But of course JCW is a member of “AOC Users – All”. The head office wants us all to understand we’re all AOC Users. You’re not an “AOC Colleagues – All”. You’re not “AOC-Employees – All” No. Each and every one of us is addressed in the crystal palace email as AOC Users.
Users – (noun)
1. A person that uses.
2. A drug addict.
In that spirit, we would like to announce the elimination of referring to you as Human Resources and let you know you’re now an Administrative Service.
_______________________________________________
In digital purgatory you will find a speshul individual that a whole lot of people feel lots of love for. Soon we will be able to cross out Mr.LARTD himself, Ernesto Fuentes. The only reason they hired Bluto in the first place was to learn more sadistic ways of ridding the AOC and trial courts of employees. Of course, taking the helm at the HR whip will be none other than Curt Soderlund who in the processes will be giving Trial Court Administrative Services a reason to exist. At his side? Sofaman himself, Mr. Ken Couch. We’re still moving pawns on a board here but at least we’re doing something.
This goes out to you Ernie from all of your coworkers and friends at the AOC.
.
From: Patel, Jody
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 11:56 AM
To: AOC Users-All
Subject: HR Division Restructuring
Colleagues:
As we continue to make organizational changes to manage budget reductions and implement efficiencies, I’m writing to advise you of a change relating to our human resources function. Effective May 1, 2012, the AOC’s Human Resources (HR) Division will be realigned as a unit and merged with Trial Court Administrative Services as the Administrative Services Division. With this change, Ernie Fuentes, who has served as HR Director, is leaving the AOC.
The Administrative Services Division will be led by Curt Soderlund. Curt’s years of HR experience in state government and at the local court level will directly benefit HR’s service functions. Ken Couch, HR’s Assistant Director, who has been with the agency since 2007, will continue to serve as assistant director in the realigned division structure.
The hiring freeze in place since 2008, employee attrition, and two cycles of the voluntary separation incentive program in the current fiscal year have disproportionately affected HR staffing. This realignment will enable us to maintain core HR services for the trial and appellate courts, as well as internally within the AOC, while creating efficiencies and savings.
This approach is consistent with AOC division consolidations and related executive management reductions of the past year, specifically division mergers to create the Court Programs and Services Division, the consolidation of regional offices, and the reduction of three director positions.
Curt and I will be meeting with the HR management team and the entire HR staff to discuss the specifics of this change, answer questions, and listen to feedback.
Even though this restructuring effort is necessary, I know that it’s difficult and unsettling. Your support is critical to our effectiveness in dealing with the current challenges. I want to reiterate my goal of placing the AOC on a more stable footing for the future. The guiding principle for this organizational realignment is to ensure that we are in the best possible position, functionally and fiscally, to meet our core responsibilities. The Chief Justice and the Judicial Council will receive the recommendations of the Strategic Evaluation Committee (SEC) in the next six to eight weeks. However, with the significant budget reductions in this and the next fiscal year, it is incumbent on AOC executive leadership to be proactive in identifying savings and implementing efficiencies. When the SEC recommendations are received and considered by the council, the agency will be in a better position to address next steps.
I will continue to share as much information as possible with you in the coming weeks. The directors and Curt and I thank you for your sustained commitment to the AOC and our mission of improving the administration of justice in California.
Jody
Jody Patel
Interim Administrative Director of the Courts
Judicial Council of California – Administrative Office of the Courts
455 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102-3688
415-865-4275. FAX 415-865-4244, jody.patel@jud.ca.gov
“Serving the courts for the benefit of all Californians”
Judicial Council Watcher 
Wendy Darling
April 27, 2012
Bluto’s official last day is May 4th. Until then, effective today, Bluto is on “adminstrative leave” and supposedly won’t be returning to the office.
Speaking of being in the office, Bill Vickrey and Ron Overholt were both at 455 Golden Gate Avenue today.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 27, 2012
“Administrative leave” is an unusual status for someone whose job has been eliminated. Usually administrative leave indicates management has directed you not to return to the office, although you are kept on salary during an investigation of some “issue” related to your conduct, your health, etc.
Any enlightenment JCW or Wendy on why the odd status?
Or was Art Scotland’s original, unpublished, and hidden SEC report so spot on that Mr. Fuentes cannot survive even a rewrite by friendly puppets?
Release the SEC Report!
Wendy Darling
April 27, 2012
“Or was Art Scotland’s original, unpublished, and hidden SEC report so spot on that Mr. Fuentes cannot survive even a rewrite by friendly puppets?”
Why, Res Ipsa, it’s as if you have a crystal ball!
Long live the ACJ.
Judicial Council Watcher
April 28, 2012
Say, isn’t Jody Patel a member of the SEC committee? She seems to know when it will be released, which magically and amazingly coincides with the end of this budget year. Is she currently taking some actions on what she personally knows to be in that report?
Wish we knew more about the departure of Mr. Fuentes. In light of the carnage and human tragedy he left behind along with the previously noted litigation, it would be difficult to imagine his survival. But fear not good people for Bill and Ron are still at work and pulling the puppet strings – and little has changed in the crystal palace.
Michael Paul
April 28, 2012
Administrative leave until all benefits can be paid = You’re fired.
Peppermint Pattie
April 28, 2012
Exactly right, Michael Paul.
And certain members of the AOC’s HR celebrated just that last night. A fun time was had by all.
Guest
April 28, 2012
Agencies normally resist making organizational changes while there is a vacancy at the top because normally the governing board wants the new person at the top to make the changes they feel are necessary for the agency they are now hired on to run. The AOC Director recruitment closed yesterday, the same day the interim director made these organizational changes. Looks like the change is no change.
Nathaniel Woodhull
April 28, 2012
Good points by all!
