ABC's BOB SABO STAFF SCREWS UP, ALL WEEK.

The woman at the assignment desk said she had emails on this all week on this, but no one wanted to cover it.

Yes, I did remind her it's a news story. Yes I did mention Family Court is the one court that impacts the most people. She yawned.

But when I asked her name, she refused. However she did provide the name of her boss, Bob Sabo. Maybe you can reach him at 612-588-6397.

And we're doubly glad The Pioneer Press is on the job!

This story just smells. One judge not named? Nancy Pollard.

Reporters would do better investigating why any parent not charged with a crime, is ordered not to see their children. Our Constitution guarantees the right to live with the Least amount of government interference. Family Court judges however, remain the single, most intrusive form of government, (when and if one can parent, and for how long) in this country. Family Court is the busiest court in the nation. Why no coverage? Or, why coverage, but judges not identified?

Another Possible Divorce Related Murder - Another Judge Not Identified.

From the LA TIMES:

it would be best if the LA Times identified judges in these "news" articles

"Court records also showed that Pamela Fayed tried to get a restraining order against her brother-in-law in 2003, but the request was denied because of "insufficient facts." She contended in court papers that he had harassed her and made "hateful, racist remarks" after being fired from the family business.

(There's no indication to date the murder was divorce related. However, as getting a divorce sometimes causes the vulnerable to be killed, it's always good to identify judges who refuse to grant restraining orders.)

NBC files a report identifying NEITHER Judge in Custody Matter

What is it with "reporters" who condense televised reports which identify judges, but lose the name for the web report, which lasts so much longer? Who blue pencils this relevant information? The producers? The Assignment editor? Tony Shin's televised report named one judge, Joseph P. Brannigan, (who should recuse himself from the case) but the web report lacked much in the way of relevant information. It's not "news" when half the information is missing remains a mystery.

Also not covered in this slapped together mess of a feature? The problem with San Diego Judges ignoring requests for restraining orders. www.FamilyLawCourts.com receives many complaints of the continuing problem of San Diego Judges willingly ignoring requests for restraining orders. Should NBC decide to conduct an investigation, those reports would be made available. Interestingly, one is from a different woman in Orange County, and a judge in Vista, Ca.

A Stack of Sealed cases

Although we remember the cover story in California Lawyer featuring elder and probate fiduciary abuse from the bench of the now deceased, Judge William H. Sullivan ...sadly, it now appears greedy minds think alike.

More examples from the State of Washington are posted at USAjudges.com - a site where empowered attorneys and members of the public bypass the largely ineffective state judicial commissions and restore transparency to government (and three cheers for these responsible citizens.)

OC Register's Kimberly Edds Misses it... AGAIN.

Spoke with editor Bill Diepenbrock two days ago, who agreed the judges in family court should be named when cases they've handled are profiled. After all, how is the public supposed to decided whether to retain them or not during an election year.

The Judge in this case is none other than the star-struck, Nancy Pollard.

However, don't look for this information to trickle down into the brain of Ms Edds, with her medium sized history of sloppy reporting, failure to check sources, and an apparent ability to grasp the overall picture. Readers of of Ms. Edds column can expect to remain uninformed. As such, assigning her to actual news events remains a disservice to readers.

Five Major Articles and Not ONCE is Judge Mentioned.

We've spoken to Salvador before. He agreed judges ought to be named. But so far it's been all hat, no cattle.

One has to wonder why the so called Fourth Estate continues to refuse to identify the family court judge who allowed the Lonnie Ramos family court matter to go on and on and on; ending only with an assault with a fire-arm, kidnap and international flight.

The name of the family court judge was not identified in the Orange Country Register, The LA Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX.

How else are voters to determine which judges to retain during an election year if the press flat out refuses to identify a record of their rulings?

Tim Russert Dies Suddenly

We profoundly regret the loss of Tim Russert. Russert was a not only a great family man, but journalistically, The Man when it came to using his considerable intellect fairly to educate viewers

Russet was an attorney. He never would have half-reported. His reporting would have included identifying the judges involved. Seems like most journalists could learn a thing or a hundred, from him.

Judge Alex Kozinski

www.FamilyLawCourts.com - Just spoke with Cyrus Sanai, the LA attorney who accidentally made Judge Kozinski call for his own investigation.

Isn't it ironic? While the Kozinski stuff began with dirty pictures, it turns out the big stuff always winds up being ultimately, as a result of family court.

For background on other big cases involving "sealed" records, see
www.FamilyLawCourts.com/burton.html

And remember, it was Jack Welch's former wife who got the ball rolling with his retirement account when they divorced after the Pre-nup expired. (Being a lawyer herself, she was smart enough to factor in an End date to their prenup.)

Separate from not identifying the judge; is the completely misleading headline.

Former Tulsa nursing home official sentenced for exploitation

By The Associated Press
June 4, 2008

TULSA -- A former Tulsa nursing home administrator who pleaded no contest to financially exploiting patients is avoiding prison.

Mark Ferris was sentenced Tuesday after entering the plea to two counts of financial exploitation by a caregiver.

Ferris was originally charged with nine counts of taking nearly $5,400 from the trust funds of two patients but seven counts were dismissed for insufficient evidence.

The case against Ferris will be dismissed without a conviction if he completes the terms of a two-year probation.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Why is Gordon Dillow Protecting the Bench?

In his article below, Orange County columnist Gordon Dillow protects not one, but TWO judges who refused to send what seems like a career criminal to jail. Isn't the job of Fourth Estate supposed Uncover this sort of thing? Somehow, in light of two deaths, Dillow's airy "jail overcrowding" doesn't quite ring true.

Dillow omits which judges sentenced Ruiz to how many years for his crimes and continuing with a complete lack of research, this paragraph;


Instead, a court commissioner GORDON: Which Court Commissioner?!? fined Ruiz $390 plus costs, put him on three years informal probation and ordered him to undergo alcohol counseling. Even after Ruiz violated his probation by skipping out on a counseling session, another judge simply renewed it.

Perks of Government Work - No Tickets!

from The Orange County Register...the hits just keep coming.

Special license plates shield officials from traffic tickets

By JENNIFER MUIR

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It's 1:45 p.m. on a Wednesday in February and a Toyota Camry is driving west on the 91 Express Lanes, for free, for the 470th time.

The electronic transponder on the dashboard – used to bill tollway users – is inactive. The Camry's owners, airport traffic officer Rudolph Duplessis and his wife, Loretta, have never had a toll road account, officials say.

They've never received a violation notice in the mail, either. Their car is registered as part of a state program which hides their home address on Department of Motor Vehicles records. The agency that operates the tollway does not have legal access to their address.

Their Toyota is one of 996,716 vehicles registered to motorists who are affiliated with 1,800 state and local agencies and who are allowed to shield their addresses under the Confidential Records Program.

An Orange County Register investigation has found that the program, designed 30 years ago to protect police from criminals, has been expanded to cover hundreds of thousands of public employees – from police dispatchers to museum guards – who face little threat from the public. Their spouses and children can get the plates, too. [No mention why it took the newspaper a couple of decades to discover this.]

