Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Please E-Mail this to your Elected Officials,...

Here is another interesting email I recieved this morning from - jah1tafari@yahoo.com

Subject Line -Please E-Mail this to your Elected Officials,...

[Date]


[Addressee]

Re: Proposed Law to Require Justices, Judges and Other Judicial and Administrative Officers Disclose Information Required by Law to Determine Conflicts of Interest

Dear Honorables:

Our judicial system is corrupted by examples of conflicts of interest by judicial and administrative officials deciding cases and violating the rights to due process and a fair trial guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Parents are losing their children, people are losing their homes, counties are illegally taking property, conservatorships are being mismanaged and class action settlement funds are being looted to provide a few examples.

In Los Angeles, the citizens have petitioned the U.S. Attorney General to institute a grand jury investigation to prosecute the corruption and render indictments where appropriate. However, criminal prosecution alone will not solve the ongoing problems of the conflicts of interest and the refusal of the judiciary and the administrative officials to abide by the disclosure laws. Legislation is necessary to compel the members of the judiciary and the administrative officials to provide the information directly to the parties before them so that the parties may determine if a conflict of interest exists before the litigation commences before the particular justice, judge, magistrate, commissioner, other judicial official, administrative judge or hearing officer.

The proposed legislation accomplishes this goal by requiring such disclosure which is already mandated by existing law but scattered in many different places. The proposed legislation makes the disclosures relevant by making them available in the courtroom to the party who requests such. The proposed legislation states:

All justices, judges, magistrates, commissioners, other judicial officers, administrative judges and hearing officers at the commencement of any case, controversy or proceeding before them, or within five (5) days after the case, controversy or proceeding is assigned to them and at all times prior to the first hearing in the case, controversy or proceeding, shall provide to each of the parties in the case, controversy or proceeding who requests disclosure under this Act, either directly or through their attorneys, a copy of the justice%u2019s, judge%u2019s, magistrate%u2019s, commissioner%u2019s, other judicial officer%u2019s, administrative judge%u2019s or hearing officer%u2019s:

(1) Financial or Economic Disclosure Reports filed with any government
agency under any Federal or State Law for the current year and the
previous two years;

(2) Campaign contribution reports for the last election campaign and the
previous two election campaigns in which he/she was a candidate for
any political office;

(3) A list of all organizations of which he/she is a member and a list of the
Directors of each, a list of any organizations of which he/she is a
member of a Board of Directors or Board of Governors and a list of all
other Directors or Governors; and

(4) A disclosure of all prior contacts by he/she and his/her family members
with any party in the case, their families, officers, directors, agents and
attorneys if the contact with the attorney was outside of their courtroom.

Nothing could be more simple. The documents are readily available or can be easily created. The judicial and administrative officers are already under a legal obligation to disclose the information. The proposed legislation does not create any new burden on the judicial and administrative officers and renders a massive benefit to the legal system and the parties within the system by guaranteeing a fair trial and due process.

We urge you to immediately introduce and sponsor the proposed legislation and hold hearings on the problems of the inability of parties to receive a fair trial and due process without such legislation, particularly in the areas of family law in the children%u2019s courts, in the area of foreclosure law, homeowner and real estate law, conservatorship law, eminent domain law, trust fund law, class action law and State Bar proceedings amongst others.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this grave matter.

Sincerely,


FINE, SRM COURTNEY and Fernandez DISCLOSURE BILL

JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS FULL DISCLOSURE LAW

WHEREAS the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that all persons be afforded a fair trial and due process in the Courts of the United States;

WHEREAS Article 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution requires all Federal and State judges to obey the United States Constitution and Federal laws;

WHEREAS Federal and State laws, Codes of Judicial Conduct and Codes of Judicial Ethics have been adopted regulating the conduct of justices, judges, magistrates, commissioners, other judicial officers, administrative judges and hearing officers and requiring disclosure of their financial status, donors to their election campaigns and other information which would create in reasonable minds a perception that the "judge" or other decision maker violated the law or engaged in other conduct that reflects adversely on the judge’s or other decision maker’s honesty, impartiality, temperament, or fitness to serve as a justice, judge, magistrate, commissioner, other judicial officer, administrative judge or hearing officer;

WHEREAS the information necessary for a party first appearing before a justice, judge, magistrate, commissioner, other judicial officer, administrative judge or hearing officer is not always available to the party or cannot be found in a reasonable time to determine if a fair trial or hearing complying with due process will occur before the justice, judge, magistrate, commissioner, judicial officer, administrative judge or hearing officer;

BE IT ENACTED:

All justices, judges, magistrates, commissioners, other judicial officers, administrative judges and hearing officers at the commencement of any case, controversy or proceeding before them, or within five (5) days after the case, controversy or proceeding is assigned to them and at all times prior to the first hearing in the case, controversy or proceeding, shall provide to each of the parties in the case, controversy or proceeding who requests disclosure under this Act, either directly or through their attorneys, a copy of the justice’s, judge’s, magistrate’s, commissioner’s, other judicial officer’s, administrative judge’s or hearing officer’s:

(1) Financial or Economic Disclosure Reports filed with any government agency under any Federal or State Law for the current year and the previous two years;

(2) Campaign contribution reports for the last election campaign and the previous two election campaigns in which he/she was a candidate for any political office;

(3) A list of all organizations of which he/she is a member and a list of the Directors of each, a list of any organizations of which he/she is a member of a Board of Directors or Board of Governors and a list of all other Directors or Governors; and

(4) A disclosure of all prior contacts by he/she and his/her family members with any party in the case, their families, officers, directors, agents and attorneys if the contact with the attorney was outside of their courtroom.

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