Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/30389735/USSC-Petition-for-Writ-of-Certiorari-March-2010-US-Supreme-Court
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Document Index: 744230433

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 455', '§ 2254', '§ 170', '§ 2254', '§ 170', '§ 170', '§ 170', '§ 170', '§ 170', '§ 1346', '§ 1211', '§ 170', '§ 1211', '§ 1211', 'in Fine', 'in Fine']

USSC - Petition for Writ of Certiorari - March 2010 - US Supreme Court | Judicial Disqualification
ScribdBrowseInterestsCareer & MoneyPersonal GrowthPolitics & Current AffairsScience & TechHealth & FitnessLifestyleEntertainmentBiographies & HistoryFictionBrowse byBooksAudiobooksNews & MagazinesSheet MusicBrowse allUploadSign inJoinUSSC - Petition for Writ of Certiorari - March 2010 - US Supreme CourtUploaded by Honor in JusticeJudicial DisqualificationJudgeSuperior CourtContempt Of CourtUnited States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit0.0 (0)DownloadEmbedView MoreCopyright: Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from ScribdFlag for inappropriate contentiCase No. 09- ____ _________________________________________ IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ____________________ RICHARD I. FINE, Petitioner, v. SHERIFF OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Respondent. ______________ On Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ______________ PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI ______________ RICHARD I. FINE In Pro Per Prisoner ID 1824367 c/o Men’s Central Jail 441 Bauchet Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 (310) 638-2825 (messages) Email: RichardIFine@gmail.com Opposing Counsels’ Email: Unknown
Judges for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, who are state-elected, began receiving substantial monies, mischaracterized as “judicial benefits”, from LA County in the late 1980s. LA County began winning virtually all lawsuits filed against it when the same were decided by judges and not juries. The payments were found to be unconstitutional in October 2008. The California Legislature subsequently passed Senate Bill SBX2-11, which retroactively granted immunity from criminal prosecution for the estimated ten million felonies committed, while purportedly authorizing the payments. Meanwhile, a homeowners association had sued LA County and others concerning an environmental impact report and County Supervisors’ illegal votes approving same. The judge, refusing to recuse himself despite having received almost $100,000 from a defendant in the case, ultimately ruled in defendants’ favor. Appellate judges then knowingly misconstrued the facts and protected the trial judge. Question Presented for Review: Whether the trial court judge should have recused himself in the case of Marina Strand Colony II Homeowners Association v. County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Superior Court case No. BS109180 BS109420 in which the judge received illegal payments from the County of Los Angeles, a party to
the case; and whether he should also have recused himself in the ancillary contempt proceeding in which he “judged his own actions.”
Parties and Rule 29.6 All parties to the proceedings are named in the Caption to the case. The Real Parties in Interest are the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles and Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe. No Corporate Rule 29.6 statement is required as there are no corporations involved.
Table of Contents Page Question Presented for Review Parties and Rule 29.6 Table of Contents Table of Authorities Opinions Below Jurisdiction Statutory Provisions Involved Statement of Issues Standard of Review Summary of the Case A. B. Introduction i ii iii v 1 1 2 2 3 3 3
LA County and LA Superior Court judge knew that the LA County payments were illegal from the beginning 11 The Actions of the State Court Trial Judge, David P. Yaffe 15 24
Reasons for Granting Writ 1.
Recusal was mandated because the LA County payments violated due process 26 2. Recusal was mandated because the trial judge was “embroiled” with Petitioner 33 3. Recusal was mandated because the trial judge “judged his own actions” in the contempt proceeding 34
Conclusion Appendix:
California Senate Bill SBX2-11, enacted February 20, 2009, effective May 21, 2009 Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge, filed in USDC on June 12, 2009 Memorandum of Decision, entered by Ninth Circuit panel on December 16, 2009 Order Denying Petition for Rehearing and En Banc Hearing, entered by Ninth Circuit panel on February 10, 2010
Table of Authorities Opinions Below  Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge (denying writ of habeas corpus), dated June 12, 2009; (USDC Dkt 26)  Order Accepting Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge dated June 29, 2009; (USDC Dkt 30)  Memorandum of Decision – “not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except is provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3” -- dated December 16, 2009, by Circuit Judges Reinhardt, Trott and Wardlaw; (9th Cir. Dkt 59)  Order (Denying Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc), dated February 10, 2010, by Circuit Judges Reinhardt, Trott and Wardlaw; (9th Cir. Dkt 66)  Order Denying Petitioner’s 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) Motion to Disqualify Judges Reinhardt, Trott and Wardlaw and Void All Orders, filed February 3, 2010, dated February 12, 2010 by Circuit Judges Reinhardt, Trott and Wardlaw. (9th Cir. Dkt 68) Statement of Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Subject matter jurisdiction in the District Court is based upon 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The appeal is from the final judgment (“Memorandum”) of the Ninth Circuit issued on December 16, 2009 (9th Cir. Dkt 59), followed by the Ninth Circuit’s denial on February 10, 2010 of Petitioner’s request for an en banc hearing (9th Cir. Dkt 66). Statutory Provisions Involved  California Constitution, Art. VI, Sec.19  California Code of Civil Procedure § 170.1  California Code of Judicial Ethics – Canons 2, 3E and 4D(1)  California Senate Bill SBX2-11, partially codified as California Gov’t. Code Sections 68220 – 68222  United States Constitution - First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments  28 U.S.C. § 2254 Statement of Issues 1. Whether the trial court judge in the underlying case should have recused himself for taking payments from a party in a case over which he was then presiding; 2. Whether the trial court judge in the underlying court case and in the ancillary contempt proceeding should have
recused himself from the contempt proceeding because he was “embroiled” with Petitioner; 3. Whether the trial court judge in the underlying state court case and in the ancillary contempt proceeding should have recused himself from the contempt proceeding because he was “judging his own actions”. Standard of Review The objective standard of review was recently reiterated in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, Inc., 566 U.S. ___ (2009), in which the Court stated (Slip Opinion at page 1): Under our precedents there are objective standards that require recusal when “the probability of actual bias on the part of the judge or decision-maker is too high to be constitutionally tolerable.” Withrow v. Larkin, 421 U.S. 35, 43 (1975). Applying those precedents, we find that, in all the circumstances of this case, due process requires recusal.” In essence, the Court reviews the facts against the background of the standards and determines if the standards mandate recusal.