This has happened despite warnings from state officials that the safeguard is no longer needed because updated laws have made all DMV information confidential to the public. [Warnings, but no actual, action.]

The Register found that the confidential plate program shields these motorists in ways most of us can only dream about:

•Vehicles with protected license plates can run through dozens of intersections controlled by red light cameras and breeze along the 91 toll lanes with impunity.

•Parking citations issued to vehicles with protected plates are often dismissed because the process necessary to pierce the shield is too cumbersome.

•Some patrol officers let drivers with protected plates off with a warning because the plates signal that the drivers are "one of their own" or related to someone who is.

Exactly how many people are taking advantage of their protected plates is impossible to calculate. Like the Orange County Transportation Authority, which operates the tollway, many agencies have automated processes and have never focused on what happens to confidential plate holders. Sometimes police take note of the plate and don't write a ticket at all.

The Register used public records laws to obtain OCTA computer logs for the 91 Express Lanes and found 14,535 unpaid trips by motorists with confidential plates in the past five years. A Register analysis showed that was 3,722 separate vehicles, some running the toll road hundreds of times.

That's only about $29,500 in tolls, but under the penalty schedule set by state law, fines for chronic violators can reach $500 per toll, which would total more than $5 million for the confidential plate holders with multiple violations if they ignored warning notices. OCTA officials said that if they had been able to notify these people, they believe most would have paid before penalties ballooned.

Among the top violators on OCTA's list were Dwight and Michell Storay (he's a parole agent with the Department of Corrections), with 622 violations; Lenai and Arnold Carraway (she's an Orange County social worker), with 239 violations and Susie and Mike Stephen (she's a Chino Police Department dispatcher), with 227 violations.

Speaking through a corrections spokeswoman, Storay denied driving the toll roads without paying. He showed records indicating that he has a valid toll road account and said he had contacted the OCTA to settle the matter.

Lenai Carraway showed a reporter evidence that she had a toll road account, but had no evidence that she'd paid the tolls that OCTA listed as delinquent. Carraway said she planned to contact OCTA.

Susie Stephen did not respond to repeated requests for an interview; Chino police officials said they would investigate the situation.

It's impossible to tell whether every motorist included on the list knowingly exploited their confidential plates—and many of those contacted by The Register insisted it was some kind of mistake.

But by the time a California Highway Patrol officer recognized Loretta Duplessis' Camry from a "heavy hitter" list of toll evaders and pulled her over Feb. 27, the couple had racked up $34,805.95 in penalties from OCTA, according to a note the officer wrote on her citation. The couple did not respond to repeated requests for comment, including a note left on their front door in Riverside County.

An activist who lobbies for fair traffic laws said the entire program is out of control.

"They've exempted themselves from the rules they're enforcing," said Chad Dornsife, director of the Best Highway Safety Practices Institute. "They know it, is what's really sick about this. This isn't some surprise that when the camera comes out they don't have to worry about it."

Proponents of the program argue that confidential plates offer a necessary protection.

"I would highly doubt that anybody is registering their vehicles on a confidential basis to do anything but protect themselves," Garden Grove Police Capt. Mike Handfield said. "I just don't think people are thinking they're getting away with anything….Is the value of having a confidential plate and protecting the law enforcement community from people who might hurt them, is that worth that risk? I believe it is."

The Register asked the DMV for a list of the number of motorists participating in the program and the agencies they claim as an employer. But the DMV refused to provide those records unless The Register paid $8,442, which officials said was the cost of extracting the list from its database.

The Register felt that was an excessive cost to obtain public records; the DMV has refused to waive the fee.

CONFIDENTIAL HISTORY

The DMV first started withholding police officers' addresses from the public in 1978, back when anyone could walk into a DMV office with a license plate number and walk out with the car owner's home address. The purpose was to block criminals from finding out where police live, then using the information to harm the officers or their families.

Under the Confidential Records Program the name of the police agency appears in lieu of the officer's address.

In the first seven years of the program, lawmakers added judges, district attorneys – and themselves.

Since then, the list of people afforded confidentiality has swelled to include jail guards, district attorney investigators and National Park Service rangers, as well as city council members and city attorneys, among others.

Officials can keep the secret plates when they retire. If they change to a civilian job, they can stay shielded for another three years.

In some cases the secret plates have been negotiated as part of a labor contract. For example, museum security officers were added as part of an employment agreement with the state's public safety union in 2001.

Meanwhile, public access to DMV information was nearly eliminated in 1989 after the death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. A private investigator found Schaeffer's home address through the DMV on behalf of an obsessed fan, who gunned down the 21-year-old at her Los Angeles apartment. Lawmakers responded by making every motorist's information confidential.

Today, addresses for every driver in the state are off limits to the public. Some businesses, such as insurance companies, financial institutions and businesses that contract with police to process citations, still maintain limited access through strict agreements with the DMV.

The level of protection granted to all motorists makes "it all but impossible for unauthorized individuals to receive residence address data from the DMV," officials told the Legislature in 2004.

The DMV said private data now available on the Internet makes it easy to find home addresses. "Such ready access makes it unnecessary to use DMV as an access point."

None of the lawmakers or agencies interviewed by The Register was able to point to a case where a person was harmed by information obtained through the DMV in the nearly 20 years since the Schaeffer case changed the law.

Still, police and lawmakers say that increasing access to information on the Internet makes it even more imperative that records are protected.

"The street has become a technological freeway that is being used by everybody, so the more layers of confidentiality you can add to those who need it the better," said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Since 1980, lawmakers have passed 19 pieces of legislation adding more groups, revising the language or increasing the punishment against people who use the DMV to harm people with confidential plates.

In 2001 Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, who is now a state senator, sponsored legislation that allowed police chiefs to give the plates to non-sworn employees in "sensitive" positions, such as those testifying against other law enforcement officers, records show.

"Law enforcement came to me and asked me to sponsor it," said Oropeza, D-Carson.

This year, Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, D-Alameda, is sponsoring a bill that would add some zoo veterinarians, animal control agency workers and humane society shelter workers to the program. After introducing the bill, he added firefighters and code enforcement officers, as well. He said the union that represents those workers – the American Federation of County Municipal Employees – asked for the protection to stave off retribution from criminals, such as people who run criminal dog fighting rings.

DMV employees must process requests for confidential records manually at a cost of $220,000 a year. The workload expands every time lawmakers allow a new group to participate in the program.

'COURTESY TO LAW ENFORCEMENT'

As the program has grown, so have the benefits.

Some police officers confess that when they pull over someone with a confidential license plate they're more likely to let them off with a warning. In most cases, one said, if an officer realizes a motorist has a confidential plate, the car won't be pulled over at all.

"It's an unwritten rule that we would extend professional courtesy," said Ron Smith, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer who worked patrol for 23 years. "Nine out of 10 times I would."

