3. judge peter mcbrien prosecution whistleblower leaked transcript - commission on judicial...

8/10/2019 3. Judge Peter McBrien Prosecution Whistleblower Leaked Transcript - Commission on Judicial Performance Victoria B. Henley - Arthur G. Scotland 3rd District

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COMMISSION ON

JUDICIAL

PERFORMANCE

0 0 0 -

INQUIRY

CONCERNING

JUDGE PETER J . McBRIEN

CJP

NO. 185

/

TRANSCRIPT OF THE

HEARING BEFORE

SPECIAL

MASTERS

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

APRIL 3 2009

VOLUM 3 PAGES 526

630

REPORTED BY: SANDRA LEHANE

REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL REPORTER

CERTIFIED

SHORTHAND REPORTER NO.

7372

155

Orr Road

Alameda, Cal i f o rn i a 94502

(510) 864-9645

------------IN

RE JF NO

185

4/3 /09- - - - - - - - - - -

526


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APRIL 3, 2009 9:00 A.M.

0 0 0

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

Good

morn ing .

We

a re

on

r e c o rd in

t h e

m a t t e r o f Judge

McBrien ,

in

t h e

p re se n c e o f Judge McBrien

and

c ouns e l .

There

a r e some a d m i n i s tr a t iv e d u t i e s

we

need

to t a ke

c a re o f from y e s t e

ay.

have

in

f r o n t o f

me, I

presume

t h e s e would

e a r t o

be marked

E x h i b i t s

42, 43,

44.

I s

t h a t c o r r e c t , Mr. Blum.

MR BLUM: Yes, Your Honor.

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

And

you have no

o b j e c t i o n

to t h e i r r e c e i p t , Mr.

Murphy?

MR MURPHY: T h a t ' s c o r r e c t .

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

And t h e

o r i g i n a l s

have been p ro v i d e d to

t h e

c o u r t

r e p o r t e r ?

MR BLUM: Yes,

t h ey

have .

SPECIAL

MASTER

CORNELL:

Mr.

Murphy, fo r

t h e

sake o f t he r e c o rd , have

you p ro v i d e d t h e o r i g i n a l

o f

wha teve r

you

p ro v i d e d t o t h e c o u r t r e p o r t e r ?

MR MURPHY: I

have

t h e b i n d e r s t h a t I w i l l

rev iew

a t t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f t e s t im o n y

to

make s u r e

t h a t

t h ey

a re

a c c u r a t e and p ro v i d e them to t h e c o u r t

r e p o r t e r .

SPECIAL

MASTER

CORNELL: Thank you

v e r y

much.

And y e s t e r d a y , a t t h e

c l o s e o f b u s i n e s s ,

I

L I N RE CJF NC

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as k ed b o th coun

e x h i b i t to u s a copy o f t h e

Rule

o f

Cour t

t h a t was

r e f e r r e d

to

by

Witness

Kee ley . And

you i n d i c a t e d

you

would do

so . I s

t h a t

a v a i l a b l e ?

MR. MURPHY: It i s Your

Honor.

And

I had it

p remar d

as

E x h i b i t

N.

SPECIAL

MASTER

CORNELL: N

as in

n e g a t i v e .

MR.

MURPHY:

Pardon

me?

SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL: N

as

in Nancy

I

b e l i e v e .

MR. MURPHY:

I

p ro v i d e d

a copy

to

Mr. Blum.

It s o n l y one page from t h e

l o c a l

r u l e s . But

t h e r e

w i l l

need to

be

some

e x p l a n a t i o n

and

Judge

McBrien

w i l l testify a b o u t t h i s . The d i f f e r e n c e -

t h i s

i s

t h e

l o c a l r u l e

e f f e c t i v e

2008. It

was no t t h e

l o c a l

r u l e

e f f e c t i v e 2006.

SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:

e

can

w ai t f o r h i s

t e s t i m o n y to

go t h r o u g h

t h a t t h e n .

MR. MURPHY:

I

do have

c o p i e s o f

t h a t .

o n ly

have one

copy

o f t h e l o c a l r u l e s

and

t he comple te

c h a p t e r

i n v o l v i n g fa m i l y

l aw

which i s

m u l t i p l e

p a g e s .

And I d i s c u s s e d

t h i s

w i th Mr. Blum

b e fo re h a n d .

I was

i n t e n d i n g

to

have a d d i t i o n a l c o p i e s

made a f t e r t o d a y

when I

ge t back to my

o f f i c e t h en p ro v i d e a copy

to

Mr. Blum

and a copy

to

t he

C o u r t .

Th is copy was t a k e n

~ I N RE JF NO 85

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from t h e

w e b si te o f

t h e

Sac ramen to County Supe r io r

Cour t .

So t h i s

i s

t he 2006

l o c a l

r u l e s ,

which

i s

Exh ib i t 0 , premarked .

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

Okay.

SPECIAL

MASTER E

BELLEFEUILLE:

1 m so r ry ,

what was

t he

number?

MR. MURPHY:

O.

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

0 , a s in Oscar .

MR. MURPHY:

0 , a s in os

s c a r ;

r i gh t .

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL: Anyth ing e l s e from

e i t h e r one o f you be fo r e

we

s t a r t ?

MR. BLUM: No, Your

Honor.

MR. MURPHY: No, Your

Honor.

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

Al l r i g h t . Then

you

may c a l l you r nex t wi tne s s , Mr.

Murphy.

MR. MURPHY: I ll c a l l Judge

Michae l Garc i a .

- - - 0 0 0 - -

JUDGE MICHAEL GARCIA

hav ing been first

du ly sworn, testifie as f o l l ows :

- - - 0 0 0 - -

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

P l e a s e

have

a

s e a t .

S t a t e your f u l l name and s p e l l you r

last

name.

THE

WITNESS:

My name i s Michae l Theodo re

Garc i a , G-a - r - c - i - a .

SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL: Thank

you.

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DIRECT

EXAMINATION

Y

MR.

MURPHY:

Q.

Good morning

Judge

Garc ia .

A.

Good

morn ing .

Q.

You

a re a

judge

o f t he

Sacramento

County

S

e r i o r

Cour t?

A. Yes I

am.

Q.

And co u ld you

s e t fo r t h fo r t h e S p e c i a l

Maste rs your e d u c a t i o n a l background?

A.

I

went

to

u n d e r g r ad

a t Cal S t a t e

F u l l e r t o n .

Went to law schoo l a t

t he

U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a a t

Davis .

Lo t s

o f o t h e r little t h i n g s h e re

and

t h e r e

bu t I t h i n k

t hos e

a r e

the two major

- -

major

d e g re e s

have.

Q.

Fol lowi

g r a d u a t i o n

from

law s c hoo l d id you

become a member o f

t he

Bar?

A. I

d i d .

I

became

a member o f

t he

Bar

C a l i f o r n i a Bar

t he Fe de ra l

Bar and

t he

- - t he

Washing ton

D.C.

Bar .

I

have

a p p e a ra n c e s i n t he Cour t

t h e r e Supreme Cour t .

Q. What

were

t he i n c lu s iv e d a t e s o f your a c t i v e

membersh ip in t he

C a l i f o r n i a

S t a t e Bar?

A.

From

1974

when

I

gra dua te d

from law

s c hoo l

and I became I f o r g e t

t he s p e c i f i c

title o f

t he

r e s e r v e

s t a t u s

bu t an

i n a c t i v e member

when I

t o o k

t h e

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bench in

1987.

Q.

Between

1974

and 1987

can you b r i e f l y

summarize

your

p r o f e s s i o n a l e xpe r i e nc e ?

A.

I was I b r i e f l y

s e rve d

as a

Deputy

County

Counsel and

Deputy

D i s t r i c t

A t t o rn e y in

t he

County of

Tehama and t h e n I go t f u l l

loyment a t

t he

Ventura

County

D i s t r i c t

A t t o r n e y ' s

O f f i c e

in

197

a ga in , in

1974. I worked t h e r e u n t i l I

became

a member o f

t he

A t t o rn e y G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e .

When

I

was

in t he D i s t r i c t

A t t o r n e y ' s O ff i c e

in

Ventura County

it

was

very

s m a l l .

I was Deputy No. 22.