It will be interesting to see who the “top tier” candidates are and who will be “interviewed” by the Judicial Council and ultimately selected as the new HMFIC of the AOC. The closing date for applications through Ralph Andersen & Associates was yesterday. That means, the stable of ponies is corralled and and should be ready to run. The salary for this position will be significantly greater than that for those people that the AOC are supposed to be “serving”, (i.e. trial judges and trial courts.) Andersen says that the “selected” candidate will start in July 2012.
Do these boobs in the Crystal Palace really think we are all that stupid? The SEC report was supposed to be released to the Chief and Council in February 2012. From the Chief’s own lips people were promised that the report, or a draft, would be released in April 2012. HRH-2 said how this unvarnished report would be used to impartially assess AOC operations, both the good and bad. Well, April ends next Monday and there is no chance we will see the report by then. It is so patently evident that the deck chairs are being hastily re-arranged so that on the “good” parts of the SEC report will be heralded and the “bad” parts will be simply overlooked because by the time of its release, any suggested changes in the SEC report will have been already implemented.
Rumor has it that Tani’s plan is to try and ride this storm out for five years, then ride off into the sunset. If we all keep up the heat, maybe we can effectuate her departure somewhat sooner than that.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 28, 2012
As we all know, there are “searches” and then there are “searches” for top management. Who will be the successful “candidate? (Candidly, old Res Ipsa would never rule out the possibility that a choice has already been made and we are all being treated to a little AOC/JC theater.)
I find it hard to believe that a new face in the executive office will be able to effect positive change. Tani is in place for a myriad of reasons, at least one of which is to provide cover for certain present and former top tier individuals. That said, no Administrative Director who serves at her pleasure is going to have very much room to do much housecleaning. The new hire may be given a feather duster, but I have to believe the power washer and the industrial vacuum will be locked up tight.
Wendy Darling
April 28, 2012
But the shredders will still be available for regular use.
Long live the ACJ.
unionman575
April 28, 2012
The new “boss” will be captain of the AOC ship:
Wendy Darling
April 28, 2012
It will be said by the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council that they searched the world over, high and low, looked under every rock, interviewed all qualified potential candidates, and low and behold, the most qualified person, and the top choice by all, will be an insider from within their already established orbit.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
Been There
April 28, 2012
General Woodhull, is there any reason Tani wants to stay for five more years? Does it have to do with time needed to maximize her judges retirement benefits, or is she determined to keep Jerry Brown from appointing a new chief justice?
unionman575
April 28, 2012
She is power hungry – even though she is an idiot.
anna
April 29, 2012
Don’t forget to include her “off shore accounts” and the first people she consulted when she was give her new title. [lawyers who deal in financial consulting and how to hide assets]
No, five years would be just enough time to run out the clock, especially for criminal charges to be brought.
What a whore she is.
JusticeCalifornia
April 28, 2012
On 1/10/12 Justice Scotland issued an SEC progress report. Check out paragraph 6 of page 1 (re Jody Patel), and the last 3 paragraphs of page 6.
Click to access SECupdate.pdf
17 days later (1/27/12) Scotland’s resignation from the SEC was announced.
http://www.courts.ca.gov/16829.htm
On January 27, 2011, this was the status:
“The Chief Justice noted that much of the committee’s work has been done and a report to the Judicial Council is expected in the spring.
Judge Wachob added, “On behalf of the committee, we remain confident that the substantial and thorough progress we are making will continue in a timely fashion.””
Next thing you know (13 days later—on 2/9/12), Ron Overholt “retires” and Jody Patel is named interim director.
http://www.courts.ca.gov/16930.htm
It certainly does look like the gambling barmaid’s sidekick Patel was brought in to be a cleaner, and commence damage control, before the SEC report is released to the public. She could not do this while Scotland was on board, because he specifically wanted to keep Patel out of the SEC process in order to keep the SEC “completely independent of the AOC”.
unionman575
April 28, 2012
Yes Patel was brought in to be a cleaner.
But, its stil all nasty stuff over there at the AOC Deathstar.
JusticeCalifornia
April 28, 2012
That’s the point of having a bought and paid for cleaner. Like Tani and her thugs.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cleaner
JusticeCalifornia
April 28, 2012
And I sincerely hope Dunn and Steinberg and tempted others do not place their legal and/or professional hats in the “cleaner” ring.
Like a pretty prostitute, top leadership’s “cleaner” ring has allure, but ultimately it ain’t pretty, or healthy, or safe, or politically correct, at all. In fact, it’s illegal.
anna
April 29, 2012
Are you kidding? Justice Cal? I’m sure Dunn has already entered his name.
wearyant
April 28, 2012
Does all the foregoing mean that Tani and Company won’t be gushing about how wonderful this Bluto was as she did with BillV and RonO? Oh, dear.
JusticeCalifornia
April 29, 2012
Fuentes reportedly had an ugly employment history documented in a lawsuit before he was hired by the AOC.
Apparently Bluto’s job is done, or there is nothing left to do that Ken Couch cannot handle. There were reports a year or two or three ago on JCW/AOC Watcher that the HR shredders were going full blast, and huge bins of material were being removed.
Judicial Councilmember Kim Turner covered up for her former boss, John Montgomery, as he improperly wrote off expenses and funneled $650,000 in court contracts to his girlfriend. She stalled for months, shredded documents, and then key document-shredding personnel “retired” before state auditors were allowed access to Marin court files and personnel. Minute orders were materially changed without notice to anyone months after the fact under her watch. Documents have gone missing from files and files have been withheld from litigants and the public under her watch.
Why were these people, with their ugly histories, brought and kept on board the RG Titanic as the CCMS and court construction and AOC HR $$$t was unfolding/hitting the fan? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
There should be a top to bottom BSA audit of the AOC, and creation of an itemized list of documents that are “missing” and records that should have been kept in the ordinary course of business but ostensibly were not.