California Highway Patrol officer Jennifer Hink put it a little differently. "It's officer discretion … (But) just because you have confidential plates doesn't mean you're going to get out of a citation."

Many police departments that run red light camera programs systematically dismiss citations issued to confidential plates.

"It's a courtesy, law enforcement to law enforcement," San Francisco Police Sgt. Tom Lee said. "We let it go."

Four Orange County cities with red light cameras told the Register earlier this year that they don't have time to track down the addresses. The private companies that process the citations don't have access to the shielded information. Police officers do have access, but not the time.

State law requires police to mail out red light camera citations within 15 days; Orange County allows only 11. "It takes eight to 13 business days to receive that information back from the DMV," said Santa Ana Police officer Gary Fratus. "There are far too few to do it … The time frame is not conducive for us."

Some departments, for example, the cities of Los Alamitos and Los Angeles, send the citations to the agency listed in place of the home address. But they have no way of knowing whether the person ticketed ever received the citation. In Orange County, inactive red light camera citations are dismissed after a year.

San Diego is the only department interviewed by the Register that does the necessary work to track down protected plate holders. Laguna Woods and Santa Ana began doing the same this year after the Register began asking questions.

The shielded plates can also be a free pass to park illegally.

"Many agencies, especially parking citation processing agencies, report that the process is so cumbersome and costly that they simply dismiss the parking citation as it is not worth the time and effort necessary to identify the vehicle owner," the DMV told the legislature in 2004.

Sen. Oropeza said the problem isn't the confidential records program, it's that police are enforcing the law unevenly.

"Professional courtesy, that's a total inappropriate response," Oropeza said. "And to say they don't have time is totally inappropriate …The law should be applied equally to everybody."

DMV spokesman Mike Marando said the agency may be able to come up with a more streamlined method of accessing the shielded addresses.

"We'll be happy to work with them," Marando said.

TROUBLE WITH TOLLS

Toll road operators face an added barrier in collecting payment because they don't have legal access to confidential addresses. The two agencies in Orange County handle the problem differently.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operates the Foothill, San Joaquin Hills and Eastern toll roads, said it mails delinquent toll notices to the agency listed in lieu of the home address, and believes such tickets are getting paid.

"There is the potential that the violation may not be forwarded by the agency to the individual, but we have yet to experience that condition," Frank Barbagallo, deputy director of toll operations wrote in an e-mail.

The OCTA, the agency that runs the 91 Express Lanes, sends the violations to a collections agency in New York, which attempts to find home addresses through its own means.

It's an automated process OCTA inherited when it purchased the toll road in 2003. OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said that is why the agency was unaware of the thousands of confidential plate violations that had gone unpaid. The violations make up a fraction of the 14.5 million trips on the toll road each year.

After obtaining the OCTA logs, the Register used media access rights at the DMV to attach names to the license plates, then attempted to contact the top violators through the agency that employed them. The Register also tried to find personal telephones and attempted to contact the violators that way. Most motorists did not respond to the calls.

"With so many violations I'm stunned that the toll road wouldn't have at least reached out," said Orange County Sheriff Capt. Dave Nighswonger, who was contacted by The Register about a jail guard, Edward Lutz, who had 171 toll violations over a two-year period. "We can encourage our employees to reach out to them and reconcile that."

News of the violations caused officials in many of the agencies to launch internal investigations. The Los Angeles World Airport Police Organization, which employs Duplessis, said it was initiating a complete review of its confidentiality records.

Several agencies said their employees had toll accounts in good standing but had failed to add new vehicles to their accounts or had problems with their transponders. Some violators contacted OCTA after hearing from a reporter and paid the past-due tolls.

Unlike most motorists with toll account problems, many of these violators won't have to pay delinquent fees. Because of the protected plates, OCTA did not find them within the 66 days required by law and can't assess fines.

So Lutz, for example, the Orange County jail guard, simply paid the outstanding tolls, about $300, Nighswonger said.

Regular toll road customers caught in a similar situation are typically found through their DMV records, sent violation notices, and charged tens of thousands of dollars in fines if they ignore the bills.

As an example, the penalties on the account of an Orange County couple who accrued some 80 toll violations in 2003 because of an expired credit card ballooned from $580 in tolls to $53,550 in civil penalties, court records show.

After The Register found the toll road scofflaws, OCTA's Zlotnik acknowledged that the agency may not have been doing all it could to track them down. "Since this issue has arisen, we're looking at ways to address the situation to help prevent this from happening in the future," he said.

The Register found few checks on the confidential plates program.

The DMV does not independently audit the system, relying on the responsible agencies to monitor their own participants. But that doesn't always happen.

The San Bernardino Police Department could not identify a woman named Brenda Orantes, who ran up 411 violations on the 91 tollway under a confidential plate obtained through that department, the records show. Lt. Scott Paterson said Orantes is not an employee and is not listed as a relative.

A few agencies audit their program and were able to give a count of their participants. Fullerton Police, for example, said that 273 vehicles and 338 drivers have confidentiality through the department.

But most of those contacted, including the California Highway Patrol, the LAPD and the California Department of Corrections, were not able to tell a reporter how many people have obtained DMV confidentiality through their departments.

"We don't have a system to go through," LAPD Sgt. Leland Sands says. "That's not something that we would check."

This time the social worker is shielded

Government shielding Incompetence. Social worker not identified. This is too common to allow to continue.

Social Workers Immune From Suit Over Investigation C.A.

By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer

The Third District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that social workers who released a minor back into her father's custody less than three days after she had been removed because of his PCP-induced behavior are immune from liability in the minor's suit over her father's subsequent attempt to kill her.

Affirming the decision of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Eugene L. Balonon, the court ruled that employees of the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services are entitled to discretionary acts immunity under Government Code Sec. 820.2 because state law requiring an investigation of the potential risk to a child prior to such a release imposes a discretionary, rather than mandatory duty, and because the social worker's admittedly "lousy" investigation was nonetheless a "considered decision balancing risks and advantages."

Mijalina Ortega, then 11 years old, was taken into custody by Child Protective Services on Aug. 21, 2001 after her father was found screaming in the street and arrested. Her mother was absent, and tests showed later that her father was under the influence of phencyclidine, or PCP, a hallucinogenic drug that can create profound psychological disturbances for days after ingestion.

A social worker conducted an investigation whether releasing Ortega from custody would place her at risk under state law requiring such an investigation and initial decision within 48 hours, but allegedly failed to look into the father's background or the effect of his PCP use.

Ortega's father had both a history of domestic violence and substance abuse, and Ortega had previously been removed from his custody in 1998 when he was arrested in her presence on outstanding warrants.

Nevertheless, on Aug. 24, the social worker released Ortega into her father's custody.

Four days later, Ortega's father approached her in their shared apartment with nail polish remover and told her to drink it to kill herself. When she refused, he brought her a knife and told her to use it kill herself.

When she again refused, he stabbed her in the heart. Ortega fled, but her father chased her down, pulled her back into the apartment, and stabbed her in the lung.

