Court Operations Oversight
Direct link to this page:
https://copswiki.org/Common/CourtOperationsOversight
Latest News
Background
I started this project mainly as a placeholder right now, to record any issues we notice about court procedures that may need further investigation.
MOST JUDGES NEVER HAVE TO RUN FOR THEIR SEAT! See more below!
Jovan Jackson "obfuscation"
Jovan Jackson was involved in operating a dispensary, Answerdam. He was arrested for selling marijuana, although he did not actually sell it himself, it was from a "legal" dispensary and only to people with physician paperwork. He was cleared in a first case (from the same evidence but a day earlier, so it was not "double jeopardy" since it was the next day), but then brought back to trial in a second case (based on the fact that although he was acquitted for the violation from the prior day, they would do it again). In the second case, they did not allow the defense to mention that running a dispensary is legal in California, and was when he was arrested.
I went to the courthouse to see this case but I did not have the department where the case would be heard.
I first walked down the hall and looked for paperwork next to the door of each hearing room. It was actually in Dept. 15, but at that courtroom they had installed metal detector screening equipment so it would not be possible to get to the display case next to the door or look in without going through the secondary screening, so I did not go through that to see the list or look in.
I went to the clerk of the court to look up the case. I had Jackson's name. The clerk first asked me if I knew his birthday. Huh? I was able to look at the screen (remarkably) and give her the birthday that was listed. Then, she said she found it, but there was nothing listed except 5 days earlier. I checked with my assistant by phone and she gave me the case number, and they still could not find it. I walked around for a while, but did not look into the courtroom where it was being held because of the security on the outside. I was leaving the courthouse and I noticed a fellow in the wheelchair who I had met at the ASA meeting the day before, and I recognized him and asked him about the case. He said it was in Dept 15 and we walked (and rolled) up together.
The judge in this case was judge Shore.
Later, I went back down to ask the clerk about it. First, I asked if they had a list of all the cases being tried that day. "We don't have that sort of list, our computers are very old and we just can't make a master list." Okay, so I then asked for the supervisor. She said that again, the case was not being heard. Then she went back, talked on the phone and worked on the computer, came back, and said that indeed, it was in Dept. 15. I asked the first woman why she could not find it, and she said that maybe she didn't go to that screen, but now it shows up.
I asked the security guards if there was any conceivable way anyone could get a weapon into the facility, since there is security at the main entrance... why do they have the extra level of security? They said they did not know, they just do what the judge wants.
It is clear to me that they desperately want to limit the number of people that show up for this case.
I was a bit disappointed also that the judge took the entire discussion of the jury instructions off the record, and proceeded to carry on lengthy discussions with the attorneys about what they wanted in and out, only opting for one detail to be put on the record, and then dismissing the court recorder completely. I have a feeling that was to limit the Judge's liability in the case regarding what the instructions were, because the discussion about what to put in or out would be very important for any challenge to the case in an appeal. The attorney for Jackson should not have agreed to taking it off the record, in my opinion, and I think it limits the ability of the public to review the cases if they do this, plus do not allow any recording devices, etc.
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Timeline
- dd mmm 2008 - Description
Recent Articles and Media: (Add | All Media)
This is the most recently published 20 articles, most recent first.
Discussion List
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List Serve for all email discussion lists and to add more.
List of Judges and their term expiration.
These judges are NOT listed on the Registrar of Voters website. We asked them in 2012 for their term expiration dates. For
known BAD JUDGES, we need to have good judge candidates RUN AGAINST THEM!
