The Quest for Justice in California – An autobiography by Former Chief Justice Ronald M. George
When your ego knows no bounds and you’re being tagged as the cause of much strife and consternation by your peers, it’s time to jump on the old ‘puter and pen yourself some 800 pages of revisionist history.
The Quest for Justice will be available on Amazon.com for the low price of only $36.00!
http://www.amazon.com/Chief-The-Quest-Justice-California/dp/087772444X
If you happen to purchase this book you will be financially rewarding this unremarkable chief justice who resigned rather than face the music and wade through the mess he created. Our suggestion? Wait to check it out at your local library next year or borrow a copy from one of the insiders. Better yet, wait for the AOC to purchase the first 1000 copies for every legislator and courthouse in California at the full boat price of 36 bucks apiece, then borrow it from your local law librarian.
Some fascinating tidbits from the web include the classic Ron George blaming everyone but himself for branch failures and continuing to deride his critics as insects. In true to Ron George form, he picked a venue to propel his message in a manner that does not permit disagreement or contrary opinions. The true believers are already embracing these artful works and lauding praise upon the chief. He derides legislators across the spectrum as being self-absorbed and more concerned about their own legal issues than the California justice system. He derides his colleagues on the supreme court. He derides Bill Vickrey and blames him for the boondoggle known as CCMS without acknowledging his own lack of program oversight. As the chief justice of the largest judicial system in the country, every time the buck stopped at his desk he passed on it and the web available tidbits of this autobiograpy underscores these points.
He sees himself as the father that birthed a whole branch of government. Remarkably, he’s been able to not only reshape a branch of government but he did so in a manner that makes him and his cronies that still run the branch virtually untouchable and leaves them in power absent any major legislative intervention.
Absent any serious checks and balances, the branch investigates and oversees itself with one set of laws and rules for the insiders and another set of laws and rules for everyone else. They’ve been able to skate away from accountability time and time again because they run the system and virtually all that interacts with the system because they pass out the money – another abdicated responsibility of our legislators to the unelected appointees of the council.
Ron George set out to own the judicial system in California and make us all his bitches and mostly accomplished that objective. Had he been successful in mandating CCMS across all California courts as a system his AOC owns and controls at a reckless cost exceeding one million dollars per judge, had he been successful in being able to appoint presiding judges and court executive officers across the California court system his dream would have been achieved.
Don’t believe for a second that there has been any change of focus. It is your voice that continues to make a difference and prevent these travesties from becoming reality.
courtflea
November 6, 2013
coming to your bargain book bin/table soon!!
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
Those that lived through The Rein Of Terror that is Ron George’s real legacy of the California Judicial Branch don’t need to waste their money or their time on this “book” of revisionist history. They already know Ron George for what he really is: one of the most unprincipled, unethical, morally bankrupt, vicious, egomaniac, bullies that ever walked the earth.
And Bill Vickrey never did a single thing at 455 Golden Gate Avenue without first having the full blessing, consent, and approval of Ron George. That includes CCMS.
Still serving himself to the detriment of all Californians.
Long live the ACJ.
Wendy Darling
November 7, 2013
It was mentioned that the “g” was left out of “rein”, as in “reign”, so I thought I should clarify. “Reign”, as in a “monarch,” or king, was not used on purpose. Ron George was never a legitimate king. “Rein” was used on purpose. Think about it. . .
Still serving themselves to the detriment of all Californians.
Long live the ACJ.
Nathaniel Woodhull
November 6, 2013
I stand by my comments on the prior thread.
Let’s hope that HRH-1 got a big “signing bonus” because I’m not sure there will be any royalties. Did you notice that this work of fiction was published by the “Institute of Governmental Studies Press”. For all you out there working to hard to research this issue, that is the press at UC Berkeley. Hmm, why would they want to publish this drivel???
Guess who one of the biggest supporters of this press is? Ralph Shapiro, “an inactive Beverly Hills attorney, businessman, and philanthropist. The other big supporter, the Shapiro Family and Foundation. Just keep following the money baby!
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
Wasn’t Shapiro the person behind the slush fund that Ron George set up at 455 Golden Gate Avenue?
And does the Institute of Governmental Studies Press at UC Berkeley receive public funds/taxpayer money?
Follow the money, indeed.
Long live the ACJ.
Nathaniel Woodhull
November 6, 2013
You are correct! Go to the head of the class. Ralph Shapiro provided all the hooch for the parties at the Crystal Palace. He also made his fortunes in a manner similar to Gordon Gecko’s character, only in the 1960’s. Many of his colleagues ended up in Federal prison and I believe he has a lesser than stellar past reputation with the SEC. He and his wife have a fountain named after them at UCLA.
unionman575
November 6, 2013
Shapiro Fountain and a courtyard at my alma mater:
http://maps.ucla.edu/campus/?locid=83985
unionman575
November 6, 2013
Follow the money…
Shapiro Family Charitable Foundation
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/953/953887151/953887151_201301_990PF.pdf
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/953/953887151/953887151_201201_990PF.pdf
😉
unionman575
November 6, 2013
See the man, the myth, and the legend….
http://igs.berkeley.edu/events/chief-the-quest-for-justice-in-california
November 12, 2013 – 4:00pm to 5:30pm
IGS Library – 109 Moses Hall – UC Berkeley
unionman575
November 6, 2013
I remember when…
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Judicial Branch Taps Private Fund for History Project Honoring Ex-Chief Justice George
😉
http://www.metnews.com/articles/2011/geor092811.htm
wearyant
November 6, 2013
U-man, there should be a spoiler alert with that url link — pass me an unused bucket! My sympathies for the vandalism done to ucla via the fountain and courtyard! Such hubris is unparalleled to write of a “quest” for justice at a time when the system he set up left the third branch in utter chaos and shambles. Unbelievable! You can’t make this up.
Long live the ACJ. (I’d love to hear their take on this joke of a missive by “the great” RG.)
unionman575
November 6, 2013
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
The three biggest lies:
1. The check’s in the mail.
2. I’ll love you in the morning.
3. I had no idea what Bill Vickrey was doing with CCMS.
You just can’t make this stuff up. Really.
Long live the ACJ.
MaxRebo5
November 6, 2013
I’m just surprised he didn’t name it “My Struggle”
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
How about “My Hill To Climb.”