And so we d id e v e r y t h i n g

from

commercia l law v i o l a t i o n s t h rough homic ides ,

wha tever , any th ing in be tween . Whatever t he

D i s t r i c t

A t t o r n e y ' s

O ff i c e d i d , i nc l ud i ng fami ly

law

m a t t e r s o r

c h i l d

s u p p o r t , p a t e r n i t y .

l\nd

t h e n

and d u r i n g t h a t

t ime,

I t a u g h t law schoo l a t t he Ventura Col lege o f

t he Law.

I t h e n - - I a l s o t a u g h t t h a t was l a t e r .

Excuse me.

Then I go t a

j ob

a t

t he

A t t o rn e y

G e n e r a l ' s

Of f i ce ,

and t h e r e - - t h a t

was

as a l e g i s l a t i v e l i a i s o n

fo r

A t t o rn e y Genera l Dukemaj ian . I d i d

t h a t

u n t i l

he

- -

I a l s o

was

t e a c h i n g law schoo l a t t he U n i v e r s i t y

o f

C a l i f o r n i a

a t Davis , had fo u r

c l a s s e s

t h e r e . I

d i d

t h a t .

And

t h e n when Governor Dukemaj ian became

t he

governor , I

went

i n t o t h e

c r i m i n a l

d i

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d i d d e a t h p e n a l t y m a t t e r s and a l s o d i d trials

where

t he D i s t r i c t A t t o rn e y

would be r e c u se d . And so I d i d

s e v e r a l

- -

m u l t i p l e trials

o f a

s h e r i f f ,

a

district

a t t o r n e y , one j udge .

Things a long t h o se

l i n e s .

And t h e n

I took

t he

bench in J an u a r y

o f

1987

in Munic ipa l

C o u r t . And

it was

a g a i n ,

March

o f

1989

t h a t I was a p p o i n t e d to

the

S u p e r i o r

Cour t .

Q.

S in ce

y o u r a p p o i n t m e n t to t h e S u p e r i o r

C o u r t ,

what as s ig n men t s have you he ld?

A. I

t h i n k

it s e a s i e r

to s t a t e

it t h i s way:

I v e h e l d ev e r y a s s ig n men t

e x c e p t

j u v e n i l e

dependency.

But I v e done

e v e r y t h i n g

e l s e t h a t t h e c o u r t has .

Q. When

were you a s s i g n e d

t o t he f a m i l y law

d ep a r tmen t s ?

A.

I want t o b e l i e v e it was somewhere in e i t h e r

1987 o r 1988.

I

b e l i e v e it

was

in 1987.

The

Cour t

had a

p o l i c y

a t t h a t

t ime

t h a t - -

excuse

me.

I

t a ke

t h a t back .

It would have been

1989

would

be

my first

y ea r when I was in S u p e r i o r

Cour t

because

S u p e r i o r

Cour t

had

a p o l i c y t h a t t h a t was t h e

new

j udge

ass ignment .

You

went

to

f ami ly

law

a t t h a t

t ime .

Q. How

l ong

d i d you

sit

in

the

f ami ly law

d ep a r tmen t?

A.

I s e r v e d one

y ea r

in f ami ly

law.

Q.

Have you

h e l d

t h e

p o s i t i o n o f A s s i s t a n t

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2

P r e s i d i n g

Judge o f t he

Sacramento

County S u p e r i o r

Cour t?

A.

I have

n o t . That

i s a

r e l a t i v e l y

new

p o s i t i o n .

That came in p l a c e a f t e r I

had

become

Pres i d i ng

Judge.

Q And when

were

you t he

P r e s i d i n g

Judge

o f

t he

Sacramento

County

S u p e r i o r Cour t?

A In 2002

and 2003.

shou ld

a l s o i n d i c a t e

t h a t i n t h e e a r l y

9 0 s ,

t he r e g u l a r tri l

udges a l s o

would

t r y

fami ly law c a s e s . We d i d

t h e

over f low

t h a t

f a m i l y law

c o u l d n t

h an d le a t t he

t ime .

So I had

m u l t i p l e fami ly

law

tri ls t h a t I v e

had

even though

was no t

in

a f

ly

law ass ignment .

Q

You ve a l s o

s a t

as

a S p e c i a l Maste r

in

Commission

proc e e d ings ,

have

you

no t?

A

have , m u l t i p l e

t im e s .

Q On how

many

oc c a s ions ?

A.

I b e l i e v e t h r e e .

Q

o you r e c a l l t he m a t t e r s i n

which you

s a t as

a S p e c i a l Master?

A

You

know,

I

shou ld .

I

j u s t one

was

in

Orange County .

You know, t he names

- -

I

can

tell

you

t he names o r

where

t he

judges were

f rom, b u t , you

know - - I j u s t de s t roye d thos e f i l e s , and I d i d n t

he

names o f t he j udges any l onge r .

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One still i s a s

Q. Joseph

0 '

F l a h e r t y ?

A.

Joseph

O ' F l a h e r t y

was t he

most

r e c e n t

m a t t e r .

I

b e l i e v e you were

co u n s e l

on t h a t m a t t e r .

Q.

I

was.

A.

But , I 'm

s o r r y , I j u s t

d o n ' t r e c a l l

t he names

o f

t h e j u d g es

any l o n g e r .

Q.

You o b v i o u s l y

know Judge P e t e r

McBrien?

A.

I

do.

Q.

When d i d you

first

meet

Judge

McBrien?

A. I met

him

somet ime

in

1981.

Q.

While

you

were

w i th

t he A t t o rn e y G e n e r a l ' s

O f f i c e ?

A.

Yes.

Q.

Did

you

have

a

p r o f e s s i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p

w i th

him a t t h a t t ime?

A.

I

d i d .

Q.

What was t h e n a t u r e o f

t he

p r o f e s s i o n a l

r e l a t i o n s h i p ?

A.

Wel l ,

I

was a g a i n l e g i s l a t i v e l i a i s o n

i s

t h e

government

t e rm

f o r

l o b b y i s t .

And P e t e r

was

in

t h e e x e c u t i v e

d i v i s i o n

excuse me.

Judge McBrien

was

in

t h e e x e c u t i v e

d i v i s i o n

o f

t h e

A t t o r n e y

G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e ,

and

I had to i n t e r a c t

w i th many

members o f t h e e x e c u t i v e d i v i s i o n i n o r d e r

to

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d e t e r min e

t he

p o s i t i o n o f

t he A t t o rn e y G e n e r a l ' s

O ff i c e on

a

myr iad o f bills and

I

would i n t e r a c t with

him

in

t h a t f a s h i o n .

Q.

Would

you say you e n j o y e d

a good


r e l a t i o n s h i p ?

A.

Yes,

I

would .

Q.

Was he h e l p f u l

to you?

A.

Yes.

Q.

When you

j o i n e d

t h e

bench , d i d

you j o i n

t he

bench

a t

o r abou t t h e same t ime t h a t Judge McBrien

j o i n e d

t h e

bench?

A.

I b e l i e v e

I b e l i e v e I

j o i n e d

the bench

b e f o r e

I

took t he bench b e f o r e Judge McBrien d i d ,

if memory s e r v e s

me

c o r r e c t l y .

I

t h i n k a t t he t ime he

was in t he G o v e rn o r ' s O ff i c e

when

I

t o o k

t h e bench .

Q.

When you became t h e P r e s i d i n g Judge o f t h e

Sac ramen t o County

S u p e r i o r

C o u r t , what was

Judge

McBrien ' s

as s ig n men t?

A. You

know,

I

do n o t

r e c a l l

whe the r he still

had

a

trial

as s ig n men t

downtown o r

a

f ami ly

law

as s ig n men t .

I

b e l i e v e

he

had

a

f ami ly

law

a s s i g n m e n t ,

to be t r u t h f u l

w i th

you, a t t h e t i m e . As

a

m a t t e r o f

f a c t ,

I 'm

p o s i t i v e he

was

in

f ami ly

l aw.

Q.

At

l e a s t in c o n n e c t i o n

w i th

your

e x p e r i e n c e

as P r e s i d i n g

Judge ,

how would you r a t e

Judge

McBrien?

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A.

Well ,

1

1

d have to do

t h a t ln

two

ways.

I

first

as

a j udge ,

he has

I t h i n k t h a t he has a

very good

t emperament

as a

j u d i c i a l o f f i c e r .

H e s

h e s i n q u i s i t i v e , which means t h a t he makes ru l i n g s

b as ed upon

t he law,

no t based upon

what

he may want

to

do.