ID |
Name |
Location |
Dept |
Case Types |
Term Ends |
Notes |
1 |
LORNA ALKSNE |
Hall of Justice |
SD-64 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
2 |
EDWARD P. ALLARD III |
South County |
SB-10 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-15 |
|
3 |
DONALD F. ARMENTO |
North County |
NC-33 |
TRAFFIC/MINOR OFFENSE |
|
|
4 |
CARLOS O. ARMOUR |
Juvenile |
SD-J7 |
Juvenile |
Jan-17 |
|
5 |
JAMES T. ATKINS |
East County |
EC-1 |
Criminal |
|
|
6 |
KATHERINE A. BACAL |
South County |
SB-12 |
FAMILY, CRIMINAL |
Jan-17 |
|
7 |
JEFFREY B. BARTON |
Hall of Justice |
SD-69 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Good. |
8 |
CYNTHIA A. BASHANT |
Juvenile |
SD-J1 |
Juvenile |
Jan-15 |
|
9 |
LAURA J. BIRKMEYER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-4 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Unknown |
10 |
GARY S. BLOCH |
South County |
SB-1 |
TRAFFIC, UNLAWFUL DETAINERS, SMALL CLAIMS |
Jan-13 |
|
11 |
JAY M. BLOOM |
Main Courthouse |
SD-33 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
12 |
JEFFREY S. BOSTWICK |
Madge Bradley |
SD-PC1 |
PROBATE |
Jan-15 |
Unknown. |
13 |
BLAINE K. BOWMAN |
North County |
NC-10 |
JUVENILE |
Jan-17 |
|
14 |
JOSEPH P. BRANNIGAN |
East County |
EC-16 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
15 |
DAVID G. BROWN |
North County |
NC-17 |
FAMILY IC |
Jan-13 |
|
16 |
FRANK A. BROWN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-23 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
17 |
Gary George Kreep |
Main Courthouse |
SD-34 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Rated Unqualified by Bar. Elected in June 2012 election. |
18 |
GARY BUBIS |
East County |
EC-18 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
19 |
CAROLYN M. CAIETTI |
Juvenile |
SD-J2 |
Juvenile |
Jan-15 |
|
20 |
YVONNE ESPERANZA CAMPOS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-10 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
21 |
TIMOTHY M. CASSERLY |
North County |
NC-31 |
CIVIL IC |
Jan-15 |
Very good judge. |
22 |
GEORGE W. CLARKE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-25 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
23 |
RICHARD G. CLINE |
North County |
NC-2 |
TRIAL/PROBATE |
Jan-15 |
|
24 |
PATRICIA K. COOKSON |
East County |
EC-10 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
25 |
GONZALO CURIEL |
Hall of Justice |
SD-60 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
|
26 |
ROBERT P. DAHLQUIST |
North County |
NC-29 |
CIVIL IC |
Jan-13 |
Horrible |
27 |
DAVID J. DANIELSEN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-24 |
ASSISTANT PRESIDING |
Jan-15 |
Good |
28 |
WILLIAM S. DATO |
Hall of Justice |
SD-67 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
29 |
CINDY D. DAVIS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-5 |
CIVIL |
|
|
30 |
PETER C DEDDEH |
Main Courthouse |
SD-38 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
31 |
STEVEN R. DENTON |
Hall of Justice |
SD-73 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Retired |
32 |
FRANCIS M. DEVANEY |
South County |
SB-9 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-13 |
|
33 |
KELLY C. DOBLADO |
Main Courthouse |
SD-43 |
Family |
|
|
34 |
JOHN S. EINHORN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-58 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Decent |
35 |
HARRY M. ELIAS |
North County |
NC-25 |
TRIAL |
Jan-15 |
Good |
36 |
KEVIN A. ENRIGHT |
Hall of Justice |
SD-74 |
Civil |
Jan-17 |
Great (Republican) |
37 |
CHARLES W. ERVIN |
East County |
EC-2 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
