State auditor threatens to subpoena Marin Superior Court records

just another symptom of a radical board of supervisors.

This is the environment they have created. It has infiltrated every nook in cranny of civic center.

vote them all out but first, investigate the board of supervisors.

When the audit was passed, I remember the IJ reporting that the Marin Courts "welcome the audit." Funny how the representatives of our local courts -- the place we are suppossed to believe that truth prevails -- do nothing but spin the public lies.

Everybody who cares about the well being of children in the courts should thank Senator Leno for championing this audit, and call Assemblymember Huffman and ask him where he's been on this issue

If I had something to hide, I would stonewall like crazy!!!!! This sounds like a courtroom out of war torn Angola.....

I am not surprised that the C o u r t in Marin doesn't want to turn over its records. Are you kidding? If any true investigation was ever done at Marin County court, most of the judges and clerks would probably go to jail.

I was falsely arrested for reading a public file at Larkspur City Hall. The Police chief who arrested me called that "trying to steal files from City Hall and resisting arrest." that was because I was sitting in a chair trying to read a public file on the very rich neighbors illegal monster house at 199 Madrone Ave. at Madrone and Olive Street. I said "If you don't want me to read this file why don't you arrest me," and he did. Where else can you get arrested and falsely prosecuted two years later for trying to read a public file on a house being built on the creekbank in the "easement for the free-flow of the creek?" The DA and all of them (the 7 witnesses) all knew I did nothing. However, the lawyer I hired (and fired) for withholding all 7 city employee witnesses, gave me a "kangaroo" trial. They have no shame here, and they will arrest you just to prove to you that you better shut up. When I said I wanted to serve my time in jail the Judge said "No. You don't belong in jail, you are going to serve a 3 year probation." That means they got to shut me up for 3 years while they got on with their illegal building in Larkspur and other areas of Marin. They do seem to get away with whatever they want to do. They've hurt many families more than me, but, it still doesn't make it palatable or acceptable. The ACLU would not help me. Every single paper blacked the story out, because they did not want anyone to know the Police Chief was in a false arrest case. Ah yes, clever courts and judges. see why I call myself silligirl to image justice in Marin Courts.

Oscar the Grouch wrote:

"Kim Turner, Marin Superior Court's executive director, said, "We've never opposed that access. But we have been in discussion for a while now with the Bureau of State Audits over how the case sampling is going to take place and what information in case files is actually germane to their audit.
"The scope of the audit is supposed to be related to court processes, how we appoint counsel for minors, our complaint procedures, and that kind of stuff," Turner said. "What we want to do is understand how many documents, if any, in confidential files should be provided to the auditors. We think it's really important that we get to the bottom of that before cases are reviewed.""
When are they going to get rid of that sock puppet, Turner?
Pure, unmitigated BS! These files are part of the PUBLIC RECORD, accessible to EVERYONE. The only things "confidential" are sealed intcome tax returns and the actual child custody evaluation reports (which should not be, but they say they are.) There is no need at all to review such "confidential" material to conduct an audit to determine whether there are improprieties in the APPOINTMENT of such "experts." In fact, in most instances, the courts' appointment of such people at the litigants' expense is legally improper. The fact that it occurs is damning evidence enough. That's why they are hinky about anybody who knows what they are doing seeing the records.
"Kathleen Russell of the Center for Judicial Excellence, a Marin watchdog organization, said, "This is indicative of the lack of transparency at the Marin County courthouse. In our four years of attempting to get basic information from the court and meet with them and collaborate with them they have always had a stonewall and been very territorial about information that is not confidential. That is why there is such a need for this audit.""
No shite, Sherlock!

Probate court needs an audit too.

Sounds like the same thing that goes on in Tulare County Courts!!! Good luck guys.

When my divorce case was in Marin County's family court, several of the judges, attorneys and court appointees worked together to suppress evidence and shift blame to me for trying to escape a really frightening situation.