Long live the ACJ.
sharonkramer
November 6, 2013
Could it be a typo? Maybe he meant to title the book “The Jest for Justice in California”.
wearyant
November 6, 2013
And it would’ve been quite the catchy title!
unionman575
November 6, 2013
Internal Auditors “Cleaners” wanted by the Death Star in Sac and SF.
https://careers.jud.ca.gov/psc/recruit1/EMPLOYEE/PSFT_HR/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?FolderPath=PORTAL_ROOT_OBJECT.HC_HRS_CE_GBL2&IsFolder=false&IgnoreParamTempl=FolderPath%2cIsFolder&
😉
courtflea
November 6, 2013
how about Fear and Loathing in San Francisco. My Quest to Feed My Ego and Screw Justice, the Trial Courts, and the Citizenry of California
Tony Maino
November 6, 2013
Contrary to the recommendation of the Watcher and my friends I have ordered the book.
I believe that after I read it Chief Justice George will prove, through his own words, that he is, as described by Wendy Darling as a unprincipled, unethical, morally bankrupt, vicious, egomanic, bully.
Exhibit one: the media is already reporting that when he did not get the appointment to the Superior Court that he thought he was entitled to he contacted the Governor and threatened to run against a sitting judge if he were not appointed to the Superior Court.I think it is safe to assume that this target judge would have been a new Brown appointee otherwise why the threat to the Governor? George says that two weeks after this contact with the Governor the appointment to the Superior Court came through.
Think about this: his sense of self worth is so great that hemakes a threat to the Governor. He was willing to run against a sitting judge and deprive this sitting judge of his occupation so that he could climb the judicial ladder.There is no indication that the judge he wanted to run against was an inadequate judge. This judge’s only sin was that he stood in the way of George’s ambition. He is so proud of what he has done that he publishes his behavior in a book. In my opinion this one episode demonstrates, through his own words, that he has no principles but his own advancement; that he will threaten anyone to get his way; that he has no compunction of depriving another person of their occupation if it means that he gets ahead; and that he is so morally bankrupt that he does not even have any shame about what he did. In fact he is proud of his behavior.
The truth is that this man has been the principal actor in the ruination of the judicial branch.
Chief Justice George was and is a disgrace.
R. Maino
La Jolla, California
.
sharonkramer
November 6, 2013
Please let us know if and when you put your review on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Chief-The-Quest-Justice-California/dp/087772444X
Curious
November 7, 2013
Word is the Chief will donate the profits from this little vanity-press book to U.C. Berkeley, who published it. Instead, he should donate the book’s earnings to the judicial branch to begin repaying the $530 million dollars (and counting) that his Ahab-like chase of the Great White Whale CCMS cost us all. Oh, I forgot, Ron says that it was all Bill Vickrey’s fault.
What pathology! To err is human, but take no responsibility for one’s own repeated bad decisions is simply unforgivable. Good riddance.
Curious
November 7, 2013
Hear hear!
Curious
November 7, 2013
The “hear hear” is in response to Tony Maino’s comment.
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
Quote of the day: “The truth is that this man has been the principal actor in the ruination of the judicial branch. Chief Justice George was and is a disgrace.”
Exactly right.
He should have titled his book “My Rape of the California Judicial Branch.”
But then again, he has never been known for telling the truth.
Long live the ACJ.
Wendy Darling
November 6, 2013
Get out the Kool-Aid. Published late today, Wednesday, November 6, from The Recorder, the on-line publication of CalLaw, by Scott Graham:
In New Book, Former Chief Justice Settles the Record
By Scott Graham
SAN FRANCISCO — Fresh out of law school in 1964, Ronald George was hired into the California attorney general office’s by Stanley Mosk. Before long George would appear before Mosk at the California Supreme Court to defend the state’s death penalty law. George lost the historic case but had the last laugh, helping draft a ballot initiative that overruled the decision nine months later.
Fast forward a few decades and the roles would be reversed. As chief justice of California, George acted as Mosk’s boss for five years. Then in 2008, George helped make history by leading a 4-3 majority to strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage. But the losers of that decision organized their own ballot initiative, Proposition 8, and overruled George’s decision.
Capital punishment and same-sex marriage play prominent roles in George’s 685-page memoir, Chief: Quest for Justice, which was made public Wednesday. George acknowledges his personal support for the death penalty, which he describes as a deterrent that saves lives, and his frustration with its administration in California, where 25-year delays have rendered it “a charade.”
“Is it worth it to maintain this fictitious system and have only 13 persons be executed in the last 34 years … at tremendous cost, at a time when we’re severely cutting funds for education, public safety, parks, and social services?” George says in the book, which is in the form of an oral history. “If the death penalty were truly being enforced, I would have no problem with its being imposed and carried out.”
George also details the journey from blocking San Francisco’s unilateral issuance of marriage licenses in 2004—”a wholesale defiance of the law,” as he describes it—to the momentous 2008 Marriage Cases decision. George describes the unusual step of drafting two decisions—one to uphold California’s ban on same-sex marriage and one to strike it down—and presenting them to his colleagues.
“I remember a couple of the justices having their eyes very, very wide open at, I suppose, even the consideration of the outcome of same-sex marriage, notwithstanding the fact that it was only one of two alternatives being presented to them,” George says.
His colleagues split 3 to 3, leaving him to cast the deciding vote.
George led California’s judicial branch from 1996 to 2010. He was an extremely public chief justice, and much of the book covers personal background and policy positions he has freely shared over many years. But it also offers deeper insights into the personal dynamics of the high court—including his strained relationship with former Justice Janice Rogers Brown—and takes some parting shots at a group of trial judges who’ve fought to decentralize control of the courts.
George does not refer to the Alliance of California Judges by its formal name, instead describing them as “basically not much more than an e-mail string on the fringe of the judiciary.” They “seize upon any issue that arises—and it’s a shifting target from one thing to another; they cannot be appeased—as a device to urge the dismantling of the statewide administration of justice and a return to what they view as the good old days.”
As for Brown, George recalls that he presided over her confirmation on his first day as chief justice, “a very difficult situation” because the State Bar had rated her not qualified. The two hit it off initially, he says, with George being touched by a newspaper article Brown wrote describing him as “the hardest working man in court business.”
But Brown, who now sits on the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, “could be very unreceptive and less than pleasant when approached in her chambers with suggestions on how to improve her opinion or accommodate a concern.” Mosk personally asked her to tone down her rhetoric, George says, but it was futile.
“She was the only colleague with whom I served on the Supreme Court whose relationship with the other members of the court could not accurately be characterized as truly collegial,” George says.