Summary of the Case A. Introduction. Petitioner (hereinafter “Fine”) has been incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail under “coercive confinement” since March 4, 2009. He has not committed a crime. He is being held while he is challenging the trial court judge’s having presided over a contempt case while “judging his own actions” and having presided over the underlying case while having taken payments from a party to the case. The trial judge knew that the “coercive confinement,” which was secondary to the issue of “whether the trial judge should have recused himself,” could not even occur unless the trial judge prevailed on the recusal issue on constitutional due process grounds. Yet, as retaliation against Fine for challenging the payments and self-judging actions, and to instill fear into all other lawyers to forestall them from making such challenges, the trial judge unlawfully incarcerated Fine during this writ process. The initial effects of such incarceration were that Fine was ordered to be deprived of papers and pencils and access to the jail law library, thereby hampering Fine’s ability to file the Federal petition for writ of habeas corpus for many weeks and ultimately requiring it to be dictated by Fine from memory over the phone to a friend, who then prepared and filed it on Fine’s behalf.
The District Court and the Ninth Circuit did not hold the trial judge’s actions to deny due process. This Petition seeks to enlist the Court to require the Ninth Circuit to follow and obey long established Supreme Court precedents requiring the recusal of judges when they receive payments from a party in a case over which the judge is presiding, and when the judge “judges his own actions.” The precedents mandating such recusal were recently set forth in the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company Inc., 566 U.S. ___ (2009). In Caperton, the Court held that due process mandated the recusal of a West Virginia Court of Appeals Justice who denied a recusal motion, and whose election campaign committee had received $3 million in contributions from the Board Chairman and Principal Officer of a party with a potential case which subsequently was heard by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and the Justice. The Court stated the controlling principle for due process violations, at Slip Opinion page 7, citing to Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 532 (1927): “Every procedure which would offer a possible temptation to the average man as a judge to forget the burden of proof required to convict the defendant, or which might lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true
between the state and the accuser, denies the later due process of law. “ The Court held, at Slip Opinion page 16, in relevant part: “… Just as no man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, similar fears of bias can arise when without the consent of the other parties a man chooses the judge in his own case … Due process ‘may sometime bar trial by judges who have no actual bias and who would do their very best to weigh the scales of justice equally between contending parties’. Murchison, 349 U.S. at 136. The failure to consider objective standards requiring recusal is not consistent with the imperatives of due process. We find that Blankenship’s significant and disproportionate influence coupled with the temporal relationship between the election and the pending case “ ’ ” offer a possible temptation to the average … judge to … lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true. “ ’ ” Lavoie, 475 U.S., at 825 (quoting Monroeville 409 U.S., at 60, in turn quoting Tumey, 273 U.S., at 532).”
This writ process and “coercive confinement” is the latest encounter in the ten-year campaign by Fine to restore due process to the California judicial system. Fine is the only attorney, of the approximately 208,000 California attorneys, with the courage to challenge the California judiciary for their due process violations. Fine, who has a Doctor of Law from the University of Chicago Law School, a Ph.D. in International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science of the University of London, and from 1995 has been the Consul General for the Kingdom of Norway in Los Angeles, has a long established reputation for returning to, and saving the taxpayers of California approximately $1 billion which the government has illegally taken from trust and special funds. These recoveries have been accomplished through taxpayer lawsuits with Fine acting as a “Private Attorney General” on behalf of the public. In this same capacity, Fine prevailed in the California Supreme Court in the case of White v. Davis, which stopped the state from making payments without an appropriation; i.e., a budget. The payments to judges are another form of misappropriation of funds; i.e., bribes. Fine has already brought Federal civil rights lawsuits challenging the LA County payments to LA Superior Court Judges on both California and U.S. constitutional grounds and has challenged such payments
through CCP § 170.3 objections appropriate writs of mandate.