38 |
ANA L. ESPANA |
South County |
SB-15 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-17 |
Good |
39 |
HERBERT J. EXARHOS |
East County |
EC-17 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
40 |
EUGENIA A. EYHERABIDE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-31 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
41 |
LISA A. FOSTER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-57 |
Civil |
Jan-17 |
|
42 |
JEFFREY F. FRASER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-37 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
43 |
RONALD F. FRAZIER |
Juvenile |
SD-J6 |
Juvenile |
Jan-17 |
|
44 |
PETER L. GALLAGHER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-17 |
CRIMINAL/DRUG COURT |
Jan-15 |
|
45 |
PATRICIA GARCIA |
East County |
EC-3 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
46 |
WILLIAM C. GENTRY, JR. |
East County |
EC-5 |
FAMILY |
Jan-17 |
|
47 |
CHARLES R. GILL |
Main Courthouse |
SD-18 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
|
48 |
DAVID M. GILL |
Main Courthouse |
SD-28 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Ancient, but good. |
49 |
CHRISTINE K. GOLDSMITH |
Family |
SD-F3 |
Family |
Jan-13 |
|
50 |
DANIEL B. GOLDSTEIN |
North County |
NC-22 |
TRIAL |
Jan-15 |
|
51 |
ALVIN E. GREEN, JR. |
South County |
SB-8 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-15 |
|
52 |
MICHAEL S. GROCH |
South County |
SB-4 |
FAMILY |
Jan-13 |
|
53 |
ERNEST M. GROSS |
North County |
NC-8 |
SMALL CLAIMS/UNLAWFUL DETAINERS |
|
|
54 |
GARRY G. HAEHNLE |
South County |
SB-11 |
JUVENILE DEPENDENCY |
Jan-15 |
|
55 |
LAURA W HALGREN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-29 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Okay but conservative |
56 |
MAUREEN F. HALLAHAN |
Family |
SD-F5 |
Family |
Jan-17 |
|
57 |
LOUIS R. HANOIAN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-54 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
|
58 |
ALBERT T. HARUTUNIAN III |
Main Courthouse |
SD-6 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
59 |
JUDITH F. HAYES |
Hall of Justice |
SD-68 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Not favorite, hit or miss. Negative. |
60 |
ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ |
South County |
SB-17 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
|
61 |
MARSHALL Y. HOCKETT |
North County |
NC-14 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-15 |
Pretty good. |
62 |
SUSAN D. HUGUENOR |
Family |
SD-F1 |
Family |
Jan-17 |
Good |
63 |
MICHAEL J. IMHOFF |
North County |
NC-9 |
JUVENILE |
|
|
64 |
TAMILA E. IPEMA |
North County |
NC-4 |
TRIAL |
Jan-17 |
|
65 |
CAROL ISACKSON |
Juvenile |
SD-J5 |
Juvenile |
Jan-15 |
|
66 |
GERALD C. JESSOP |
Madge Bradley |
SD-F8 |
Family |
Jan-17 |
|
67 |
LARRY W. JONES |
North County |
NC-32 |
TRAFFIC/MINOR OFFENSE |
|
|
68 |
GALE E. KANESHIRO |
Main Courthouse |
SD-40 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
69 |
AARON H. KATZ |
North County |
NC-24 |
SUPERVISING |
Jan-13 |
|
70 |
KERI G. KATZ |
Main Courthouse |
SD-44 |
Criminal |
|
|
71 |
ROBERT J. KEARNEY |
North County |
NC-20 |
TRIAL/CRIMINAL LAW & MOTION |
Jan-17 |
|
72 |
JULIA CRAIG KELETY |
Madge Bradley |
SD-PC2 |
PROBATE |
Jan-13 |
|
73 |
K. MICHAEL KIRKMAN |
North County |
NC-5 |
CRIMINAL MASTER CALENDAR |
Jan-17 |
|
74 |
EVAN P. KIRVIN |
East County |
EC-6 |
FAMILY |
Jan-15 |
|
75 |
ROGER W. KRAUEL |
East County |
EC-19 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
76 |
WILLIAM H. KRONBERGER, JR. |
Main Courthouse |
