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14 January 2014

 Judge Thadd Blizzard Misconduct: Court Order Authorizes Unlawful Child

 Abduction for Judge Pro Tem Attorney Richard Sokol

Tuesday Document Dump

 A leaked court reporter transcript

 obtained by Sacramento Family

 Court News reveals that Judge

 Thadd Bli zzard last November 

 retroactively endorsed an unlawful out-

of-state "move away" and child

 abduction at the request of local judge

 pro tem attorney Richard Sokol.

The unprecedented ruling went

 against San Francisco attorney

  Archibal d Cun ningham , who the

 transcript reflects was dumbfounded

 by the decision.

The bizarre chain-of-events began

 after Cunningham's disabled client,

 Robert Saunders, filed paperwork

 seeking child visitation under an

 existing temporary custody order. After 

 the visitation paperwork was lodged,

 Sokol's client, Apri l Berger, abruptly moved to Hawaii with the parents' twin daughters without the permission of the court.

 To continue reading, and to view the complete court reporter transcript, click Read more >> below...

Under state law, a parent may not take children and relocate out-of-state without court approval before the move,

 especially under a temporary custody order . A parent seeking to relocate must by law first seek court approval

 for the move, and "the noncustodial parent still has standing to oppose the relocation" in court, according to

 California Practice Guide: Family Law, the gold standard family law legal reference used by judges and

 attorneys.

Without prior court approval, an out-of-state move away is considered criminal child abduction if it maliciously

 "deprives a person of a right to visitation," according to Penal Code § 278.5(a). The criminal statute also specifies

 that the retroactive, after-the-fact o rder  issued by Blizzard for Sokol "does not constitute a defense" to the

Judge Thadd Blizzard Approves Illegal Out-of-State Child Relocation for Temporary Judge Lawyer Richard Sokol - Opposing Attorney Stunned

San Francisco attorney and social justice advocate Archibald Cunningham was

 shocked when Judge Thadd Blizzard authorized an illegal child abduction for 

 Sacramento Superior Court judge pro tem attorney Richard Sokol.

JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT (80)

JUDGE PRO TEM (51)

MATTHEW J. GARY (40)

ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT (39)

KICKBACKS (33)

FLEC (28)

PETER J. McBRIEN (27)

CHILD CUSTODY (25)

ARTS & CULTURE (24)

JAMES M. MIZE (23)

ROBERT SAUNDERS (23)

SCBA (22)

CJP (21)

CHARLOTTE KEELEY (20)

CARLSSON CASE (19)

EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT (19)

PRO PERS (19)

WATCHDOGS (19)

DIVORCE CORP (18)

SACRAMENTO SUPERIOR COURT (18)

DOCUMENTS (17)

ROBERT HIGHT (16)

PAULA SALINGER (15)

RAPTON-KARRES (15)

SATIRE (13)

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 crime.

Cunningham's reaction to the outcome was similar to that of Stephen R. Gianelli, another San Francisco attorney

 who previously was "hometowned" in Sacramento Family Court. Hometowning refers to local judges

 giving preferential treatment to select, local attorneys. Click here for Gianelli's account of his experience as an

 "outsider" attorney.

Hometowning is considered unethical and is prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics , according to retired

 judge David Rothman , author of the California Judicial Conduct Handbook. Sacramento Family Cour t reform

 advocates have documented that judge pro tem attorneys often receive kickbacks in the form of rubber-stamped

 orders, and other forms of favorable treatment when representing clients in court in exchange for operating the

 court's settlement conference program. Click here for SFCN coverage of temporary judge controversies.

The transcript, case records, and a second transcript from a related, previous hearing also indicate that Blizzard

 manipulated the proceedings through intentional misstatements and omissions of material fact in order to achieve the outcome demanded by Sokol, conduct prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics. Family court watchdogs

 assert that the collusion between full-time judges and judge pro tem attorneys deprives the public of the federally

 protected right to honest government services, a racketeering crime under 18 USC 1346. 

The Robert Saunders-April Berger case is one of four Sacramento Count y Family Court  cases included in the

 documentary film Divorce Corp, now playing in major U.S cities. The movie "exposes the corrupt and collusive

 industry of family law in the United States," and portrays the Sacramento court system as the most corrupt in the

 country. For our continuing coverage of the film, click here.

Click to visi t Sacramento Family Court News on: Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Scribd, Vimeo, and Twitter .

 For additional reporting on the people and issues in this post, click the corresponding labels below the

 document:

State law, including California criminal jury instruct ions, indicate that Judge Thadd Blizzard and judge pro t em attorney Richard Sokol

 may have been accessories after the fact to a criminal chil d abduction. 

Sacramento Family Court "Hometowning" History 

JAIME R. ROMAN (12)

APPEALS (11)

CANTIL-SAKAUYE (11)

COLOR OF LAW SERIES (11)

CONFLICT OF INTEREST (11)

WHISTLEBLOWERS (11)

WOODRUFF O'HAIR POSNER and SALINGER (11)

LAURIE M. EARL (10)

NO CONTACT ORDERS (1

SHARON A. LUERAS (10)

FERRIS CASE (9)

JESSICA HERNANDEZ (8)

ROBERT O'HAIR (8)

3rd DISTRICT COA (7)

JULIE SETZER (7)

MATTHEW HERNANDEZ (7

YOUTUBE (7)

CHRISTINA ARCURI (6)

CIVIL RIGHTS (6)

MIKE NEWDOW (6)

CONTEMPT (5)

THADD BLIZZARD (5)

VEXATIOUS LITIGANT (5)

FAMILY LAW FACILITATOR (4)

LUAN CASE (4)

MALPRACTICE (4)

RACKETEERING (4)

THOMAS M. CECIL (4)

CHILD ABDUCTION (3)

VANCE W. RAYE (3)

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Californians Aware

WE SUPPORT

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5 comments

Top comments

PR Brown 1 year ago  - Shared publicly

Judge Misconduct: Hon. Thadd A. Blizzard Authorizes Unlawful Child Abduction for 

 Judge Pro Tem Attorney Richard Sokol

Judge Thadd Blizzard Approves Illegal Out-of-State Child Relocation for Temporary Judge

 Attorney Richard Sokol - Opposing Attorney Stunned Monday Document Dump A leaked

 court reporter transcript obtained by Sacramento Family Court News reveals that Judge

 

·

  Reply

Sacramento Family Court News via Google+ 1 year ago  - Shared publicly

Judge Thadd Blizzard Approves Illegal Out-of-State Child Relocation for Temporary Judge

 Attorney Richard Sokol - Opposing Attorney Stunned

 A leaked court reporter transcript obtained by Sacramento Family Court News reveals that

 Judge Thadd Blizzard last November retroactively endorsed an unlawful out-of-state "move

 

+1  

·

  Reply

Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Watchdog & Whistleblower 

 News via Google+ 1 year ago (edited)  - Shared publicly

Sacramento attorney Richard Sokol obtains after-the-fact order authorizing illegal, out-of-

 Add a comment

 Posted by PR Brown at 9:31 AM 

Labels: ADA, ANALYSIS, ARCHIBALD CUNNINGHAM, ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT, CHILD ABDUCTION, CHILD CUSTODY, CRIMINAL

 CONDUCT, ELAINE VAN BEVEREN, JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT, KICKBACKS, NEWS, RICHARD SOKOL, ROBERT SAUNDERS, THADD

 BLIZZARD

 Location: Sacramento Superior Court 3341 Power Inn Road, Sacramento, CA 95826, USA William Ridgeway Family Relations

 Courthouse

 

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