Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Moral turpitude false statements by Elaine Van Beveren Sacramento divorce attorney documented in court reporter transcript. With the investigative reporting article from Sacramento Family Court News. As the court reporter transcript reflects, Van Beveren believed there was no record of what occurred at a prior proceeding involving the illegal arrest of disabled, unrepresented pro per litigant Robert Saunders. Believing that there was no record to contradict her, Van Beveren fabricated her own version of the incident to portray Saunders as at fault and "that there may in fact be mental illness" in reference to Saunders. What Van Beveren didn't know was that there was a courtroom video of the incident that exonerated Saunders and led to the forced disqualification of the judge that had Saunders arrested. Two outside, independent judges reviewed the incident and both vindicated Saunders' version of events. Van Beveren's account was pure fabrication. Elaine Van Beveren is a sworn temporary judge of Sacramento County Superior Court and officer of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee. Van Beveren has never been held accountable for the misconduct and moral turpitude acts.
Citation preview
Investigative Reporting, News, Analysis, Opinion & Satire
Sacramento Family Court NewsHOME JUDGE PRO TEMS 3rd DISTRICT COURT of APPEAL RoadDog SATIRE
ABOUT FAMILY COURT NEWS CONTACT FAMILY COURT NEWS Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy
ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT DOCUMENT LIBRARY
24 April 2012
Family Law and Judge Misconduct: Hon. Matthew J. Gary Ordered RemovedFrom Family Court Case by Fellow Judge for Misconduct, Bias & Abuse ofUnrepresented LitigantFamily Court Judge Matthew J. Gary DisqualifiedFrom Case for Bias and Unlawful Arrest of Pro Per
Sacramento Family Court NewsExclusive:
Internal court records obtained by SacramentoFamily Court news reveal that a San JoaquinCounty judge in 2010 issued a court orderremoving Judge Matthew Gary from aSacramento Family Court case for misconductand bias against a disabled, unrepresentedlitigant. Although Gary contested the removalaction and denied the bias and misconductcharges, after reviewing the evidence SanJoaquin County Superior Court JudgeXapuri B. Villapudua rejected Gary's version ofevents and ordered the controversial judgedisqualified from any further proceedings in thecase. The motion to recuse, or remove, Garyfrom the case was filed by pro per RobertSaunders. In accordance with state law, themotion was heard and decided by a neutral,outside-the-county judge. At the time themotion was filed, California Supreme CourtChief Justice Ronald George assignedVillapudua to decide the case. In her rulingrejecting Gary's denial and removing the judgefrom the case, Villapudua made it clear which
of the conflicting stories was believable.
"Based on the evidence submitted the court does find that a reasonable person mightentertain a doubt that Judge Matthew J. Gary would be able to be impartial. Three separatewitnesses stated Judge Gary was impatient and rude to [Saunders]. Three separatewitnesses declared the judge appeared biased during the hearing, making snide or rudecomments to [Saunders]. From the sworn declarations submitted it appears Judge Garybecame embroiled during the hearing on March 9, 2009. Judge Gary appeared to lose hispatience with [Saunders]. He did not adhere to the proper procedure for contempt and had[Saunders] arrested and forcibly removed from his courtroom by multiple bailiffs," Villapudua
Judge Matthew J. Gary, Sacramento County Superior Court. A fellow judge ordered Gary removed from the Robert Saunders case for abuse of the unrepresented litigant.
JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT(48)
JUDGE PRO TEM (34)
FLEC (25)
MATTHEW J. GARY (25)
ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT(19)
SCBA (19)
PRO PERS (18)
WATCHDOGS (18)
CHILD CUSTODY (17)
EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT(16)
PETER J. McBRIEN (15)
DOCUMENTS (14)
ROBERT SAUNDERS (14)
CHARLOTTE KEELEY (13)
CJP (12)
COLOR OF LAW SERIES(11)
SATIRE (11)
WHISTLEBLOWERS (10)
JAIME R. ROMAN (9)
JAMES M. MIZE (9)
LAURIE M. EARL (9)
CHRISTINA VOLKERS (8)
CONFLICT OF INTEREST(8)
SHARON A. LUERAS (8)
SHORTCUTS TO POPULARSUBJECTS AND POSTS
Share 7 More Next Blog» Create Blog Sign In
wrote in the court order ending Gary's jurisdiction over the case. Click here to view the order.