The legal maneuvering they engaged in, which relies on so-called parental alienation syndrome (PAS) methodology, was originally crafted as a defense
of child molesters.

The psychiatrist who coined the term PAS committed an especially gruesome suicide in 2003, the same year the American Prosecutors Research Institute concluded that use of PAS can "threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system and the safety of abused children".

In my case, as in all others where PAS is used to threaten mothers (and children) with financial sanctions, loss of custody, jail and institutionalization, courts capture huge sums of money authorized to them via California Conciliation Court Law. CCCL gives the family court inappropriate jurisdiction to mishandle abuse cases as custody disputes.

In 2000, the "Winner Report" partially documented how child support intended for care of my son was
diverted to an attorney and an evaluator supposedly appointed to represent him. I subsequently discovered in a public records request, that at least $30,000 was paid to these appointees by the
County of Marin from the alternate public defender's budget, at the same time the public defender was on the Judicial Council committee authorizing State Access to Visitation Program funding to California courts.

I have already provided my documentation both to Senator Leno's office and the auditors. The court needs to stop obstructing the audit and provide the requested information, including from my case.

Cindy Ross
California Director
National Alliance for Family Court Justice
Fairfax, CA

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/marin-indep...

Attorney: And in that particular case, were you asked to recite the best interest factors in family code section 3011?
Wu: I don’t recall

Attorney: Could you tell me what the best interest factors are in family code section 3011?
Wu: No, I’m unable to do that for you.

Attorney: How about child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Is there any relationship there?
Wu: I--I--I don’t know that so--

Attorney: But is there a difference in your mind between glance, peruse and read?
Wu: I don’t know

Attorney: You haven’t been trained in that?
Wu: I--I am unable to answer that question.

Attorney: Did you read Exhibit O, Dr. Wu?
Wu: I don’t recall.

Attorney: Did you read the doctor’s reports attached as Exhibit O?
Wu: NO, I did not read this

Attorney: Did you read this (Exhibit R)?
Wu: I don’t recall

Attorney: Did you talk to his teachers?
Wu: No, I did not

Attorney: Did you talk to his doctors?
Wu: No, I did not.

Attorney: Did you talk to child therapist?
Wu: No

Attorney: And you have no doubt that (the child) is very, very connected to his mother, do you?
Wu: Sure

Attorney: And he loves his mother a lot?
Wu: Yes

Kim Turner is blowing smoke.

She claims that her concerns are with "sampling" and possible "cherry picking" to obtain results.

These are concerns in STATISTICAL studies. An AUDIT is NOT a statistical study, it is an effort to discover discrepancies--regardless of whether they are systematic or specific. As such, "cherry picking" is ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE. An auditor wants and needs to hear "tips" about "where to look" to find the discrepancies, and should be encouraged to find and follow leads--just like any investigator.

Kim Turner is hoping that the discrepancies can be buried in some sort of overall review--which is not the purpose of an audit. An audit SHOULD highlight individual problems--hopefully before they become systemic, though they may have already reached that point in this case.

The only reason that Kim Turner appears to be a person that has something to hide---IS BECAUSE SHE IS FRANTIC TO BURY THE EVIDENCE....

There have been so many families destroyed in Family Courts throughout this country--and Marin County is poster-child as among the worst.

I hope that Kim Turner continues her efforts to stonewall----her actions only help to make it clear to all that she is desperate and has something to hide. She is hand-selected by Chief Justice George and she is falling down on the job--He expects those he selects to keep a lid on his shop of horrors---

Rational Approach is right-on...."cherry picking" is absolutely appropriate. The audit MUST have access to any damn file they want---and they MUST be directed by those that know where the bodies-are-buried.

