Thanks to a little bird we just found out about a one hour meeting on September 16th in Sacramento that requires the attendance of all managers and supervisors in the judicial council’s staff offices statewide.
This is a mandatory attendance meeting meaning wherever you are at, Burbank, San Francisco, etc you must make arrangements to attend this one hour meeting in person. This will undoubtedly include airfaire, rental cars, mileage charges and most supervisors and managers being out of office all day for a one hour meeting. It will likely include hotel accommodations for some travelers.
And the one hour meeting subject?
Professionalism at work.
Given that the council spent over a million dollars on an elaborate videoconferencing system to forego these kind of charges, professionalism at work should start with how you choose to spend the peoples money.
Your court dollars at work……
L Smith
September 10, 2014
Here in San Diego they are considering reducing Court Reporter hours to 35 a week to help balance the Superior Court budget the Governor has allotted to our judicial system
Guest
September 10, 2014
Yeah but we hear that Roddy found money to give a raise to his buddy CFO.
Wendy Darling
September 10, 2014
You just can’t make this stuff up. Really.
Long live the ACJ.
unionman575
September 10, 2014
😉
elisa72
September 10, 2014
Do you have any proof re this meeting? Something we could show the public?
Judicial Council Watcher
September 10, 2014
If someone is kind enough to copy the meeting invite and paste it in a word document and send it to us we would have proof.
Michael Paul suggested the meeting invite could also be forwarded to him since both the JC and Yen Interactive use exchange. That address would be michael.paul AT yeninteractivemedia.com
Judicial Council Watcher
September 10, 2014
It gets better…..
They hired a consultant to teach this class because no one in the management ranks has a clue about professionalism in the workplace.
Another message wants someone to slap an injunction on the judicial council to prevent them from holding this class and redirect the funds to court operations.
JusticeCalifornia
September 11, 2014
dumb and dumber.
unionman575
September 11, 2014
http://www.courts.ca.gov/27090.htm
Judicial Council Legislative Visits and Meeting RFP# CRS-SP-118
The Judicial Council of California, Conference Support Services seeks proposals from hotels for a room block, February 18-20, 2015 in Sacramento, California.
😉
wearyant
September 11, 2014
As usual, this one-hour meeting would be humorous if it wasn’t so gawddamned tragic!
unionman575
September 11, 2014
And now a word from Jahrland:
http://www.shastacourts.com/PDF/burneynotice.pdf
Everybody goes to Redding as all SHASTA satellite courthouses have closed.
unionman575
September 11, 2014
http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/68106-plumas-sierra-20140827.pdf
Effective November 3, 2014 the Plumas/Sierra Regional Courthouse location of the Plumas and Sierra Superior Court will be closed. Beginning on November 3rd all current and future traffic and small claims cases for the Plumas Superior Court will be processed and heard at the Quincy Courthouse, 520 Main St., Quincy, CA 95971. Telephone (530) 283-6232. For information on all current and future traffic cases for the Sierra Superior Court please contact the Sierra Superior Court at (530) 289-3698.
Michael Paul
September 11, 2014
That’s getting your moneys worth. 1.5 million dollars in construction cost for each of the 4 years it was in operation, not to mention operational costs.
Opened in 2010, closed in 2014.
How many more of these are there?
Michael Paul
September 11, 2014
unionman575
September 12, 2014
I’ll get back to you shortly. There ARE more.
😉
Michael Paul
September 12, 2014
….and the AOC is looking at a new courthouse in Quincy. People up in that neck of the woods claim the existing quincy courthouse is nearly new and owned by the county, not the courts. So more money is likely going to plumas for no good reason.
unionman575
September 11, 2014
http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/OC27-10.PDF
Grand Opening Ceremony Planned for Plumas/Sierra Regional Courthouse
Portola—Community members will celebrate completion of the first multijurisdictional courthouse in California, the new Plumas/Sierra Regional Courthouse, on June 10, 2010, in Portola. The building allows for resource sharing between the Superior Courts of Plumas and Sierra Counties and will minimize travel for court users in this area.
The program for the ceremony, 12–1 p.m., includes remarks by both presiding judges of the courts who share the facility: Presiding Judge Ira R. Kaufman, Superior Court of Plumas County, and Presiding Judge William W. Pangman, Superior Court of Sierra County. Also speaking will be Mayor John Larrieu, City of Portola, and David Goicoechea, Chairperson of the Sierra County Board of Supervisors.