Villapudua's assessment of Gary's credibility and the unlawful arrest and incarceration of Saunders for contemptof court was reaffirmed by a second judge who, at a subsequent court hearing in Sacramento County SuperiorCourt, dismissed a resisting arrest charge against Saunders from the same incident. Evidence in the criminalcase included a video recording of the debacle, according to the arrest report of a courtroom bailiff. In addition,the unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident was witnessed by judge pro tem attorneys RichardSokol and Elaine Van Beveren, both of whom failed to intervene as required by the Code of Judicial Ethics.Gary currently is the Supervising Family Law, Probate and ADA Judge.
To continue reading, click Read more>> below...
In his motion to disqualify Gary from the case, Saunders asserted that the judge was rude, impatient, andabused his authority by having him arrested and dragged from the courtroom. As Villapudua's order reflects,Saunders' claims were supported by the sworn testimony of three separate eyewitnesses who confirmedSaunders' account of the incident. The witnesses also testified that Gary m ade snide or rude comments directedat Saunders, and appeared biased during the hearing. In his defense, Gary submitted to the San Joaquin Countyjudge a one-sentence answer denying the charges made by Saunders. "I deny the allegations stated inRespondent's Challenge," Gary stated under penalty of perjury. Click here to view Gary's denial. To view theminute order issued by Gary after the hearing in which he charged Saunders with contempt of court, click here.
Judge Villapudua issued her order banning Gary from the Saunders case on January 7, 2010. Five months later,a second judge with no connection to family court dismissed the resisting arrest charge filed against Saunders byGary's courtroom bailiff and Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Deputy J. Strong. The dismissal of thecriminal case by former prosecutor and veteran Sacramento County criminal court Judge Richard Gilmourinfers that the video recording of the incident also supported Saunders' contention that both the contempt andresisting arrest charges were baseless and motivated by Gary's temper, embroilment and abuse of authority.
"Gary Became Embroiled...Did Not Adhere To ProperProcedure For Contempt"
Assigned to the case by the California Supreme Court Chief Justice, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri Villapuduaordered Judge Matthew Gary disqualified to hear further proceedings in the Robert Saunders case.
Second Independent Judge Vindicates Saunders
The resisting arrest charge filed by Judge Matthew Gary's courtroom bailiff J. Strong against Robert Saunders was dismissed by JudgeRichard Gilmour on May 10, 2010.
WOODRUFF O'HAIRPOSNER and SALINGER (8)
CHRISTINA ARCURI (7)
JESSICA HERNANDEZ (7)
JULIE SETZER (7)
CARLSSON CASE (6)
FERRIS CASE (6)
RAPTON-KARRES (6)
YOUTUBE (6)
3rd DISTRICT COA (5)
CIVIL RIGHTS (4)
CONTEMPT (4)
FAMILY LAW FACILITATOR(4)
NO CONTACT ORDERS (4)
CANTIL-SAKAUYE (3)
Electronic FrontierFoundation
First Amendment Coalition
Californians Aware
WE SUPPORT
Family Law Professor Blog
Law Librarian Blog
Law Professor Blogs
Thurman Arnold FamilyLaw Blog
The Divorce Artist
Above the Law
LAW BLOGS WE LIKE
California Lawyer Magazine
Courthouse News Service
Metropolitan NewsEnterprise
California Official Case Law
Google Scholar-Includes
LEGAL NEWS &INFORMATION
Posted by PR Brown at 9:16 PM
Labels: CHILD CUSTODY, CHRISTINA ARCURI, CODE OF JUDICIAL ETHICS, CONTEMPT, ELAINE VAN BEVEREN, JUDGE PRO
TEM, JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT, MATTHEW J. GARY, NEWS, PRO PERS, RICHARD SOKOL, ROBERT SAUNDERS, XAPURI B.
