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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
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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
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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
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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
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.
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
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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 .
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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
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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 .
SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
May t h i s
w i t n e s s
be
excused?
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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 .
SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
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 - -
SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
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 .
SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
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
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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
p r o f e s s i o n a l
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
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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
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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 ,
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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
SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
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
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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
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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 .
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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
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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.
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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
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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 ?
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2
3
4
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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20
21
22
23
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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 ,
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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
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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?
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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
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24
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 .
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23
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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
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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.
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SPECIAL MASTER CORNELL:
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
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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 ,