So you know a ga in , one o f

t he

j udges t h a t I s a t

on

as a

Spec i a l

Maste r would make r u l i n g s based

upon because

he

would

hear o t h e r

judges

make t h e

same t ype o f ru l i n g s w i t h o u t the r e a so n b eh in d it.

Judge McBrien i s no t t h a t

type

of judge . He knows the

law

wel l .

He

r e s e a r c h e s the

l aw.

And l o o k i n g a t it from t he v iewpoin t o f - - I

made

him s u p e r v i s o r o f fami ly

law

when I

took

PJ

because he

had g r e a t peop le

s k i l l s ,

and

he

has

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l

skills and he

had

a l o t o f r e s p e c t

from

t h e fami ly

law

ba r a t t h a t

t ime because he had

worked

in

fami ly l aw.

So bo th as

a

judge and as

a

p e r so n t h a t I

wanted

to

s u p e r v i s e ,

I

t hough t

he had

t he s k i l l s and he had t h a t i n t e l l e c t u a l

c u r i o s i t y .

And he

would

c on t inue do ing t h a t ,

which I

t hough t

was

v e ry i m p o r t a n t

f o r

our

cour t

as

wel l

as

t he

fami ly

law

b a r .

And

t h a t i s , when

I was in fami ly

l aw it

was an

ass ignment t h a t you

gave to

new j udge s .

And

t h e r e

-

it was

c a s e s

would

r e s o l v e fo r t he wrong r e a s o n s .

Cases

would

r e s o l v e

because

t he y

were

gosh b o th

L I N RE CJF NO 185 4 1 3 1 0 9 ~

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a t t o r n e y s would say , Gosh knows w h a t ' s g o i n g

to

happen when it g e t s s e n t to

a

r e g u l a r trial j udge who

m a y o r

may no t

know

f ami ly law w e l l . " You know,

J u d g e -

P r e s i d i n g Judge

o r

P r e s i d i n g

J u s t i c e

S c o t l a n d ,

J u s t i c e

Robie and

P e t e r McBrien

were

kind o f

in t he

f o r e f r o n t of judges

who

h e lp ed

change t h a t .

They

changed t he fo rma t

to have t h e

judges t h a t

were

r u l i n g on

t h e

s h o r t

on t he O rd e r s to Show

Cause

would

be

t h e

same

t h e y would

keep t h o se and

a l s o do

t h e

trials

so

t h a t t h e r e

would be

a

c o n t i n u i t y .

People

would

know t he

r e a so n s b eh in d t h e r u l i n g s .

And

so

when

it came

to

trial t ime , many o f t he

f a c t u a l

m a t t e r s

had

a l r e a d y

been d e t e r min ed

by t h e

same trier

o f f a c t , and

c a s e s

would

r e s o l v e , as I

would

say , f o r

t h e

r i g h t

r e a s ons . That

i s , p eo p le u n d e r s to o d

how t h e

m a t t e r s

were

going

to be d e t e rm i n e d .

Q.

So Judge McBrien b r o u g h t c o n t i n u i t y t o t h e

f ami ly

law bench?

A.

He

he c o n t i n u e d t h a t . He

and he

worked

t owards

t h a t ,

yes .

Q.

Now,

when

Judge

McBrien

j o i n e d

t h e

bench

and

was

a s s i g n e d t o t h e f ami ly law d e p a r t m e n t ,

t h e

f ami ly

law sys t em in Sacramento

County

changed from

when you

were

in

f ami ly

law?

A.

It d id .

L I N

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Q.

And

was Judge McBr ien i n s t ru m e n t a l l n t h a t

ch an g e?

A.

He

was

v e r y much so .

He was

p a r t

o f t h i s -

Ju d g e McBr ien wanted to be in f a m i l y l aw, and t h a t was

u n i q u e

a t t h e t ime .

Fami ly

law

was n o t a s o u g h t - o u t

a s s i g n m e n t by many j u d g e s .

He e n j o y e d f a m i l y l aw,

as

d i d Judge Robie and Ju d g e S c o t l a n d .

Q.

Ba se d upon

y o u r e x p e r i e n c e in t h e o l d s y s t e m

and y o u r i n v o l v e m e n t , a t l e a s t as P r e s i d i n g J u d g e , in

t h e new s y s t em, is t h e new s y s t e m an improvement?

A.

I t h i n k it

is,

f o r t h e r e a s o n s I p r e v i o u s l y

s t a t e d .

I s

t h a t t h e c a s e s a r e r e a l l y r e s o l v i n g ,

I

t h i n k ,

f o r

t h e r g h t

r e a s o n s . T h e r e s

a

l o t o f

p a r t i c i p a t i o n by

t h e

f a m i l y

law b a r to

h e l p m a t t e r s

r e s o l v e .

It is a it s

a j o i n t v e n t u r e , if

you

w i l l .

Q.

And

a t t h e p r e s e n t t ime , do you b e l i e v e

t h a t

Ju d g e

McBr ien i s

a

b e n e f i t t o t h e

b a r

e x c u s e me

to

t h e b en ch ?

A.

I do .

Q.

And

what

b e n e f i t do

you

b e l i e v e

t h a t

he

b r i n g s ?

A.

Wel l , a g a i n , f o r th e s t r e n g t h s -- t h o s e

r e a s o n s t h a t I made him a s u p e r v i s i n g j u d g e , I b e l i e v e

he

still h as

t h o s e .

And

t h a t is,

he h as a r e s p e c t f o r

IN RE

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t he

f ami ly

law ba r and t h e m e n t a l h e a l t h

p r o f e s s i o n a l s .

He

still has h i s

i n t e l l e c t u a l

c u r i o s i t y . He still eps

up

wi th t h e

law

and ,

I

b e l i e v e ,

makes good d e c i s i o n s .

He

has p eo p le skills

t h a t

a re

v e r y p o s i t i v e .

Fami ly law

i s a v e r y difficult as s ig n men t ,

and t h e r e s a

l o t o f w e l l ,

I t h i n k

eve rybody

-

anybody who

has se rv e d in

f ami ly law

has

an

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e

d i f f i c u l t y

t h a t f ami ly

law

p r e s e n t s

in

r e ga rds

to

t he p a r t i c i p a n t s , in r e g a r d s to

t h e i s s u e s ,

in

r e g a r d s

to

t h e f a c t t h a t , I

t h i n k ,

t h e

s i m p l e s t

t h i n g

i s you

do not

have two househo lds

t h a t

need to

be su p p o r t e d on t he

same

amount o f funds t h a t

c o u l d n t su p p o r t one

househo ld

v e r y w e l l .

Al l

t h o se

f a c t o r s

a re

difficult

fo r a bench o f f i c e r .

The

c h i l d r e n

i s s u e s r e g a r d i n g c h i l d r e n .

And

I

t h i n k

Judge McBrien

r e a l l y

i s v e r y

good a t t h a t

and

c o n t i n u e s to be v e r y

good

a t t h a t ,

r e s o l v i n g

t h o s e

i s s u e s .

MR. MURPHY: Those a re all

t h e

q u e s t i o n s I

have ,

Your

Honor

Thank

you

v e r y

much

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

Mr Blum?

MR. BLUM:

No q u e s t

ons .


May t h i s

w i t n e s s

be

excused?

L IN RE JF N I85 4/3/09 1

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MR. MURPHY:

Yes, Your Honor.

SPECIAL

MASTER CORNELL:

Thank

you

very

much.

THE

WITNESS:

Thank you v e r y much.

SPECIAL

MASTER ANDLER:

Thank

you,

Your Honor .

THE

WITNESS:

I

c a l l J u s t i c e A r t h u r

S c o t l a n d .


Raise

your

r i g h t

hand .

- - - 0 0 0 - -

JUSTICE ARTHUR SCOTLAND

bav ing been first

du1y

sworn testifie as f0110ws:

- - - 0 0 0 - -


P l e a s e

have

a

s e a t .

P l e a s e s t a t e your f u l l name and s p e l l

your

l st name.

THE

WITNESS:

A r th u r

George S c o t l a n d ,

S c -o

t

I - a

n -d .


Thank

you.

You

may examine .

DIRECT

EXAMINATION

Y MR. MURPHY:

Q.

Good

morn ing ,

J u s t i c e

Sc o t l a nd .

A. Good morn ing .

Q.

You a re t he P r e s i d i n g Judge

o f

t he

Th i r d

D i s t r i c t Cour t o f Appeal?

