New California List - Vexatious Judges & Lawyers in Family Court Cases

 

​California's State Legislature defined a vexatious litigant as a person who burdens the state's legal system , and crated law, 391-391.7 to address the issue. The result is a list the state keeps to track individuals who go crazy filing lawsuits. 

The law defines a vexatious litigant as a person who litigates  issues, sues multiple parties (including judges and lawyers) within  a 7 year period and whom the state deems responsible  for burdening our legal system.

But what about judges and lawyers who do the same,  only worse,  and who do so while directly profiting and benefiting  from  the ongoing and dysfunctional  litigation  they create ? Nope no list .

Lawyers have litigation privilege, and as such are allowed to essentially commit perjury, for the sake of argument.

Judges have absolute immunity from civil liability, and most law is written giving judges broad discretion, which is never something that can be taken easily up on appeal.

California's State Bar and Commission on Judicial Performance  both have acknowledged  years of failing to protect the public by ignoring the misconduct judges and lawyers impose on California's  legal system. Are judges and lawyers  free to abuse their position, and get off with moral immunity as well?

A group of family law litigants thinks not. The group is comprised of  passionate members from the private sector, the public, and investigative reporters, all working to expose deep and systemic abuses in California's family courts and as was done in Pennsylvania in the Kids for Cash Scandal, or in Orange County California with the Traffic Court Scandal. In both, years of complaints from the public and media were ignored , and only when widely exposed in the media did Supreme Courts in the respective states respond. The judge in the Kids for Cash Scandal was just convicted and sent up for 28 years ! ​



Is Santa Clara Family Court California's Next Legal Corruption Scandal? ​

Court corruption harms the public when it exists shrouded in secrecy. Bribes, backroom deals and financial misconduct thrive when nobody  is watching.  Jane and John Q Public has formed to stop the secrecy and is focusing on judges , lawyers and specific counties with the gross violations that need to be investigated.

A number of passionate activists, and private businesses recently rallied  the State Legislature and brought forth a report, privately funded by Court Reform, LLC, that got the State Legislature  to halt funding  to California's  Commission  that oversees judges.

California's own State Auditor has recommended blowing up and perhaps dismantling the State Bar, so that lawyers are overseen they way doctors are overseen with regard to licensing  and complaints. 

To better address the wider issues, Jane and John Q Public has been focusing on  Santa Clara County Family Courts , where a team of investigative  reporters have uncovered a disturbing pattern involving family court judges , specifically Mary Ann Grilli. who has been presiding  over family law cases in the county for over twenty years. Complaints made to the State Bar , and Commission on Judicial performance are being tracked and reviewed for what the statistics don't say.

Systemic abuse imposed by Judge Grilli involves tolerating misconduct of  lawyers who regularly  appear before her, mismanagement of court reporters,  court clerks and other court staff . Most importantly citizens forced to address the emotional issues related to their income, their property and their children are drawing attention to  more than an appearance that  Mary Ann Grilli is incapable of  giving any appearance of being fair when one party in a divorce case is self represented, which 80% of family law litigants assigned to her court are. Bias toward 80% of the class of people compelled to appear before Mary Ann Grilli  where the county has a monopoly is unacceptable. It is Machiavellian and far from the democratic principles  are required of an American justice system.  

Mary Ann Grilli's support orders are written in violation of law, and she awards unjust and outrageous fee awards to a select group of lawyers  and custody experts, that dwarf what was found in Orange County's traffic court scandal. Mary Ann Grilli's record shows she is manufacturing poverty , which she imposes on our most voiceless and helpless citizens, and which includes hundreds of thousands of children she has impacted over her tenure.

​ Is Santa Clara County fixing divorce and probate cases like Orange County fixed traffic cases? 

As seen with  family law judges, the Commission on Judicial Performance has admitted it  ignored  complaints over traffic judges for years . Only when the media broke the story and the US Attorney General got involved, was action taken. Now those cases are being over turned and immunity granted to our poorest citizens. The cost will be  footed by the State of California. It would have been cheaper to fix the crooked judges than the entire system.

California's Supreme Court issued a statement and only appeared " concerned" when the story broke and the US Attorney General was on California's ass, not when hundreds of complaints were made about the same issues.  Suddenly, years later the Commission issued a  formal statement and became "concerned" .

So if years of  crooked traffic court fines and fees were unjust and unlawful, what will happen to California if Santa Clara County reveals the same has occurred in  family court cases where fines and fees total in the billons and where our children were harmed by negligent judges? Should these judges have moral immunity and be allowed to slip off into retirement, or should they be held responsible  for the moral consequences  of their actions?  ​​
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Judge Grilli ​ has been assisted in her conduct  each time the county failed to supervise her, each time a court clerk or court reporter covered up her incompetence and each time a lawyer or officer of the court saw what Grilli would and could do to children, and was silent or was awarded fees.  Staffers who remained silent as lawyers slipped into Grilli's  chambers, when  rumors of sexual affairs and early stage dementia circled around the courthouse like a Midwest spring  tornado, are as guilty as Judge Grilli in destroying  public trust in the judicial system.

Jane and John Q Public are committed to gaining legislative support for vexatious judges and lawyers. The state can no longer ignore that the self- policing bodies that police our judges and lawyers are ineffective, dysfunctional  and corrupt. The state can no longer ignore family law as the " step child " of our legal system. when so many citizens are harmed if such segment is corrupt.

To advance the message Jane and John has joined with other groups across California to plan Super bowl protests, launch petitions, marches and rallies on political bodies,  court watch, review court files and support litigants currently being decimated by the corrupt system. ​Now a social media campaign is being launched to declare bad judges and lawyers vexatious. The group is spread throughout You Tube,  Facebook and Twitter and collects information in a WikiLeaks type fashion.

A vexatious lawyer and judge list is forming, and will be widely published. The employers, voters, family members and peers of bad judges will see these lists, and even if never granted legal authority, the lists will have moral authority to protect the public interest in our legal system. ​​

#CenterforInvestigativeReporting , #USAttorneyGeneral , #FamilyCourt , #NPR, ​#SantaClaraCounty  # JudgeMaryAnnGrilli #KidsforCash , #wikileaks, OrangeCountyTrafficCourtCorruption #SacramentoFamilyCourtNews #StateBarofCalifornia, #CaliforniaCommissioonJudicalPerformance