As a deputy attorney general, George argued California’s piece of a challenge to the death penalty to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972. But just months before the argument, the California Supreme Court pulled out a similar case that had been pending for years and ordered the AG to brief and argue it. “I’ll be blunt about it,” George says. The move was designed “to preempt the U.S. Supreme Court from ruling on the California case.” That was indeed the outcome, as the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional under California law, mooting the U.S. Supreme Court case.
Then-Attorney General Evelle Younger directed George personally to write a hard-hitting petition for rehearing. “I was told specifically to take off the kid gloves,” George recalls. Word reached him “through the grapevine” that a couple of justices were so offended that they considered a contempt hearing.
Instead, George would team up with George Deukmejian, then a state senator, on Proposition 17, which wrote into the California Constitution that the death penalty is not “cruel or unusual.” Voters approved the measure in November 1972.
George describes In re Marriage Cases as one of four decisions he’s most proud of from his 19 years on the Supreme Court. (The others are Warfield v. Peninsula Golf & Country Club, opening many private clubs to female membership; NBC Subsidiary v. Superior Court, establishing the right to open court proceedings in civil cases; and Elkins v. Superior Court, requiring that divorce trial litigants be allowed to give live testimony.)
When Marriage Cases came before the court at its weekly conference, there was no question the court would have to decide the issue, George says. “As I recall, when we went around the table, I heard the word, ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ ‘Grant,’ uttered seven times, with no need to engage in any discussion whatsoever.”
Without knowing how he would decide, George assigned himself the case and then worked with research attorney Hal Cohen to prepare two draft memoranda—one ruling in favor of same-sex couples and one against—then discussed them with his six colleagues. “I thought, given the momentous, novel, and controversial nature of the legal issues, that this approach would be appropriate and would best serve to edify my own views,” George says. “Of course, as chance would have it, I ended up having three justices in favor of one version and three in favor of the other, so I was—as came to pass on many occasions during my tenure as Chief Justice—the deciding vote, the tiebreaker, on this issue.”
Ultimately, George says he concluded that to deny the label marriage to same-sex couples “denoted a second-class citizenship, very much akin to letting certain persons ride on the bus but making them sit in the back. … I tried to be influenced just by these constitutional considerations, of course, although I certainly admit that the end result comported with my own sense of justice on a personal level.”
Proposition 8’s success, George says “resulted in large part from the infusion of substantial amounts of out-of-state money and a not-that-well-run campaign by the defenders of gay marriage.” But antipathy to same-sex marriage is dying out with his generation, George says. “The idea of same-sex marriage is very much accepted by younger generations, just as interracial marriage—although highly controversial at the time of Perez v. Sharp in 1948—is now very much accepted and not really the subject of much commentary at all.”
And the superior court judge whose ruling was affirmed in Perez v. Sharp? George’s former boss, Stanley Mosk.
http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202626809896&In_New_Book_Former_Chief_Justice_Settles_the_Record&slreturn=20131006224346
Long live the ACJ.
MaxRebo5
November 6, 2013
George doesn’t settle the record. He tells his version of events. Lance Armstrong wrote a book about his success in cycling and said he never doped. That hardly settled the record and he later admitted he cheated in all seven Tours that he won.
History will not remember Ron George well as the leader of he Judicial Council. In the Supreme Court he’s a moderate conservative and that’s what the public wanted (no beef there). I think 99% of the public knows little though about the administrative world of the courts where his tactics were as bullying to judges and staff as Lance was over the peloton. Nothing to admire or aspire to there.
His legacy is a Judicial Council hand picked by the Chief alone, 2,500 court employees in the trial courts laid off, 1,000 bureaucrats in SF working at the AOC not processing cases, a case management system that cost hundreds of millions and was a total bust, a AOC director the legislature demanded be fired, the SEC Report documenting a culture of arrogance at the AOC, and billions spent on new courthouses while existing courthouses were boarded up and closed. The man took CA courts on a epic quest and failed and then hand picked his successor to prevent any change in the branch. CA Courts needs to go in a new direction desperately to recover from over a decade one sided policies. The other branches have to help reform the CA Judicial Council. It won’t happen from within. Thank goodness for the ACJ.
unionman575
November 7, 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionist_history
😉
The OBT
November 6, 2013
I also stand by my comments in the earlier thread about HRH-1 and this incredible display of ego to the total detriment of the California judiciary and the citizens we serve. I marvel at how people like HRH-1 can’t get off the stage. 800 pages to tell his life story about how he saved the California judicial branch ? I love all the revisionist history. Prior to HRH-1’s arrival, the California court system was a splintered and totally ineffective group of local trial courts. Not true. In fact those trial courts were responsive to the citizens they served without the waste of billions brought on by HRH-1 and his need to control all facets of the branch. Most incredible is HRH-1’s claim he bore no responsibility for CCMS ! CCMS was his brainchild. If anyone wants to correct his now revisionist history type CCMS into You Tube and watch as HRH-1 pronounces it will end the tower of babel that existed in the trial courts. Indeed if HRH-1 wasn’t responsible for CCMS why was he actively lobbying to kill the proposed legislative audit that exposed it for the wreck that it was ? Finally his comments about judges and others that resisted his egomania are very telling. His attack on his fellow judges stating that his calling Alliance of California Judges “ants” was “being charitable” in making a comparison to “creatures that occupy a much higher rank in the insect hierarchy than I might have referenced”. I will never forget HRH-1’s incredible pronouncement that any move by the Judges to democratize the Judicial Council would be tantamount to an act of war. The bottom line is that despite his impression of himself, HRH-1 is in fact now irrelevant and history will show that his “leadership” was a miserable failure.
Lando
November 6, 2013
All great comments and insights above. I guess if your ego is so out of control you can’t see how out of touch you are with reality. The reality is that the Ronald George administration was indeed a “miserable failure”. Court closures, wasting a half billion on a totally failed computer system, building overpriced courthouses while closing others people actually use, giving away public money so dozens of AOC administrators paid nothing into their retirements and demeaning any and all that opposed him, that is the true legacy of Ronald George.He can write all the books he wants, but nothing can change the reality of his failed leadership.his arrogance and the long time ruin he brought to a once proud and strong California judiciary.
Fifth Amendment
November 6, 2013
Coming to a Dollar Tree store near you soon…
unionman575
November 7, 2013
Tine to shut down. The AOC needs to be closed forever by completely defunding it now.
And then it is time to go to the TOP of the current food chain: https://recalltani.wordpress.com/
courtflea
November 7, 2013
well if you have a Kindle, you can now get this gem for a mere $9.99. OK, I admit it, I got it. Tony’s comments, the cheaper price and my curiosity got the better of me.