A.

P r e s i d i n g J u s t i c e

L I N RE CJF NO 185 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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Q.

Excuse

me.

A.

Of t h e

Cour t

o f

Appea l , Th i rd Appe l l a t e

Di s t r i c t . S orry , I 'm

a

s t i c k l e r .

Q.

c a l l e d you " J u s t i c e " Sco t l and .

How

l ong have you been th e P r es id in g J u s t i c e

o f t he Th i rd Di s t r i c t Cour t o f Appeal?

A

S ince

1998.

Q.

Could

you

s e t

f o r t h ,

b r i e f l y , f or th e

e c i a l

Mas te r s

your educa t i ona l background?

A.

have a

Bache lo r o f

A r t s

deg ree

f rom t he

Un ive r s i t y o f Ca l i f o r n i a Davi s . have

a

J .D . d eg re e

f rom t h e

Unive r s i t y

o f

Pac i f i c

McGeorge School o f Law.

Q

And when d id you

become a member

o f

t he

Bar?

A.

In 1974.

Q And when d id you

t a ke i n a c t i v e

s t a t u s ,

a c c ep t i ng

a

j u d i c i a l

po s i t i o n ?

A

In 1987.

Q. Between 1974

and

1987 cou ld you

b r i e f l y s e t

f o r t h f o r

t h e

Spec i a l

Mas te r s

your


e

e r i e nc e ?

A. Yes. Ac tua l l y ,

b e f o r e

went

to law

schoo l ,

was

a

law enfo rcement o f f i c e r . When g radua t ed

from

t he

Un i v e r s i t y o f Ca l i f o r n i a

Davis

i n t h e ' 60s , I

was i n t o exc i t emen t and

cha l l enge s ,

so I

became a

na r c o t i c s

o f f i c e r

f or th e

S t a t e

o f Ca l i f o r n i a . So

I

L- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IN

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d id

a number o f

undercover

buys and f r e q u e n t y

t e s t i f i e d

i n c o u r t as a

wi t ness ,

and that s what

go t

me i n t e r e s t e d

in

going to law s

001.

So I came back

to Sac ramento ,

and

I

went to law

s c hoo l .

I

became

a

p r o s e c u t o r wi th t h e Sacramento County D i s t r i c t

A t t o r n e y ' s O f f i c e .

A f t e r

s e v e r a l

years

t h e r e - - I t r i e d q u i t e a

number o f j u r y trials, and I

had

a f r i e n d

who

gra dua te d wi th

me

in

law

s c hoo l .

She encouraged me to

come to t he

A t to rne y

G e n e r a l ' s

O f f i c e .

And

I was

young and I t h o u g h t , Well , I ll g i v e

it

a go ,

and

j u s t a d i f f e r e n t

pace , and

l e a r n i n g a

little

b i t

more

abou t

t he

law t h a n

j u s t

t r y i n g c a s e s

all

t he

t i m e .

So I

went

to t he

A t to rne y

G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e .

worked

i n t h e c r i m i n a l a ppe a l s

and trials

u n i t , so

I

d i d

some

j u r y trials.

I d i d main ly c r

i n a l a ppe a l s

and

w r i t s ,

w r i t s of habeas corpus , some

i n t he Fe de ra l

D i s t r i c t

C o u r t .

And

t he n

a

s t a t e

s e n a t o r

by t he

name o f

George Dukemajian was e l e c t e d A t t o rn e y G e n e ra l , and

h i s s e n i o r

s t a f f

approached

me

and

asked

me

if

I

would

do

some s p e c i a l

p r o j e c t s .

One was in

t he l e g i s l a t i v e

u n i t .

So

I r e p r e s e n t e d

t he A t to rne y

G en e r a l b e f o r e

the l e g i s l a t u r e on c r i m i n a l j u s t i c e l e g i s l a t i o n . So I

would f r e q u e n t l y speak wi th l e g i s l a t o r s . I would a l s o

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t e s t i f y b e f o r e commit tee h e a r i n g s , e i t h e r in s u p p o r t

o r

o p p o s i t i o n to l e g i s l a t i o n depend ing

on

t h e A t to rne y

G e n e r a l s p o s i t i o n .

I

was t hen asked

to do

some s p e c i a l - - o t h e r

s p e c i a l

p r o j e c t s

fo r t he

A t t o rn e y G e n e ra l .

And t hen

when

he r an f o r Governor , I was asked to t a k e a l e a ve

o f

absence and work

on

t he campaign

in

t he p o l i c y

o f f i c e .

So I was a

Deputy

P o l i c y D i r e c t o r o f t h e

campaign . And

t h e n when

he was e l e c t e d Governor , I

was asked to s e rve i n t he t r a n s i t i o n o f f i c e . I was

A s s i s t a n t

t o t h e Chie f o f S t a f f E l e c t

and

d i d t h a t ,

and

t h e Governor asked me to s e rve in t h e

G o v e r n o r s

O f f i c e . So

fo r fou r

ye a r s , I was Cabine t S e c r e t a r y to

Governor

Dukemaj ian .

T h a t s a p o s i t i o n that s

t he

l i a i s o n between

t he Governor

and t h e C h i e f o f

S t a f f

and

t he heads

of all

o f t he

s t a t e

a ge nc ie s

and

depar tmen t s fo r

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o l i c y . So

f o r

example ,

if t he Governor wanted to implement a p o l i c y ,

it

would

go

t h r o u g h

t he

Chief

o f S t a f f

and

me; and I

would communicate

t h a t

t o t h e

heads

o f t he

a ge nc i e s

and

depar tmen t s

and

ensure

t h a t

t hos e

p o l i c i e s

were

c a r r i e d

ou t .

I f an agency

wanted

to e f f e c t a

change

in

p o l i c y , t h e y would

run it

t h r o u g h me t he C h i e f o f

S t a f f and

t h e

Governor to

make

s u re it

was

c o n s i s t e n t

w i th

t he G o v e rn o r s p o l i c i e s

and p r i o r i t y .

So I d i d

L I N RE Cc F NO 85

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t h a t

f o r

f o u r

a r s .

And

t h en

I

was

an a t t o r n e y t o t he new

Governor , and I

go t

a p p o i n t e d as a j udge

o f

t he

Sacramento

County S u p e r i o r C o u r t .

I

d i d t h a t

f o r l e s s

t h an two y e a r s .

I

was

a p p o i n t e d in 1987;

I

t o o k

o f f i c e

in

ril

o f

1987.

And

t h en

in February o f

1989, I was e l e v a t e d t o t h e Cour t o f Appea l .

I

was

A s s o c i a t e

J u s t i c e from

1989

to 1998, when P r e s i d i n g

J u s t i c e P u g l i a r e t i r e d ,

and

Governor Wilson a p p o i n t e d

me to

be t h e P r e s i d i n g

J u s t i c e .

Q.

You touched

on t he m a t t e r ,

b u t a re you

a

l i f e t i m e r e s i d e n t

o f Sac ramen t o ?

A.

Born

and r a i s e d in

Sac ramento .

Q.

You

know

a l o t

o f p e o p l e in Sac ramen t o ?

A.

I do.

Q. A l o t

o f l awyers in Sac ramen t o ?

A. I know a l o t o f l a w y e r s .

Q.

Now, i n c o n n e c t i o n w i th y o u r j u d i c i a l

p o s i t i o n

when you

were on t h e

Sac ramen t o

County

S u p e r i o r Cour t , what as s ig n men t s d i d you have?

A.

y

first

ass ignment

was

f ami ly

l aw.

I

had

n ev e r p r a c t i c e d f ami ly law

b e f o r e .

I

a c t u a l l y

r e l i s h e d t he a s s i g n m e n t .

t was

a v e ry

c h a l l e n g i n g

a s s i g n m e n t .

I

have g r e a t r e s p e c t

f o r

f ami ly

law

p r a c t i t i o n e r s .

Most

o f

them,

t he good

ones .

T h e r e ' s

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n o t h i n g more

i m p o r t a n t

to

p eo p le t h a n

c h i l d r e n

and

p r o p e r t y

and t h o s e s o r t s o f t h i n g s .

And d u r i n g

a

t u r m o i l

in

t h e i r life

I

found it to

be

a

v e ry

c h a l l e n g i n g ,

i n t e r e s t i n g p o s i t i o n .