The LA Superior Court judges and others acting in concert with them retaliated against Fine. They convicted Fine of contempt on two previous occasions, both of which were subsequently voided. They refused to de-publish and void Fine v. Superior Court, 97 Cal.App.4th 651 (2002), after the underlying contempt order was voided and annulled by the Superior Court in response to a U.S. District Court Order to Show Cause. They filed two complaints with the State Bar which became cases. The first was dismissed by the State Bar on the eve of trial “in the furtherance of justice.” The second violated the First Amendment in that it was based solely on documents filed in courts. The Petition for Certiorari raising the first First Amendment issue was denied in U.S. Supreme Court case no. 08-1573, leaving no realistic First Amendment protection for any lawyer’s paper filed in a court. Fine has filed Federal civil rights lawsuits based upon fraud upon the court to void the disbarment and vindicate the First Amendment rights. (Fine v. State Bar of California et al; USDC Central District, USDC case no. CV-10-0048 JFW(CW).) They unlawfully removed Fine as “class counsel” in four cases, and decertified the class, overturned a settlement in one case and refused to approve a class in two cases where Fine was either class counsel or
designated to be class counsel, amongst other acts. Since the late 1980s, Los Angeles County and 55 of the 58 California counties have engaged in the crimes of misappropriation of funds, obstruction of justice and bribery by using County tax funds to pay County “fringe benefits” to State Superior Court judges presiding in their counties. The State Superior Court judges were State-elected constitutional officers. They were not County employees. Under Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution, only the State “Legislature shall prescribe the compensation for judges of courts of record.” This duty was not delegable to any other body. The County payments to the State judges were held to be unconstitutional as a violation of Article VI, Section 19, in the case of Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles, 167 Cal.App.4th 630 (2008) rev. denied 12/23/08. In response to the Sturgeon decision, the Administrative Offices of the Court, which is part of the Judicial Council of California, drafted Senate Bill SBX2-11. Senate Bill SBX2-11 gave retroactive immunity to the judges and county officials from criminal prosecution, civil liability, and disciplinary action due to the County payments. Senate Bill SBX2-11 was enacted on 2/20/09 and became effective on May 21, 2009.
Senate Bill SBX2-11 stated with respect to immunity: “[N]otwithstanding any other law, no governmental entity, or officer or employee of a governmental entity, shall incur any liability or be subject to any prosecution or disciplinary action because of benefits provided to a judge under the official action of a governmental entity prior to the effective date of this act on the ground that those benefits were not authorized under law”. (2009 Cal. Legis. Serv., 2nd Ex. Sess., Chap. 9 (S.B.11).) The effect of SBX2-11 was to make it impossible to prosecute judges who had committed criminal acts such as misappropriation of funds, obstruction of justice or bribery, hold them civilly liable or remove them from office, except by voting them out at the next election. Such election could be as long as six years away for Superior Court judges or twelve years away for appellate and California Supreme Court Justices who had received such criminal payments while Superior Court judges themselves. The immunity encompassed approximately 2,100 Superior Court judges and commissioners, numerous Court of Appeal judges, and five of the seven Supreme Court Justices, including the Chief Justice, who was Chief Judge of the LA
Superior Court in 1987, approximately the same time that the payments to judges commenced in LA County. The long-term effect of Senate Bill SBX2-11 was to maintain a criminal judicial system which denied due process to citizens by its very existence into the indeterminate future. The LA County payments to the State LA Superior Court judges are approximately $30 million per year, or $46,466.00 for each of the 430 State Court judges. (The payment size was reportedly increased to $57,000 per year in early July 2009.) Since the late 1980s the payments have been approximately $300 million. Effectively, LA County has “bought” the State judges of the LA Superior Court. No other party has the “choice of a judge.” Daniel Gottlieb, a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics (Ret.) of Purdue University, calculated that ten million felonies have occurred over the past 20+ years through the various California County Supervisors’ payments to State Superior Court judges. The result is that California has a “criminal judicial system,” meaning a judicial system comprised of “criminals” existing on retroactive immunity and devoid of due process. Paradoxically, the very day after release of the Ninth Circuit’s Memorandum of Decision, California’s Judicial Council,
chaired by Chief Justice Ronald George, coauthor of SBX2-11, submitted a report by its “Commission For Impartial Courts” in response to the Caperton decision in which it recommended the disqualification of judges from any future case in which they have received at least $1,500 in campaign contributions from either side in a case because $1,500 is “the amount that creates a ‘financial interest’” B. LA County and the LA Superior Court Judges Knew that the LA County Payments were Illegal from the Beginning.
In the late 1980s, LA County began making “fringe benefit” payments to LA Superior Court judges who were Stateelected officials and State employees. In a November 10, 1988 letter from Sr. Asst. LA County Counsel Roger M. Whitby to Frank S. Zolin, County Clerk/Executive Officer, Superior Court, the LA County Counsel admitted that the word “compensation” in Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution included the fringe benefits that LA County was providing to the judges. The letter also admitted that the State Legislature’s function to “prescribe” such “compensation” in the State Constitution was not delegable, citing to County of Madera v. Superior Court, 39 Cal.App.3d 665 (1974).