Is it possible to sanitize the CJ/JC/AOC files so well that an ethical, experienced outsider can come in as director and not find trails of breadcrumbs leading to tales of corruption? I believe the answer to that question will guide “top leadership’s” choice of director.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 29, 2012
I have my doubts, Justice California, that an ethical, experienced outsider could stay/would want to stay as director. No one is going to seriously consider taking the job without doing some serious due diligence on the CJ, the JC, and the AOC, reports from state auditors, pending legislation, etc. etc., , and it is all out there for anyone to find.
Some on this site have observed that Joe Dunn is Tani’s choice not only for his obvious connections, but also IMHO because he possesses the political savvy that she lacks. Mike Roddy has also been mentioned. Are there other local “California grown” contenders?
And I wonder if Joe Dunn’s stock has diminished in any way because of the Dudzak complaint and its wide distribution on the net? Mr. Dudzak’s allegations are similar to those on The Leslie Brodie Report, but while one cannot know if all the allegations will “stick” there are definite signs of smoke from a distant fire out there.
anna
April 29, 2012
It’s not only Dunn’s influence, it’s the money he can spread around in the legislature. He was sent to the bar to find out where all the bodies are buried, and to cover them up. He has access to billions of dollars, and donors. Burkle and Giardi and Keese to name a few.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 29, 2012
Anna, I am connecting a few dots here but here is what I see —
Leslie Brodie Report states that two attorneys who put worked on the CaliforniaAll/Voice of OC whatever-you-want-to-call-it, have “abruptly” departed from MoFo — namely, Dian Gruenich and Lori Schecter (spouse of Bill Hebert). I know a little more about Lori than I know about Dian, but Lori has been at MoFo for more than 25 years and was selected as chair of its litigation department, no small honor.
I know something about the culture of firms like MoFo, and generally, an abrupt departure is a huge reg flag that someone has violated the rules. Now generally speaking at firms like MoFo you can drink to excess or have a drug problem (they’ll get you into rehab), heck, you can even sleep with your fellow partner’s wife (he’ll hate you forever), and the partnership will look upon it as a problem in your personal life. But screw up ethically in any way that violates the trust that the partners have in you, or do something that may bring negative scrutiny to the firm, and you literally disappear, well, not literally, but you know what I mean.
Jim Brosnahan is still at MoFo and reportedly quickly exited any involvement with Voice of OC, a step that may have saved him. Yes, he is a Tier 1 partner and brings in lots of $$, but the “word on the street” is that he is disliked, and sometimes even loathed, by his fellow partners at the firm.
Joe Dunn’s name is all over this CaliforniaAll/Voice of OC thing, and if he is selected as Vickrey II, he will have to hope the media chooses to stay asleep on this one.
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
And, Res Ipsa, if Joe Dunn is selected as Vickrey II, we will all have to hope the media chooses NOT to stay asleep on this one. Maria Dinzeo: if you are a JCW reader, here is a story for you.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
anna
April 29, 2012
Well, well, well, if there was any unethical conduct by Schecter, Hebert has an obligation to have her investigated by the bar. [or is that negated by the spousal privilege?] Hmmmm….. what is not covered by that privilege is having the bar cover up, or protect her.
One wonders how many favors Dunn is raking in for covering up and protecting the State Bar, the Board for doctors, and now it looks as if he’ll garner a slew of other chits after he “comes in and saves the day” for the AOC.
He’s a real snake.
One can only hope there will be a day of reckoning for these as$%90es!
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 29, 2012
Anna, within a law firm the ethical standards demanded of partners, associates and employees are usually somewhat different than the standards set by the State Bar. If you violate the ethical standards set by the State Bar you are finished, no question about it. But within the firm you can also violate its internal ethical standards and likewise see your career at that firm end.
The number one ethical “no no” within most firms is deception. I am not saying that is the case here, because no one knows. But something could have — emphasis on could have — happened that violated a firm’s internal standards while not rising to a violation of the State Bar’s Rules of Conduct.
I want to reiterate that this situation presents a red flag that bears looking into.
unionman575
April 28, 2012
It’s showtime:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/17908.htm
unionman575
April 29, 2012
The smart money is on Dunn. He won’t last long as AOC boss
JusticeCalifornia
April 29, 2012
I have my own theories about California contenders. Included on that list may be a party liner flying under the radar right now.
On the other hand, page 4 of Justice Scotland’s January 2012 report seems to envision a politician/director who acts as a “primary liaison” between the judicial branch and the other two branches of government to keep outside “interference” at bay.
I personally agree with Dunn that having top leadership of the judicial branch abandon their intellectual, ethical law-and-justice focused black-robed dignity to roll around and fully engage in the muddy, rough and tumble, back door, backroom, quid pro quo deal-cutting world of politics is a risky strategy. It has not been a successful strategy for George and Sakauye– I daresay respect for the branch in general and the CJ/JC/AOC in particular in the eyes of all three branches and the public is at an all time low. Dunn as AOC director would naturally increase rather than decrease the branch’s participation in hard-core politics and given his prior stated views, I have to wonder if Dunn himself genuinely thinks that is a good idea.
Been There
April 29, 2012
I pray the party liner flying under the radar is not Kim Turner!
JusticeCalifornia
April 29, 2012
Been There, the under-the-radar theory is entirely my own, based on watching interesting appointments, alliances, and power plays. I could be way off base– I was just thinking about who is well-schooled in bad behavior and Team George/NCSC groupthink, but not very well known, who would be acceptable to top leadership.
Kim Turner has never flown under the radar. She’s way out there, front and center, as a bought and paid for, “I will say or do anything you want no matter how repugnant”, unethical branch thug.