😉
wearyant
September 11, 2014
Hey, UMan and Michael! Glad the door slam got put up at the end of all the gushing accolades by members of the agency formerly known as the AOC. Otherwise the sound of one hand clapping makes no sense …
If they dropped bombs on our judicial branch, they could not have done a more thorough job of ruining our once fine, functioning system!
Long live the ACJ.
sharonkramer
September 12, 2014
Word of the day, “counter-majoritarian”.
Yesterday, I attended a meeting of which the subject matter was “Informed Voters — Fair Judges”.
Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye was the keynote speaker. In fact, besides her introduction by Justice McConnell and the announcement by a gentleman from UCSD that it was time to mingle, Tani was the only speaker.
According to Tani, her courts are “counter-majoritarian” and must be, to keep the courts “fair and free”.
She claims that decisions in the branch are made independently — not by majority rule. Thus, she is practicing “counter-majoritarian” in the name of democracy.
She also stated that Chief Justice Ronald George was a “wonderful, honorable, visionary” and that McConnell has worked with him for a long time to help keep the courts fair and free from outside interests influencing the courts.
Then she stated that McConnell also worked with the President of the Cal Chamber of Commerce on the project of ensuring impartial courts. (I laughed out loud at the irony and oxymoron of this statement. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone besides those sitting next to me, heard me.)
This Emmy winning short video was played. “Fair and Free”
McConnell and an executive committee that she chairs, authored a pretty good little booklet to teach children of how the courts are suppose to work. Seems to me that it would be beneficial for many if she would also take the time to read it!
The CJ told an anecdotal story of a dinner she had with a legislator who she said would remain nameless.
According to her, this legislator said that the trial judges report to the chief justice and the chief justice reports to the legislature.
Moans of sympathetic disgust went out in the crowd of the audacity of the statement by the imperialistic legislator. Parlaying on the audience favorable response, she then stated “and this legislator is a lawyer” and that after he said that, the dinner was over.
I got the impression that she was referring to Governor Brown and I seriously doubt that’s what he actually said. I would envision it being more of “Get control of the fraud, waste and abuse in the judicial branch. The Judicial Council is not getting any more money from the legislature until you do.”
Basically, it seemed like a cocktail party stop on the campaign trail to garner support for more money for the Judicial Council and their staff to control — so they can be free to administer justice in the counter-majoritarian manner as taught by the wonderful, honorable, visionary Ron George.
Several San Diego judges and justices were in attendance including Justice Joan Irion, Nationwide Chair, Informed Voters—Fair Judges Project; and the appetizers were outstanding!
MaxRebo5
September 12, 2014
Nice post Sharon,
I have to admit, I agree with the Chief if indeed a legislator said the Chief Justice reports to the Legislature as if they are her boss. The Chief in my view reports to no one other than the people of CA who can vote her out at her retention election if they like. Same is true of the Governor who can be recalled by the people as we saw with Grey Davis a decade ago or defeated in an election every 4 years. Simple separation of powers.
That said, there are supposed to be checks and balances between the branches and if there is waste, like with CCMS, then the other branches have every right to assert their Constitutional powers as they did. Since the Legislature has the power of the purse they can make it very hard to get funds if a Chief Justice or Governor are wasting public money which they legislators have a sworn duty to see is used appropriately. Likewise the Governor’s Department of Finance can reasonably question her need for more money if the Judicial Council’s own report shows case filings are down significantly (25% since 2009). That’s doing their jobs and serving the people.
If her story is true then clearly the legislator was wrong to insult the Chief and imply that he, or his branch, was her boss. Just as she would be wrong if she said you report to me because the CA Supreme Court can invalidate laws as unconstitutional. I think she was also right to say he should have know better given he is an attorney and I don’t blame her for being insulted. Just like when a legislator said she was attractive. That comment, meant as a compliment, was not professional to the Chief and she was right to get an apology.
But apologies must come both ways. This Chief never apologizes for the mistakes made by her and her staff and they are expensive mistakes. Instead she gives out awards in Vickrey’s honor after CCMS failed and I see that as a slap to the face of the Legislators who were doing their duty to stop that waste of public money. She has been and remains defiant about Vickrey and has not said she is sorry for creating an award honoring the man the legislature demanded resign for it’s failure. Vickrey’s failure cost CA taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars so this is not just a small insult or minor slip of the tongue.
