Dear Members and Others:
As you know, two days ago we made a timely request under Rule 10.10(d) that Justice Miller exercise his discretion and open today’s meeting of the Executive and Planning Committee of the Judicial Council to judges and the public. Rather than act on our request and exercise his own discretion as the rule requires, Justice Miller stated that he would consult his committee. Since the meeting commenced at 8:30 this morning and we haven’t heard a word from Justice Miller or the committee, we presume our request was denied.
Rules of Court have the force of law. The rule in question, Rule 10.10(d), indicates that the Chair, not the committee, has the discretion to open any meeting of the E and P committee. It appears that the rule has been ignored, since at the outset Justice Miller decided to seek input from his committee rather than simply acting on our request. To complicate matters, the Daily Journal reported today that Justice Miller intended to bring the matter up at the very meeting that we asked to be opened to the public, making a denial or delay of the meeting a foregone conclusion.
We wonder why Justice Miller didn’t simply exercise his discretion under the rule or, barring that, contact the committee members via phone or email with the help of the AOC staff assistant to the committee, Jody Patel. After all, there are only six members on the committee and they often do business via email. For example, the committee enacted the entirety of the Judicial Council Governance Policies via a non-public, unnoticed email vote in 2009. The insularity, secrecy and obfuscation of the Committee’s activities seems not to be a thing of the past.
We wonder why Rule 10.10(d) even exists, since to our knowledge the E and P committee has never opened a single meeting to the public under the chairmanship of Justice Richard Huffman, which spanned well over a decade, or under Justice Miller. We also note that Justice Miller and his committee apparently have no problem opening the meeting to select individuals, as uncovered by the Daily Journal. We believe this disparate treatment is unfair, plain and simple. It seems that the default position is simply to deny any request, however reasonable, put forth by the Alliance of California Judges.
Finally, we applaud Judge Charles Wachob, chair of the Strategic Evaluation Committee, for his leadership and good judgment in making the same request for an open meeting. We are very disappointed that the Council’s most powerful internal committee ignored his request.
We have sent the following to Justice Miller. Once again, thank you for your continued support.
Dear Justice Miller:
We attach today’s Daily Journal article by reporter Paul Jones. From the article we glean that you have apparently opened up the meeting to certain select judges. The article references the current President of another Judges organization.
Justice Miller, if you are prepared to allow non members of your E&P Committee to attend your closed door session, why not open up the meeting to all? It is indefensible that the default position is closed meetings, and that your decision as to who should and who should not attend seems rather obviously based on whether the group in question is in or out of favor with leadership.
We applaud the Chief Justice who had the courage to open up the secretive issues meetings that precede Council meetings. Justice Miller, why not follow the lead of the Chairwoman of the Judicial Council and open your meeting? The judges of this State who are working in courtrooms as your committee meets deserve full disclosure. It is not an adequate substitute to provide judges, the public, and the press with a “summary” of your meeting. Further, you downplay the importance of the actions to be taken by your committee. We all know that invariably the Council follows the recommendations of E and P, just as they did at the last Council meeting. It was, after all, your committee that insisted on a public comment period before acting on the SEC report.
Justice Miller, you have the sole authority to open this meeting under Rule of Court 10.10(d). We again urge you in the spirit of transparency and accountability to allow the sun to shine within the walls of your meeting room. Justice Miller, please do not make a mockery of the terms “transparency” and “accountability”. It is well past the point where the non democratically appointed Judicial Council must begin to walk the walk rather than simply talk the talk.
Judge Maryanne Gilliard
Director, Alliance of California Judges
Just published in the Daily Journal this morning: A synopsis of this article because DJ wants over 500 bucks to post a PDF on a website.
Closed meeting draws ire
By Paul Jones
A meeting today of the Judicial Council’s Executive and Planning Committee to discuss how to implement recommendations of a critical report aimed at reforming the Administrative Office of the Courts is causing its own controversy.
[snip]
Judge Charles D. Wachob of Placer County Superior Court, the chair of the Strategic Evaluation Committee, also said he’d asked Miller to make today’s meeting public.
“My personal feeling is that a primary theme of the SEC report is that transparency, accountability, and efficiency of the AOC must increase,” Wachob said. “Therefore, consistent with the themes in the report, I felt that transparency is promoted by having an open discussion of the recommendations made in the report. Especially when there is such a high degree of interest in the public, and in the judicial branch itself.”