Although arguing that the County should be able to make the payments, the letter did not specify any statute specifically allowing the payments and admitted such by stating at page 6: “Superior Court judges are technically state constitutional officers …”. The letter’s ultimate justification for the payments was unrelated to any legal reasoning or justification: it was a voluntary payment to judges, before whom LA County was appearing, for no reason other than to give them money as a pretext to obtain favorable decisions. The letter stated at page 10: “The salary of a Superior Court judge is the same state wide. Thus, a judge in a small rural county may be well compensated based upon the cost of living there and in comparison to what he could earn in private practice. On the other hand, judges in Los Angeles County are moderately compensated based upon the cost of living here and in comparison to what they could earn in private practice. The Board of Supervisors has evidently found that in order to attract and retain qualified judges to serve in this county, it is necessary and appropriate to provide them with benefits such as the flexible benefit plan contribution and the 401(k) match, which are available to many employees in the private
sector, as well as to county employees and court officers other than judges.” The “pretextual” rationale was obvious. Since judges are elected State constitutional officers, LA County payments to them would neither “retain” them in office, nor “attract” them or others to run for office. The payments were essentially “bribes.” The payments could be taken in cash. As of 2007 and 2008, the annual payments were $46,466.00 per judge, or 27% of the judge’s $178,800.00 annual State salary. Adding the value of the State’s fringe benefits, the LA Superior Court judges’ annual compensation is approximately $255,000.00. For the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the LA County benefits rose to $57,000.00 per year. The LA Superior Court judges’ compensation will be approximately $266,000.00 per year. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has a salary of approximately $218,000.00 per year. Since the late 1980s, LA County has paid approximately $300 million to the LA Superior Court judges. During FY 20072008, LA County was paying the judges $30 million. In return, untold victories Superior Court. Litigation Cost LA County has received from the judges of the LA LA County Counsel Annual Management Reports for
fiscal years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 show that not one person has won a case against LA County when a LA Superior Court judge made the decision. For fiscal year 20072008, it was unclear if two winning cases were jury verdicts or judge decisions. In fiscal year 2008-2009, one case was won against LA County by a judge’s decision. The litigation reports show that approximately 700-750 cases are brought each year. These reports do not account for children put into foster care where the County was receiving money for each child put into foster care under various programs, and other funding programs where the judge’s decision would benefit the County; or eminent domain cases where the Court could lower the land value. The result is that at all times since 1988, the LA County payments were both a sham and a bribe, and the LA Superior Court judges responded by deciding cases in favor of LA County, having a direct effect on the value and contents of the County’s coffers. During the entire time, LA County did not highlight the payments to the LA Superior Court judges. Instead, the payments were hidden as a portion of employee expenses as part of “trial court funding” in the annual budgets. At the same time, the LA superior Court judges did not report the payments on their mandatory Form 700 Statements of Financial Interest and did not disclose such to any party opposing LA County in a case in which the
judge receiving the payments was presiding. LA County effectively “bought” the LA Superior Court for the annual payment of $30 million per year. “No other parties litigant had a choice of a judge.” C. The Actions of the State Court Judge, David P. Yaffe. On June 14, 2007, Fine filed a petition on behalf of “Marina Strand Colony II Homeowners Association” to stop an Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) approved by the LA County Board of Supervisors for the redevelopment of the Del Rey Shores apartment complex in Marina Del Rey, California. (Marina Strand Colony II Homeowners Association v. County of Los Angeles, LASC case no. BS109420 (hereinafter referred to as the “Marina Strand” case).) On October 17, 2007, Fine left the case when the State Bar Court ordered him “inactive.” In November, 2007, the California Supreme Court did not affirm the inactive order and did not order Fine “inactive”. Fine, however, did not return to the case. On January 8, 2008, three months after Fine left the case, trial judge David P. Yaffe ruled on cross motions to dismiss the petition for filing a request for the trial date late, to grant a writ for failure to timely provide record, and to reinstate petition if
dismissed. He granted the motions to dismiss and to reinstate petition, and denied the motion to grant the writ. He then ordered Fine to pay attorney’s fees and costs to LA County (from which entity Judge Yaffe was simultaneously receiving, but not disclosing, payments that were both illegal at the time and also inappropriate due to their coming to him from a party to the case) and its co-applicant for the EIR without any notice to Fine, without Fine being present at the hearing and in violation of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution and the California Public Resources Code. Most important however, unbeknownst to Fine or his former client Marina Strand Colony II Homeowners Association, Judge Yaffe was, and had been receiving illegal payments from LA County in the amount of $46,466.00 per year, or 27% of his annual State salary of $178,800.00. Judge Yaffe had not disclosed such illegal payments on his mandatory Form 700 Statement of Financial Interests, nor did he disclose such to Fine or his former clients until March 20, 2008, two months after the Order was issued and ten months after the case was filed. Even then, he only disclosed his receipt of the payments after being questioned by Fine in open court. Fine then filed a CCP § 170.3 Objection to Judge Yaffe based upon the illegal payments mandating Judge Yaffe’s disqualification based upon California’s