Every year she gives that award out in Vickrey’s name is a display of the Chief’s personal disrespect toward the other branches for meddling in her administration. Imagine if that legislator who called her attractive not only refused to say he was sorry but then put large picture of her on his wall in his office to admire. Such an act would be defiant and disrespectful. That’s basically what she is doing to them. She gives the Vickrey award now on the down low but it is still defiant and disrespectful. Doing so is an insult to all California citizens who demand accountability for mismanagement of public funds.
To me this incident between the Chief and one legislator demonstrates there remains a larger tension as long as the Chief remains defiant. She’s clearly insecure because CCMS went so bad, her state court administrator was forced out, the AOC had to be rebranded, there is an Alliance of California Judges fighting her from within the branch, her Judicial Council is being audited (again), and she doesn’t have the clout she would like to stop it. Sadly, rather than change the culture to help her branch she digs in her heels.
That legislator would be completely right, as you pointed out Sharon, to say respectfully, “Get control (of your branch).” The other branches are not required to give her more money let alone the billions more she is seeking without reforming. Team George, and their horrible culture of arrogance which the Tani documented in her own SEC Report have to go. Also the Chief herself has to rename the Vickrey award and Judicial Council Conference Center to prove she personally is sorry for creating them and being defiant toward the other branches. Till these things happen I take that as proof that she remains disrespectful.
Think of the NFL. If the owners find their CEO knew of the full Ray Rice video and they force Roger Goodell to resign for his handling of the incident then that shows the owners are sorry for the NFL’s weak response and want to reform their institution. If the owners let Roger Goodell go under pressure but then create an award in his honor for “leadership” then it is clear they have not really learned a lesson. It would be reasonable to say the culture has not changed in the NFL and they are defiant instead of sorry. Same logic applies with Chief at the AOC.
sharonkramer
September 13, 2014
Max,
Good analytical thinking. Personally, I think she bent fact to promote her unstated position of wanting to control the courts on behalf of special interests that conflict with the constitution.
She lost my confidence of even the semblance of truth at her statement that George was a wonderful, honorable visionary.
You all should know that the “informed voters – fair judges project” is a national movement involving many “non-profit” organizations.
The gist is that they are educating school children with civics lessons. That was the stated purpose of the CJ’s presentation in SD.
She talked of her daughter not having a civics class until the second semester of her senior year; and that it was important to change this in school curriculum — and that’s why she was there speaking out.
Huh? Is that really an important enough subject for the CJ to fly to SD to speak of it? I don’t think so. The disconnect of the stated subject matter “informed voters” and the CJ’s actual speech was obvious.Plus, McConnell was praised by the CJ for her new publication to educate school children to civics.
C’mon! Teaching civics in school is a fluff BS reason for a UC sponsored event with the Cal CJ flying in as the only speaker.
It felt really weird yesterday like I had walked into the middle of a cult. Today, I got the answer of what this is really all about and why it was so bizarre. They are selling a concept about how democracy functions.
According to today’s message from Center for Public Integrity, the Koch Bros. are behind this mass marketing campaign to “educate” America’s children — and control what’s taught in universities by whom.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/12/15495/koch-foundation-proposal-college-teach-our-curriculum-get-millions
MaxRebo5
September 13, 2014
Why the thumbs down? I respect that choice but think it is best if someone disagrees with a post if they clearly state what it is they take issue with.
sharonkramer
September 13, 2014
Max,
I could write the exact same words that you do, and for those words you would get a thumbs up and I would get a thumbs down.
I’m pretty sure that the constant anonymous thumbs down I get, is due in part because some who profess to be fighting cronyism in the Cal branch know that I can prove they are dancing a little to close to the flame.
I don’t care about anonymous thumbs down on a chatboard……and although it frustrates me to no end, the name of the game on this board is to stop the corruption occurring at the helm, (not the branch comprehensively).
MANY people have given countless hours to this worthy cause of JCW.
With that said, thank you for coming to my defense and asking for open discussion rather than anonymous dissent. I really do appreciate it.
And I hope the readers of this board will take the time to understand the significance of the UC Regents getting paid to host the marketing of “civics education” by McConnell, Cantil-Sakauye, Irrion, et.al. (The attendance fees went to the Regents).
Wonder what other fees funded this event and WHY? Those appetizers served atop Symphony Towers were not cheap. They were great!
Again, here’s a good link to get one’s own civics education. Root around in the website a bit and then decide for yourselves why you think the CJ came to SD this week to talk about teaching civics in public schools:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/12/15495/koch-foundation-proposal-college-teach-our-curriculum-get-millions