It isn’t Mike Roddy, either. He is way too controversial and mired in ugly stories and conflicts. The San Diego family court activist contingent alone would have a field day with him.
Walking targets are not going to fly. They are easy pickings and won’t last five minutes in the present political/economic climate. They will further contribute to reducing top leadership to a world-class laughing stock.
anna
April 29, 2012
That was the job of Beth Jay, however, she’s in way over her head. She has broken so many rules of professional conduct, she needs to be in jail. She is/was the personal attorney of HRH 1 and is the same for HRH 2. She conducted ex parte communications with parties who were litigants, without the other side knowing and gave legal advice on behalf of the CJ. Hell, why didn’t George just crawl into bed with certain parties, and fix the cases.
Been There
April 29, 2012
Justice California, there is an NCSC President Emertius in residence in the AOC Executive Office.
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
” … there is an NCSC President Emertius in residence in the AOC Executive Office.”
And who, pray tell Been There, might that be?
Long live the ACJ.
Been There
April 30, 2012
Wendy, it is Roger Warren — he was a Sacramento County Superior Court judge before taking the NCSC position. After his term at NCSC expired, he returned to California and the AOC as a scholar-in-residence.
JusticeCalifornia
April 29, 2012
Our lawyer-politicians — former and current– have been in a catbird seat to broker a deal between the rapidly decreasing number of Team George leftovers and rapidly increasing number of reform-minded stakeholders. Why haven’t any stepped forward? Are they so far indebted/beholden to and/or indoctrinated by Team George that they cannot read the handwriting on the wall and reach across the aisle?
It matters not what self-serving, “everybody’s doing it” lucrative and power driven (for the NCSC) theory du jour the NCSC is pushing statewide, nationwide, worldwide– the bottom line is, under this lucrative, power-driven NCSC self-serving theory du jour (“the administrators should run the courts”), oppression and corruption — rather than truth and justice– have been what are going down in the largest judiciary in the Western World.
That will not be tolerated here.
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
Not past tense, Justice California, i.e., oppression and corruption is not what “have been” going down in the largest judiciary in the Western World – it IS was is going on. Right to this very moment.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
unionman575
April 29, 2012
It’s building new Taj Majals (business as usual AOC style) or keeping courthouse doors open..
http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/29/2179089/judges-war-over-facilities-is.html
Sunday, Apr. 29, 2012
WALTERS: Judges’ war over facilities is entering its next phase
By Dan Walters
A professional-quality video clip popped up on YouTube last week, depicting the physical deficiencies in California courtrooms and making the case for building new courthouses and rehabbing old ones.
The video, containing scene after scene of overcrowded courtrooms, mouse traps and water damage, was produced for the Judicial Council, the San Francisco- based policymaking body for California’s judicial system. And it’s ammunition in the latest skirmish between the council, which is headed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, and the rebellious Alliance of California Judges over how to deal with cutbacks in state court financing.
The ACJ has accused the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts of wasting money on a bloated bureaucracy, an unworkable centralized computer system and a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction program while local courts have been forced into periodic shutdowns and employee furloughs.
The Alliance won one skirmish recently when the Judicial Council cancelled the computer program. The rebels also won Assembly passage of a bill, bitterly opposed by Cantil-Sakauye and her allies, that would give local courts more authority over allocation of funds.
And now the battle is shifting to the construction program, which critics say is too grandiose and is gobbling up money that should be diverted into support for court operations.
In 2008, the Legislature, at the behest of Cantil-Sakauye’s predecessor, Ron George, authorized up to $5 billion in bonds to finance courthouse construction, to be repaid through increases in fines, fees and assessments on court system users.
Some of that income stream has already been diverted into operations to offset reductions in judicial allocations from the state budget, and last week, as it placed the video on YouTube, the Judicial Council endorsed, conceptually, a reassessment of the construction program that would, it said, “yield significant long-term savings.”
Thirteen projects are to be reassessed while another 24 are to proceed with some budget reductions, even if it means departing from the council’s design standards.
But the ACJ isn’t placated. While it endorsed the construction slenderizing, it also told the Judicial Council that it should suspend all courthouse contracting “until the budget picture becomes more clear,” noting that the courts could face even more budget cuts due to lower-than-expected state revenues. The Alliance also is seeking an independent review of construction costs by the state auditor.
The Judicial Council’s action, the Alliance’s criticisms and the state’s shaky finances set the stage for a showdown in the Capitol as Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators look for more ways to close an ever-growing, multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
unionman575
April 29, 2012
Everyone get ready to plug your nose as two well known “skunks” stink up the place: Dunn as AOC director, and Steinberg as an appellate justice.
Wow! What’s that stink?
unionman575
April 29, 2012
As I attach a clothespin to my nose…Drum roll please…
Joe Dunn (California)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Dunn is a Democratic former California State Senator who represented California’s 34th Senate District in central Orange County and led the state’s investigation into Enron’s involvement in the 2000-2001 energy crisis.[1] He was first elected to the state Senate in 1998, when he unseated incumbent Republican Rob Hurrt by a 51% to 49% margin. Dunn was reelected in 2002. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Controller in 2006 but lost by 53% to 47% to John Chiang, who would then go on to win the general.
In October 2006, Dunn was appointed as CEO of the California Medical Association.[2]
In 2010, Dunn was selected as the Executive Director of the State Bar of California.[3] He is a founding partner of The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP.
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
If anyone was actually thinking about what is best for the judicial branch, and not just what is beneficial to themselves, in the Office of the Chief Justice and at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, the new Director of the AOC would be Justice Scotland. After all, now that the litigation between the State Legislature and the State Controller is over, Justice Scotland no longer has any “conflict” of interest, and has plenty of time to clean up the mess at the AOC.
