz
Elena Duarte
Harry Hull Jr.
Louis Mauro
Andrea Lynn Hoch
For additional Sacramento Family Court News reporting on the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate
District, click here.
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Justice Goodwin Liu, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar,
Justice Joyce L. Kennard, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan of the Supreme Court are responsible for oversight and accountability of the 3rd
District Court of Appeal, and the other appellate courts in the state.
Home
Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye & Oversight of California Courts

State officials and agencies responsible for oversight and accountability of California courts, Sacramento Family Law Court, administrators, judges and employees include:Tani
G. Cantil-Sakauye Chief Justice - Elaine M. Howle State Auditor Bureau of State Audits - Victoria B. Henley Director Chief Counsel
Commission on Judicial Performance - Steven Jahr Administrative Director of the Courts - Phillip J. Jelicich Principal Auditor Bureau of State Audits - Janice M.
Brickley Legal Advisor to Commissioners Commission on Judicial Performance - Judicial Council and Court Leadership Services Division Jody Patel Chief of Staff - Doug D. Cordiner

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Sacramento Family Court News

JUDGE PRO TEMS

3rd DISTRICT COURT of APPEAL

ABOUT FAMILY COURT NEWS

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Obstruction of Justice Crimes Alleged Against Judge

JUDGE PRO TEM

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As page one of the document set reflects, Salinger illegally

As the page two legal reference reflects, under California

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Judge Matthew Gary Abuse of Disabled,

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Judge Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Victim of Illegal Order Issued for

Judge Matthew Gary Order for Partner of Judge Pro

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SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS SPECIAL REPORT

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Serial Misuse ofFamilyCode 271 Sanctions Against

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FamilyCode 271(c)provides that:

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"Entitlement Mentality" of Disabled and Indigent

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Gary reportedly has been livid at Saunders - also indigent,

Gary and his long time court clerk Christina Arcuriallegedly