Judicial Council Watcher
November 7, 2013
The idea that Mr. George won’t derive financial benefits over any book sales as pointed out by curious has us rethinking our position about purchasing the book. Of course we would want to verify that before changing our recommendation.
sharon kramer
November 7, 2013
Is it relevant who makes money or not, from this endeavor? Seems to me that a few thousand dollars are not going to make a difference one way or the other, because of the already acquired, mass amounts of ill gotten gains.
But….if the book is exposed as a fraud, now that’s a different story of potentially impacting wallets. (They’ve caught and prosecuted killers by evidence gained from people turning in their postings on Facebook. Proving guilt is about proving what they know they did — but lied to cover it up.)
Seems to me that this is an opportunity for the public to benefit from having court insiders break down that 800 page book, line by line, and provide direct refuting evidence of material false statements (allegedly) made.
I wish you all would form the Judicial Council Watcher Book Club, starting with this book!
disgusted
November 7, 2013
I think this fits in here. Not mine.
“When our citizens no longer enjoy ethical and unbiased, neutral conduct from those serving the courts, a democratic society shall no longer have a need of the courts.”
Wendy Darling
November 7, 2013
Mirror, mirror, on the wall
Who is the biggest hypocrite of them all?
The California Supreme Court met in Sacramento this week. On the docket were arguments in a case involving Stephen R. Glass. Glass is a former “journalist” who, in his 20’s, fabricated over 40 articles for various publications and magazines, such as Rolling Stone, in which Glass created people, events, and quotations which he represented as expose investigation journalism that won him praise and rave reviews, until he was exposed as a fraud.
Glass is now a law school graduate and a paralegal in a Los Angeles law firm. He applied for a California law license, which the California State Bar denied on moral and ethical grounds. The matter is now before the California Supreme Court, which has the final say on lawyers’ licenses.
In hearing arguments on the case, the court seemed disinclined to grant Glass a law license. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye stated that Glass was involved in a “depth of deception that was pretty sophisticated” and failed for several years “to completely come clean about all the articles that harmed people.” Justice Marvin Baxter stated that Glass’ prior conduct was not an isolated incident, but a pattern “over a long period of time.”
You just can’t make this stuff up. Really.
Michael Paul
November 8, 2013
“I’m sorry Mr. Glass but you must first become a justice before you’re permitted to pull off a stunt like that. Because you did it before you ever became a lawyer, you can’t join the club”
courtflea
November 7, 2013
Well so far HRH 2’s forward in the book had me gagging but now I am slogging through the early days of HRH 1…..In 1940 I was born, the horrors of Beverly Hills High, college highjinks, ..you get the idea. and i am just getting to his early days in the LA AG’s office after more than 100 pages. Ho hum. May have to fast forward through some of this vapid drivel.
unionman575
November 7, 2013
Smile you are on Steve Nash Candid Camera in Contra Costa Superior Court:
http://www.cc-courts.org/_data/n_0019/resources/live/Notice%20of%20Intent%20to%20Award%20for%20RFP%2059%2012-13.pdf
Lando
November 7, 2013
Coutflea, fast forward to 1998 thats when the good stuff starts. When Mr George saved the judicial branch from itself and created in his own image a system that he controlled and micromanaged to the benefit of all. Can you believe this stuff? To have Mr George tell the story, hundreds of years of prior California court history that was apparently a disjointed mess needed his personal fixing and thus a new judicial system was “reborn ” under his brilliant leadership. Hmm … in the hundreds of years before him were courts closed to the public? Were accessible courthouses shuttered? Were billions wasted on failed computer systems and luxury courthouses ? Did a huge unelected bureaucracy exist to serve itself? Were thousands of hard working and caring trial court employees laid off ? But we all know we can’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. Mr George’s 800 page story lol. As our good friend Wendy likes to say, You can’t make any of this stuff up. Really.
The OBT
November 8, 2013
HRH-1 . His ego and self importance and lack of concern for ethics and the truth remind me of one of the greatest movies we all watched many times as we were growing up. So here goes. ” We’re off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a whiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was . If ever, oh ever a wiz there was the wizard is one because, because because, because, because,because, because of all the wonderful things he does. We’re off to see the Wizard the wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Have a great weekend everyone. and always remember in the fight to democratize the Judicial Council and defund the AOC, HRH-1 is the gift that keeps on giving.
Wendy Darling
November 8, 2013
At least in the Wizard of Oz, when the curtain was pulled back, the “wizard” had the decency to admit that he was a fraud.
But that’s why it’s a fairy tale.
Long live the ACJ.
unionman575
November 8, 2013
The folks at UC Berkeley have been kissing his *** for years…
Conversations with History – Ronald M. George
Uploaded on Apr 6, 2011
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Ronald M. George, former Chief Justice of California. Reflecting on his years of public service, Chief Justice George traces his intellectual journey and offers his thoughts on the qualities of thinking and temperament that characterize judicial deliberation. He argues for both decisional independence and institutional independence if the judiciary is to perform its role in a democracy as a co-equal branch of government. Recalling his efforts as head of the California Judicial Council to reorganize the state court system, he identifies the challenges he faced. He analyzes the complexity of the California constitution and its amending process and concludes with a discussion of the intricate process of deliberation in all three branches of government when faced with controversial issues.
😉
sharonkramer
November 8, 2013
To those who downloaded the book: In which chapter does he discuss the “Speak With No Voice” of missing $500M court construction funds, in “The Quest for Justice in California”?
Nathaniel Woodhull
November 8, 2013
HRH-1’s revisionist history is quite similar to what Joseph Goebbels wrote for a former 20th Century “leader” in Europe. Blame someone else for the state of affairs, commit to “total war”, the difference being that Goebbels had the decency to off himself at the end of his reign. History was not kind to Goebbels boss and hopefully the same will hold true for HRH-1.
One of the first things that HRH-1 did upon hi accession power was to was institute a program of re-education. From 1999 on, every appointed or elected judge was subjected to a week of New Judge Orientation (NJO). During this week, new judges were scared to death, being told that if they varied from the Chief’s program, “The Happy People” (CJP) up on the 14th floor of the Crystal Palace would come a knockin’ and they would lose their jobs. New judges were effectively told that they worked for or under the AOC and that the Chief Justice and Judicial Council were the policymakers for the trial courts. Brilliant; just not true… The highlight of NJO was the last day of class where new judges got to visit the Chief at the Crystal Palace, with all the Shapiro trappings in view. It was like a visit to OZ!