But of course, thinking of what is best for the branch, and not just thinking of what is beneficial to themselves, is way to much to ask or expect.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
Been There
April 29, 2012
Great post, Wendy. I was thinking along the same lines. He would not only clean up 455 Golden Gate, but his appointment would also gain for Tani the respect and credibility she needs to salvage her tenure as CJ.
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
Unfortunately, Been There, considering that Justice Scotland was told to get lost after he told the truth in his SEC report, and wouldn’t re-write his report to be less truthful and sanitized it more to the liking of the Office of the Chief Justice, the chances of Scotland being named the new Director of the AOC are about the same as, well, as pigs flying and hell freezing over at the same time.
Long live the ACJ.
wearyant
April 29, 2012
I assume there’s a copy of Scotland’s prelim report somewhere. A sound business practice is to keep a copy of all one’s offerings — the truth can’t be suppressed forever. That report will surface one day ….
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
Justice Scotland has a copy of his report.
unionman575
April 29, 2012
Another courthouse bites the dust while the AOC goes on with the construction program …more Taj Majals and LESS operating cash for all trial courts…This is WRONG!
Click to access 60daynoticereSimiClosure.pdf
Wendy Darling
April 29, 2012
But we’ll still have CCMS, or what’s left of it after it’s “leveraged,” and plenty of money for Grey Goose, caviar, lobster, and overnight hotel stays just steps away from 455 Golden Gate Avenue, and all the other perks that come with no accountability.
Yep, it’s wrong, Unionman. Quite a lot of things are wrong with what’s going on in judicial branch administration. And no one in any position of authority or responsibility will do anything about. No one.
Long live the ACJ.
unionman575
April 30, 2012
Recall Tani!
lando
April 29, 2012
Here is my theory for all that is unraveling at the crystal palace. The CJ and her JC supporters never dreamed AB 1208 would pass. Once it did,everything changed for them. To hold on to their insular anti-democratic power they needed to delay the SEC report. If the honest and fair J Scotland’s initial SEC report had been released on time, significant momentum would have built in the Senate for meaningful change and reform which 1208 proposes.So what we are now seeing is the exit of J Scotland and the further significant delay of the SEC report. Members of the State Senate should be asking why has that occurred. In addition, they should be requesting to see the original version of J Scotland’s report so they can see just what a mess the JC/AOC really is. Running around and making cosmetic changes prior to the release of the now significantly delayed SEC report changes nothing. It only goes to show that those in power at 455 Golden Gate are desperate to cling to power the California state constitution never gave them in the first place. We need to democratize the JC and recall the CJ .
Wendy Darling
April 30, 2012
Very well said, Lando, and also very, very true.
It’s a sad and disgusting day when the truth is deliberately covered up by and within the California Judicial Branch. Lies and deception, what a way to run the branch of State government that is supposed to represent the value of telling the truth and obeying the law. And as for the questions that the members of the State Senate should be asking, well, we all live for the day. Darrell Steinberg is doing everything possible to see to that those very questions are not asked, much less answered truthfully.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
versal-versal
April 30, 2012
Thanks all for the great insights about the SEC report. None of what the Chief Justice has done makes any sense. Mr Vickrey announced his retirement in March 2011, yet it took months to assemble a search process for his successor who 13 months later has yet to be picked. The Chief Justice announced the creation of a top to bottom review of the AOC to guide Vickrey’s successor, the SEC report. That report which she said would be released by April 2012, is now apparently on hold till June. While all this is going on , those that oversee the dark hallways of 455 Golden Gate are running for cover and rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic ,dumping liabilities like CCMS, and new courthouses that cost billions more than California taxpayers can afford. It sure would seem the initial drafts of the SEC report had lots to say the insiders didn’t want to hear. We need to see all ” drafts” of the SEC report , particularly Justice Scotland’s. The release of all that will further support the two goals many agree on , bringing democracy to our branch and recalling the Chief Justice .
lando
April 30, 2012
Here we go. Final SEC report, ( Version 4 ). Conclusion Number 1: CCMS cannot be sustained in this economic environment. JC/AOC response : After careful consideration, the JC voted to terminate CCMS despite the fact it was ready to be deployed and would have been visionary.SEC Conclusion Number 2: The courthouse construction program led to billions being spent when other more cost effective alternatives were never explored. JC/AOC response: Under the outstanding leadership of J Hill , numerous courthouse construction projects deemed “critical” are now being delayed so other alternatives including building modifications, and leases can be explored. SEC Conclusion Number 3: The AOC staffing continues to grow while the trial courts are required to make substantial reductions in staff. JC/AOC response : Under the leadership of Acting Director Jody Patel, the AOC has realigned and repositioned it’s management team to be more responsive and transparent to insure access to justice on behalf of all Californians. I hope everyone sees what is going on here. The delay of the SEC report is allowing the JC /AOC to appear to be cleaning up it’s act. That way calls for reform like 1208 can be delayed and defeated and the “insiders” at the crystal palace at 455 Golden Gate can continue their insular and anti- democratic rule never accepting any responsibility for the billions of taxpayer dollars they have wasted. Democratize the JC and recall the CJ .
unionman575
April 30, 2012
I think you are on the money Lando. It will be a total whitewash. I don’t think it will even do for emergency butt wipe purposes.
