This past Saturday, October 25th marks our 4th year of tracking the most corrupt institution in state government. You’ll note that this is not an event we’re celebrating. We had hoped that by now the other two branches of government would have used their considerable wherewithal to exercise their respective roles of checks and balances. […]
March 4, 2014
Trying to get information out of the AOC can seem like playing Go Fish with a temperamental child. You have to ask for exactly the right thing in exactly the right way, and even then you might not get it. Often, the AOC claims that it doesn’t keep the kinds of records you’re looking for. […]
February 26, 2013
February 25, 2013 Dear Members and Others, We attach articles by Cheryl Miller of the Recorder and Maria Dinzeo of the Courthouse News. Cheryl Miller’s article details the secrecy surrounding many important decisions made by branch leaders. She points out the obvious disconnect between the courts’ consistent enforcement of the constitutional mandate favoring disclosure and […]
February 11, 2013
We called it an oligarchy. Ray Pensador said they’re turning our judicial system into something akin to a Banana Republic. Here is proof-positive that we’re both correct. _______________________________________________ February 11, 2013 Dear Members and Others, You probably have heard the expression, “The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same.” […]
January 4, 2013
Last year we suggested that you all contact wired magazine and nominate CCMS Version 4 for the 2011 annual vaporware awards. Regrettably, we were copied on some of those nominations where litigants completely undermined the nomination by implying that CCMS (without naming any version) resulted in them being wronged in some fashion. This year, the situation […]
December 27, 2012
. Truth be told, we never left the saddle. As we entered into 2012 the first indication that CCMS was dead was on December 20th, 2011 when we announced with the assistance of Tonto (You remember him, the really nice house on the hill in Danville with the really nice yard that had been under […]
October 6, 2012
This came in the email from someone who declared themselves an AOC employee. JC/AOC’s 285 management rules of acquisition 1. Once you have trial court money, you never give it back. 2. The best deal is the one that brings the most kickbacks. 3. When using taxpayer money, always pay more than you have to. […]
September 11, 2012
I don’t know what is more intellectually offensive – The AOC keeping 111 temps on their books or the October 16th, 4 hour meeting where everyone supervisor and above will be flown into San Francisco. Now if the purpose of this meeting was to issue pink slips, I could understand flying them in to fire […]
September 4, 2012
It’s probably a combination of Justice Corrigan’s plea as well as the Alliance being cautiously optimistic about actual reforms taking place given the words exchanged and the votes taken. Here is the rub: Four of these items that came to unanimous votes in this judicial council session were shunned without so much as a […]
June 21, 2012
It seems to us that a new pattern is beginning to develop. With judicial council critics statewide pointing out the obvious, namely that you can’t govern by meeting six or seven days a year we’re beginning to see more two and three day judicial council meetings so that the anointed can say they put in […]
June 8, 2012
. June 6, 2012 Dear Members and Others, Many courts in the last few months have notified employees that they will be laid off effective June 1st. These are dedicated, hard-working people who are on the front line of what we do in the local courts: judicial assistants, court reporters, front counter staff, the […]
April 30, 2012
A note in our email directed us to this petition. This petition can be found at: http://signon.org/sign/disband-the-aoc-in-californi?source=c.fwd&r_by=4417014 “The Administrative Office of the Courts is a bureaucracy that was assembled to administer the California courts. But what the AOC has done is to siphon the budgetary moneys from the courts into its own pet projects even during […]
March 26, 2012
March 25, 2012 Dear Members and Others, . On Thursday, March 22, the Judicial Council posted the latest Grant Thornton report concerning CCMS. The Council will discuss this report and make a decision regarding the future of CCMS at a special meeting next Tuesday, March 27. Alliance directors Judge Kent Hamlin of Fresno and Judge Mike Hayes from […]
March 25, 2012
Enclosed is a report to the Judicial Council on California Case Management System Deployment Options. Prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts IT Director Mark Dusman, it is being submitted as an option list of recommendations of the CCMS Internal Committee (One of the five committees – though this committee is staffed by muppets….) It […]
March 16, 2012
March 15, 2012 Dear Members and Others: Yesterday was an interesting day in Sacramento. As we promised you, several Alliance directors were present at the Joint Assembly Budget Committee meeting on CCMS. The State Auditor updated the committee on her perspective, concluding that while the Council/AOC have made some progress in the areas of greatest […]
March 16, 2012
In reading Nathaniel Woodhull’s recent post about the events in Sacramento this week regarding the Assembly Budget Subcommittee’s action to suspend CCMS, and that together we can get the current administration of the Judicial Branch to understand that they serve the Courts and the citizens of California, and not the other way around, I was […]
October 27, 2014
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