Los Angeles, CA Full Disclosure Network® presents a 3 min video report on the November 23, 2009 remarks made by Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich at a meeting of the Los Angeles County Lincoln Club in North Hollywood. The Supervisor provided an update regarding the controversy over long-time practice of the County making payments to Los Angeles Superior Court Judges. Civic leader David R. Hernandez provides his account of the presentation in the video.
A Fourth District CA Court of Appeals decision in November of 2008 ruled the county's payments were illegal in the Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles lawsuit that revealed Judges, who are all elected officials, were not disclosing the extra payments they received from the County to litigants in the courtroom in cases involving the county nor on the Form 700 Economic Interest statements as required by the California Fair Political Practices Act.
Antonovich responded to a question about the continuing public concern that county payments created a “conflict” for judges and if this conflict was going to be resolved?
Here are some of the points made by Supervisor Antonovich:
- Recent legislation, Senate Bill SBX2 11 has now made the payments legal.
- All new judges (appointed or elected) will not be receiving payments from the county.
- Most other California counties have been paying (illegal) benefits to the judges
- This was not just a Los Angeles County practice
- L A Judges have not always ruled in favor of the County (payments started in 1988)
- Several court rulings have been in against the County and in favor of illegal aliens
Featured in the video: are two prominent critics of the illegal payments made to Judges by the County and below are comments from Richard I Fine from his L.A. County Jail cell.
From his L. A. County Central Men's Jail cell, Richard I Fine: Anti-Trust Attorney who remains in solitary “coercive confinement” following his attempt to disqualify Judge Yaffe for not disclosing receipt of payments from county to litigants in his courtroom . Fine had this to say regarding the disclosure by Supervisor Antonovich:
“This is long overdue. This is a great victory for those of us that have been fighting the illegal payments. The County has spent approximately $300 million since 1988 on these illegal and criminal payments to the Judges. I and others have filed complaints with the U S Dept. of Justice knowing that these payments violate the tangible rights to honest services and I have filed a complaint with a the California Attorney general showing that these payments are a misappropriation of funds, and obstruction of justice and bribery."
"Senate Bill SBX 211 which was enacted on Feb. 20, 2009 confirmed that the payments are criminal by the judges and those who make the payments now have retroactive immunity from criminal prosecution., civil liability and disciplinary action. The action of the Supervisors to stop the payments appears to be a clear response to rid themselves of this criminal activity."
In response to comments made by Sterling Norris (in the video) he said, "The 2010 budget bill resolution of the County left the decision regarding these payments to the Executive Officer and Auditor-Controller that is the reason you do not see second resolution to these payments. With respect to the Judges, this only deals with the payments in Los Angeles County, 429 judges, will continue to receive their payments however, those payments will stop as each judge comes up for re-election . The longest period of time is if that judge is reelected, he would get payments for six years until there is another election. Then he would be come a new judge.”
Comments to date: 7. This is page 1 of 1.
Ben Dover Los Angeles
Posted: 08:33 am [PST] on March 02 2010
Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Courts, Tim McCoy, Fails to promote confidence within the entire Judicial System. It is his job to oversee the Judges, and hold them accounable. Why didn't he fire all the Judges that were gladly taking the illegal payments. His silence deems acceptance that his Judges can break the laws, which we are supposed to abide by as normal citizens. Post a comment on this link, and let him know we do not support the "JUST-US" system he has allowed. http://www.courthouseforum.com/forums/view.php?id=1065160
Anonymous Location unknown
Posted: 03:34 pm [PST] on February 09 2010
Yes, this is a nice "appearance" to respond to the public's concern. If they were really concerned, they would have vetoed or remanded SBX2 11. Just like everything else, the Government does half-ass.
Look, Attorney General Brown is more concerned and responds to a concern about Stuffed Valentine Bears and possible lead, (which is a fairly new concern since this is just now February and the Bears are here for the holiday) but can deny the numerous requests to investigate the illegal incarceration of Richard Fine.
The things these people make a priority in their pathetic, overpaid days, is unreal. Stuffed bears or a man's life?
I seriously hope he does not run for Governor, we already have one useless one, we dont need another.
http://cbs2.com/local/target.teddy.bear.2.1482730.html
Truth Seeker Location unknown
Posted: 09:17 am [PST] on January 24 2010
Yes, but this only STOPS NEW JUDGES FROM GETTING PAYMENTS, NOT THE CURRENT ONES
@ Courtwatch. Please work with Leslie Dutton on a report NAMING NAMES. We deserve the right to know the names of these Judges. All 2000 of them. We deserve the right to know, from top to bottom, who came up with the sudden SBX211 "Bill/Law" to make these payments legal. Every one of them.