=)
courtflea
April 30, 2012
If any of you have been around long enough, the first time I was aware of any internal review of what was going on at the AOC was by the consultants Becker and Bell (I am pretty sure that was their company name) was in the late 90s. It was hyped to AOC employees as a serious independent review of the organization and would look into why employee morale was so bad and what the AOC could do to make it better. Well guess what? That conclusion of the review never saw the light of day. So the lack of publication of the SEC report is the typical M.O. of the AOC. So what is the big suprise here? Disgust yes? for sure. Call me jaded. And the fact that justice Scotland resigned no suprise either. he is an honorable man. the fact that he told the former AOC regional directors they would have no participation in the process alone shows that. Until the JC is a democratic organization this crap will continue to happen. I still think no matter what his reputation is in San Diego, Roddy is it. Being unscrupulous and having no ethics is a prerequisite for the job!! Who cares what the public says! Crikey, even with all of the publicity about the AOC in the last couple of years, John Q. Public does not care or even know what is going on in the 3rd branch. Dunn?? too hot to handle…the public does hate politicians almost as much as state employees. Patel will never be considered…ok hate me for saying it, I don’t think a woman would be accepted in that position, that is not my personal stance but I know many others would not accept it (the Huffman types). I hope that the judges and administrators and others that participated in the SEC survey, interviews, and meetings begin demanding to see the report. Perhaps the Alliance can make that their next focus. Thanks guys for all of the good info/scoops in this thread.
unionman575
April 30, 2012
Roddy doesn’t have the political “juice” they are looking for. Dunn has the juice – even though he is a skunk.
Nathaniel Woodhull
April 30, 2012
Rumor has it that the IT Committee performing the autopsy on the carcass of CCMS for things that might be “salvaged” (Justice Baxter’s word) will find, as many of us have been saying for years, that there is nothing to be salvaged. Additionally, this Committee notes that CCMS never really existed in the sense that there was no operational “system” in the first place. One can expect that if and when it is submitted, the “report” will never see the light of day. If someone is able to get their hands on a copy and/or should this report be published, Justice B.’s got a lot of explaining to do.
Michael Paul
April 30, 2012
Give me just one million they say they’re setting aside for ccms dissection to see what they can use / sell / etc. and I’ll show them the copyrights violated to give that functionality to them.
It it best to let this app die.
There is nothing usable or marketable in this application that can be resurrected. That is the all-encompassing dumbest idea I’ve ever heard lofted with respect to CCMS and it came from the very IT department I worked for? Not even they are that dumb. That money will be mostly plowed back into AOC operating funds and that is the real intent.
One day they’re going to take 20 million from a billionaire to save it and now they’re going to spend half as much to try to get something out of it?
Give me a break!
Wendy Darling
April 30, 2012
JCW, MIchael Paul, or anyone – any idea/word on how the AOC v. Jacobs trial is going in San Francisco? Inquiring minds want to know.
Long live the ACJ.
Stuart Michael
April 30, 2012
To maintain the charade they need an outsider
Insiders like Roddy and Turner have too much baggage and too many powerful enemies to be annointed
The AOC mess is so stinky that even Dunn the fixer won’t touch it
The State Bar was a piece of cake compared to getting in the middle of a judges’ dogfight with the Legislature as the referee
If I was a betting person my $$ would be on Roger Warren – an “ideal” candidate
Wendy Darling
April 30, 2012
“If I was a betting person my $$ would be on Roger Warren – an “ideal” candidate”
You might very well be right, Stuart Michael. Roger Warren would be an “outsider” on paper, but in reality someone already in the well established orbit of the Office of the Chief Justice, the Judicial Council, and the AOC, and a willing partner to what they want done, and how they want to do it. Bureaucratic incest at its finest.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
wearyant
April 30, 2012
Is Roger Warren with the NCSC? Is he some sort of “carney”? In other words, after the carnival has left town, the carney cleans up the festival’s mess, i.e., the press secretary. He’ll need a lot of pooper scoopers to deal with the AOC mess …
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 30, 2012
Roger Warren definitely was on the inside track in JC-land before he left the bench to take the job as President of the NCSC. He was well liked by Team George, and he chaired an important JC Special Committee on Strategic Planning, and the membership of that committee included most of the upwardly mobile (in the courts) folks who appear and reappear at in various positions on Committees and on the JC.
I had several interactions with him and I found him to be pleasant and likeable. No drama, no outrageous demands, no overinflated sense of self.
After he served as NCSC President, he was hired by the AOC as a scholar in residence.This could be very interesting.
JusticeCalifornia
May 1, 2012
Warren is associated with Justice at Stake, a reputable organization focused on campaign practices that has done some very helpful research.
http://www.justiceatstake.org/about/index.cfm
Warren has indeed enjoyed a close association with Team George. Taking over a hot mess like the CA AOC would undoubtedly be an interesting challenge for Warren. . . .however, I doubt that he is cut out or willing to be a compliant bought-and-paid-for glorified party line pooper scooper, and one cannot help but observe that compliance and a willingness to bury ugly information are qualities top leadership has historically appreciated and rewarded.
Other familiar names that could conceivably be on a short list. . .
Clark Kelso likes to take on challenges in all three branches– and didn’t he get those nice controversial AOC pension benefits?
And which Court Executive Officers were in the AB 233 working group way back when (1996)? Their names are familiar– Alan Carlson, Sheila Gonzales Calabro, Ron Overholt, Chris Patton, Mike Roddy, Fritz Ohlrich. Calabro and Overholt are “gone”, and Ohlrich just announced his retirement but the others are very much around. Roddy – a lightning rod for harsh public criticism and claims of misconduct in his own San Diego community– has gone relatively quiet, while Patton (a party liner all the way) and Carlson are very much a part of the current AOC restructuring:
https://judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/the-aocs-priorities-for-the-new-year/
Ohlrich and Carlson share an interest in and close ties with the Justice Management Institute.
Carlson certainly has been steadily building his resume and his writings indicate an intense (and nationwide) interest in the tension between state and local court governance/control/funding . . .I may be wrong but I have to imagine the position of CA AOC director would be his idea of a dream job. I wonder what JCW readers think about him and/or his alliances with top leadership?