SD-39 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
77 |
KIMBERLEE A. LAGOTTA |
North County |
NC-6 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-13 |
|
78 |
MELINDA J. LASATER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-32 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
79 |
JOAN M. LEWIS |
Hall of Justice |
SD-65 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
80 |
KATHLEEN M. LEWIS |
South County |
SB-14 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-15 |
|
81 |
LANTZ LEWIS |
East County |
EC-8 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
82 |
MARGO L. LEWIS |
Family |
SD-F2 |
Family |
Jan-13 |
|
83 |
FREDERIC L. LINK |
Main Courthouse |
SD-26 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Best judge in the world, fabulous. |
84 |
ROBERT C. LONGSTRETH |
Family |
SD-F4 |
Family |
Jan-17 |
|
85 |
JEANNIE LOWE |
North County |
NC-18 |
FAMILY IC |
|
|
86 |
EARL H. MAAS III |
North County |
NC-28 |
CIVIL IC |
Jan-15 |
Good |
87 |
FREDERICK MAGUIRE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-53 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
88 |
RUNSTON G. MAINO |
North County |
NC-26 |
TRIAL |
Jan-13 |
|
89 |
SHARON B. MAJORS-LEWIS |
East County |
EC-4 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
90 |
FRANCISCO P. MARTY, JR |
South County |
SB-2 |
TRAFFIC, UNLAWFUL DETAINERS, SMALL CLAIMS |
|
|
91 |
WILLIAM H MCADAM |
Madge Bradley |
SD-F9 |
Family |
Jan-13 |
|
92 |
WILLIAM J. MCGRATH |
East County |
EC-9 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
93 |
EDLENE C. MCKENZIE |
Family |
SD-F6 |
Family |
|
|
94 |
KENNETH J. MEDEL |
South County |
SB-7 |
CIVIL |
Jan-13 |
|
95 |
JOHN S. MEYER |
Hall of Justice |
SD-61 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Plaintiff's Lawyer, not much patience. OK. Ruled against Ballot Acess Lawsuit |
96 |
AMALIA L. MEZA |
Main Courthouse |
SD-19 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
97 |
RICHARD E. MILLS |
North County |
NC-21 |
TRIAL |
Jan-13 |
|
98 |
RICHARD R. MONROY |
Juvenile |
SD-J8 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
99 |
DWAYNE K. MORING |
Main Courthouse |
SD-30 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
100 |
WILLIAM R. NEVITT, JR. |
Main Courthouse |
SD-52 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Bad. Possible target. |
101 |
THOMAS P. NUGENT |
North County |
NC-30 |
CIVIL IC |
Jan-13 |
|
102 |
ROBERT F. O'NEILL |
Main Courthouse |
SD-56 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
103 |
DAVID B. OBERHOLTZER |
Juvenile |
SD-J9 |
Juvenile |
Jan-17 |
|
104 |
ADRIENNE A. ORFIELD |
North County |
NC-1 |
CRIMINAL/PC 1210 |
Jan-13 |
|
105 |
LAURA H. PARSKY |
Main Courthouse |
SD-27 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
"Bad." |
106 |
GREGORY W. POLLACK |
North County |
NC-16 |
FAMILY IC |
Jan-17 |
|
107 |
HARRY L. POWAZEK |
North County |
NC-23 |
TRIAL/DRUG CT |
Jan-17 |
|
108 |
RONALD S. PRAGER |
Hall of Justice |
SD-71 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Good. |
109 |
ALLAN J. PRECKEL |
East County |
EC-12 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
110 |
JOEL M. PRESSMAN |
Hall of Justice |
SD-66 |
Civil |
Jan-17 |
|
111 |
PATTI C. RATEKIN |
North County |
NC-19 |
FAMILY IC |
|
|
112 |
ROBERT C. RICE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-2 |
Criminal |
|
|
113 |
TERRIE E. ROBERTS |
South County |
SB-5 |
TRAFFIC, UNLAWFUL DETAINERS, SMALL CLAIMS |
|
|
114 |
CHARLES G. ROGERS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-48 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
115 |