I en jo y ed it

v e r y

mu And I

d ev e lo p ed

a

g r e a t fo n d n e s s f o r f ami ly

l aw.

And I

d i d t h a t f o r -- from A p r i l o f

87

u n t i l

August

o f

8 8 ,

when t h e P r e s i d i n g J u s t i c e asked me -

P r e s i d i n g

Judge , excuse

me

as

d

me

to

go

to

a

c r i m i n a l

law

a s s i g n m e n t . And

so

I

h an d led

a number o f

major c r i m i n a l law c a s e s , mu rd e r s

and

t h i n g s

o f

t h a t

n a t u r e .

Q.

What was

t he

f ami ly

law s y s t e m

l i k e when you

s a t

as

a

f ami ly

law j udge in

t h e

Sac ramen t o

County

S u p e r i o r Cour t?

A.

Sac ramen t o County S u p e r i o r

Cour t i s u n l i k e

o t h e r S

e r i o r

C o u r t s . e

had

t he

f ami ly

law

c a l e n d a r a t

t h a t

t ime ,

t h e r e were t h r e e j u d g e s ; and

we

h an d led all

pretrial

and p o s t - J u d g men t

p r o c e e d i n g s .

I f

a

m a t t e r went to trial t h e n

we

had

a

m a s t e r

c a l e n d a r sys t em;

so t h o se

would

go ou t

to o t h e r

c o u r t s .

Unless

we

had

u n l e s s

it was

a

r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t c a u se , what we c a l l e d

a

l ong cau s e

m a t t e r s where you co u ld

h e a r

it i n fo u r hours

o r l e s s ,

you would h an d le

t hos e

t y p e s

of d e n t i a r y h e a r i n g s .

But m a i n l y it was all s o r t s o f pretrial mo t io n s ,

L I N R

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t owards

t h e end o f t h e week where t h e y co u ld

h e a r -

o t h e r t h an

t h e i r

law and

m o t i o n ,

t h e y co u ld

a c t u a l l y

h e a r trials


That

d i d no t occur

w h i l e

you were

t h e r e ?

THE

WITNESS:

That

d i d

no t ,

c o r r e c t .

BY

MR. MURPHY:

Q. As

J u s t i c e o f t h e

Th i r d

D i s t r i c t Cour t o f

Appeal , do you

have

o c c a s i o n to rev iew

m a t t e r s

i n v o l v i n g Sac ramen t o

County

f a m i l y

l aw?

A

I do.

Q.

Have

you

f a m i l i a r i z e d

y o u r s e l f

w i th

t he

l o c a l

r u l e s o f f ami ly

law in

c o n n e c t i o n w i th t h o s e c a se s?

A.

I

w o u l d n t go so f a r

as

to say

I

have

a

g r e a t

d ep th

o f

knowledge on t h e l o c a l r u l e s

o f f a m i l y law

c o u r t .

But I

have

rev iewed a

number o f d e c i s i o n s , o f

c o u r se , t h a t

corne

to

o u r

c o u r t fo r

r ev i ew .

I a l s o

because

I

have

a lways

had

a

g r e a t fondness

f o r

f ami ly

l aw

I v e

f r e q u e n t l y a t t e n d e d ,

c o n t i n u e

to a t t e n d

f ami ly

law

g a t h e r i n g s .

I o f t e n I have ,

o v e r

a

p e r i o d of t ime , o f

c our s e ,

made some

a c qua in t a nc e s

w i th

a

number o f f ami ly

law

a t t o r n e y s ; and so I m

a lways

c o n c e rn e d and i n t e r e s t e d

in

how

t he bench is

doing

in f ami ly

law. So I f r e q u e n t l y

as k

a t t o r n e y s

how

t h i n g s a re

go ing , how t h e j u d g es

R CclF NO 185 4/3/09---- - - - - - - - - - -

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I

so

g e t a l o t o t

t e ed b a

I a l s o , by

t he

way

when you c a l l e d me to

a s k if I

would

o b j e c t

to b e in g

Subpoenaed as a

w i t n e s s ,

and

I

s a i d

no I

d i d

r e s e a r c h .

I

l ooked

up

I knew what t h i s was all abou t , so I r e s e a r c h e d

the number o f appea

s from c a s e s from Judge

M c B r i en s

c o u r t .

And so I

and

I l ooked I

r ead

all t h e

o p i n i o n s in

which

he was

r e ve r s e d in

f u l l o r in

p a r t .

a l s o c o n t a c t e d

c e r t i f i e d f ami ly

law s p e c i a l i s t s

w i th

whom I am

a c q u a i n t e d

and w i th

whom

I

r e s p e c t

v e r y

much to g a i n t h e i r i n s i g h t s .

Because I knew from my

own

p e r s o n a l d e a l i n g s

--

o f

c o u r se , I

have known

Judge

McBrien I m s o r r y . I m b e i n g n a r r a t i v e

he re ,

b u t

Q.

It

speeds

t h i n g s up; that s f o r s u r e .

A.

I v e known Judge McBrien f o r 32 y e a r s .

I

go t

to know

t he n ,

Deputy

A t t o rn e y Genera l

P e te McBrien .

When I

left t h e

Sac ramen t o County

D i s t r i c t

A t t o r n e y s

O f f i c e

and went

to work f o r

t h e

C a l i f o r n i a A t t o rn e y

G e n e r a l s O f f i c e ,

he was a l r e a d y a Deputy A t t o rn e y

Genera l t h e r e . So I

g o t

to know him

t h e r e ,

main ly

p r o f e s s i o n a l l y . S o c i a l l y

to

a

r e l a t i v e l y

minor

e x t e n t .

e had

- -

we

had two co-ed

s o f t b a l l t e ams .

He p l a y e d on

one ;

I p l a y e d on a n o t h e r .

Of c o u r se ,

we

would a t t e n d o f f i c e f u n c t i o n s t o g e t h e r .

His -- one

o f

L I N RE

CJF

NO 85

4 /3 /09 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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h i s very b e s t f r i e n d s was my

s u p e r v i s o r i n

t he

A t t o rn e y G e n e r a l ' s

Of f i ce .

So

on o c c a s i o n

no t

f r e q u e n t l y , b u t on o c c a s i o n we would a t t e n d s o c i a l

e ve n t s

w i th

o t h e r s f rom t he o f f i c e .

So I go t to know him

t h e r e , main ly

p r o f e s s i o n a l l y , in the A t t o rn e y G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e . And

t he n , o f c our s e , when we - - when

I

went to t he

G o v e rn o r ' s

Off i ce ,

Governor Dukemajian a l s o asked Pete

McBrien to go to t he G o v e rn o r ' s O f f i c e . I as I

ment ioned , was c a b i n e t s e c r e t a ry . P e t e

if I may

r e f e r to him as Pete

- -

was t he s p e c i a l a s s i s t a n t in

charge o f c o n s t i t u e n t a f f a i r s .

So he d e a l t wi th all

o f t h e cor respondence

and

i n q u i r i e s ,

p u b l i c i n q u i r i e s .

So we worked t o g e t h e r

f o r four years

t h e r e .

Then 1 knew him

we

were

a ppo in t e d to t he

trial cour t

abou t

t h e same

t ime .

In f ac t , it might

have

been t he same

day;

I c a n ' t

remember

to

be

hones t

w i th

you.

But I went to t he Supe r io r Cour t i he went

t o t he Munic ipa l Cour t . So I was

aware ,

to a c e r t a i n

e x t e n t ,

o f

how he was

doing as

a judge

o f t he

Munic ipa l

Cour t .

And

t hen

a f t e r

I

was

e l e v a t e d t o

t he

Cour t

o f

Appea l , he

was

a ppo in t e d t o t he

S u p e r i o r

Cour t .

And he went i n t o

- -

u l t i m a t e l y

went

i n t o t h e

f ami ly

law ass ignment .

It

might

have

been

h i s

first

ass ignment .

~ I N RE JF NO 85 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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Because of my as I i n d i c a t e d

i n t e r e s t in fami ly l aw I k ind o f kep t t r a c k o f how he

was

do ing and how

no t on ly he, bu t how ll of t he

j udges

were do ing .

And so I t h i n k I m in a f a i r l y

good

p o s i t i o n

a l s o hav ing r e a d t h e

op i n i ons ,

I

t h i n k I m i n a very good p o s i t i o n t o a s s e s s

h i s

per fo rmance as a j udge , and I t h i n k I can comment on

him i n d i v i d u a l l y as an

a t t o r n e y ,

as wel l .