It's extremely interesting that Marin County and San Diego County are now undergoing "audits" for Court Corruption, but Los Angeles, which is where THIS part of the corruption started has been left out. Los Angeles is the center of the septic system of Court Corruption, and the law makers as well. (Some who's spouses are Judges)
It appears that our Government is just really a large mafia. Why is Madoff in jail if these Judges aren't? They have done the exact same thing, but it's worse. He was at least caught, and stopped. There is no stopping the Government.
Leslie, please do a report, naming names of all the ones involved from top to bottom. Who drafted SBX 211, who supported it, and who is getting the payments. All 2000 names.
courtwatch Marin County
Posted: 07:41 pm [PST] on January 21 2010
For those of you who are interested in the Richard Fine issues, the statistics about the judicial perks he was complaining about can be found in the Judicial Council's December 15, 2009 report entitled "Historical Analysis of Disparities in Judicial Benefits". The key statistics are in attachment D, pages D-9 to D-14. In 2008, CA counties paid a total of $30,388,289 in "supplemental judicial benefits" to their judges, above and beyond their state salaries and benefits.$23,482,932 of this total $30.3 million was paid by Los Angeles County, to Los Angeles County judges. The report does not state how much each judge receives per capita, but it states that Los Angeles County has 436 judges-- that comes out to each LA judge receiving approximately $53,860 from LA County. Richard Fine challenged the LA judges, stating that those receiving these hefty benefits from LA County should not be hearing cases involving LA County. He also claimed the payments were illegal. In 2008, a court of appeal agreed that the payments were illegal.(Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 630.) According to the Judicial Council report (page 4), in response to the Sturgeon case, "the judicial branch sought legislation, Senate Bill X2 11".
The legislation, commonly known as SBX 211, was pushed through on an emergency basis. It allows judges to continue to receive these extra benefits, and also provides RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY from prosecution to counties paying the benefits, and judges receiving the benefits.
In other words, CA judges were taking the county benefits in violation of the law. When this was made public, the CA judiciary got emergency legislation passed, allowing them to continue to receive their benefits (while courts are being closed due to "budget constraints"), and also allowing them to escape prosecution. Meanwhile, the lawyer who had been challenging the LA bench for taking these hefty illegal perks for years, was disbarred and sent to jail, where he has been held in solitary confinement for almost a year.
The legality of SBX 211 has subsequently been challenged -- something the language of the legislation itself anticipated.
If you think this report on judicial benefits is interesting, check out the report issued the same day (12/15/09), by the CA Judicial Council's "Commission on Impartial Courts" recommending that judges be allowed to take campaign contributions from those who appear before them (although 75% of the public, and over 25% of judges, believe such contributions affect the outcome of cases), and also recommending AGAINST the implementation of Judicial Performance Evaluations--which consultants to the Judicial Council have repeatedly,strongly recommended.
Annette unfortunately, Los Angeles
Posted: 10:12 am [PST] on December 28 2009
Ok, so how difficult would it be to use some common sense here? (I know, there is no common sense in Government) Fire the 429 Los Angeles County Judges, and the rest of the approx 1570 California Judges that are getting these illegal payments.
I mean really, what is going on here? We are the tax payers that are forced against our will, to keep funding these illegal payments and we have virtually no say? Then we just get another "hit" against OUR paychecks-our legally earned salaries, to help the government/state mismanagement of funds, just so they can keep their's from getting cut? Please, this is the most moronic system. Fire them all, make them all repay the $46,000 a year for how many ever years they got the perks, and start over. If the new Judges won't get this funding seems simple enough to get rid of the "Drain" our state can't afford anyway.
But that is too rational. It's easier to just keep sticking it to us, so they can keep living the lie-f-style they have grown accustomed to, while the little people get to continue to struggle pay check to pay check, until we ALL lose our homes, and jobs, and there is no one left to foot the payments for any of them, including the useless Governor, Mayor, Senators, Sheriff, etc.
What a joke.
LARRY J. HANSHEW NEWPORT BEACH,CA.
Posted: 08:41 pm [PST] on December 01 2009
IN LIEU OF THE FACT WE ARE ALL EQUAL IN LAW,[SEEMS SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS] HOW IS IT THAT THESE JUDGES CAN COMMIT THIS CRIME WHILE SETTING ON THE BENCH? I DO NOT CONSIDER THIS TO BE IN GOOD STANDING. TALK ABOUT UNDERMINING THE PUBLIC TRUST, THEY SHOULD ALL BE TOSSED OUT ON THEIR EAR ALONG WITH THEIR BIAS JUDGEMENTS. IT APPEARS JUSTICE IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND, INJUSTICE IS IN A RAMPANT RAMPAGE!
Joe Banana so. cal
Posted: 09:56 pm [PST] on November 30 2009
Nice try, but, how about jail time, and restitution. And how about a full investigation into the county supervisors why misappropriated funds to give to these judges, and if the salary matching comes into play here. Since the "law" says their salaries must match, that extra $11,000 raise the judges got this year, means the crooks get $11,000 too. This is unacceptable.