If the following quote from the IJ article wasn’t so pathetic, it would be Robin Williams-esque funny -- high satire. But the truth is, it is just what it seems .. a classic [attempted] coverup. Now, let’s hope that such behaviour stimulates and inspires a full court press.
Shakespeare’s line from Hamlet comes to mind; “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Kim Turner, Marin Superior Court's executive director, said, "We've never opposed that access....The scope of the audit is supposed to be related to court processes, how we appoint counsel for minors, our complaint procedures, and that kind of stuff. What we want to do is understand how many documents, if any, in confidential files should be provided to the auditors. We think it's really important that we get to the bottom of that before cases are reviewed."
Reilly wrote, "We have listened to the concerns of the courts including, but not limited to, those related to our need to access files that may contain confidential materials and the courts' concerns that the audit will 'cherry-pick' cases to obtain certain results."
Ha! nice try Kim and Co... thanks for the giggle .. isn’t that strangely ironic on the heels of their desire to assist with the audit? Gosh, is it me that doesn’t understand?
Some 20 years plus have gone by, scores of children denied one parent later, dozens driven into financial ruin, emotionally raped, lives shattered while the same players licked their chops all the way to the bank, caring not one whit about the destruction and destitution left in their wake.
Use by date is way long overdue to expose and hopefully prosecute the guilty for crimes against children/parents/humanity. Fingers crossed this is where it will lead to. It’s like I told two FBI agents 20 years ago -“Follow the money trail.”

There is a quote from the movie "True Colors" which states:

"You may win an election or two, you may even be able to live with yourself, but God help you when the People find out......they always do."

There's a term Marin County better become used to very quickly...it is called "Class Action Lawsuit".....

Who is Kim Turner?
From 1999-2005, she was the former assistant and right hand woman to former Marin Court Executive Officer John Montgomery. She became the Marin Court Executive Officer in 2005, after Mr. Montgomery was arrested on 10 felony counts of conflict of interest, for funneling over $650,000 in court consulting contracts to his girlfriend, acquiring property with that girlfriend and concealing the acquisitions, and taking out-of-state trips without proper court authorization. Ms. Turner knew about many of Mr. Montomery’s questionable and/or illegal acts, and she and/or current assistant Court Executive Officer Karen Richardson signed off on many of them. Yet, Ms. Turner waited until January, 2005, right before an impending financial audit of the Marin courts, to report Mr. Montgomery’s improper conduct to the Marin presiding judge. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...
[Query: Did the pending financial audit of the Marin Courts inspire Turner and other court members to turn Montgomery in so they could excuse signing off on Montgomery illegalities, and then, with luck and a little coordination, take his place?]
The following is an excerpt from a document entitled "Internal Audit Services Report”(Special Investigation 2005-004) prepared by the Finance Division of the AOC, about John Montgomery, Kim Turner, and Turner’s assistant, Karen Richardson (both former assistants of Mr. Montgomery):
“Both assistant CEOs indicated that they were signing the expense claims, including travel claims, either under duress or intimidation, or were uncomfortable not signing them. Ms. Turner has also indicated that staff were frequently berated by Mr. Montgomery and were fearful of him. Ms. Turner has also stated that ‘he used this tactic on me only once...I advised him that if he ever did that again, he would have my resignation. He knows that I will not tolerate this behavior directed at me.’ This raises a concern as to why she brought the issue to the PJ and the AOC at this time (January 2005) and did not raise it previously”.(bold emphasis added).
The Administrative Office of the Courts concluded its Special Investigation report with the following paragraph about the Marin Court:
“The [Marin] court has continued a practice of following local procedures of the county and has not conformed to the AOC policy either concerning documentation or pre-approval of out-of-state travel (policies that became effective February 2004). The compliance with approved policies and procedures required by the Judicial Council/AOC are the specific responsibility of the court executive, Mr. Montgomery. Therefore, non-compliance is also attributable to him. Additionally, the non-compliance can and has led to his benefiting from the travel and other claimed expenses that are either not approved or are questionable. As indicated above, if he has his subordinates approve his claims this practice is also inappropriate and supports a conflict of interest, inappropriate/excessive/unauth orized travel, and questionable reimbursements of expense claims.”( bold emphasis added.)
It is notable that one-half of the approximately 180 Marin court employees reportedly signed a petition asking the Marin bench NOT to hire Kim Turner to replace John Montgomery, and, after she was hired anyway, all but a handful of those who signed the petition were replaced by the Marin Court.