Code of Civil Procedure § 170.1(a)(6)(A)(iii), which states in relevant part: “A judge shall be disqualified if any one or more of the following are true: “… A person aware of the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge would be able to be impartial.” Judge Yaffe was also subject to the Canons of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, which apply to all judges. These include Canon 2, 3E and 4D(1). Canon 2 states: “A judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge’s activities.” Canon 3E states: (1) a judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which disqualification is required by law; in all trial court proceedings, a judge shall disclose on the record information that is reasonably relevant to the question of disqualification under Code of Civil Procedure Section 170.1,
even if the judge believes there is no actual basis for disqualification. Canon 4D(1) states: (1) a judge shall not engage financial dealings that: (a) in
may reasonably be perceived to exploit the judge’s judicial position, or
(b) involve the judge in frequent transactions or continuing business relationships with lawyers or other persons likely to appear before the court on which the judge serves. Under Canon 4D(1), neither Judge Yaffe nor any LA Superior Court judge could accept any recurring payment from LA County. Under Canon 2, they could not [accept] any payment from LA County. Under Canon 3E, if they had accepted a payment from LA County, they had to disclose such on the record and disqualify themselves from the case. Judge Yaffe did not do this in the Marina Strand case. Instead, he violated the canons and CCP § 170.1(a)(6)(A)(iii). Then, upon being forced to disclose the LA County payments ten months after the filing of the Marina Strand case, Judge Yaffe did not oppose the
“objection,” but still refused to leave the case. Judge Yaffe, then, on April 15, 2008, after he was automatically “disqualified” under CCP § 170.3(c)(4), entered an order requiring Fine to pay a specific sum of attorney’s fees and costs, knowing that he did not have jurisdiction to do such. On November 3, 2008, Judge Yaffe entered an Order to Show Cause Re Contempt against Fine. On December 22, 2008, Judge Yaffe commenced the contempt trial over which he presided and “judged his own actions.” Judge Yaffe was the first witness at the contempt trial. He testified that that he received payments from LA County; that he did not report them on his Form 700 Statement of Financial Interests; that he did not have an employment contract with, or an arrangement to provide services with, LA County; that he did not deposit the LA County payments in his campaign account; and that he could not remember any case in the last three years that he decided against LA County, other than redoing the “dirt” section of the EIR in the Marina Strand case. During the contempt trial, it was shown through documents that the LA County Board of Supervisors’ vote approving the EIR was illegal and that Judge Yaffe had not granted the writ stopping the approval of the EIR on this ground. It was also shown that the proposed development did not
fulfill the criterion of the EIR that it be a positive financial benefit to the County and that Judge Yaffe had not granted the writ stopping the EIR on this ground. With respect to the illegal vote, it was shown that principles principals of the Epstein Family Trust, who were the legal managing partners of LA County’s coapplicant for the EIR (Del Rey Shores Joint Venture and Del Rey Shores Joint Venture North) had made political contributions to LA County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe above $500 within twelve months of the vote on the EIR. This invalidated the vote of these Supervisors, leaving only two affirmative votes for the EIR. However, three were needed to pass the EIR. With respect to the failure to show a positive financial benefit to LA County, it was shown that no such analysis was done, and counsel for Del Rey Shores was unable to specifically demonstrate the substance of any such study. The proposed lease between LA County and Del Rey Shores showed an $11-million rent credit for lowcost housing when such housing was mandated by statute and no credit was needed. Judge Yaffe’s actions of not voiding the EIR while receiving payments from LA County demonstrated that the LA County payments were clearly given and being taken as a “bribe.” The LA County
payments, along with all other County payments to judges, had been legislated to be criminal under Senate Bill SBX2-11, under which Judge Yaffe and all other judges receiving County payments received retroactive immunity from criminal prosecution effective May 21, 2009. Judge Yaffe also knew that the LA County payments violated Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution as held in the Sturgeon case. He further knew that he was violating the intangible right to honest services (18 U.S.C. § 1346) by taking payments and not disclosing such. Fine had informed Judge Yaffe of these violations. Judge Yaffe had retaliated against the charge of violating the intangible right to honest services by charging Fine with attacking the integrity of the Court (Judge Yaffe) in the November 3, 2008 Order to Show Cause Re Contempt. Such charge was unlawful as CCP § 1211 prohibits a contempt charge for attacking the integrity of the Court. Judge Yaffe’s sole response to Fine’s argument that he could not preside over the Marina Strand case was a statement in the March 4, 2009 Judgment and Order of Contempt (at page 13, lines 18-23) in which he attempted to place the burden on Fine to disqualify him and omitted to acknowledge his duty under the Canons of Judicial Ethics to have disclosed the LA County payments
at the outset of the case and disqualify himself under Canon 3E and CCP § 170.1(a) (6)(A)(iii). Judge Yaffe did not respond to the charge that he was “judging his own actions.” On March 4, 2009, Judge Yaffe held Fine in contempt for not responding to questions about his assets in a judgment debtor examination to enforce award of attorney’s fees and costs. Fine was “sentenced to confinement in the County Jail until he provides all information he has been ordered to provide …”. Fine was also held in contempt for “advertising or holding himself out as practicing or entitled to practice law, and for practicing law in this court without being an active member of the State Bar.” However, at Reporter’s Transcript dated March 4, 2009, page 9, line 15, to page 10, line 2, Judge Yaffe stated that there was not any court order which was violated on this charge. Fine was also found “not guilty” of “lying about his status with the Bar in pleadings filed in the court and oral arguments made before the court.” Further, Fine was found “not guilty” of “attacking the integrity of the court, the Los Angeles Superior Court in general and the State Bar Court” and “not guilty” of “making repeated motions for reconsideration in violation of CCP Section 1008.”