Been There
May 2, 2012
Justice California, great point looking back at the AB 233 working group and tracing their paths forward. My only thought or rather question is whether or not Alan Carlson has all those negative personality traits treasured by Team Tani. I have to leave the answer to that question to those in Orange County who know him better.
anna
May 2, 2012
No Drama? Yes, you would need that type to install a takeover of the judiciary. What I’ve read of the NCSC is an outrage, their mission is to take the power from trial courts, and the independence they have, and create a borg state.
Justice Cal, i believe it was you? that talked about a book you read regarding administrative agencies vs. courts, written in early 1900’s. What an eye opener, and that is the type of system the NCSC wants to install.
I really hope it’s not Roger Warren, what a nightmare. He’d be worse than Huffman.
Sometimes incompetence is the best weapon against power-mongers.
DLC
April 30, 2012
Run for your life’s Santa Clara County Superior Court employees if they every hire Ken Couch to be our assistant CEO!
Guest
May 1, 2012
You already have the highest paid CEO in the state in Santa Clara so why does he need an Asst? Oh yeah because Yamasaki telecommutes from San Diego or is sucking up at the AOC, but never at work in Santa Clara. I hear Santa Clara is on track to get a new courthouse. The benefits of being the cj’s pet and on the judicial council!
DLC
May 1, 2012
Well Put you hit the nail on the head! If they really want to save money in our court get rid of the waste in HR reduce the all the positions starting with the directors on down, that would save 3 million a year then we can hire more line employees in all the divissions and really better serve the public.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
May 2, 2012
One personal thing I know about Roger Warren is that his wife is also an attorney. At some point while he was still one the bench in Sacramento, she took a US Govt. position in Cambodia to help that nation develop a legal system following unspeakable harm to the country and its people perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge. At that time the Warrens had two young children, and Roger and his wife decided that first one child and then the other would spend time in Cambodia with his mother, while the other remained in California with Roger. The decision was more than just the Warrens’s need to keep the connection strong for the children with both parents while one was out of the country, but also to give the children an understanding of Cambodia, its history, and its people.
Stuart Michael
May 2, 2012
I also had several positive personal and professional interactions with Roger Warren that were similar to Res Ipsa’s experiences with him.
From my perspective his conduct and demeanor usually engenders confidence and respect from those who interact with him.
It appears that he has been his own person throughout his legal, judicial and administrative career.
He has been a successful swimmer in numerous state and national ponds who tries to do the “right” thing without rocking the boat.
There should be no reason to doubt this continue to be his style if he is appointed as AOC Director.
Cleaning up (and cleaning out) the AOC will require courage and fortitude. Hopefully, Warren has sufficient quantities of both to be a real change agent.
His combination of judicial and administrative experience is not found in any of the other likely candidates. As noted by others above, most of them have “baggage” of some kind or another.
I haven’t heard about any baggage on him. Hopefully, there isn’t any.
He could be acceptable to the judicial, legislative and executive actors in the court system’s self-inflicted on-going melodrama from hell.
Do any of you know what he does as “AOC Scholar in Residence?”
Hopefully he applied by the application closing date.
unionman575
May 2, 2012
AOC Scholar in Residence:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=AOC+Scholar+in+Residence&Search.x=28&Search.y=8
unionman575
May 2, 2012
More AOC Scholar in Residence:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/cgi-bin/search.cgi?entqr=0&access=p&start=&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ie=UTF-8&as_lq=&q=AOC+Scholar+in+Residence&as_oq=&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&as_q=&ip=208.96.4.100&proxyreload=1&proxycustom=&entsp=0&output=xml_no_dtd&as_filetype=&lr=lang_en&as_sitesearch=&client=courts&as_epq=&as_eq=&num=&site=courts&proxystylesheet=courts&as_occt=&filter=0
Been There
May 2, 2012
The AOC Scholar in Residence was/is a Vickrey creation.
It came about when Vickrey desperately wanted to hire Dale Sipes. At that time Dale and her husband, Larry, were living in Williamsburg, VA — Larry had been President of NCSC, which is headquartered there. Long story short: Vickrey sweetened the job offter to Dale by creating a job for Larry, and, Voila! A job title was born.
A very useful job title too. The Clark Kelso situation tops all — as I understand it, Kelso holds some capacity relating to the inmate health conditions in the state prisons, but he is on the AOC payroll, essentially for pension spiking purposes. I seem to recall some angry CalPERS member filed suit in Sacto Superior, but I do not know what happened there.
unionman575
May 2, 2012
Here is the hard copy of the Kelso CALPERS Case docs:
http://www.scribd.com/jon_ortiz/d/54137425-Francis-v-CalPERS
Johnny Go!
May 2, 2012
Jacobs Wins!!!!!!!!!!
JusticeCalifornia
May 2, 2012
“Wins!!!!!!!!!!” what?
As I understand it, if Jacobs wins, the branch loses.
unionman575
May 2, 2012
“I seem to recall some angry CalPERS member filed suit in Sacto Superior, but I do not know what happened there”
https://services.saccourt.ca.gov/indexsearchnew/CVFLPRDetail.aspx?Details=CV|2011-80000841|clark%20kelso|01/01/2002|12/31/2012|Name|Asc|
Been There
May 2, 2012
Thanks, Unionman.
unionman575
May 2, 2012
=)
unionman575
May 2, 2012
The lawsuit asks the court to revoke Kelso’s CalPERS membership as an employee of the AOC.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/29/3587780/lawsuit-claims-prison-receiver.html#storylink=cpy
Wendy Darling
May 2, 2012
Kelso is working as a receiver under the direction and control of the federal court, in litigation involving the Department of Corrections, which is part of the California Executive Branch. Not the California Judicial Branch. Even by the farthest stretch of the imagination, and the law, Kelso is not an “employee of the AOC.” Just like Dennis Jones is not an “employee of the AOC.” It’s just amazing how the Office of the Chief Justice, the Judicial Council, and the AOC, can muddy the lines between the separate branches of state government when it suits their purposes, and then hide behind “separation of powers” and “co-equal of government” when it comes to accountability for themselves.