Q.

Going

back

a

little

b i t ,

in

a d d i t i o n t o

your

j u d i c i a l c a r e e r in t he Sacramento County S u p e r i o r

Cour t and on t h e Thi rd D i s t r i c t Cour t o f

Appea l as

a

j u s t i c e

and

now

P r e s i d i n g

J u s t i c e o f t h a t c o u r t ,

have

you a l s o s a t

as

a e c i a l Maste r in

Commiss ion

on

J u d i c i a l Proceed ings

m a t t e r s ?

A. I have .

Q. On how

many

oc c a s ions ?

A.

I s a t in a c o n t e s t e d h e a r i n g on one oc c a s ion .

I was

a ppo in t e d

as

Spec i a l

Maste r on a no the r o c c a s i o n

t h a t was s e t t l e d .

Q.

Now y o u v e

a l r e a d y

covered , in f a i r l y g r e a t

d e t a i l ,

your work ing

r e l a t i o n s h i p

w i th

Judge

McBrien

and

how

you go t

to know

him.

You t e s t i f i e d t h a t you

r ev iewed some st tistics o f t h e Thi rd D i s t r i c t Cour t

o f Appea l wi th r e s p e c t t o m a t t e r s p r e s e n t e d to t h a t

c o u r t

i n v o l v i n g Judge McB r ien s d e c i s

~ ~ ~ I N RE

JF

NO 185

4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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A. I

have .

Q

What p e r i o d o f

t ime

d i d you

i n q u i r e i n t o ?

A.

A l l - - f rom

t he

e n t i r e

p e r i o d o f t ime

t h a t

he

was

a j udge

o f

t h e

S u p e r i o r

Cour t u n t i l

t h e p r e s e n t .

Wel l ,

when

I say t he p r e s e n t , I t h i n k

it was

p r o b ab ly - - a t

t h e

t ime

I

d i d it, it was

in

mid-March .

Q

And

how many

c a se s

were

t h e r e

p r e s e n t e d

to

t h e Th i r d D i s t r i c t

Cour t

o f

Appea l

i n v o l v i n g

d e c i s i o n s

by Judge McBrien?

A.

110.

Q And o f

t h o se 110

d e c i s i o n s ,

were t h e r e

any

r e v e r s a l s ?

A.

Yes.

Q

And how many

r e v e r s a l s ?

A.

There were

seven

r e v e r s a l s , e i t h e r in whole

o r

in

p a r t .

Mo s t l y in p a r t .

Q And

does t h a t

seven

i n c l u d e

t he

cas e

o f

Carlsson v

Car l sson?

A.

It

does .

Q. And

let s

ex c lu d e t h a t c a se and j u s t

t a l k

abou t

t he

o t h e r

s i x .

Did

you

rev iew

t h o s e

d e c i s i o n s ?

A

I

r ead

all

o f t h e o p i n i o n s .

One

o f them was

a u t h o re d by

me.

Q. Okay.

One o f t h e r e v e r s a l s ?

A.

Yes.

L - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I N RE CJF NO 85 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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Q. Now, you

a l s o

t e s t i f i e d

t h a t

you

c o n s u l t e d

with

fami ly

law

p r a c t i t i o n e r s

in t h i s a re a

r e c e n t l y

and made

i n q u i r y o f

them.

Was t h e purpose to

d e t e rm i n e t he r e p u t a t i o n o f

Judge

McBrien i n t he

fami ly

law

community?

A.

Yes.

I

a l r e a d y

had what I t hough t was f a i r l y

good knowledge o f h i s r e p u t a t i o n , bu t I wanted to be

c u r r e n t .

And

so I c a l l e d

seven

c e r t i f i e d fami ly law

s p e c i a l i s t s t h a t I

p a r t i c u l a r l y

r e s p e c t and one

fo rmer

f a m i l y law s p e c i a l i s t

who's now

a trial j udge .

Q.

And

what i s

your

o p i n i o n o f h i s r e p u t a t i o n in

t h e f a m i ~ y law

a re a ?

A.

Well , it s e x c e l l e n t . He has a

r e p u t a t i o n as

a very d e d i c a t e d

f ami ly law

j udge ,

who's

very

knowledgeab le , very

tho rough ,

v e ry

c a r e f u l .

A number

o f t h e c o n t a c t s

emphas ized

t h a t

he

had a g r e a t a b i l i t y

to u n d e r s t a n d s o p h i s t i c a t e d and c o m p l i c a t e d i s s u e s ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y

i s s u e s r e l a t i n g

to

numbers

and t r a c i n g s

and t h a t s o r t

o f

t h i n g .

So t hos e

a t t o r n e y s

were very

p l e a s e d if

t h e y

cou ld

be

a s s igne d to him

because he

was

a b le t o

g ra sp

t h e

more

d i f f i c u l t

i s s u e s

very , ve ry

wel l .

Everyone i n d i c a t e d

t h a t

t h e y

f e l t he a p p l i e d

t he law w i t h o u t

any

b ia s .

They

one

emphas ized

t h a t

he would change h i s

mind

if

he

was conv inced

t h a t t h a t

L-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IN RE CJF NC

85

4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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was t he a p p r o p r i a t

commented

t h a t

he you have to

u n d e r s t a n d

t he

f ami ly

law

c o u r t

in

Sacramento

County .

You

have

so

many

c a s e s

and

you

have

such

l i m i t e d

t i m e .

And to

be

h o n e s t

with you

one o f t h e t h i n g s I

would s t r u g g l e

w i th

as a

f ami ly

law judge i s

to let

a t t o r n e y s / p a r t i e s

p r e s e n t t h e i r case fo r as long as you can ; bu t

a t

a

c e r t a i n

p o i n t , you

j u s t

have

to

- - you have

to

move

on.

You

c a n t spend

hours and hours on ev e r y s i n g l e

c a s e .

And

Judge McBrien a number o f them

ment ioned

t h a t

he d i d n t he d o e s n t let

a t t o r n e y s

was te

t i m e .

And t h a t he cou ld , from t ime to t ime ,

pe rha ps ,

appear

a b r u p t .

Maybe that s t he wrong word

bu t

he would no t - - he would n o t a l l o w

-- he

would no t

a l l o w a t t o r n e y s

to was te t

I f a t t o r n e y s d i d no t

u n d e r s t a n d

t he

law

o r

were

u n p re p a re d , t h e n he

would

he would c a l l them on it, so to

s p eak .

They

d i d n t use t h a t

word; I m u s i n g

t h a t

word.

I j u s t

made t h a t

up.

But ,

in

o t h e r words he w o u l d n t

a l l o w p eo p le

j u s t

to

go

on and on .

He

would

e x p e c t a t t o r n e y s to be

p r e p a r e d .

Q.

Does h i s r e p u t a t i o n

demand

e f f i c i e n c y f rom

l aw y e r s ?

L I N RE CJF NO 185 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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A.

Yes

y es .

And

a c t u a l l y ,

one o f t h e a t t o r n e y s

s a i d

t h a t he had

been

in t h e

cour t room

on a number o f

o c c a s i o n s when Judge McBrien r ema i n ed ca lm, as t h i s

p e r s o n

s a i d , when

I

might not have . So

Q. What i s h i s r e p u t a t i o n fo r j u d i c i a l

t emperament?

A.

Wel l ,

t h e same.

I t h i n k t h a t h i s r e p u t a t i o n

i s

b e in g

i s

b e in g v e r y t h o ro u g h , b e in g v e r y open ,

b e in g n o t b i a s e d in any way b u t e x p e c t i n g t h a t p eo p le

do t h e

job w e l l . And if you d o n ' t

do t h e

job w e l l ,

you know r e s p o n d in g a p p r o p r i a t e l y .

In f a c t , s e v e r a l

o f

t h e a t t o r n e y s s a i d any

t ime

t h a t t h e y e v e r

saw him

perhaps

b e in g

s h o r t w i th an a t t o r n e y , it

was

a

p ro

p e r .

Q.

What i s

h i s

r e p u t a t i o n f o r f a i r n e s s ?

A.

Every a t t o r n e y t h a t I spoke w i th s a i d t h a t

t h e y felt he was

f a i r

and

would

be v e r y p l e a s e d

to be

in h i s c o u r t .

Q.

What i s

A.