At the March 4, 2009 hearing, Fine informed Judge Yaffe that he was seeking a writ of habeas corpus, stating at Reporter’s Transcript dated March 4, 2009, pg 8, lines 5-6: “... as the court knows, all your actions were illegal. They aren’t going to stand up...”. Fine continued, at page 8, line18, to page 10, line 17, in relevant part: Court: “Do you have any intention of answering these questions that you were ordered to answer by Commissioner Gross?” Mr. Fine: “Your Honor, I will not answer those questions until such time as we have finished the writs of habeas corpus because those are my rights and I firmly believe that this entire proceeding was illegal, that you violated the United States Constitution, as well as the laws of the State of California. Your actions were illegal from the beginning because you took money from the County of Los Angeles. You then decided things in favor of the County of Los Angeles and you have been given immunity for having done those acts under Senate Bill SBX2-11 …. At such time as to my rights of appeal through a petition for writ of habeas corpus are exhausted and I lose, then
I would answer the questions. Until such time, as those rights are not exhausted, I’m not answering questions. So we’re in an interim procedure here, Your Honor, and if you want to throw me in jail during [the] interim procedure, you may be doing another illegal act. You know, that is your position. You have already done illegal acts. If you want to continue down that road, that is a position that obviously you have taken before and may wish to continue taking, but higher courts may come down on you.” Fine concluded, at page 24, lines 11-19: “Now you may take your position, which you obviously have, against the Federal law. You may take your position with respect to claims that you have jurisdiction to do something. I have my position, which is taking you up through the courts and going into the writs of habeas corpus, which will ultimately decide these particular issues. You have done your thing here and I am respectfully advising you that it’s void and it’s an illegal judgment.” Fine was taken directly to the LA County Jail from the courthouse, where he has been incarcerated since March 4, 2009, literally one year.
Reasons For Granting Writ Arguments The LA County payments of $300 million since the late 1980s, and $30 million per year to the 430 State judges of the LA Superior Court, or $46,466.00 per year to each judge, which is 27% of their annual State salary of $178,800.00, has “bought” the LA Superior Court. No other party has a choice of a judge. The fact that these payments were unconstitutional under Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution and criminal, warranting immunity from criminal prosecution, civil liability, and disciplinary action under Senate Bill SBX2-11, makes the payments more egregious. The fact that these payments exist in 55 counties, and have accounted for approximately ten million felonies on behalf of the judges and County Supervisors, demonstrates that California does not have a functioning, fair, judicial system. The fact that each judge who is receiving a County payment is under an obligation to disclose such and recuse himself shows that each judge is “judging his own actions.” Further, the prohibition upon each judge from accepting the recurring County payments and the judges’ continued acceptance of such also shows that the judge is “judging his own actions.”
Judge Yaffe’s presiding over the contempt proceeding was clearly an act of “judging his own actions.” The act of retaliation by the LA Superior Court against Fine, combined with the specific acts of Judge Yaffe of making the unlawful charge of attacking the integrity of the Court while knowing that, under CCP § 1211(a)(11) a contempt action does not exist for such act, demonstrates the embroilment of Judge Yaffe. All of these facts demonstrate that due process has been violated, that the District Court and Ninth Circuit were wrong in their decisions and that the Court must grant the Writ to require the Ninth Circuit to follow and obey long-standing Supreme Court precedent. 1. Recusal was Mandated Because the LA County Payments Violated Due Process.
The LA County payments were a $30million-per-year misappropriation of taxpayer funds to make unconstitutional and criminal payments to State-elected judges who were not County employees. As such, they amounted to theft of taxpayer funds of approximately $300 million since 1988. The State-elected judges receiving the payments were LA Superior Court judges presiding in courts where LA County had cases. The payments were purportedly
made to “attract and retain judges to serve in LA County.” This was a “pretext” as the judges were elected and paid by the State. Further, the judges knew that Canon 4D(1) of the Code of Judicial Ethics prohibited them from accepting a recurring payment from a person who could appear before them. Since the payments were intended for all of the judges, and since the payments were in extraordinary and amounting to 27% of the judges’ annual salary, the payments precluded an opponent of LA County from choosing his own judge as LA County was able to do. The $30 million per year is probably more than the total election costs for all 430 Superior Court judges. However, if spread over six years, the payments totaled $180 million, which is over $250,000 for each judge’s campaign, if the money were used for that purpose. That is a massive contribution for a local judicial office. (As discussed hereinabove, judges are soon to be limited to $1,500 contributions before automatic recusal is triggered.) Effectively, LA County bought the Court if such a contribution were even allowed. Since LA County regularly appeared before the LA Superior Court judges, it had a vested stake in making the payments. . Viewing a similar situation of a $3million contribution (which is 10% of one year of the LA County payments), this Court
held in Caperton that Judge Benjamin must recuse himself, stating at Caperton, supra, Slip Opinion page 16, in relevant part: “Although there is no allegation of a quid pro quo agreement, the fact remains that Blankenship’s extraordinary contributions were made at a time when he had a vested stake in the outcome. Just as no man is allowed to judge his own cause, similar fears of bias can arise when-without the consent of the other parties-a man chooses a judge in his own cause. And applying this principle to the judicial election process, there was here a serious, objective risk of actual bias that required Justice Benjamin’s recusal. Following the reasoning in Caperton, LA County’s concept of “attracting and retaining qualified judges to serve in LA County” violates due process because “LA County is choosing the judges of its causes without the consent of the other parties litigant”. LA County is paying the judges both prior to the time it has a case before a judge (a bribe) and before it has a case before the judge. The amount of money paid does not matter. The Caperton Court used the standard of Tumey, supra, where excessive money was not necessary to violate due process, only the existence of a temporal