Ortega fled the apartment a second time and collapsed before receiving medical attention.

The stabbing led to a 22-year prison sentence for her father.

Ortega brought suit in 2005, alleging that the social workers violated mandatory duties imposed by statute and were negligent in releasing her into her father's custody because they failed to determine the facts surrounding her entry into custody, failed to determine the potential for existence of conditions placing her at risk if released, and failed to perform tasks identified in the CPS handbook.

Anticipating that the defendants would assert a defense of discretionary acts immunity under Sec. 820.20which provides that, "[e]xcept as otherwise provided by statute, a public employee is not liable for an injury resulting from his act or omission where the act or omission was the result of the exercise of the discretion vested in him, whether or not such discretion be abused" Ortega alleged that the social workers's failures related to operational, ministerial matters not subject to their discretion.

However, Balonon granted summary judgment for the defendants, holding that they were entitled to discretionary immunity because investigations are uniquely discretionary activities with highly subjective decisions.

On appeal, Justice Richard Sims III wrote for the Court of Appeal to affirm Balonen's ruling.

Rejecting Ortega's claims that Sec. 815.6 which requires an investigation and determine potential risk to child imposes discretionary, rather than mandatory duties, Sims wrote:

"[T]he statute and regulation relied upon by plaintiff merely required defendants to conduct an investigation and determine the potential risk to the child. Neither of these are ministerial duties, and both involve a formidable amount of discretion."

Sims also rejected Ortega's claims that the CPS handbook which sets forth specific protocols to be followed in conducting 48-hour investigation set forth ministerial, rather than discretionary duties.

Noting that the social worker had conducted an investigation albeit on "woefully inadequate information" - that was a considered decision balancing the risks and advantages of releasing Ortega, Sims said that "the exercise of discretion invariably entails the collection and evaluation of information."

He continued:

"Thus, the collection and evaluation of information is an integral part of "the exercise of discretion immunized by section 820.2. The distinction urged by plaintiff would eviscerate section 820.2 immunity, because in every case there would have to be a trial on the step-by-step actions which comprised the investigation forming the basis for an exercise of discretion.

"This is an untenable result."

Justices Coleman Blease and Ronald B. Robie joined Sims in his opinion.

The case is Ortega v. Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, C054262.

How Bad Can Alabama Reporting GET?

Former Millbrook Police Officer Sentenced to One Year in Prison
WSFA 12 NEWS STATION Failed To Identify the JUDGE

March 27, 2008 10:48 AM
Is this a joke?!?
Stay Informed and Help Us Cover The News
What We're Working On emails from WSFA 12 News.
Talk to WSFA 12 News About This Story
(Hey, how about Doing the story?)

Montgomery, Al. (WSFA)-- A former Millbrook police officer who pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct charges in January will serve one year in prison.

Francisco Aponte was arrested in May of 2007 for the rape of a Millbrook woman while he was on duty.

The victim told medics at the hospital she had been attacked and raped by a Millbrooke officer.

When Chief Kenneth Bradley of the Millbrook P.D. learned one of his officer was involved in the case he immediately turned the case over to the Elmore County Sheriff's Department.

Aponte was fired immediately after being taken into custody.

A grand jury then indicted him in July of 2007 for rape, sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct.

On Thursday morning, he was sentenced to one year in prsion.

Oregon's KATU Doesn't Name Judge in murder of Shane Stephens, age 10

Father and son, 10, dead in apparent murder-suicide at Oregon coast.
Judge Modifying the Restraining Order Not Named.

Story Updated: Mar 19, 2008
By KATU Web Staff

FORT STEVENS STATE PARK, Ore. - Clatsop County officials are investigating an apparent murder-suicide involving a Portland man and his 10-year-old son.

Officials with the Clatsop County District Attorney's Office said their bodies were found inside the father's vehicle at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria.

Investigators say the father, identified as Rockland Stephens, 49, ran a hose from the tail pipe into the cab of the vehicle. They said the man and boy both likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The deaths reportedly come shortly after events connected to a child custody battle.

Police say Stephens had his son, Shane, (pictured at right) for the weekend and was supposed to return the boy to his mother's house in St. Helens but never showed up.

KATU News has learned the child's mother obtained a restraining order on Jan. 17 citing concerns about Stephen's conduct.

On Jan. 22, a Columbia County judge issued an order modifying the original restraining order allowing alternate weekend visitations by Stephens.

Shane's mother had accused Stephens of fleeing to Fiji with another child, who is now an adult, in order to prevent her from having custody.

An investigation into the deaths is continuing.

(As this was an updated version and the judge is still not named...much work needs to be done given the history of behavior of the father. - Editor.)

Kids Dying in State Care - Judges not named.

All these reports - but not One judge identified. Why?

***
Report finds holes in city's child-protection safety net

Judging kids' risk is an 'ongoing problem,' it says

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Chandler Grafner, 7, died from starvation.

An outside review has criticized Denver's child protection agency for a long list of management problems, including failure to check for abuse by non-family members such as boyfriends.

The outside review was requested by the Denver Department of Human Services after a 7-year-old boy was starved to death and a young girl was subjected to sexual abuse and then died. In both cases, social workers had been warned of the danger to the children.

A separate review of a dozen such cases statewide is expected by early April.

"It is clear that risk and safety assessment continues to be an ongoing problem, both within Denver County and in the state," the Denver review warned.

The review found that Denver social workers often do not interview unrelated adults in abuse cases, even though they often turn out to be the source of the threat to the child.

The report also blames a checklist, created by the state to help caseworkers decide when a child is in danger. Instead of helping, the report says, the checklist has caused caseworkers to focus only on impending danger and not other issues, such as chronic neglect caused by a caregiver's substance abuse.

Improper use of the checklist "has caused workers to minimize risk factors that jeopardize safety of children still living in the home," the report said.

State officials said they would consider the criticism before responding.

Denver already has added to the checklist, ordering interviews of all caretakers and all adults in a home, checks on their backgrounds, and checks for previous child-welfare reports on the family from another county.

The review was sharply critical of management at Denver DHS while praising its intention and reforms aimed at keeping children safe in their family homes. Denver's re-abuse rate - when a child suffers a second incident of abuse after coming into social services care - is 2.7 percent, less than half the national standard.

But families told the reviewers their caseworkers were uncaring and hostile, while caseworkers said they were working in a punitive environment and powerless to help children and families. Social workers and judges cited each other as obstacles to good care for the children.

White blamed low morale on the recent child deaths, inquiries and personal blame. "It's really hard to lose children who've sat on their laps," she said.

Officials said families often don't get the help they need, including mental health or substance abuse treatment, even when they ask for it.

Denver DHS director Roxane White said all the recommendations would be accepted. She will find the money to add 25 caseworkers on top of the 40 approved earlier this month.

Six more legal staff will be hired to help caseworkers prepare for court and to comply with court orders, White said.

Total cost of addressing the issues was estimated at $1.75 million.

She said one conflict occurred because judges insisted on sending children to facilities that Human Services found to be doing poorly with the children they already had. She said the court now has "some really great new judges."