And “fully vetted” and “ethical” by whose standards? The Office of the Chief Justice, the Judicial Council, and the AOC, who have no ethics and have the strangest notion of “fully vetted”? And since when are they the arbitrators of what is legal and what is not? Isn’t that what judges and courts are for?
Oh, my apologies, I forgot – the law isn’t practiced that way anymore here in California. The Office of the Chief Justice, the Judicial Council, and the AOC, “fully vetted” closing the courts and now just decide what the law is themselves.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
JusticeCalifornia
May 2, 2012
I am sure Tani will be sorry to lose her current “dream team”– Patel, Soderlund, Couch– (the employees’ worst nightmares, I understand) but it should be abundantly clear at this point that business cannot — AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO– continue as usual.
The new director must be selected very carefully, and be of top quality (intelligent, experienced, personable, respected, diplomatic) with impeccable credentials and ethics and as little baggage as possible. No Napoleon complexes or simpering sycophants, please. Otherwise he or she will not last long– and the chances of having the AOC effectively shut down by popular demand will dramatically increase.
As for whether the AOC should be shut down altogether as opposed to scaled way, way, way down- realistically how would that work? After the Halpin debacle I am not a fan of the assigned judges program– but assuming that program worked as intended (limited assignments to cover for judges who are on vacation, sick, covering big trials, recused, etc.) who, for example, would coordinate that, and how? Who would handle information requests (LOL- another hot button issue presently) and do what the judicial council needs to have done administratively? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I am sure judges, trial court executive officers, employees, etc., have some opinions about this. . . .
JusticeCalifornia
May 2, 2012
Amazingly stupid Soderlund quotes from a very reliable source:
“Trial judges can manage their little courtrooms, we are going to control everything else” and “we can do WHATEVER WE WANT TO”. Or words to that effect.
Tani’s thugs don’t mince words.
Say, speaking of thugs and stupid comments, I hear Kim Turner and her people have been and are in hot water over various not-too-pretty personnel issues in Marin.
Hey Tani and Judge Ritchie, et al. . . .when are you finally going to dump Turner?
When the branch keeps baddies on board notwithstanding documented problematic behavior, it becomes complicity.
Michael Paul
May 2, 2012
It required the complicity for the AOC to lose the Jacobs case and complicity was the name of the game from the word go.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
May 2, 2012
Michael, what was the AOC’s end game here? To prove that it had not used unlicensed contractors?
Michael Paul
May 2, 2012
If you look at the expected result it was to ensure Jacobs won this case. What they were trying to do was allege that Jacobs was unlicensed by assisting Jacobs in demonstrating substantial compliance and continuing to contract with them regardless of licensure.
Everybody got to keep their kickbacks and you the taxpayer will now pay all court costs and Jacobs legal bills. Hopefully a few people in the AOC lose their jobs over this.
Never mentioned of course – “Team Jacobs”.
JusticeCalifornia
May 2, 2012
I completely understand. It’s pretty darn hard to convincingly sue someone you are still in bed with.
Wendy Darling
May 2, 2012
For any who might be interested: in a meeting with the AOC’s HR “unit” on Tuesday, someone asked about the SEC report, and Jody Patel that now the SEC report will not be released until late June.
In AOC speak, that probably really means September, or later.
Recall the Chief Justice.
Long live the ACJ.
Wendy Darling
May 2, 2012
Correction: . . . and Jody Patel stated that now the SEC report will not be released until late June.
versal-versal
May 2, 2012
Oh my, the continually delayed SEC report. I gave up on that report being credible when J Scotland exited. The selection of a new AOC chief is going to be very revealing as to where the CJ wants to take the branch. Patel, Planet, Roddy, Turner are all insiders who will insure that nothing will ever change at the crystal palace. Roger Warren on the other hand is a thoughtful, intelligent and fair Judge and court administrator who I believe could restore balance and trust to the branch. ( Much like J Scotland could have done if his work on the SEC report was allowed to be completed). I echo what others have said here and think Judge Warren would make every effort to honestly listen and reach out to all here who want to see the branch significantly reformed.
lando
May 2, 2012
I also have met Mr Warren and been impressed with his positive approach. He is smart, experienced and willing to listen to new ideas. The problem here is that Justice Hull is the gatekeeper for the selection process and given his demeaning comments at the last JC meeting , I fear he won’t be impressed with a someone who wants to listen and be open and fair to all points of view within the branch. I hope I am wrong and will be the first to admit it if I am. I believe however, this selection process was designed to “select ” another JC/AOC “insider” who will work to protect and maintain the current anti democratic governance structure at any cost. We need to democratize the JC and recall the CJ.
unionman575
May 2, 2012
You know this “selection” process reminds me of a certain game:
Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which one places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against their head, and pulls the trigger. “Russian” refers to the supposed country of origin, and roulette to the element of risk-taking and the spinning of the revolver’s cylinder being reminiscent of spinning a roulette wheel.
unionman575
May 3, 2012
http://www.courts.ca.gov/17951.htm
Actuarial Services for GASB 43/45 Compliance FIN MM 0412-NN
The Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts, seeks proposals from qualified actuarial firms to review, compile data, and valuate documentation related to Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB). The purpose of this project is to comply with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statements 43 and 45, as applicable to the 58 Superior Courts. The documentation produced from this RFP will be incorporated into the State of California’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) which includes General Purpose Financial Statements, Note Disclosures, and Required Supplementary Information. The most recent contract for these services totaled $490,000 to complete the biennial valuation for 2009/2010 for the 58 Superior Courts. That 2009/2010 contract \ established baseline data and methods to complete the work described in this RFP.