Whistleblowers Charge Judicial Council Ignoring Egregious, Bad Faith Appeal Delay in 3rd District Court

The pending Ferris v. Ferris appeal alleges misconduct by Sacramento County Judge Matthew Gary and seeks to establish a constitutional right to counsel in civil cases involving basic human needs.

An appeal from a high-profile Sacramento Superior Court case has languished in the 3rd District Court of Appeal for more than 39 months. Court watchdogs allege that the appellate court has deliberately delayed resolution of the appeal because it involves egregious and embarrassing misconduct by a prominent Sacramento County Superior Court judge with a history of similar conduct.

"This case represents one of the most unsettling examples we've seen of what we believe is cronyism between the Third District and Sacramento Superior Court," said Ulf Carlsson of the Family Court Accountability Coalition, a court watchdog organization."The trial court judge has personal connections in the appellate court, and the 3rd District is delaying this case in the hopes that the publicity will die down and the issues raised will become moot."

Sacramento Superior Court Racketeering Allegations Eerily Similar to 1994 San Diego County Scandal

An alleged racketeering organization composed of judges and local attorneys who work in the family law division of Sacramento County Superior Court bears striking similarities to criminal activity uncovered in San Diego County in 1994.

A recently unearthed editorial from the Los Angles Daily Journal provides a firsthand account of the court corruption that sent San Diego judges James A. Malkus and G. Dennis Adams to federal prison, and put judge Michael Greer on federal probation for three years. The editorial is embedded at the end of this post.

Oversight and Accountability of California Courts Stifled by Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye

Judicial Council of California Report Special Report Released 

California court watchdog groups and court employee whistleblowers charge that Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye has failed or refused to investigate allegations of criminal activity in the state court system. 

The alleged lawbreaking is so pervasive that the Center for Judicial Excellence has initiated a statewide "Stop Court Crimes" campaign to compel the Judicial Council to investigate allegations that judges, clerks, and court employees routinely violate state law. 

Judicial Council Controversy: Troubled Sacramento County Judge Matthew J. Gary Involved in Traffic Fatality

UPDATE: The Sacramento Bee has published an investigative report about the questions surrounding this incident: click here.

The California Highway Patrol has issued a press release announcing a fatal traffic incident involving controversial Sacramento County Judge Matthew Gary:

Judicial Council Controversy: Divorce Corp Documentary Cataloging Systemic, Statewide Divorce Court Corruption Now Streaming on Netflix

A documentary film chronicling corruption in family courts throughout the United States is now available for viewing to 65 million Netflix subscribers. 

Divorce Corp, directed by Joseph Sorge and starring a long list of attorneys, judges, family court mediators, whistleblowers, and litigants has just been released on the Netflix on-demand Internet streaming media service. 

The film catalogs corruption, conflicts of interest and other scandals in superior courts in several California counties, including Sacramento, Los Angeles and Nevada County. 

The movie features an interview with former court employee turned whistleblower Emily Gallup, who inadvertently discovered that the Judicial Council provides no oversight or accountability of even flagrant lawbreaking by court employees in California. Gallup also learned that whistleblowers are frowned upon by court administrators: In retaliation for her whistleblowing, her supervisors orchestrated her termination. Gallup subsequently won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the court. 

Whistleblowers Blame Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye for CJP Inaction Against Former Sacramento County Coworker

The appellate brief excerpt embedded at the bottom of this post recounts one instance of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Matthew Gary's alleged misconduct in the high profile Susan Ferris case, in connection with an illegal attorney fee sanctions order. 

The appeal in the case is pending at the controversial 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

The proceedings have been reported by the Sacramento Bee, and are being closely watched by court reform advocates. Interest in the case and family court corruption in Sacramento County on social media, YouTube, and Vimeo has reached viral levels among family court reform watchdogs.

The embedded document package also includes the court reporter transcript from a hearing in the case recording that Gary ordered Ferris to pay $2,500 to the opposing attorney, Timothy Zeff, based on Ferris' "body language." 

Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Judicial Council Responsible for Statewide Court Corruption Epidemic, Charge Whistleblowers

A Sacramento-based non-profit court news organization has published an exhaustive, investigative report alleging that a criminal organization involving judges and local attorneys operates within the Sacramento County family law court system. The report, from Sacramento Family Court News, is the latest allegation that corruption has reached epidemic levels in California courts.

Court whistleblowers and watchdogs charge that California Judicial Council Chair Tani Cantil-Sakauye has used her position to quash investigations into the alleged criminal conduct of her former coworkers in Sacramento Superior Court, and the adjacent, and troubled 3rd District Court of Appeal.