CJ Spark wrote:

There is a quote from the movie "True Colors" which states:
"You may win an election or two, you may even be able to live with yourself, but God help you when the People find out......they always do."
There's a term Marin County better become used to very quickly...it is called "Class Action Lawsuit".....

Or RICO....

Some have called what has happened in the Marin Family Court modern-day human trafficking. The question is, how far and wide, how high and low....does it go.

Mind blowing fact: As of February 22nd, 2010, Marin County no longer has court reporters on a regular basis in Department of Child Support Services hearings. And they are not permitted by law to electronically record the hearings either. So there is NO RECORD! available to any parent who wants to appeal an unfair decision regarding child support or an order to show cause that could land you in jail for unpaid child support. Of course, you are free to bring in your own court reporter at a $300 to $500 per day, effectively making due process available only to those who can afford it and closed to the children the DCSS was created to serve. See Title IV-D. Someone with connections to "the powers that be" please blow the whistle on this. If it isn't against the law, it should be.

I hope the Auditors ask C. Wood, how the minute orders has been altered in her court room.

Marin Family Court give Appeallate court and Supreme Court the altered records.

When you file a complaint to CJP, guess who again, Kim Turner, she's here and there, she is everywhere.

Afraid of 'cherry picking' NO - afraid the auditors have been told where 'the bodies are buried'
YES ! Bravo for Leno's office - for investigating the corrupt and criminal behavior of this court that puts children's lives on a conveyor belt to emotional and phycological destruction.

Justice wrote:

http://www.topix.net/forum/sou rce/marin-independent-journal/ THLQLKU3JKA9SHQOU/p39#lastPost
Attorney: And in that particular case, were you asked to recite the best interest factors in family code section 3011?
Wu: I don’t recall
Attorney: Could you tell me what the best interest factors are in family code section 3011?
Wu: No, I’m unable to do that for you.
Attorney: How about child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Is there any relationship there?
Wu: I--I--I don’t know that so--
Attorney: But is there a difference in your mind between glance, peruse and read?
Wu: I don’t know
Attorney: You haven’t been trained in that?
Wu: I--I am unable to answer that question.
Attorney: Did you read Exhibit O, Dr. Wu?
Wu: I don’t recall.
Attorney: Did you read the doctor’s reports attached as Exhibit O?
Wu: NO, I did not read this
Attorney: Did you read this (Exhibit R)?
Wu: I don’t recall
Attorney: Did you talk to his teachers?
Wu: No, I did not
Attorney: Did you talk to his doctors?
Wu: No, I did not.
Attorney: Did you talk to child therapist?
Wu: No
Attorney: And you have no doubt that (the child) is very, very connected to his mother, do you?
Wu: Sure
Attorney: And he loves his mother a lot?
Wu: Yes

Dr. Gloria Wu, the incompetent court mediator.

