Prosecutor Misconduct: Jeff Rosen, Santa Clara County District Attorney Ignores Racketeering Allegations, Civil Rights Violations

D-Day Justice: Fake Army Veteran Divorce Lawyer Fooled Clients, Colleagues, and Judges Throughout Silicon Valley

Using False Stories of Vietnam Valor, Family Law Attorney Bradford Baugh Generated Clients, Millions in Legal Fees

For over 25 years, Silicon Valley divorce lawyer Brad Baugh has been known for his endless, repetitive boasting about his heroic exploits as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Part of his sales pitch to potential clients is that they would be hiring, and helping a veteran who had served his country with distinction. And he rarely missed an opportunity to remind colleagues, court employees and family court judges of the selfless sacrifice he made as a front line fighter in Southeast Asia.

But an investigation by a "stolen valor" veterans research organization has determined that Baugh's claims about military service during the Vietnam War era are not true. Government records and other sources, including the 1968 yearbook from Del Valle High School in Walnut Creek show the lawyers assertions to be demonstrably false. In 1968, Baugh went directly from high school, to Stanford University in the fall, and never served in the military.

Year In Review: Serial Judicial Branch Controversies Continue To Reduce Public Respect for Courts

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye obstructs
State Bar reform.

Judicial Council Disregards Whistleblower Leaked Report Documenting Serial Ethics Violations by Contra Costa County Judge Bruce C. Mills

Judge Bruce C. Mills

A report cataloging serial acts of misconduct spanning more than 10 years by Judge Bruce C. Mills has been leaked to the public by a court watchdog and whistleblower group.

The 51-page dossier collected both public and "secret" discipline prosecutions against the judge by the Commission on Judicial Performance, the state agency responsible for judge oversight and accountability. The report is embedded at the end of this post.

The report reveals that in addition to two well known public disciplinary actions taken against the veteran Contra Costa County jurist, Mills was also found guilty in three additional incidents where the type of discipline and name of the offender were "private" and not revealed to the public.

The group identified Mills as the offending judge in the secret proceedings by reverse engineering details from the public disciplinary actions and cross referencing the information with old CJP annual reports. The acts of public and private misconduct occurred in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013. 

Judge Bruce Clayton Mills was appointed to the bench by Governor Pete Wilson in July, 1995. Mills worked as a Contra Costa County prosecutor from 1985-95, and was in private practice from 1984-87. The judge is a 1984 graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. 

Judges, Court Administrators Responsible for Santa Clara County Probate Court Controversy Remain Unaccountable After Four Years

Santa Clara judge reconsiders his early ruling on a trustee excessive fee case:

Judicial Council and California Judges Still Unaccountable for Institutionalized Socioeconomic Bias Revealed by Traffic Courts Scandal

Statewide traffic courts scandal news reports expose institutionalized socioeconomic bias against the poor by California courts and judges. Bias based on socioeconomic status is prohibited by state law in four separate sections of the Code of Judicial Ethics, covering both the adjudicative and administrative responsibilities of judges.  

Over one year later, no disciplinary action taken against a single judge by the California Commission on Judicial Performance.  

Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Judicial Council Mute on Commission on Judicial Performance Judge Oversight Controversy

In this video clip, Commission on Judicial Performance whistleblower and court reform advocate Joe Sweeney testifies at a California Assembly Budget Committee hearing on March 28, 2016. The commission is solely responsible for oversight and accountability of judges in the state. 

Several days before the hearing, Sweeney's court modernization and reform organization, Court Reform LLC, released a 78-page report which raised questions about CJP judicial misconduct statistical data and how the agency spends taxpayer funds. 

The report, Why a Spotlight must be put on the Commission on Judicial Performance, also charged that CJP operations are shielded by an excessive and unprecedented level of secrecy for a government agency. In this four minute video, Sweeney explains to the committee the methodology and results of Court Reform LLC's six month investigation into the policies and practices of the CJP.