VILLAPUDUA
The unlawful contempt of court and resisting arrest incident was witnessed by attorneys Richard Sokol andElaine Van Beveren. Both attorneys are Sacramento County Superior Court sworn temporary judges.Judge pro tem attorneys are by law required to take or initiate corrective action if they witness another judgeviolate the law or any provision of the Code of Judicial Ethics. Canon 3D(1), an important self-policingcomponent of the Code, mandates the intervention to maintain public confidence in the courts and ensure thatjudge misconduct is kept in check. As confirmed by two independent judges, Gary's actions were clear violationsof several sections of the ethics code, but court records and other eyewitness accounts indicate that neitherSokol, nor Van Beveren complied with the misconduct reporting requirement. Click here to view an internalJudicial Council of California memo about the legal duty. In addition, courtroom clerk Christina Arcuri had alegal and ethical duty to report the misconduct by the judge, but took no action. In a different case last year Judge Matthew Gary suffered a full reversal by the Third District Court ofAppeal. As in the Saunders case, in Seaton v. Seaton Gary also did not follow established law. Afterconducting his own investigation and forensic analysis on a 20-year-old marriage certificate signature,Gary concluded that the signature was not made by an extremely intoxicated person, as Patricia Seaton hadclaimed. The judge then nullified a 17-year marriage so that Patricia would be deprived of all property, supportand other rights associated with a lawful marriage. The appellate court reversed Gary's decision, noting that theissues Gary had with Patricia's credibility were irrelevant to determining whether the marriage was valid.
Both Gary and Villapudua were appointed to the bench in June, 2007 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.Judge Gary is paid $169,289 per year.
For his deference to attorneys, and mismanagementof Sacramento County Family Court, Gary received a "PosterChild of the Month Award" from the Family CourtAccountability Coalition, a statewide family court watchdog group.Gary received the honor for "serial due process, equal protectionand access to the courts violations," according to the FCAC Blog.
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that the current presidingjudge, Matthew J. Gary is a right-wing, anti-governmentideologue who believes government is dysfunctional and isdetermined to prove it...while collecting a $170,000 annualsalary from the state."
FCAC also cited a 2007, Sacramento Lawyer magazine interviewwith Gary:
"Gary characterizes his legal philosophy as favoring judicial restraint. Among the U.S. SupremeCourt justices who he admires are Antonin Scalia..."
UPDATE: Family Law Courts.com asks whether Family Court bailiffs are enforcing the law or acting as judicialpuppets.
Related Content:
* Controversial Judge Matthew Gary Removed from Supervisory Position
* Matt Gary Disqualification Records & Update
* Supervising Judge Matt Gary Warns Family Court Problems Will Get Worse
* Judge Matthew Gary Reversed by 3rd District Court of Appeal for Improper Investigation, Forensic Analysis
RoadDog Satire: The Persecution of Hon. Matthew J. Gary.
For additional coverage of the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below.
Judge Pro Tem Eyewitnesses Fail To Intervene
San Joaquin County Superior CourtJudge Xapuri B. Villapudua
Gary Receives "Poster Child ofthe Month" Award from Family
Court Advocacy Group
+7 Recommend this on Google
Unpublished Case Law
California Statutes
California CourtsHomepage
California Courts YouTubePage
Judicial Council
Commission on JudicialPerformance
Sacramento County FamilyCourt
3rd District Court of Appeal
State Bar of California
State Bar Court
Sacramento County BarAssociation
CALIFORNIA JUDICIALBRANCH
ABA Family Law BlawgDirectory
California Coalition forFamilies & Children
California ProtectiveParents Association
Center for JudicialExcellence
Courageous Kids Network
Divorce & Family LawNews
Divorced Girl Smiling
Family Law Case Law fromFindLaw
Family Law Courts.com
Family Law Updates atJDSupra Law News
Fathers 4 Justice
HuffPost Divorce
Leon Koziol.Com
Moving Past Divorce
Local & National FamilyCourt-Family Law Sites &Blogs (may be gender-specific)