But even then, White said, "We will never be able to fill all of the gaps in child welfare. Human services isn't our top priority as a country."

White is leaving her job soon to take over a new Denver- based human services foundation.

Nameless Judge Dismisses Hate Crimes Against Gays.

Reporting begins badly, then gets worse.

While Keagan Harsha of WCAX's VT News television station so called "reporting" of the hate crime did Not identify the judge dismissing the charges; in an ongoing display of non-reporting, both AP and Boston Globe merely condensed the already poor coverage, to even less, for reader consumption.

Original REPORT quoted: "In somewhat of an unusual fashion the judge put the case on the stand" - which amazingly enough, continues without identifying the judge.

(Is this the Fourth Estate's version of "Find Waldo" in a story? One wonders What journalism school teaches this kind of stuff?)

Boston Globe - from AP Reports

Judge dismisses hate crime charges
February 24, 2008

ST. ALBANS, Vt.—A judge has dismissed hate crime charges against two teenage sisters accused of slashing tires and spray painting anti-gay slogans on vehicles owned by two gay men, citing a lack of evidence.
more stories like this

Melissa Gaboury, 16, was released on Friday, after spending several months in prison.

Prosecutors said they believed they had enough evidence -- a can of spray paint, a large knife and razor blades that they said were found in the vehicle Gaboury had been driving -- and said she had contradicted herself during police interviews.

"I feel very bad for the victims in this case because they went through this and they pressed forward and we tried to put it together for a trial in a relatively short period of time and the judge didn't feel we had the evidence to convict her," Franklin County Prosecutor Jim Hughes said.

The judge also dismissed the charges against Gaboury's 18-year-old sister who was expected to go on trial next week in the same case.

------

VT: Hate Crime Case Dismissed

St. Albans, Vermont - February 22, 2008

It's a bizarre twist that neither the prosecution nor the defense saw coming-- bringing an abrupt halt to the case of an alleged hate crime by a St. Albans teenager.

In somewhat unusual fashion, the judge put the state's case on the stand... questioning evidence linking Melissa Gaboury, 16, to the crime.

Gaboury was accused of slashing tires and helping paint anti-gay phrases on cars belonging to two gay St. Albans men last October.

The judge dismissed the case citing a lack of evidence.

"In my experience, I've never been involved in a trial or seen a trial where an acquittal has been given at the end of the state's case," said defense lawyer Elizabeth Hibbitts.

That means Gaboury is free to go home after spending the last several months behind bars.

"It just tore me apart. I finally get her back," said Gaboury's mother, Crystal Ann Lesperance-Meilleu.

"I'm just really relieved to be out of this whole mess," said Gaboury.

The state argues that it did produce sufficient evidence linking Gaboury to the crime scene. Although no one actually witnessed the crime being committed, the state argues that a can of spray paint, a large knife, and several razor blades were found in a vehicle Gaboury had been driving. And the state says the 16 year old contradicted herself several times when questioned by police.

"I feel very bad for the victims in this case because they went through this and they pressed forward and we tried to put it together for a trial in a relatively short period of time and the judge didn't feel we had the evidence to convict her," said Franklin County Prosecutor Jim Hughes.

After the case was dismissed, the judge called the jury back in to see if they agreed that the state had failed to produce enough evidence.

Melissa Gaboury's 18-year old sister was scheduled to go on trial next week in connection with the same crime. The judge also dismissed that case, after the state failed to prove it had more convincing evidence against the older sister.

The dismissal means it's very unlikely anyone will be charged for committing this hate crime. That leaves a lot of questions unanswered and a Vermont couple on edge.

Asked who she thinks committed the crime, Gaboury answered, "I don't know and I don't want to get involved."

Keagan Harsha - WCAX News

Arizona Columnist Fails to Mention Judge in Children's Deaths

(Although Roberts Often Exposes CPS Related Deaths - seldom mentioned are the judges who go along with the agency.) How does this help the reader when Judicial Elections come around?)

Another child dies under CPS' watch
Feb. 23, 2007
Laurie Roberts

Marina Rodriguez holds up the letter her 8-year-old grandson wrote, the one saying he was afraid. In November, she faxed it to Child Protective Services, trying desperately to get someone to listen to her fears about what was happening to her grandsons.

Two months later, one of them was dead.

"When Fabian died, I asked (the caseworker), what happened to that letter," Marina said. "She said, 'Well, that was disregarded because it was coerced."

Four-year-old Fabian Silva is the fifth Tucson child to die in the last year while CPS was supposed to be watching. Just a week before he died, 5-month-old Jahyr Holguin was gone, one month after a hospital reported suspicions that the baby was being abused. His mother's boyfriend now sits in jail, awaiting trial for murder.

On Tuesday, the House Government Committee will hear a package of bills aimed at better protecting the most vulnerable among us: children whose parents can't or won't do the job. It'll be a political fight, with some legislators determined to protect CPS from prying eyes.

If we're lucky, they will, finally, be drowned out by those who know the sad stories of 4-year-old Ariana Payne and her 5-year-old brother Tyler, and Brandon Williams, an autistic boy who was 5 when he was beaten to death. And now of Jahyr Holguin and maybe Fabian Silva.

Rep. Jonathan Paton has seen enough. He and Rep. Kirk Adams are proposing to rip away the shroud of secrecy that allows CPS to covers its failings. "We've had (five) kids now who all have three things in common," Paton said. "Parents investigated by CPS. CPS determined their parents were safe and all (five) are dead. . . . The public has a right to know if policies were followed or not followed so we can make a better decision about how the agency is run."

Fabian's grandparents, Marina and Martin Rodriguez, saw their grandsons regularly until Halloween, when Fabian was hospitalized with a concussion and other injuries.

The Rodriguezes were there at the hospital when the CPS worker showed up on Nov. 1. It was the first and last they ever saw of her. Meanwhile, they say they had a falling out with their daughter, who had recently moved in with her boyfriend, and were cut off from contact with their grandsons.

All through November, Marina and Martin say they called CPS with their concerns, but the agency wasn't interested in talking to them.

Not even after another report was filed in mid-November, this time by a teacher.

Not even after Marina faxed over the letter from her other grandson. While Fabian was in the hospital, she says the boy's father asked his older son to write down what he was feeling. He wrote of being hit, of being scared.

"She (the caseworker) wouldn't talk to me," Marina said. "Then she stopped taking my calls."

On Jan. 26, Fabian was taken to University Medical Center, where he died the next morning.

Tucson police Sgt. Mark Robinson said detectives are still investigating his death. CPS took custody of the older boy the day Fabian died.

CPS spokeswoman Vicki Gaubeca confirmed that the agency received reports on Oct. 31 and Nov. 13. She said they spoke to the Rodriguezes on Nov. 1 and by phone on Nov. 9.

"In addition," she said, "CPS caseworkers interviewed all adults and children living in the home, the biological father, great grandparents, local law enforcement and medical and hospital personnel."

