Judicial Council Watcher has been getting a series of messages about the authors of the Los Angeles report. The messages we’ve been getting are consistent and contain more than the names listed at the bottom of the report.
Judicial Council Watcher has been encouraged by a very reliable source to publish the names of those who participated in this report.
The report was commissioned by Los Angeles Presiding Judge Lee Edmon
The report was composed by a committee that consisted of the following members:
- Immediate (Past) President of the California Judges Association Judge Michael Vicencia
- Former Los Angeles Presiding Judge Robert Dukes
- Former Los Angeles Presiding Judge Charles McCoy
- Former Los Angeles Presiding Judge and Strategic Evaluation Committee Member William MacLaughlin (is it true about the non-disclosure agreements?)
- Current Judicial Council Member Judge Burt Pines
- Judge Jacqueline Connor
- Judge Carolyn Kuhl
In short the AOC can’t touch this and the credibility of this report is beyond reproach.
Now that we’ve provided names we’re sure that you will agree. We’re told that most of them have sat on the Judicial Council.
Posted in: Judicial Council of California
Judicial Council Watcher 
Judicial Council Watcher
June 29, 2011
Please note the update in the primary post-
Wendy Darling
June 30, 2011
Are any of these judges up for retention next year in the 2012 election? If so, please let us know who they are so we can remember to make a contribution to their retention election campaigns.
Long live the ACJ.
Judicial Council Watcher
June 30, 2011
By the way….. who are these people you might ask?
Judge Michael Vicencia is the son of former legislator Frank Vicencia.
Burt Pines is the former judicial appointments secretary for Governor Gray Davis, who appointed about a third of California’s current standing judiciary.
This report cannot be ignored.
JusticeCalifornia
June 30, 2011
No. The report cannot be ignored. It clearly and concisely states what is obvious to those who have attended Judicial Council meetings.
The cj said on television that “everything is vetted” by the Judicial Council, but it is clear from the way things are done (handing out information at the last possible moment; the tightly structured agenda; the PALPABLE UNCOMFORTABLE silences when a member dares to ask questions or object; the non-answers given to those who do ask important questions–think Judge Pines and the CCMS discussion about cost; the requests that the Council hand over constitutional and other authority to the AOC) that this is untrue. Further, those of us who have studied some of the data in the reports presented to the Council know that active misrepresentations are being made to the Council at times.
Things should change, immediately, and the suggestions in the report make sense. Leadership of the branch is currently wildly out of control.
Michael Paul
June 30, 2011
This report and the comprehensive plan behind it that includes democratization of the Judicial Council reminds me of another letter written 236 years ago from the Continental Congress to King George III.
This is nothing short of a revolution. Ms. Cantil-Sakauye would be wise to not ignore the contents therein nor the gravity of this situation she finds herself in.
The time for fun, games and the big lie is over.
Judicial Council Watcher
June 30, 2011
Hear! Here!
L. A. Observer
June 30, 2011
Except for Judge Connor (who is respected throughout the state as a mentor judge and jury advocate), every contributor is also a current or past member of the Judicial Council. They speak from personal observation and experience.
Judicial Council Watcher
June 30, 2011
Judge Carolyn Kuhl is a former deputy Solicitor General of the United States, and former special assistant to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith. After law school (Editor-in-Chief, Duke Law Review) she clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was at that time on the Ninth Circuit.
Nominated by President Bush to serve on the Ninth Circuit but withdrew her name from consideration after her nomination got caught up in political limbo in the senate. She is one of the most respected, distinguished trial judges in California.
(JCW imagines your last name gets mis-spelled lots. We’ve since corrected the error)
antonatrail
June 30, 2011
A well reasoned and extensively thoughtful report. How will it be received by the bureaucracy? Their best bet is to try to bury it and ignore its existence, if they can pull that off. Calling the report authors “clowns,” “ants on the Yosemite trail” or “stupid” and “wrongheaded” will not carry the day anymore. The report authors’ hard work does much to restore dignity to the judicial branch. All will benefit from their contribution.
courtflea
July 3, 2011
I can’t say enough about Judge Connor. Her ethics, her dedication, and honesty. Her contributions to this report make it even more credible, at least for me. I am thrilled to see her stepping up and taking a leadership role on a state wide issue that is somewhat political. Not her usual style, but I wish she would have done so 15 years ago….she could have been our new CJ.