[snip]
<b>On Wednesday, Miller said he would put the question about opening the meeting to the committee when it’s scheduled to meet today.</b>
[snip]
“We’re not the determinative body, we’re not making any decisions,” Miller said. JCW: He also indicated that if the meeting were to be made public, he would reschedule it. Not likely after everyone travels to get to todays meeting.
[snip]
Judge Gilliard:
“We should be able to hear the discussion – open up the meeting so the judges, public and press can hear the discussion that’s occurring regarding what’s the most important issue our branch has faced in 15 years,” she said. “It’s an open report with open comment on the World Wide Web and they specifically are meeting to discuss the public comments – in private.”
[snip]
Miller said that SEC members and California Judges Association President Judge David Rubin of San Diego County Superior Court would be in attendance, as well as several other judges who will be joining the Executive and Planning Commission in September.
Related articles
- Justice Miller: In the interests of transparency and accountability, open your meeting (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
- Judges Continue to Call for Reform (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
- ACJ – Jury still out on the issue of transparency (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
- Judicial Council Slow-Tracks AOC Reforms (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
- Next AOC director described as “insider” by many (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
- OK so WHAT is a Jack Halpin Award? – Updated! (judicialcouncilwatcher.wordpress.com)
Judicial Council Watcher 
Wendy Darling
August 9, 2012
Policies, procedures, transparency, accountablity, “best practices,” rules of court, the law — all meaningless words at 455 Golden Gate Avenue.
No sunshine at the Crystal Palace today, or tomorrow, or next week, next month, or anytime soon. Probably not anytime within the imaginable future.
Long live the ACJ.
Remington
August 9, 2012
California courts do not work for anybody, with the notable exception of the few court officials who are running the whole corrupt show. These sleazy individuals and their allies benefit tremendously from the continued failure to put an end to California court corruption and waste.
The public simply wants to make the courts follow the law, ensure timely due process is available to all citizens, and comply with a reasonable budget that doesn’t bankrupt the state. Those at the top want none of this, and the more they try to hide what they are doing, the more we all know they are not sincere about reform.
Miller’s refusal to open up the meetings puts everybody in the know on notice that those in control will not clean up the mess they have made. Miller should be the first to be sent packing, to put all of these people on notice that change is coming. If they will not get on board and sincerely work hard to help solve the problems they created, then they are going to be thrown overboard and left to drown in the wake of the hulking Titantic that is the California court system.
The California courts are on course for their own demise due to their own intransigent pattern of corruption and misconduct if they do not find a “safe port” that can only be provided by a sincere attempt to reform the courts for a better future for all Californians. If California citizens do not see the abuses in this system cleaned up in the near future, some of them are going to turn to violence against the courts and their employees to put a stop to the judicial terrorism and extortion that have taken over California and threaten the future of all of its citizens except for those few running the whole corrupt show.
The first to fall should be Miller, for his efforts to stop up the reform effort. Open up the meetings to public scrutiny, Miller, or face the consequences.
JusticeCalifornia
August 9, 2012
“If California citizens do not see the abuses in this system cleaned up in the near future, some of them are going to turn to violence against the courts and their employees to put a stop to the judicial terrorism and extortion that have taken over California and threaten the future of all of its citizens except for those few running the whole corrupt show.”
I have observed that many of those who have been wrongfully financially raped and personally raked through the court coals system are resentful, and also suffer from the trauma of it all. But threats like these are not helpful. IMHO, MAKING AND KEEPING a DOCUMENTED, ORGANIZED IMPECCABLE RECORD, of who knew what, when where and how, one foot in front of the other, step by step, is of primary importance. At some point, this information will be crucial to prove a necessary point. Just my opinion.
Judicial Council Watcher
August 10, 2012
Remington uses different language to repeat a warning first issued by John. F Kennedy.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”
Res Ipsa Loquitor
August 10, 2012
In some ways the situation at 455 Golden Gate is reminiscent of the last days of the ancient regime — those in power continue to ignore the legitimate discontent outside the palace walls, And inside the walls of Versailles the parties continue, opportunities for genuine reform are either ignored or dismissed, and the bands play on.