relationship between the actions of a judge and the party or the case. In Tumey, the payment of a small penalty was found to violate due process. In Ward v. Monroeville, 409 U.S. 57 (1972), the judge did not receive any money for being a judge, but inasmuch as he was also mayor of the town, he had an interest in the fines being paid to the town “Fisc.” This was found to be a violation of due process. In Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Lavoie, 475 U.S. 815 (1986), an Alabama Supreme Court Justice’s casting of a deciding vote in a case which could affect a similar case where he was a plaintiff was found to be a violation of due process. Using the objective non-financial standard, the Court in Caperton held at Slip Opinion page 16 that: “... [W]e find that Blankenship’s significant and disproportionate influence – coupled with the temporal relationship between the election and the pending case – “ ‘ ” offer a possible temptation to the average … judge to … lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true. “ ‘ ” Lavoie, 475 U.S. at 825 (quoting Monroeville, 409 U.S. at 60, in turn quoting Tumey, 273 U.S. at 532). …” Under this holding, the LA County payments to Judge Yaffe and the LA Superior Court judges at a time during or near the time that LA County had a case
before the judge would raise the probability of actual bias to an unconstitutional level. The Ninth Circuit did not even consider these parts of Caperton in its not-forpublication, not-to-be-cited-as-precedent Memorandum of Decision. Its sole reference was to the old common law of Tumey, stating at page 2: “Fine asserts that Judge Yaffe was intolerably biased because he received employment benefits from Los Angeles County, a party to the litigation. However, unlike the circumstances of Caperton, Judge Yaffe’s receipt of these benefits did not give him a ‘direct personal, substantial, pecuniary interest’ in the matter. Id at 2254 (citing Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510 (1927)).” It appears that the Ninth Circuit panel did not fully read the Caperton decision. Had they done so, they would have realized that the case did not rely on their quote from Tumey. They also would have realized that Judge Yaffe received his LA County money personally from LA County while he was presiding over the Marina Strand case and while he was presiding over other LA County cases. Under the criteria used in Caperton, Judge Yaffe was a stronger case for recusal than Judge Benjamin, who did not receive money personally and who
would only sit on the case if he were elected. Most importantly, however, was that the Ninth Circuit was not using the correct Supreme Court precedent. Had it used the objective test used in Caperton, it would have been bound to find a denial of due process. The Ninth Circuit made the same error of not following Supreme Court precedent regarding the criminal aspect of the LA County payments. As the LA County payments were “criminal” involving “bribes”, there was a denial of due process. In the case of Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11, 14 (1954), the Court stated: “A judge receiving a bribe from an interested party over which he is presiding does not give the appearance of justice.” The Ninth Circuit did not even address the denial of due process by the criminal LA County payments. Instead, it attempted to avoid precedent by making a specious and irrelevant argument at page 2 of the Memorandum of Decision as follows: “Fine’s argument that he ‘exposed’ Judge Yaffe for receiving ‘criminal payments’ is belied by a California statute expressly providing that judges ‘shall continue to receive supplemental benefits from the
county or court then paying the benefits.’ See Cal. Gov’t. Code Section 68220; See also Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles, 84 Cal.Rptr.3d 242 (2008) (rejecting taxpayers’ contention that judicial compensation was unconstitutional waste or gift of public funds, but finding that judicial compensation required statutory prescription).” Firstly, the Ninth Circuit did not disclose that Gov’t. Code Section 68220 was part of Senate Bill SBX2-11; that the “continued payments” did not commence until May 21, 2009, which is after all of Judge Yaffe’s actions were completed; or that the continued payments are based on those payments “as of July 1, 2008” and still be paid “on the same terms and conditions as were in effect on that date.” With respect to LA County, the payments were “voluntary” and part of the annual budget. The payments in effect as of July 1, 2008 would expire by their own terms on June 30, 2009, or 39 days after the statute became effective. The statute also had a 180-day termination notice that would not apply to LA County as the benefits ended before then. The Ninth Circuit did not disclose that another part of Senate Bill SBX2-11, which became Govt. Code Section 68222, stated that neither the Judicial Council nor the
State was obligated to pay for the County’s “judicial benefits” if they stopped. This indicated that the Legislature was not “prescribing” the continuing benefits and they would therefore be unconstitutional under Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution. In this regard, the Ninth Circuit did not disclose in its quotation that the Sturgeon case held the LA County payments to violate Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution. The “continuing benefits” clause would also violate the single-subject rule of the California Constitution as the stated subject of Senate Bill SBX2-11 was to grant immunity in response to the Sturgeon case. It would also violate that part of the California Constitution which prohibits the State Legislature from authorizing a previous expenditure of a county where the work had been performed. Here the judges had already performed their work and the continuing benefits were based upon the work that had been performed. Finally, the “continuing benefits” may be an unlawful tax as it is taking County taxpayer money to pay a State employee. It also would be an unconstitutional tax under Proposition 13, which requires a vote of the citizens at a general election to impose a tax. In the final analysis, the Ninth Circuit did not address the issue of the criminal LA County payments violating due process and
did not show that Offutt, supra, was not binding precedent. 2. Recusal was Mandated Because the Trial Judge was “Embroiled” with Petitioner. Judge Yaffe became embroiled with Fine as part of the LA Superior Court’s retaliation against Fine for challenging the LA County payments. Examples of Judge Yaffe’s actions against Fine are: (1) The illegal and unconstitutional January 8, 2008 Order to pay attorney’s fees and costs; The March 27, 2008 Order referring to a non-existent March.18, 2008 Order; Refusing to leave case after disqualification on April 10, 2008; The April 15, 2008 Order awarding attorney’s fees and costs; and The November 3, 2008 Order to Show Cause containing false and sham charges, including the charge of attacking the integrity of the Court, which is prohibited under CCP § 1211(a)(11).