Wel l , let s p u t it t h i s

way.

What I h ea r d

i s :

I f

y o u ' r e

a

good p re p a re d f ami ly law

a t t o r n e y ,

you want to be in h i s c o u r t .

I f

y o u ' r e u n p r ep a r ed and

y o u ' r e no t

a

good f ami ly law

a t t o r n e y ,

you may

not

n e c e s s a r i l y want to be in h i s c o u r t .

Q.

What i s h i s r e p u t a t i o n

fo r

b e i n g p a t i e n t ,

~ I N

RE

JF

NO 185

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1 were r e a l l y , you know petty much u n d e r s t a n d i n g th

2

aw and

a p p l y i n g

it. And it was u n f o r t u n a t e b e c a u s e

t h e r e

was a l o t

o f

tu o v e r .

There w a s n ' t

con

i s t e n c y

i n r u l i n g s ,

and

it was

not a good

t h i n g . And

it

was

a lways

a push

to

t r y

to

g e t judges to

commit

to t h e

6

fami

y l w s s ig n men t for m u l t i p l e y e r s ~

Because

7 t h ~ t was t h e

b e s t t h i n g

f o r t h e C o u r t ; t h a t was t he

b e s t

t h i n g

fo r t he

p a r t i e s .

8

And one

t h i n g

I

r e a l l y r e s p e c t e d

o f

1

Judge McBrien s he was one o f t h e p r o mo te r s o f t h a t

p o l i c y . He and Judge Kobayash i were two , I t h i n k ,

i

1

t h a t

r e a l l y a d v o c a t e d

j u d g es

s t a y i n g and promoted

t h e

13 f ami ly law as s ig n men t .

I

a c t u a l l y promoted

it.

l..; J

as

4

i

t r y i n g to t a l k

up

new j u d g es 0 t what a good

l

5 a s s i g n m e n t it is.

And so - b u t Judge

McBrien

n o t

16 o n l y t r i e d to

promote

it,

he s t a y e d t h e r e . He

s t a y e d

t h e r e fo r y e a r s

and

y e a r s

and

ye r s .

And it s a

tough

7

I

ass ignment

And

you n ev e r make

e v e r

ody

happy .

19

8

Every s i n g l e

c a se ,

somebody goes - - you know in all

20 c a s e s , but e s p e c i a l

y f ami ly

law c a s e s ,

so met imes

you

2

d o n ' t make e i t h e r p a r t y

h

y.

And it s a v e ry

22 c o n t e n t i o u s c o u r t w i t h difficult i s s u e s a

s e r i o u s

23

i s s u e s .

And he

s t a y e d and he s t a y e d and

he s t a y e d .

24

And

I

r e s p e c t e d him fo r

t h a t

b e c a u s e

a l o t o f

- judaes

CJ

25 w o u l d n ' t want

to t h a t .

; c

L ~ ~ I I J

R

L L J

A

I

r:;r:;o

J

J

U


34/106

1

2 number

o f t h e

a t t o r n e y s t a l k e d ab o u t h i s g r e a t

3 commitment

and

h i s c a r e

and

h i s

c o n c e rn a b o u t

f a m i l y

4 law c a s e s .

And I t h i n k by

l o s i n g

t h a t , if he were

to

5 l e a v e

to

go

t o a n o t h e r as s ig n men t ,

o r w h a t e v e r r e a so n ,

6 I t h i n k it would be a s e r i o u s blow b e c a u s e it would be

7 a l o s s o f a v e ry t a l e n t e d and d e d i c a t e d j u d g e .

8

And

you

h a v e n ' t

as k ed me t h i s

q u e s t i o n ,

b u t

9

if he

w ere , f o r some

r e a so n , t o

be

found

to have

10

v i o l a t e d t h e canons o f j u d i c i a l e t h i c s ,

o r

w h a t e v e r , I

11 f r a n k l y I know

a b o u t t h e s e

c a s e s ; I

know abou t

t h e

12 C a r l s s o n c a se .

I

t h i n k

it

would be

a

m i s c a r r i a g e

o f

j u s t i c e .

I t h i n k

it

would s en d t h e wrong s i g n a l to

j u d g e s

and p r a c t i t i o n e r s

t h a t you

don '

a l l o w t h a t

you

would be

a l l o w ng

i n c o m p e t e n t a t t o r n e y s

t o run t h e

16 c o u r t i n s t e a d o f co mp e t en t j u d g e s .

And

I know

t h a t

I

t h e r e ' s one a c c u s a t i o n a b o u t r e p o r t i n g ev id en ce

o f

a

1 I

18

p o s s i b l e c r i m e .

And

I c a n l t i mag i n e , if I was t h e

19

j u d g e

and I came a c r o s s ev id en ce

o f someone

-

20

IvIR

BLUJl 1;

I 'm go ing to

o b j e c t .

There i s

no

21

q u e s t i o n

p e n d i n g .

22

SPECIAL MASTER

CORNELL: S u s t a i n e d .

BY

MR

t1URPHY:

Q. o u r Honor ,

in

your

o p i n i o n ,

i s Judge l\1cBrien

25 d e d i c a t e d

t o t h e

improvement o f f a m i l y law?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IN R

,IC" 8


35/106


36/106

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MR MURPHY:

Thank you Your

Honor.

- - - 0 0 0 - -

JUDGE PETER MCBRIEN

hav inq been prev i ou s l y sworn

t e s t i f i e d

as f o l l ows:

- - - 0 0 0 - -

DIRECT EXAMINATION

Y MR MURPHY:

Q

Judge

McBrien

what I would l i k e to do i s

have you t a k e a l ook in t h e

Ex am in e r s

b i n d e r a t t h e

T e n t a t i v e

Deci s ion , which i s E x h i b i t 21.

Do you have

t h a t in f r o n t o f

you?

A. I do.

Q

And

when d i d you

w r i t e

ou t

t h i s

d e c i s i o n ?

A. I presume

around

t h e

22nd

o f March.

Q T h a t s

t he da t e

l i s t e d on

t he

t o p o f

t h e

first

page of Exh

it

21?

A.

Yes.

Q. And go

t h r o u g h

t he procedure

t h a t

you

employed in

w r i t i n g ou t t h i s t e n t a t i v e d e c i s i o n .

A.

Wel l , I

first

o f

all rev iewed t he

v a r i o u s

p l e a d i n g s

and

t he va r ious

f i l i n g s ,

c o n t i n u a l l y

looked

back

t o t he file itself.

I look a t my

trial

n o t e s .

I

keep t h o se i n a book

t h a t

1 S i n c h r o n o l o g i c a l

o r d e r .

And

t h e n

I

s t a r t e d w r i t i n g .

Q

Did

you c o n s i d e r

the p o s t

trial s u b mis s io n s

L J N

RE JF NO 85 4/3/09---- - - - - - - - - - -

561


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25

by t h e p a r t i e s ?

A. I

d i d .

Q. And

you

had t hos e

a v a i l a b l e

to you when

you

were

w r i t i n g

t h e d e c i s i o n ?

A.

I d i d .

Q.

Did you r e a d t h o s e b e f o r e

you

wrote t h e

d e c i s i o n ?

A.

I

d id .

Q.

The T e n t a t i v e D ec i s io n -- looks to

be

t h e

t h i r d

p a r ag r ap h

-- s t a t e s - -

w e l l ,

a c t u a l l y , why d o n ' t

you

r e a d

where

it b e g i n s

"The

Cour t

awards ..

A.

(Read ing)

:

"The Cour t awards

each

part:.y

o n e - h a l f o f t he communi ty p r o p e r t y i n t e r e s t in

H's PERS r e t i r e m e n t

and

does

n o t

o r d e r

a

s e g r e g a t e d

a c c o u n t . "

Q.

Why d id you

make t h a t

d e t e r m i n a t i o n ?

A.

Dur ing

t he

trial

t he o n l y

ev id en ce I

r e c e i v e d

was

t he

t e s t i m o n y o f Mrs. C a r l s s o n , t h a t

she

d i d no t want a s e g r e g a t e d a c c o u n t .

Ms. Keeley

e l i c i t e d

t h a t

t e s t i m o n y .

I d o n ' t

b e l i e v e

t h a t

Ms.

Huddle

c r o s s - ex amin ed

on t h a t

i s s u e . And

Ms. Huddle d i d no t a s k h e r c l i e n t q u e s t i o n s abou t -

t o t h e

c o n t r a r y .