R George can be credited (if that is the correct term) with being smart enough to realize he could do to a state judicial system what the politicians in Washington and Sacramento were doing to the executive and legislative branches. Aggrandize power to himself, generously reward those who agreed and facilitated, and punish or banish those who disagreed. And best of all, he calculated that just as no Wall Street major player would ever have to pay for their dishonesty and greed, he could finesse the same level of immunity from prosecution and accountability for himself and hs favored ones.
The one thing that has changed — and that he could not have anticipated — is that the economy tanked in 2008 and the unquestioned use of State funds to empower and enrich the House the George Built began to be questioned. Exit R. George stage right and enter his chosen, albeit underqualified, muppet.
Where do we go from here? Is it time to move beyond the conventional rally and demonstration? Is it time to name names, identify those who have been enriched through kickbacks and their own greed, and call them out at every opportunity?
unionman575
August 13, 2012
We need Open Meetings NOW.
Dan Dydzak
August 9, 2012
Justice Miller, new defendant in Dydzak v. Dunn et al. , pray tell, when is there going to be a accounting and audit of stolen AOC funds and irregular and illegal spending? Are you condoning the theft of funds and the Geneva attorney? Is power so important to you that you do not hear the echoes of other judges calling for democracy and reform? Are you checking into the spending of the present Chief Justice and her sending monies with advice of her Beverly Hills money manager? Are you asking R. George, Alan I Rothenberg, Esq. , Eric M. George, Esq and others about their money-laundering and RICO activities? Are you not concerned about the “fixing” of my case by George allies to protect his corruption and absolute abuse of power? Or are you of a mind set to adopt his Big Brother enemies lists as it pertains to attorneys and judges? Are you going to call for a democratic voting process for the Judicial Council? Or you going to ignore all the Alliance and fair judges out there, as though you are Mussolini or Hitler thinking that you can not only assist in rigging cases with Beth Jay, Esq. and AOC attorney, Mary Roberts. Esq., and others, but ignore truth and honesty?
Can you sleep at night knowing that multimillions have been stolen from the CA government and taxpayers, and you don’t seem to care one iota? Star Chamber proceedings indeed.
Lamentable from an appellate judge, no less. Very disturbing.
courtflea
August 9, 2012
No big suprise here. Now it is up to California Judges Association President Judge David Rubin to inform his membership and most importantly THE PUBLIC what came down at the E&P meeting today.
CJ Tani, it is time to direct the chair you appointed to open his meetings to the public. put on your big girl panties and show the branch you get it.
courtflea
August 9, 2012
I wonder sometimes, are we watching the World’s Dumbest CJ/Justice show? You cant make this stuff up!!
Wendy Darling
August 9, 2012
Actually, Flea, we’re watching the World’s Most Corrupt and Unethical CJ/Judicial Council/AOC show. And, no, you just can’t make this stuff up. Really.
Long live the ACJ.
The OBT
August 9, 2012
J Miller’s completely anti- democratic decision to keep his E and P committee closed today should shock no one. In fact a number of people on this site knew that would be his decision despite his prior calls for transparency . The remarkable thing is that the insular and arrogant crowd that runs the Judicial Council keeps blundering and making things worse for the branch as a whole. The credibility of Judicial Council leaders like J Miller couldn’t get any worse when they close from public view their review of the SEC report and the overwhelming number of public comments that urged immediate implementation of the SEC’s recommendations . Honestly what does J Miller and his insider allies have to fear by doing something that is commonplace in our society- conduct an open and accessible public meeting. The sad reality is that insiders like J Miller lost their way long ago in their quest for advancement and power. Never mind the adverse impact on the citizens of California, the trial courts and their hardworking employees. You can’t make this stuff up. Really. We need to democratize the Judicial Council, thank and excuse J Miller and J Hull and recall the Chief Justice.
Lando
August 10, 2012
I do believe I have sat at meetings where our Chief Justice claimed with the changes she made to the Judicial Council and AOC that reform was on the way for the benefit of everyone. One of those changes was her installing J Miller in place of Ronald George’s loyal friend and enforcer J Huffman. In the end these moves were just moving around the deck furniture on the Titanic. Despite all his assertions about a new and open day on the Judicial Council, J Miller has proven that nothing has changed. It is truly incredible that he wouldn’t open his E and P committee to public observation and comment re the SEC report, particularly in light of the numerous public comments offered by judges and other concerned branch management and employees. Thanks J Miller. Your anti-democratic actions today make the case for democratization of the Judicial Council in a more powerful way than I could ever advocate.