Although these are in writing, as distinguished from oral outbursts, they present the same level of animosity and hatred. Judge Yaffe reached the level of “running animosity” against Fine to
disqualify him as the judge in the contempt proceeding. (See Taylor v. Hayes, 418 U.S. 489, 501 (1974) – a judge who had “become embroiled in a running controversy” with the defendant could not subsequently preside over that defendant’s criminal contempt trial.) The Ninth Circuit did not even address this issue in any meaningful fashion, stating only at page 2 of its Memorandum of Decision: “nor was Judge Yaffe so ‘personally embroiled’ that he could not preside impartially. Crater v. Galaza, 49 F.3d 1119, 1132 (9th Cir. 2007).” The clear actions of Judge Yaffe, from his unconstitutional acts, to his refusal to leave the case after being disqualified, to his false orders, to his entering prohibited sections on the Order to Show Cause, demonstrate his “embroilment” and the denial of due process of his presiding over the contempt proceeding. 3.Recusal was Mandated Because the Trail Judge “Judged his Own Actions” in the Contempt Proceedings. Judge Yaffe was both the judge over the contempt proceeding and also the first witness in the proceeding. As the judge, he therefore judged his own actions to which he testified as a witness. These actions were the heart of the contempt case.
Judge Yaffe testified that he received payments from LA County, that he did not report them on his Form 700 Statement of Financial Interests, that he did not have an employment contract with or an arrangement to perform services for LA County, that he did not put the money in his campaign account, and that he could not remember any case in the last three years that he decided against LA County other than recalculating the “dirt” portion of the EIR in the Marina Strand case, which was minimal. Judge Yaffe did not grant the writ of mandate to stop the EIR on the major issues, such as the illegal vote of the LA County Board of Supervisors approving the EIR, and the failure to show any positive financial benefit to LA County from the redeveloped project. The Court in In Re Murchison, supra, 349 U.S. at 136, recited the general rule that “no man can be a judge in his own case”, adding that “no man is permitted to try a case where he has an interest in the outcome”, cited in Caperton, supra, at Slip Opinion page 10. In its Memorandum of Decision, the Ninth Circuit makes the following false statement at page 2: “The district court correctly concludes that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe’s refusal to recuse himself
from Fine’s contempt proceedings was not ‘contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law’ or an ‘unreasonable determination of the facts.’” The District Court did not make any such conclusion. In fact, the District Court did not even address the issue of Judge Yaffe refusing to recuse himself in Fine’s contempt proceedings. The issue was directly raised as one of the grounds of the petition for writ of habeas corpus: it was Ground 1 and specifically referenced by Addendum to Paragraph 7, page 5. The Report and Recommendation never addressed this issue as it ceased its analysis of Ground 1 at Addendum to Paragraph 7, page 4. As a matter of note, the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus had seven grounds, but the Report and Recommendation only addressed five, ignoring Grounds 6 and 7, in addition to Judge Yaffe “judging his own actions” in the contempt proceeding. Other than the aforementioned false statement, the Ninth Circuit did not address the issue of Judge Yaffe “judging his own actions” in the contempt proceeding. Conclusion Judge Yaffe is the tip of the iceberg. However, he also represents the path to solve the problem.
California is in the midst of a massive judicial crisis. After 20+ years of criminal payments being given to and accepted by judges, nearly every judge and justice in the State is compromised. $300 million of criminal payments in Los Angeles County alone, plus the payments in the other of the 55 of the 58 counties over the 20+ years has institutionalized corruption and emasculated any remnant of due process. Now, with the immunity of Senate Bill SBX2-11 ensuring that criminal judges and justices remain on the bench, Californians are faced with a lack of due process and a sentence of judicial tyranny into the indefinite future. There is one solution; the granting of this Writ! This will enforce the constitutional right to due process. The District Court and the Ninth Circuit refused to follow established Supreme Court precedents and enforce due process. Fine has fought for ten years, been unlawfully disbarred and unlawfully incarcerated for a year at age 69-70 to enforce the due process rights and restore the judicial system. This Court passed over the opportunity last year by denying certiorari in Fine’s disbarment case where he was disbarred for bringing a Federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that the LA County payments to LA Superior Court judges violated Article VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution
and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Such denial warned attorneys across the land that their First Amendment rights no longer existed. Fine urges the Court to not let due process suffer the same fate as the First Amendment did last year. Enforce due process. This will require compromised judges such as Judge Yaffe to recuse themselves. The recusals will open the courts to new judges who do not have a history of corruption. With this action, due process will be restored, the California judicial system will commence on its road to recovery, the corruption will recede and people will hopefully begin to again trust in the judicial process. Dated: March 8, 2010 submitted, Respectfully
By: ________________ Richard I. Fine, In Pro Per Richard I. Fine Prisoner No. 1824367 c/o Men’s Central Jail 441 Bauchet Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 (310) 638-2825 (Messages)
Email: RichardIFine@gmail.com
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