So

t h a t was

t r u l y t h e

o n ly --

as

unusua l as it

i s ,

t h a t

was

t h e

o n ly ev id en ce t h a t

I

r e c e i v e d on t he r e t i r e m e n t .

~ I N

RE

JF

NO

185 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

56


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25

A.

That

was

p r e t t y s t a n d a r d fo r an acco u n t t h a t

needed d i s t r i b u t i o n , t h r o u g h a

quadro

(phone t i c ) o r

some

o t h e r

mechanism and I was s e t t i n g o u t t h e

p a ra m e t e r s

o f

t h a t .

Q.

Going down to

t

bot tom o f t h e first page o f

E x h i b i t

21

where it b e g i n s

C h i ld

supp r t

A. Righ t . C h i ld su p p o r t was no t a rg u e d b u t 1 S

needed .

The

C o u r t ' s

f i n d i n g s

a r e i n c l u d e d in t he

Ex-Spouse

and

t he Minute

O rd e r .

Q. W h at ' s t he Ex-Spouse?

A.

T h a t ' s

one

o f t h e j u d i c i a l

o r t h e

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e O f f i c e

o f t h e Cour t s a u t h o r -

e v a l u a t e s and a u t h o r i z e s c e r t a i n co mp u te r i z ed p ro g rams

to c a l c u l a t e

g u i d e l i n e

c h i l d s u p p o r t .

The most

wel l -known i s DissoMas te r . Ex-Spouse i s a c t u a l l y

c r e a t e d by t h e

c r e a t o r

o f DissoMas te r

who

d i v o rc e d

f rom DissoMas te r . And

t h en

t h e r e ' s S u p p o r t

Tax -

t h e r e a re s e v e r a l o t h e r

programs .

And t h e r e ' s now

a

new

one

t h a t

a l l

D S

all

Depar tment o f

C h i ld

Suppor t Se rv i c e s a g e n c i e s

must

u se .

Q. Why

d i d

you

conc lude

t h a t

c h i l d

su p p o r t

was

needed?

A.

F i r s t

o f all

b o t h

s i d e s a rg u e d it.

Both

s i d e s p r e s e n t e d e v i d e n c e . And

in

t h e p e t i t i o n , t he

p e t i t i o n a u t h o r i z e s t he Cour t to

a d d re s s

t h e i s s u e o f

L I N RE

JF

NO 185 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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25

c h i l d

su p p o r t r e g a r d l e s s

o f

whe the r t h e mo t i o n i s

b ro u g h t .

So

t hos e

were some o f

t he

r e a s o n s .

It w a s n ' t , t o my

mind

a judgment

o f c h i l d

s u p p o r t .

Because t h e i s s u e o f judgment

cu s to d y

h a d n ' t

b een

a ddre s s e d .

It

was

to

my

mind

though I d i d n ' t

no te it a t t he t ime

t emporary c h i l d su p p o r t

based

upon

t he

e v i d e n c e

t h a t

I

r e c e i v e d d u r i n g t he trial.

Q.

Okay.

SPECIAL

MASTER ANDLER:

Excuse

me.

Did

you

run t h e

Ex-Spouse o r

t h e su p p o r t

program

y o u r s e l f , o r

d i d

you

have

t h e

a t t o r n e y s

each run

a v e r s i o n and g iv e

you

t he

p r i n t o u t s ?

How d i d

you do t h a t ?

THE WITNESS: Wel l , I a lways run it myse l f .

But

I

t h i n k t h a t

a t

l e a s t

Ms.

Keeley d i d o f f e r

and

I

t h i n k

Ms. Huddle t oo , o f f e r e d t h e i r v e r s i o n s .

SPECIAL MASTER ANDLER:

And

a r e

t he numbers

t h a t you u s ed

to

per fo rm

t he c a l c u l a t i o n

numbers t h a t

were

r e f l e c t e d in

t h e p r i n t o u t s you

r e c e i v e d f rom

co u n s e l ?

THE WITNESS:

The

numbers t he on ly

d i f f e r e n c e

would

have

been

i n t h e

t i m e - s h a r e ,

and

t h e r e

was some

d i s p u t e r e g a r d i n g Mrs. C a r l s s o n ' s

s a l a r y

and what it s h o u ld b e .

Those were

t he p o i n t s

o f

d i s p u t e .

SPECIAL MASTER ANDLER:

Thank you.

~ I N RE JF NO

185 4 1 3 1 0 9 ~

565


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So you run t he

DissoMas te r

a f t e r

you make

all

your d e t e r m i n a t i o n s

r e g a r d i n g t h e n e c e s s a ry o r d e r s .

THE

WITNESS:

C o r r e c t .

Y MR. MURPHY:

Q. Judge

McBrien ,

t u r n i n g to

Page 2 o f

E x h i b i t

21,

t h i s

page ap p ea r s

to

d e a l w i th

t he i s s u e

o f sp o u sa l s u p p o r t .

A.

C o r r e c t .

Q. And d id you

award

sp o u sa l su p p o r t ?

A.

I d i d .

Q.

How much?

A. t a p p e a r s t h a t I awarded

325.

Q. Why d i d

you

make

an

award o f

sp o u sa l

su p p o r t ?

A. The Mr. C a r l s so n made more

t h an

tw ice as

much as Mrs.

Ca r l s s on .

Mrs. C a r l s s o n s e v i d e n c e ,

p r i m a r i l y

f rom her

employe r ,

t h e

d e n t i s t ,

su g g e s t e d ,

one , t h a t

she

d i d

work f u l l - t i m e

and,

two,

t h a t

he was

an

accommodat ing

employer

t h a t was w i l l i n g

to

be

f l e x i b l e and

a l l o w h e r to modi fy h e r hours

b as ed upon

t h e

needs o f

t h e i r

c h i l d .

And

I

t h i n k

t h a t t h a t

was

an

im por t a n t , to

my

mind,

f a c t o r

s i m p l y

b ecau s e t h e

flexibility

o f

employment

when

y o u r e a s i n g l e p a r e n t

r a i s i n g a

c h i l d

i s r a t h e r i m p o r t a n t .

She

had

testified

t h a t h e r p r i o r

employer

IN

RE JF NO 85

4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

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mo rn i n g .

And

t h a t ,

I b e l i e v e , was t h e

t ime .

Q. L e t ' s go t o t h e t h i r d

page .

SPECIAL MASTER

CORNELL:

T h a t w a s n ' t

a

c o n t e s t e d

i s s u e b e f o r e

you?

THE

WITNESS:

It was n o t .

SPECIAL MASTER

CORNELL:

T h a t

a r r a n g e m e n t

itself was somewhat t e m p o ra ry ; is

t h a t

c o r r e c t ?

THE

WITNESS:

It was.

Y MR. MURPHY:

Q.

The t h i r d

page ,

a t l e a s t t h e first

h a l f ,

d e a l s w i t h

t h e

i s s u e

o f t h e two

d i s p u t e d

p a r c e l s

o f

r e a l

p r o p e r t y ,

t h e

2 4 t h S t r e e t f o u r - p l e x

and t h e

Gold

Ri

v e r h o u s e .

Righ t?

A.

C o r r e c t .

Q.

And

d i d

you o r d e r each o f t h o s e p r o p e r t i e s to

be listed

and s o ld ?

A.

I d i d .

Q.

Why?

A.

F i r s t o f all, nobody w an ted t h e

t h e

f o u r

p l e x . And

s eco n d ly ,

I was

aware t h a t

Mr.

C a r l s s o n

wanted

t h e

house .

Howev er , h e

p r e s e n t e d

no e v i d e n c e to s u g g e s t t h a t he q u a l i f i e d f o r any - o r

had any

ability to

b u y o u t Mrs. C a r l s s o n .

And

so I

r e a l l y

d i d n ' t want to p u t t h e p a r t i e s

in

a p o s i t i o n o f

l imb o

where I

make

an

o r d e r

aw ard i n g

it t o

~ I N

R CJP NO 85 4 / 3 / 0 9 ~

568


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Mr. C a r l s so n b u t he r e a l l y

c o u l d n t

q u a l i f y

fo r

t h e

l o a n o r

to b u y o u t

h e r i n t e r e s t in it.

So

f i g u r e d

t h a t by doing t h a t ,

3. judge peter mcbrien prosecution whistleblower leaked transcript - commission on judicial...

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