From the point of his attempted takeover, Ronald George and his minions started from a false premise; namely that the court system in California was broken and he needed to “fix it”. Problem was, the trial courts throughout the vast majority of California were not broken. Many of us had worked collaboratively with our justice partners for years and access to justice was a breeze. Some smaller jurisdictions had fiscal problems, which could have been remedied without the full takeover. Things could always have been improved, but that was made much more difficult by the constant and incessant requests from the AOC for make-work information that took them on a highway to nowhere. Much of our staff’s precious time was taken up responding to moronic requests form bureaucrats in San Francisco, many of whom had never stepped inside a courtroom in their lives.
The one thing that HRH-1 did not count on was those of us who had been around before his rise to power and our less than enthused response to his arrival. For some of us, our careers suffered by his ability to “punish us” by keeping us off the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court. A small price to pay, considering the price others before us have suffered when facing similar petty tyrants.
A critical and fair historical examination of Ronald George will demonstrate that he was a very insecure, megalomaniac. His “autobiography” is yet another example of his attempts to re-write history.
Curious
November 8, 2013
True, Nathaniel. Nothing was really “broken” when George began his consolidation of power. We had a constitutionally created system with 58 trial courts, all bound by the law, but free to operate autonomously (or fairly so) in matters of internal administration. Funding, of course, was primarily the job of the 58 counties. George declared this arrangement itself to be a illegitimate. It is analogous to someone coming along and saying “Well, I see we have 50 states in the US. This is wrong. We need one mega-state, and I will run it. We will thus have uniformity and stable funding. Citizens will no longer be responsible for their own states, I will see to all. There will be no room for individuality, or creativity, or self-goverance–I will see to those things as well. I will mandate reeducation to get the few resisters to see the wisdom of my vision. Those who fail to do so will be punished.
Well, not all of the judges in this state were completely ready for King George to get his way. He pushed too far and with ruthless means. Then, once the money dried up, there was absolutely NO reason to continue to sit silent. He was thusly run out of Dodge, proclaiming that the coffers were full as he scurried away
Since then, he has stewed, Captain Queeg-like, and now is back to rewrite history so that even though his contemporaries find him old news and just want to do their best to forget him, a new generation will learn to understand his greatness. He is a bitter
man who sees his grand little empire crumbling, and is doing whatever he can to avoid responsibility. He is the worst Chief Justice this state ever had. Of course, there is still plenty of time for the current placeholder to catch up.
unionman575
November 8, 2013
😉
Wendy Darling
November 8, 2013
Quote of the day, maybe the year: “He is the worst Chief Justice this state ever had. ”
And an observation: “I will mandate reeducation to get the few resisters to see the wisdom of my vision. Those who fail to do so will be punished.”
Yep. That’s King George. But it wasn’t just the judges of this state that tried to do the right thing, and were punished for it by Ron George, Curious. There were, and are, others, including within the AOC, who told the truth.
And to them, Ron George was particularly vicious.
Still serving himself to the detriment of all Californians.
Long live the ACJ.
Curious
November 8, 2013
True enough, Wendy, and a point well taken. It was not just judges who finally stood up to George, and not just judges who were harmed by his actions and policies. Tremendous effort has been expended by a large number of folks to try to alter the disastrous course we are on, some are judges, many are not. In fact, many who have helped are not employed by or in the judiciary.
JusticeCalifornia
November 8, 2013
JCW– cockroaches?
Nah. I like to think we float like butterflies, and sting like bees.
JusticeCalifornia
November 8, 2013
JusticeCalifornia
November 8, 2013
And here is history unfolding. . . .thanks to AOC Watcher. . . .leading up to the day Ron George was knocked out.
http://aocwatcher.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/discussion-thread-for-aoc-employees/
George’s book has created a platform from which to review and highlight his failures and follies, his massive ego and his obsession with power, at whatever cost.
Ron George took down the biggest judiciary in the world.
By the way, interesting July 9, 2010 AOC Watcher post by Michael Paul. I think in retrospect the CJ/JC/AOC wish they had not messed with him.
You know what they say about payback. . . .
Wendy Darling
November 8, 2013
Sadly, Justice California, to Ron George, the Judicial Council, and the AOC, Michael Paul was, and remains, nothing more than expendable collateral damage.
Long live the ACJ.
JusticeCalifornia
November 8, 2013
Wendy I disagree.
All of us, in our own individual ways, have become “top leadership’s” worst nightmare.
The record of corruption in and reports of corruption to all three branches of government is accumulating and compounding. The CA Governor, the Attorney General, and the Chief Justice, are all legal/political beings.
If they fail to act in the face of obvious legal and financial corruption/misconduct at the highest levels of the judicial branch, well. . . . .there are legal and political consequences.
JC
wearyant
November 10, 2013
That whole thread on the aocwatcher that JusticeCalifornia posted would make such an excellent epilogue or postscript to JRonGeorge’s 800 pages!
sharonkramer
November 8, 2013
“George’s book has CREATED A PLATFORM from which to review and highlight his failures and follies, his massive ego and his obsession with power, at whatever cost.”
and that’s EXACTLY why I am posting on this thread!
Ya know that missing $500M? Ya know that $2B CCMS debacle?
Check out how they (Chevron) are persecuting an attorney, Steve Donzinger, in NY for fraud, (after he got an $19B judgment for the people of Equador)…based on far less relevant evidence of mistatement of fact than George had no clue of the fleecings. Their entire case is founded upon some ambivalent statements he made while they were filming a movie, as the alleged proof of fraud…all else are uncorrobarated allegations to inflame from there.
This is a fluff piece:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-06/the-chevron-judge-who-knows-little-about-his-judgment
Take one down and you take them all down. Where are the proven lies in that book?
JusticeCalifornia
November 8, 2013
I have not read RG’s book but will. I have done lots of research on Ron George and his writings, policies and practices over the past decade. I have files and communications with “top leadership” and others in all three branches apprising them of what has gone down in the judicial branch, and I imagine ever so many others do as well.
Thanks RG for the platform.