DAVID M. RUBIN |
Main Courthouse |
SD-41 |
Family |
Jan-13 |
|
116 |
LISA C. SCHALL |
Main Courthouse |
SD-46 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Has had some problems, like DUI, etc. |
117 |
POLLY H. SHAMOON |
Juvenile |
SD-J10 |
Juvenile |
Jan-17 |
|
118 |
RODERICK W. SHELTON |
South County |
SB-6 |
FAMILY |
Jan-13 |
Good, Democrat. |
119 |
HOWARD H. SHORE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-15 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Jovan Jackson trial: defense could not say that dispensaries are legal in CA. Jeff Olson: Would not allow any mention of First Amendment or Freedom of Speech in sidewalk chalk case. |
120 |
MICHAEL T. SMYTH |
Main Courthouse |
SD-50 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-15 |
|
121 |
KENNETH K. SO |
Main Courthouse |
SD-55 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
122 |
STEPHANIE SONTAG |
South County |
SB-16 |
CRIMINAL |
Jan-17 |
|
123 |
MARTIN W. STAVEN |
North County |
NC-7 |
CIVIL/CRIMINAL/DOMESTIC CALENDAR |
|
|
124 |
JACQUELINE M. STERN |
North County |
NC-27 |
CIVIL IC |
Jan-15 |
Not brightest bulb, unpredictable. C- |
125 |
STEVEN E. STONE |
Main Courthouse |
SD-45 |
Family |
Jan-13 |
|
126 |
RICHARD E. L. STRAUSS |
Hall of Justice |
SD-75 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Can't stand him. Must be close to retirement. "Weird" D |
127 |
EDDIE C. STURGEON |
East County |
EC-14 |
CIVIL |
Jan-15 |
Fabulous, but ruled against contest handled by Moot regarding ballots tossed out due to address. |
128 |
RONALD L. STYN |
Hall of Justice |
SD-62 |
Civil |
Jan-15 |
Good. Smart. But conservative. |
129 |
DAVID M. SZUMOWSKI |
Main Courthouse |
SD-12 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Blind but bright, not bad. |
130 |
TIMOTHY B. TAYLOR |
Hall of Justice |
SD-72 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
131 |
JOHN M. THOMPSON |
East County |
EC-11 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
132 |
RANDA TRAPP |
Hall of Justice |
SD-70 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
133 |
ROBERT J. TRENTACOSTA |
Main Courthouse |
SD-P |
PRESIDING |
Jan-15 |
Fabulous. Best ever. |
134 |
LEO VALENTINE, JR. |
Main Courthouse |
SD-49 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
135 |
LUIS R. VARGAS |
Hall of Justice |
SD-63 |
Civil |
Jan-13 |
|
136 |
SIM VON KALINOWSKI |
North County |
NC-3 |
TRIAL/MISC CIVIL CALENDAR |
Jan-17 |
|
137 |
TIMOTHY R. WALSH |
Main Courthouse |
SD-11 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
unknown |
138 |
THEODORE M. WEATHERS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-14 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
139 |
JOAN P. WEBER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-51 |
Criminal |
Jan-13 |
|
140 |
KERRY WELLS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-36 |
Criminal |
Jan-17 |
|
141 |
ADAM WERTHEIMER |
Main Courthouse |
SD-42 |
Family |
|
|
142 |
DARLENE A. WHITE |
East County |
EC-7 |
FAMILY LAW |
|
|
143 |
RICHARD S. WHITNEY |
Main Courthouse |
SD-47 |
TRIALS |
Jan-15 |
Sentenced Andrew Fischer to 30 days even though the prosecution only sought time served. |
144 |
BROWDER A. WILLIS III |
Juvenile |
SD-J4 |
Juvenile |
Jan-15 |
Unknown. |
145 |
LEE C. WITHAM |
Main Courthouse |
SD-3 |
CITY JAIL ARRAIGNMENT |
|
|
146 |
JOEL R WOHLFEIL |
East County |
EC-15 |
CIVIL |
Jan-17 |
Fair judge, ruled in favor of our claims in Election Audit Lawsuit |
147 |
WILLIAM Y. WOOD |
North County |
NC-15 |
FAMILY IC |
|
|
148 |
MARGIE G. WOODS |
Main Courthouse |
SD-35 |
Criminal |
Jan-15 |
Good. |