Courtwatch-
Thank you for your suggestions about what the public can do to take action.
Truly Inspired!
1. Report illegal behavior by judges, court employees, and court appointees. Summarize what happened in 1-3 pages, and tab and provide (or at least identify with particularity) the back-up documentation, if there is any. Report to the Presiding Judge, the sheriff, the DA, the Attorney General, the US Attorney, the Judicial Council, the Commission on Judicial Performance, the Board of Supervisors, and the Governor. Also Senator Mark Leno and the State Auditor. Keep a copy for yourself. That way, no one can say they didn't know. Apparently the new release date for the audit of the Marin Court is June, 2010, so act now.
2. Similarly, report all retaliation against you or anyone else for complaining about illegal behavior.
3. Write letters to the Governor and your elected representatives, demanding that judges be REQUIRED to follow the law and properly serve the public. Suggested legislative measures (again, act now, don't wait):
A. Condition judicial funding on implementation of mandatory Judicial Performance Evaluations.
B. Eliminate Judicial Immunity. Judicial Immunity protects judges and appointees from being sued for purposefully violating the law, and acting maliciously to those who appear before them, while acting in their official capacity.
C. Code of Civil Procedure section 170.1 should be amended, to provide that a judge who has been challenged for cause by a litigant may NEVER rule on his or her own challenge, or strike the challenge from the record. Decisions on challenges for cause should be appealable. Lower court decisions on challenges for cause should be reviewed by a formal oversight panel that includes members of the public. Like juries, such panels could do a marvelous job tempering judicial bias with common sense and objectivity.
D. The Governor and Legislature should DEMAND that the Judicial Council obtain and render a formal legal opinion as to whether it is legal in the CA, under CCP 170.1 (a)(6)(A)(iii), for judges to take campaign contributions from those who appear before them. Under 170.1 judges must recuse themselves if a person aware of the facts would reasonably doubt the judge's ability to be impartial. This is an objective standard. The Judicial Council's own consultants have told the Judicial Council that 75% of the public, and over 25% of judges, believe campaign contributions affect the outcome of cases. Therefore, under the 170.1 standard, judges should NOT hear cases involving people from whom they have taken campaign contributions. Still, the Judicial Council is recommending that trial and appellate judges be able to receive $1,499, and that Supreme Court justices be able to receive over $25,000, from an individual, before having to recuse themselves. The Judicial Council is appointed by Ron George, who is up for retention election this year.
E. Courts should be required to videotape ALL proceedings, and make a copy available to litigants at a nominal cost. This will help court reporters, too, as they can double check what they heard.
F. Whistleblower protection MUST be provided to court employees.
4. Register to vote, and vote Ron George and Ming Chin off of the CA Supreme Court in June. Although they know 75% of the public believes campaign contributions affect the outcome of a case, they are both endorsing a rule that would allow them to receive $25,000 from an individual who appears before them, without recusing themselves. Note that the vast majority of the contributions they received in their 1998 retention elections were under $1,000. They are INVITING big money into judicial elections. Ron, Ming, isn’t this is a direct violation of CCP 170.1(a)(6)(A)(iii)?
5. Get out your posterboards and markers. People need to organize peaceful gatherings protesting judicial corruption.

Wow-

You all have been having the same stale argument for six months.

Here's what it boils down to.

Do you know the difference between a good lawyer & a great lawyer?
Do you know the difference between being a winning or losing litigant?

A good lawyer knows the law!

A great lawyer knows the judge!

A winning litigant hired the lawyer who knows the judge!

I figured I would tell a cleche joke since this forum is becoming a cleche joke. Are you all going to continue to have some public pissing match over whether or not there is a problem in the Family Law Court in Marin.

What a joke!

How many children who are victims of domestic violence were killed this year?

How many mothers who are victims of domestic violence were killed this year?

How many fathers who are victims of domestic violence were killed this year?

How many custody switches were there in Marin or nation wide this year?

How many motherless children are there because of family law courts?

How many fatherless children are there because of family law courts?

You all can **** and kipitchulate for months on this forum about the validity of an audit for Marin. About Wood, Duryee or if Dufficy is a closet nudist and truly people are disgusted with this entire argument.

I really don't care if Wood, Duryee, Adams, Dufficy and newly appointed Churnis all get drunk and have nude paint ball parties on the weekend.

Really people- I survived the Clinton administration and listening to telivised testimony about what Monica did with his cigar I just don't give a %^&* about Dufficy is doing with his. Can we all get back to the point.

Countless other forums are on the net where parents / litigants are sharing there stories, the experience that their family has endured through the family law system and those forums are a beacon of hope that it they aren't alone.

This forum is an online gossip / pissing match for lawyers, commissioners, judges, and activists.

This forum is coming up in the first few 2 pages of google searches.

USE THAT TO DO SOME GOOD PEOPLE!