Hey Tani. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
JC.
unionman575
November 9, 2013
http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/68106-Siskiyou-20131107.pdf
unionman575
November 9, 2013
http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/publicnotice_deptchangesindio.pdf
unionman575
November 9, 2013
http://www.tuolumne.courts.ca.gov/general-info/IT%20Technician.pdf
courtflea
November 10, 2013
Well, I took Lando’s wise advice and skipped up the pages until RG becomes HRH 1. What truly amazes me is how he paints so many judges and justices as being ignorant of his powers as CJ, powers, as he interprets them. Insulting to say the least to many brilliant folks who comprise the state’s judiciary. Any how HRH 1 likes to mention that he is CJ of the State not of just the Supreme Court. The man’s ego is astounding. He also uses the royal “we” a bit too. To tell you the truth, this tome is kinda hard to swallow. It is so bad that I would guess the guy gets his sexual gratification from looking in the mirror. If you are going to read this be prepared with a garbage can, a bucket is too small. And don’t forget your hip waders.
sharonkramer
November 10, 2013
Are there provably false statements on key aspects of the decline of the judicial branch?
Michael Paul
November 10, 2013
Ron George, much like myself, saw where things were going. It didn’t take a crystal ball and it still does not take a crystal ball to see where things continue to go.I tried to call attention to part of it and he was intent on covering it up to preserve his legacy. What was it… 48 hours after I was canned, he resigned declaring he could do so because all was well in his kingdom? Does anybody really believe that to be a coincidence? Think about it.
In retrospect did his declarations have any truth to them?
What he was really doing was quitting while he was perceived to be ahead. He’s a cowardly sort that runs from the problems he creates and dumps them in someone else’s lap to take responsibility for. His charm in Sacramento and in the trial courts had run its course. He was viewed as darth vader and the AOC was viewed as the imperial stormtroopers in some trial court circles and I suspect that is where the whole AOC Watcher theme might have been borne from.
sharonkramer
November 10, 2013
From July of 2010 thru December of 2010, he did a lot of damage to a lot of people involving several different cases — while practicing politics on his way out the door. What’s concerning is that many of those who aided him are still in key positions within the Branch, JC and AOC; and the CJP is STILL covering for ALL of them.
Its amazing to me that he would possess the chutzpah to write a book titled, “Chief Justice: The Quest for Justice for California.” that sounds to demean many. To me that says, “I know we are criminals. But if the public never finds out then it doesn’t matter; and I’m not the least bit concerned of them finding out.”
unionman575
November 10, 2013
“If you are going to read this be prepared with a garbage can, a bucket is too small. And don’t forget your hip waders.”
Got my trash can ready and my hip waders….and my very refreshing Sunday Football Vodka Tonic….
😉
Tony Maino
November 10, 2013
When an institution fails there is a name responsible for the failure;
Our institution has failed. We have closed courthouses and courtrooms. We have fired about 2000 employees who were serving the public; we have denied easy access to thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Californians; we have wasted over 500 million on CCMS; we have wasted many millions on the Long Beach Courthouse; we have given AOC staff members economic advantages not enjoyed by any other judicial branch employees; we have allowed AOC staff to commute from Switzerland; we have established a huge judicial branch bureaucracy that contributes little or nothing to serving the public; and we have established a Judicial Council which is arrogant and non responsive to the needs of the public; we have lost the confidence of the Governor and the Legislature. This is only a partial list of the failures.
The name behind these failures is Chief Justice Ronald George.
Our former Chief Justice can spin this any way he wishes in 800 pages. But the truth will remain that he is responsible for all of the failures during his term of office.
Tony Maino
La Jolla
Wendy Darling
November 10, 2013
Yes, he is responsible Judge Maino.
But he will never actually be held responsible for the carnage in the California Judicial Branch that he leaves in his wake.
Still serving himself to the detriment of all Californians.
Long live the ACJ.
Michael Paul
November 11, 2013
He is also responsible for most of the failures after he left the office as well, though the current occupant of that office seems to be intent on wanting to own that responsibility.
CCMS had to be crushed by the legislature because the current office holder “couldn’t think of a better way to spend (the public’s) money”
He set the stage for all events proceeding his departure, covering his own tracks as he left the stage and declaring all was well.
Many of his groupies that he appointed sought to justify their appointments by embracing him as a hero and assisting him in covering his tracks in part by naming an office complex in his honor. It mattered not that one of the rules that he promulgated before his departure indicated that court facilities should be named after the living as a very last choice. Naming an office complex after him was an acceptable exception.
Naming Preference 3: Living Person (Very Rarely Used). Naming a
courthouse after a living person requires review and analysis of several
criteria to maintain the public’s confidence in a fair and impartial court
system and to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Naming a courthouse
after a living person may be considered only if all of the following criteria
are met:
i. The person has made recognizable, significant contributions to the
state or national judicial system; groupies would have considered this criteria met
ii. The person is neither actively practicing law nor affiliated with a
law firm, law-related business (e.g., legal publisher, dispute
resolution firm), or other for profit business entity; Don’t know about this one but the smart money says he’s not sitting on his laurels in retirement. Seems almost any work for profit would meet & violate this criteria
iii. The person does not have any case pending before a California
trial or appellate court or a federal court and is not reasonably
likely to come before those courts in future litigation; This is the reason the groupies named the office complex after him – to provide cover for his undignified last minute exit from the stage. Of course, the groupies also sought to legitimize their own leadership positions since they were all appointed by George and making this call to name a facility after him did just that
iv. The naming does not present a potential conflict of interest as may
be viewed by the public, government entities, or private
businesses; and As illustrated in item iii above – it was a conflict of interest that caused his name to be put on the side of a San Francisco building
v. Consistency with the California Code of Judicial Ethics.
Here comes the King George Exemption. Note that there is no such exemption for Vickrey…
Examples of living persons who may meet these criteria may include a
former Governor of California or a former Chief Justice of the California
or United States Supreme Court.
There were AOC discussions around this and what came out of those meetings was that there should be no exception for the living. When it got up to the executive office, the exceptions were inserted.
http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adoptedcthse.pdf
*corrections made by moderator on behalf of the author
sharonkramer
November 11, 2013
“He set the stage for all events proceeding his departure, covering his own tracks as he left the stage and declaring all was well.” That’s EXACTLY what he did and those players who are still on stage know it, as they carry on with the show. But sooner or later, the curtain always comes down.
Curious
November 11, 2013
I was amused to see Ron George complain about the “elitist” judges who opposed his policies. Talk about the pot and the kettle! Ron, sent forth by his parents from the impoverished hardscrabble streets of Beverly Hills, CA, all the way to Switzerland for a proper continental education, complains about “elitist judges”? The man who called on connected law firms to fund his book, and “suggested” donations of a mere $5000 or 10,000 a pop complains about “elitist judges”? What absolute gall. The man probably had Gucci baby shoes.