Everybody, it seems, but the people who were begging to tell their story.

Martin, a retired Army counterintelligence agent, said the CPS worker finally agreed to meet with them - after Fabian died.

"I said, how can you conduct a proper investigation that's one-sided? And she goes, 'Well I wasn't about to interview 40 people.' "

OC Register Reporter Fails to Name Judge In Licensing Death

Why not inform the public?
How else can voters make a choice to retain these judges during an election year?


Home where baby died had earlier death, state violations
Records show child died at Laguna Hills home in 2001. Operator says her own child died as well. State is investigating.
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
The Orange County Register

LAGUNA HILLS - A 6-month-old infant who died earlier this month was the second to die at a Barkstone Lane child care facility that has a history of neglect complaints and citations by state regulators.

The state's Department of Social Services has received more than 20 complaints regarding Moulton Ranch Day Care, operated out of a two-story home in Laguna Hills. The state has found the facility to be in violation of state regulations more than 25 times since 1993.

Officials substantiated complaints that Patricia Edwina Baltayan, who owns the day care center, drank wine on at least one occasion while taking care of children, sprayed children's bottoms with cold water when they had potty-training accidents, and scrubbed little boys' genitals until they became raw, state records show. Several other complaints were found to be inconclusive.

Paramedics responded to the home Feb. 8 after receiving a call that a child stopped breathing. Before authorities arrived, a 911 dispatcher instructed someone at the scene how to administer CPR, said Capt. Mike Blawn of the Orange County Fire Authority.

A sheriff's deputy arrived at the home first and took over CPR on 6-month-old Damian Rivera. After firefighters arrived, the baby was taken in the back of a sheriff's cruiser to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was pronounced dead.

Daniel Rivera, the child's father, said it was only Damian's third day at the child care facility.

A cause of death has not yet been determined. Sheriff's officials said they found no suspicious circumstances in the death.

Damian's mother, Janay Labrado, 20, said doctors told her that her son's heart just stopped. She would not comment further for this story.

Rivera's father said he and family members suspect Damian may have been a victim of sudden infant death syndrome. But state records showing complaints and violations against the facility have caused him to worry about Damian's care.

Shirley Washington, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Social Services, said the department is cooperating with local authorities who are investigating Damian's death. A report from the coroner's office is not expected for six weeks. All deaths that occur while in the care of a licensed day care facility are investigated by the department, she said.

Complaints filed against day care facilities are also followed up by state regulators and reviewed on a case-by-case basis, she said. Officials make a decision to close down a facility when there is an imminent danger to the children in their care. Moulton Ranch Day Care remains open.

Most complaints alleging lack of supervision by Baltayan were found to be inconclusive, according to records obtained by the Register.

However, regulators did verify instances in which a 12-year-old was left alone to care for children, and several instances in which children were left unattended in highchairs.

In an interview at her Laguna Hills home, Baltayan said she did everything she could have done to save Damian Rivera. She added that many of the complaints filed against her were not true.

"They're not right and the people that know, know the truth," Baltayan said of the complaints. "I loved what I was doing, but at this time it's too traumatizing."

Seven years ago, another child in her care also died.

State records show that in May 2001, paramedics were called to her home when a 6-month-old child stopped breathing.

Baltayan said she did CPR on that baby before he was taken to Mission Hospital. He died at the hospital three days later, May 4, 2001.

The cause of death was determined to be chronic tracheitis and peribronchitis – an inflammation of the trachea and bronchial tubes, according to state records. State regulators deemed the death to be due to natural causes.

Baltayan said Damian was the third child on whom she had to administer CPR. Her own child had a reaction to medication and stopped breathing, she said. Baltayan said the child subsequently passed away, but she declined to give any more details of that death.

"I just know I can't do this anymore," she said. "I've had a lot of loss in my life."

Baltayan has talked about quitting before.

Records show that in an August 2007 visit by the Department of Social Services, Baltayan requested to be placed on inactive status, saying she only baby-sat friends' children.

However, she was never moved to inactive status.

When Damian stopped breathing earlier this month, she was taking care of two other children, Baltayan said. She is licensed to care for up to 12 children.

Baltayan was first licensed by the state in 1988. Since then, she's faced several citations from the Department of Social Services.

Records show that state officials met with Baltayan in May 1993 to discuss "concerns about long history of being overcapacity" and told her not to use highchairs for timeouts.

In 1995, she received a seven-month suspension for lack of supervision, drinking while caring for children, and caring for children while her home was being sprayed for ants, according to records.

"On at least one occasion, respondent drank wine in the facility during hours of operation," read a decision by an administrative law judge. "This occurred on the day that respondent attempted to keep her facility open while preparing for and having the facility chemically treated."

Her license was reinstated and the judge decided that the violation "although serious, is conduct that can be corrected with proper discipline containing strict conditions and a period of suspension."

In June 2006, state officials held a conference with Baltayan, the regional manager for the Department of Social Services and other officials because of "concern the Department has regarding the numerous violations of State regulations."

Among the issues discussed at the meeting were allegations of adults in the facility without criminal clearances, lack of supervision, children being left unattended with a 12-year-old assistant, overcapacity, and hazardous materials being accessible to children.

From 2006 to 2007, the department visited Baltayan's home 10 times.

"We have visited that facility quite a bit," Washington said.

When complaints were verified, Baltayan was set up in a plan of correction.

In December 2006, the Department of Social Services investigated a complaint alleging that Baltayan had caused soreness to boys' genitals and threatened children with cold showers after potty-training accidents. That complaint was substantiated through interviews by a license evaluator.

According to state records, eyewitnesses reported they saw Baltayan on different occasions pulling back on children's foreskins, causing one child to scream and cry "so loudly that the eyewitness was concerned the neighbors might call the police."

One witness reported seeing drops of blood during this process.

According to records, Baltayan appealed the department's finding, and asked for expert medical opinions.

In an e-mail sent to the state department, Baltayan also said that the allegation of spraying children with cold water was inaccurate and that "the vocabulary in these investigations are crude and suggest that children are being subject to a house of horrors rather than supported in a loving environment that cares for the whole child."

The appeal was rejected in an April 4, 2007, decision.

Daniel Rivera said he and family suspect Damian may have been a victim of sudden infant death syndrome, in which children under 1 year old die unexpectedly while sleeping. According to the California SIDS Program, a program under the California Department of Health Services that helps individuals affected by SIDS, 171 babies died from SIDS in California in 2004 – about 31 out of every 100,000 births.

"If it was natural causes, we can live," Daniel Rivera said. "If it's something someone could have prevented, someone needs to pay."

Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361

Judge not there...Reporter Doesn't Check it Out.

Sadly, in the story below, the Judge causing the problem wasn't identified in the article.
Journalism 101 - ignored.