The OBT
November 11, 2013
Elitist Judges ? The only elitist Judges I know are the “insiders” that run the crystal palace, the house HRH-1 built. Is he kidding? Now in his revisionist history he is claiming to be some great reformer or man of the people? The sad reality is that HRH-1 arrogantly remade the California judicial system into a dictatorship controlled by him at the expense of the citizens we serve. My only regret is not speaking up earlier and more forcefully about this despot and his numerous failed policies and programs.
Wendy Darling
November 11, 2013
Ron George was the most “elitist” judge I ever met.
Still serving himself to the detriment of all Californians.
Long live the ACJ.
Lando
November 11, 2013
I hope everyone had a nice day reflecting on all the great things our Veterans have done to protect our democracy. Ironic isn’t it that Mr George would pop up again this week out of nowhere as he represents all the best in creating and implementing an anti- democratic form of governance. I sure hope members of the press will read and study Mr George’s 800 pages of holding forth and ask our current Chief Justice what she feels about all this. I would particularly be fascinated to know what Tani thinks about Mr George blaming Vickrey for the CCMS mess. That would be the same Vickrey, Tani honored over and over again and named a whole floor at 455 Golden Gate for. It would also be interesting to ask Tani or even the great ” reformer” J Miller about how they square the SEC report findings with all of Mr George’s claims of greatness. The bottom line is Tani tries to have it both ways. She supports the ” great Ron George” yet claims to support the SEC changes. Someone in the press needs to put it to her directly. How can she possibly with a straight face reconcile all this? And why does she continue to mimic the now discredited Mr George and refuse to bring democracy to our once strong and proud branch of government ?
sharonkramer
November 12, 2013
“He lied and lied and lied. But after years of living high on the hog as a[n]…author and smooth talking pitchman…A federal jury needed less than 45 minutes to find…guilty of criminal contempt of court when he ‘willfully misrepresented’ the contents of his..book…The verdict likely signals government’s decade long battle to reign in…fraudsters…U.S. Judge Ronald Guzman told him…that ‘Its just further proof that he lacks respect for the court and for the court’s orders’…Criminal contempt has no maximum sentence…meaning…up to life behind bars,….”
http://www.suntimes.com/23709482-418/no-sale-jury-convicts-infomercial-king-kevin-trudeau-in-less-than-45-minuteshtml
unionman575
November 12, 2013
Fresno County Jail: To ease overcrowding, build two new courts
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/12/3605869/fresno-county-jail-to-ease-overcrowding.html#storylink=cpy
unionman575
November 12, 2013
http://www.courts.ca.gov/23201.htm
wearyant
November 13, 2013
More awards. Is the camel poking its nose into the public education tent? Does the Teensy imagine taking over there too?
unionman575
November 13, 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_control
wearyant
November 13, 2013
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/11/12/62840.htm
Another fine article by Maria Dinzeo. I didn’t know the public was reduced to the use of lawn chairs whilst waiting for a window at the court filing desk!
Wendy Darling
November 13, 2013
People waiting in lawn chairs outside the courthouse, unless, of course, the courthouse has been closed altogether. The real legacy of Ron George.
Bet that picture didn’t make it into George’s work of revisionist history.
Long live the ACJ.
Guest
November 14, 2013
Ron resigned and we all know why no matter what he said at the time. The downward spiral that continued after he left is his real legacy which is why I believe he wrote this book. He probably would have been happy to just ride off into the sunset as the hero in his imaginary life story. But as more facts came out about his complete mismanagement, which he even admitted to when he blames Vickrey for CCMS it appears Ron couldn’t live with his fantasy without publishing his (attempted) alibi during his “Rein”. The people Ron surrounded himself with are still at the AOC and the Branch’s slide continues. So while these 800 pages are his attempt to absolve himself from his professional failures the one thing that Ron can never get from us is RESPECT. He came out from hiding because deep down that is killing him.
Curious
November 14, 2013
Guest, you are right. He ruled by fear, not respect. There is indeed a big difference.
unionman575
November 14, 2013
He speaks!
😉
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/11/13/62879.htm
November 13, 2013Last Update: 6:01 AM PT
Ex Chief Justice ‘King George’ Answers Questions About Legacy
By MARIA DINZEO
BERKELEY (CN) – Former Chief Justice Ronald M. George’s strong-arm approach to running California’s judiciary made him for many a deeply antagonizing figure during his 15-year term. But at a Tuesday book signing for his memoir “Chief: The Quest for Justice in California,” George laughed off accusations that he was a despot who stifled dissent.
While in California’s top judicial post, George was a principal force behind the centralization of California’s trial courts. Legislation in 1997 gave control of court money and court rules to California’s Judicial Council, where the chief justice chairs the meetings and has a hand in appointing the members.
The legislation also resulted in a huge growth in the personnel and power of the central court bureaucracy, where the chief justice is the staff’s ultimate boss. In his role at the center of that web of power in California’s courts, many trial judges saw a tyrannical figure and gave him the moniker “King George.”
“I find it amusing,” said the former chief in answer to a question from Courthouse News. “There’s always the question of who is the boss. I take it with good humor.”
George was answering questions and signing books Tuesday evening at the small library for governmental studies on the UC Berkeley campus, surrounded by shelves of books and reading tables. A space had been cleared for about 40 guests that included the current Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the administrative office director of operations Curt Child and colleagues, lawyers and family members. Proceeds from the book are being donated to the school.
Whether or not the nickname was deserved, the former chief justice left a lasting mark on the memories many trial court judges who criticized his policies and priorities.
“He never had enough power,” said retired Los Angeles Judge Charles Horan. “I don’t know of a judge who hasn’t referred to him as King George. That was standard.”
He pointed to George’s attempt to amend the California Constitution to extend the Judicial Council’s control beyond rules and budgets and encompass broad policy-making power. The effort failed and left in place the constitutional provision that limits the council to making surveys and recommendations while adopting rules for administration, practice and procedure in the courts.
The idea that the council should set statewide court policy is related to a doctrine of uniformity in public expression by judges, pressed recently by administrators and some members of the judiciary, a doctrine known as “speak with one voice.”
Taking questions at the book signing, George, who was chief justice from 1996 until 2011, exposed the historical root of that doctrine.
“I always felt that it was very important for the judiciary to speak with a unified voice to just be treated as co-equal, independent branch of government,” George said in an answer to a question from Courthouse News. “And there is a surprising amount of ignorance in Sacramento about that basic concept of civics. Because if you go up there with all sorts of different points of view, you’ll just get trampled on.