Court: Late Arrival Did Not Justify Immigration Hearing in Absentia

By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
Friday, February 15, 2008
Page 1
An immigration judge exceeded his authority by proceeding with an in absentia removal hearing after the alien showed up late, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

Voting 2-1 to grant Juan Antonio Perez’s petition for review of a decision ordering him removed in absentia because he failed to appear at his scheduled removal hearing on time, the court held that Perez had not failed to appear—despite arriving two hours late and after his attorney had already left—because he arrived just before the immigration judge finished for the day.

However, in a sharp dissent, Judge Pamela Ann Rymer wrote that “[t]hose facing removal should show up on time and be ready to go forward when their case is called.” She also said that “[a]t the very least, they should be in court within a few minutes of the scheduled time, or call in to explain that they will be late.”

Perez, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection in 2000 and filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal in 2002.

The former Immigration and Naturalization Service—now part of the Department of Homeland Security—initiated removal proceedings against him and served him with a notice warning that failure to appear at his scheduled removal hearing could result in a removal order being entered in absentia.

Perez was making his way to the courthouse on the date of the hearing when his car overheated in the middle of rush hour traffic. He pulled the car off of the freeway and waited for it to cool, but the car overheated again after he restarted it and tried to drive on surface streets, so Perez left it and found a bus that would take him to the courthouse.

He entered the courtroom approximately two hours after hearing was to start, and the immigration judge was still on the bench. Perez approached the judge’s assistant, handing her his notice of the hearing, but at that moment the judge stood and left.

The judge’s assistant told Perez that the judge was done for the day, and that Perez was too late. The judge issued a removal order later that day.

Perez timely moved to reopen the case, but the judge denied the motion, reasoning that Perez “failed to show that his failure to appear was due to exceptional circumstances.”

The Immigration and Nationality Act requires removal in absentia of an alien who fails to appear for a removal hearing if the alien is removable and received notice of the hearing. The proceedings may only be reopened if the alien can show that the failure to appear was the result of exceptional circumstances beyond the alien’s control, such as battery or extreme cruelty to the alien or any child or parent; serious illness of the alien; or serious illness or death of the alien’s spouse, child, or parent.

The Board of Immigration Appeals summarily affirmed the judge’s decision, and Perez appealed. Although he conceded that he could not show exceptional circumstances, Perez contended that he had not failed to appear because he had arrived at the hearing while the immigration judge was still on the bench.

In an opinion by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who was joined by Judge Betty B. Fletcher, the court agreed, rejecting Rymer’s conclusion that the decision was both inconsistent with precedent and unworkable.

“The dissent is wrong on both counts,” Reinhardt said. “We have never held that a petitioner who arrived while the [immigration judge] was still in the courtroom failed to appear. We refuse to do so now.”

Reinhardt rejected Rymer’s suggested rule as being “no more workable” than the majority’s decision, saying that a petitioner’s failure to appear would depend on the “fortuity” of when the case is called.

“The circumstances of the present case illustrate why the dissent’s rule would lead to unduly harsh results,” he wrote. “Even assuming that a car’s mechanical failure does not constitute exceptional circumstances, the reality is that cars break down and overheat.”

He continued:

“Under the dissent’s view, removal could be required under these circumstances. This would be so even where, as here, a petitioner makes a good faith attempt to (and does in fact) appear in immigration court despite the occurrence of an unforeseen event and despite the fact that the IJ is present in the courtroom and able to hear his case…

“We see no reason for so harsh a result.”

The case is Perez v. Mukasey, No. 04-73029.

Ex Cuts off Dying Wife's alimony. Reporter doesn't name Judge allowing it.

Why are reporters protecting judges when Journalism 101 requires identifying the players?

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=73455

By: Dave Balut

Hudson, Fl. - Margaret Cochran is 51-years-old and wonders if she'll make it to 52. She has terminal ovarian cancer.

"I am in pain, I have problems with some of my organs working like kidneys bladder and so forth," said Cochran.

Having stage four ovarian cancer is bad enough, but Cochran has a more immediate concern. She says her ex-husband stopped paying alimony in November.

"I had contacted his wife to say why aren't you paying alimony and his response was, aren't you dead yet?" said Cochran.

Cochran's ex-husband is Stephen Paul Coleman, a 50-year-old former attorney who owns a mortgage company in Jacksonville.

Records show he's ordered to pay $1,650 a month in alimony, but a court statement indicates he's more than $11,000 behind.

"It's life or death. If I don't get it, I have nowhere to live, no medicine. No food no shelter, no vehicle, I would have nothing," said Cochran.

"If he's just ignoring it, the court's not going to have a lot of sympathy for him," said family law attorney David Plante.

Plante says the Florida Department of Revenue helps collect alimony if the person is also owed child support, but not alimony alone. So Cochran must go back to court.

"It's incumbent on him then to prove that he doesn't have the ability to pay for some reason to avoid the contempt power," said Plante.

Cochran has gone back to court in Jacksonville for alimony. She tried to have the case moved closer because of her health, but the judge said no.

"I don't think anyone should spend their last days on earth being drug through court, not being able to pay your bills," said Cochran.

Her church has helped with food and utility bills but Cochran says she's more than $8,000 behind in medical bills.

"I'm afraid I'm going to be on the street," said Cochran.

Our phone calls to Cochran's ex-husband Stephen Coleman were not returned.

But now, Cochran has some help from a family law specialist who heard about her situation. St. Petersburg attorney Wendy Doyle has offered to represent Cochran, free of charge.

Clark County judge accused of sexual misconduct.

Clark County judge accused of sexual misconduct

Del Vecchio confident 'hearing will clear my name'

By DAVID KIHARA
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The special prosecutor for the Judicial Discipline Commission has accused Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, including coercing a judicial assistant into having a sexual relationship with him.

The complaint alleges that the relationship dates to before Del Vecchio was a judge, when the judicial assistant, the daughter of his ex-wife, was 14.

Del Vecchio took nude photos of the girl when she was between the ages of 14 and 16 and had her perform oral sex on him, the 38-count complaint states. The complaint adds that Del Vecchio kept the photos after he became a judge but later destroyed them.

The document, which is not a criminal complaint, also accuses Del Vecchio of using racial slurs against black and Hispanic court staff and of coercing staff into buying him lunches and airline tickets.

The commission's special prosecutor, Mary Boetsch, filed the formal complaint with the Judicial Discipline Commission on Friday.

The investigation into Del Vecchio's behavior on the bench dates back to May 2006, when the Clark County Office of Diversity began looking into allegations of sexual harassment. The office investigates allegations of sexual, racial and religious harassment in the workplace.

Del Vecchio, 50, denied all accusations against him Friday night.

He said the diversity office found that there was "insufficient evidence as to all the charges."

Del Vecchio strongly denied that he had a sexual relationship with his ex-wife's 14-year-old daughter in the early 1990s. She was named in the complaint as Rebeccah Murray.

"I feel confident that a hearing will clear my name," he said.

It was unclear whether authorities had or intended to file criminal charges against Del Vecchio.

Del Vecchio and Murray broke off contact in the mid-1990's but she wound up working for him when he was serving on the bench in 2002.