“If you go up with the Judicial Council having one position, the California Judges Association having another position, the Los Angeles Superior Court having its own position because it’s the largest court, and perhaps a couple of rural courts getting together to voice their interests, no one is going to recognize you as a co-equal branch of government.
“So without in any way wanting to stifle dissent,” he added, “I always encouraged the judges to get together, thrash it out and then go up there with one point of view.”
But many trial judges beg to differ. They say George did have the means to suppress other opinions, and wielded them mightily.
They pointed to his campaign to retain control over council membership, successfully shooting down a move by the longstanding California Judges Association to amend the state constitution so council members would be democratically elected by California judges. George said he would view the CJA’s endorsement of democratic elections as a “declaration of war on the council.”
“It was like King George talking to the colonists,” Horan said wryly.
In his book, George said the comment was not off-the-cuff, it was a planned warning. “It was made with considerable forethought, and it accomplished exactly what I intended. CJA’s consideration of that proposal came to a halt.”
Appellate Justice Tom Hollenhorst remembers what he characterized as a “love-hate relationship” between CJA and the chief. “If he needed a friend, CJA was his best friend. But if it got between what Ron George wanted, CJA would suffer mightily.”
George defended his opposition to a democratically elected judicial council. “Selection as a member of the Judicial Council is not, and should not be, a beauty contest or popularity contest,” he said in his book.
“He had no respect for trial court judges even though he had been one,” Horan countered, adding that George’s explanation implied that “the judges were too stupid and venal to elect their own judges. He didn’t believe they had the wherewithal to fairly select members of the council.”
At Tuesday’s event, George clarified, as he did in his book, that he relinquished the power to appoint council members himself and instead created authority in the Judicial Council’s executive committee to submit three names to him for selection. “I gave up my authority to unilaterally appoint members to the council,” George told Courthouse News.
Hollenhorst, who clashed with George over his policy of making judicial education mandatory, said his “declaration of war” remark was an unusual burst of candor.
“That’s about the most obvious he ever got,” said Hollenhorst. “It was the most out he
ever came in malevolent use of power. What will war bring? The end of your career.”
Hollenhorst, who taught judicial ethics programs for the CJA and the California Center for Judicial Education and Research for more than 20 years, said George was not one to be up front with his enemies.
“There’s an old saying that you would much rather fight with someone who would stab you in front than in the back,” said Hollenhorst. “That was the problem with George. He would never stab you in the front, he’d stab you in the back. That’s historically been his style, the hallmark of the way he kept order.
“No one who wore the mantle of chief justice ever behaved like that,” said Hollenhorst. “There were some strong personalities on the Supreme Court as chief. Malcolm Lucas was no paper tiger. But if he was mad at you, he would tell you and he wouldn’t carry a grudge.
“I served under four chiefs and without a doubt, Lucas was a towering giant,” Hollenhorst said. “There was no game playing or back stabbing, and he got things done and didn’t need to build an empire to do it.”
But George was good to his friends, Hollenhorst said, and particularly favored the staff at the Administrative Office of the Courts, the judicial agency he expanded from a small operation with no formal staff to a massive bureaucracy that at one point numbered nearly 1,000 employees.
In his position on the board of the center for judicial education, he heard from George on the importance of toeing the line drawn by the administrative office staff.
“He gave me a lecture on how important it was to follow the directions of the staff. I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘You do exactly what staff tells you to do.’ That was a turning point in my relationship with him,” Hollenhorst said. “I was always neutral until he did that.”
While George had largely retired from the sometimes rough arena of judicial politics in California, the publication of his new book opened the door to criticism that seemed to have faded from public view.
One of the big legislative engines behind the constitutional amendments and legislation that unified the state courts was former state Senator Larry Stirling.
“George completely misrepresented the purpose and intent of unification and used his misrepresentations for only one reason, to hijack the state court system,” said Stirling in a statement circulated earlier this week. “George created a useless burgeoning bureaucracy of overpaid sycophants who never saw the inside of a courtroom.”
He described George as a “dictator,” adding, in a reference to the San Francisco headquarters for the Administrative Office of the Courts, “George destroyed their court system all in the name of aggrandizing himself and feeding his San Francisco sycophants.”
At his book signing later on Tuesday afternoon, a reporter cited portions of Stirling’s statement to George. The former justice chuckled and said, “He’s a curmudgeon.”
Illustrating both the passage of time and George’s penchant for control of the levers of power, a story is often told about the time he interrupted a trial judge making a pitch to the council for more democratic governance in the court system.
In January 2010, Horan from Los Angeles and David Lampe from Bakersfield, who was then director of the Alliance, traveled to a council meeting in San Francisco with prepared remarks on how the courts were being governed in the face of a looming financial crisis.
At the time, the judiciary was facing a fiscal crisis with courts closing and staff laid off while the administrators continued to spend hundreds of millions on a quixotic software project. The Alliance was a voice for reform, advocating for financial accountability and trial court independence.
Horan said the prepared remarks had been pre-approved by the council’s executive committee, as required by council rules. Lampe approached the lectern and began reading.
“This Council I think has appropriately recognized that it does not govern the trial courts. The trial courts are by law decentralized, and are managed by the trial judges who are responsible to the people of their counties who have elected them,” he read.
“Yet there is presently no effective structure to insure that the trial courts are being fully heard,” said Lampe. “Ultimately the Alliance of California Judges stands for accountability. We urge this Council to work with the Alliance of California Judges. We urge you not to fight ghosts of old battles of unification and state funding which are now history. We ask that this Council, with the guidance of the legislature, reaffirm the rights of the trial courts by a Trial Court Bill of Rights that the Legislature asked for in 1997, and which has not -”
At that point, he was cut off by George.
“With all due respect Mr. Lampe,” George thundered. “I think you were well informed that that is not an agenda item. So, you are free to communicate otherwise your views on these other issues, but your three minutes today are confined to the matters that are the subject of our agenda.”
Horan remembers George standing up and shaking his finger at Lampe.
“The point was we had already gotten the statement cleared pursuant to their rules and George either hadn’t seen it and when he heard it, he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand there politely and listen,” Horan said, noting that the statement was “simply a matter of, ‘If we are going to speak with one voice we have to have a more democratic governance.'”
But like the criticisms that George is able to laugh about now, Horan and Lampe likewise laugh about the time when George would only refer to Lampe as “Mister.”