Del Vecchio sought to arrange a special work schedule for Murray that would allow her to work for him, according to the complaint. The request was refused by Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

The complaint says he went around Hardcastle and adjusted Murray's schedule to allow her to work and attend law school at the same time, but did so on the condition she have sex with him. Murray didn't want to have sex with Del Vecchio and had to get drunk to do it, the complaint states.

When she tried to end the relationship, Del Vecchio was hostile to her and threatened to fire her, the complaint says.

Murray filed a sexual harassment complaint against Del Vecchio with the county's diversity office in May 2006.

Del Vecchio sexually harassed other court staff, according to the complaint. He told a family court employee, Beata Funk, that he wanted to have sex with her and wanted her to wear tight shirts while campaigning for him, the complaint says.

The complaint also accuses Del Vecchio of:

• Telling another judicial assistant she should date certain attorneys because it would help him get campaign contributions from them.

• Making offensive racial comments to a Hispanic bailiff, calling him a "lazy Mexican."

• Directing a bailiff who had a part-time job with a commercial airline to obtain free tickets for him.

• And making staff baby sit the child of a girlfriend.

Only the Judicial Discipline Commission has the authority to suspend or reprimand a sitting judge, court officials said. Del Vecchio will have a chance to respond to the complaint. The commission could then have a public hearing to consider the merits of the charges.

Chuck Short, county court administrator, said the court began investigating Del Vecchio in 2006 and reported its finding to the Judicial Discipline Commission in the summer of 2006.

"At this point, the court hopes the Judicial Discipline Commission will move at lightning speed to take action due to the egregious nature of the charges," he said. "Anything less is a disservice to the community, the judge and the lawyers and individuals with cases pending before the judge."

Del Vecchio was first elected as a Family Court judge in 2000. He had lost seven previous elections. He has filed for re-election and drawn challengers Ellen Bezian, Cynthia Giuliani and Vincent Ochoa.

Ochoa, a family law attorney who has argued cases before Del Vecchio, said he was surprised when he learned the extent of the accusations. He said the judge never asked him for anything inappropriate such as a free lunch.

Ochoa said there were rumors around Family Court that Del Vecchio was being investigated, but he was shocked to learn the details of the inquiry.

"I knew he had some problems, but I never dreamed they were this bad," he said. "I think it's an embarrassment to the judiciary."

Review-Journal writer Lawrence Mower contributed to this story. Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-1039.

CA Judges and DAs Plan to Eliminate Elections.

Heads up Californians. District Attorneys and Judges recently met to decide whether they should take away the right of voters to elect their judges.

What's troublesome is these elected officials feel, according to the article below from Metropolitican News; is that they have a right to.

(Readers may remember it's Bonnie Dumanis who wants less prison time for former Deputy Bruce Lowell, who shot his wife in the face, killing her in front of their small son. See (Dumanis has higher political aspirations and so courts police associations.)

Feb. 5, 2006 By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer

Several members of a judicial task force suggested yesterday that the time has come for California to find a new way of selecting and retaining trial judges.

The system of direct elections 'gave me an opportunity' to become a judge, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis acknowledged. 'But I do think it is a sleazy process.'

Dumanis made the comment in Burbank during a meeting of the Judicial Council Task Force on Judicial Selection and Retention. The task force is part of the

Statewide Commission for Impartial Courts, which was appointed by Chief Justice Ronald M. George last September.

Dumanis is one of three task force members who came to the bench by winning election to open seats. She won open seats on both the San Diego Municipal Court and the San Diego Superior Court before being elected district attorney in 2002.

The task force chair is Third District Court of Appeal Justice Ronald Robie, who won an open seat on the Sacramento Superior Court in 1980 and was elevated to the Court of Appeal 19 years later. Other members include Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Terry Friedman, who won an open seat in 1994, and David Wesley, who survived an election challenge in 2004.

Robie and Friedman both said they disliked the process.

Friedman, a member of the state Assembly at the time, agreed with Dumanis and others that elections give candidates who could not hope for a gubernatorial appointment the chance to serve. In his own case, he pointed out, it was highly unlikely that a Republican governor would have named a Democratic elected official to the bench.

But although he was 'lucky' enough to prevail, Friedman said, 'it was a terrible process.' He commented that his opponent, Valley attorney John Moriarity, 'ran as if it were a legislative office.'

Friedman offered no details yesterday, but his runoff contest with Moriarity was the most expensive judicial contest in county history to that point. Moriarity criticized Friedman for his liberal politics and membership in the ACLU, and Friedman, while not responding in kind, outspent his opponent, in part by raising money through transfers from Democratic candidates and donations by groups that had supported his legislative campaigns but usually did not involve themselves in judicial races.

Friedman said yesterday that at the time, he feared he would be defeated because he 'chose not to respond politically' to the attacks.

Earlier in the day, state courts Administrative Director William Vickrey made a presentation to the task force based on the system used in Utah, where Vickrey worked before taking up his current post.

In Utah, he explained, judges, both trial and appellate, are appointed by the governor, with the approval of the state Senate, from a list of three to seven candidates nominated by a commission. They then must seek retention by the voters, but prior to the retention election, an evaluation is conducted by the state Judicial Council.

The evaluation includes an independently administered survey of lawyers who have appeared before the judge and are asked to rate his or her performance in 14 categories. In the case of judges who regularly conduct jury trials, jurors are surveyed as well.

In addition to the survey results, judicial participation in judicial education, promptness in deciding cases, and physical and mental fitness are figured into the evaluation, and the results are published in the official ballot pamphlet when the judge faces retention.

The pamphlet also includes an explanation of the system of judicial appointment and retention.

The advantages of the system, Vickrey said, are that it keeps partisanship out of the process, while giving voters information that they can use to come to a reasoned decision.

The model would have to be modified, he acknowledged, for use in California, which has about 10 times as many judicial officers.

One option discussed by the task force was 'triggered retention' a system in which the Judicial Council or some similar body would evaluate judges and determine whether they merited retention. If a candidate failed to obtain the required amount of support within the evaluating body, whether a simple majority or more, the judge would have to take his or her case to the voters.

That and other options for retention elections are to be studied by a smaller group of task force members named yesterday. The group will be chaired by Court of Appeal Justice Walter Croskey of this district's Div. Three.

Copyright 2008, Metropolitan News Company

Darren Mack's "sentencing"

Interesting in what was missed during the hoopla of the sentencing of Darren Mack.
Although it could be expect since it involved one murder and one attempted murder.

What was missed was that although Charla Mack received support orders; Judge Weller never allowed them to be enforced. Which explains why Charla had trouble keeping the lights on while Darren continued his over-the-top, lifestyle.

But as far as no firearms at all in the courtroom - Why? A tacit admission deputies are not trained to prohibit attacks, perhaps?

See below for the s-l-o-w-e-s-t moving deputies east of the Mississippi. Please note however, how many deputies arrived and then stood around aimlessly; uselessly, after the attorney was knocked out by the prisoner.
http://videos.kentucky.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=1693323

Bad cop, no dough nut!