Dean Barbieri

Dean Barbieri — Dean, John F. Kennedy University School of Law — Heryby Asked to Assess the Veracity of Statements Made by Jill Sperber of the State Bar of California

Dean Barbieri — Nefarious Outgoing Mayor of Piedmont, Californian — feted with commendations and gifts from the state Senate, state Assembly, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, City of Piedmont staff and new Mayor John Chiang.

Nefarious Dean Barbieri — Mayor of Piedmont California — to Exit Office

Partial List of Endorsements for Nefarious Dean Barbieri

Full Biography for JFK Law School Dean — Dean Barbieri (TLR Note 1-Barbieri a Democrat 2- Confederate of John Chiang, Geoffrey Brown and Judy Johnson 3- Notice Graduate of USF — APIA-Catholics Alliance 4- Highly Nefarious)

John F. Kennedy University College of Law’s Geoffrey F. Brown Under Scrutiny In Re Judy Johnson’s CCPF and “Briibing Pat”

CaliforniaALL Part 20: Conveniently Intertwined, Part 3 – The Leslie Brodie Report

CALIFORNIA ALL PART 13(a): JUDGE AND MRS. MORRISON ENGLAND; SARA GRANDA VS. STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, came about as a result of a San Francisco restaurant meeting between Ruthe Ashley (a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and Vice President of the State Bar of California) and Peter Arth, Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC President Michael Peevey. Also present at that meeting was Professor Sarah E. Redfield.

CaliforniaALL’s alleged purpose was to award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the “pipelines” that feed into various industries, such as finance, technology, and law.

On January 27, 2009 DLA Piper’s Gilles Attia and the Office of Assembly-member Mike Davis co-hosted a reception honoring California ALL at the Tsakopoulos Galleria in Sacramento. Bottom (left to right): Ruthe Ashley; Judge Morrison England and Mrs. Torie Flournoy-England; Ruthe Ashley, Gilles Attia, News 10 Presenter Sharon Ito, and Assembly-member Mike Davis. Top right is Karina Hamilton. Mike Davis, an ally of former assembly-member Gwen Moore and Karen Bass, is the vice-chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, member of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, and the Chair of the California Assembly “Select Committee on Rail Transportation.” DLA Piper’s Gilles Attia is the corporate counsel of Wireless Rail Network (Wi-Fi Rail)– a high-speed broadband wireless provider with specific focus on commuter rail lines and WiFi on trains. Around 2008, Wi-Fi Rail was in negotiation with BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to provide lightning-fast Internet connections for thousands of daily commuters. (Photo:courtesy)

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies (including AT&T, Sempra Energy, and PG&E). In its brief existence from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million, including an unusually large sub rosa contribution of $780,000 from the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008.

CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

JUDGE AND MRS. MORRISON ENGLAND

Hon. Morrison C. England, born 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, received a B.A. from University of the Pacific in 1977 and a J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in 1983. He was in private practice in California from 1983 to 1996 and served as a judge on the Sacramento Superior Court for the State of California from 1996 to 2002. In 2002, England was appointed to serve as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, located in Sacramento, California.

Serving on the board of directors of CaliforniaALL (which was in a partnership relationship with the State Bar of California) were Torie Flournoy-England, the esteemed and educated spouse of a Sacramento- based federal judge, Hon. Morrison England.

Judge Morrison England, as well as then-State Bar of California Executive Director Judy Johnson and State Bar employee Patricia Lee were part of CaliforniaALL’s Advisory Council. See below.

Sara M. Granda v State Bar of California (2009 cv 02015)

Ms. Sara Granda. It is easy to imagine Sara Granda in a courtroom, questioning witnesses, challenging the opposition, and fighting for justice with the force of her large personality. A ventilator, which she needs to breathe, would hang from the back of her wheelchair. An assistant would help her flip through files, since she cannot move her hands or arms. When she approaches the bench, Ms. Granda would maneuver her chair using her tongue. “So much of what happens in the courtroom is theater,” says Ms. Granda, 29, who has lived out her own drama since she became paralyzed from the neck down at age 17. “I’m not sure how much time I will spend in court as an attorney. But I know I could do it.” (Photo and Narrative Courtesy of www.alldeaf.com)

In May 2009, Granda graduated from U.C. Davis School of Law and, like most of her peers, hoped to sit for the July 2009 bar exam.

California’s Department of Rehabilitation paid the $600 bar exam fee with a check, and Granda was assured that she was properly registered. However, the State Bar of California’s Office of Admission, headed by Ms. Gayle Murphy, never processed Granda’s application because the Department of Rehabilitation paid the $600 fee with a check, rather than a credit card.

The State Bar of California did not relent, and neither did Granda.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Courtesy CNN)

Local and national media expressed outrage after the situation gained publicity as a result of statements by Governor Schwarzenegger, who publicly stated: “It is outrageous that someone who has overcome so much in life is penalized by a bureaucratic error that prevents her from taking the bar exam. Government should work for the people, not against them and I’m calling on the state bar to allow Sara Granda to take next week’s test. Sara is a fighter and I am with her all the way.”

Robert Hawley

Robert A. Hawley, State Bar Deputy Executive Director and an adjunct ethics professor at McGeorge School of Law, stated to the Sacramento Bee:
“It’s a high-tech process, and people need to maneuver it successfully, and we can’t be in the business of helping any one person out with it.” Hawley continued: “That takes us down a path that ends up in a place we don’t want to be. How do you then choose which ones to help and which you don’t?”

“I worked very, very hard for every cent,” Granda stated to the local media. “So for everything to come together in the end and for it to just kind of fall through on such a minor, minor detail.”

True to her spirit, Granda filed an action in federal court seeking an order directing the State Bar of California to allow her to take the fast-approaching bar exam.

The case was assigned to the courtroom of Hon. Morrison C. England, the husband of California ALL board member Torie Flournoy-England who, together with State Bar Executive Director Judy Johnson, served on CaliforniaALL’s advisory council.

Making an appearance and vigorously contending that the federal court had no jurisdiction over the State Bar of California was Mr. Mark Torres-Gil of the State Bar office of General Counsel, the same office that drafted the partnership agreement between CaliforniaALL and the State Bar of California.

In addition to Mr. Torres-Gil, the State Bar of California also retained the services of a private law firm — Kerr & Wagstaffe.

To be continued.

CALIFORNIA ALL PART 13(a): JUDGE AND MRS. MORRISON ENGLAND; SARA GRANDA VS. STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, came about as a result of a San Francisco restaurant meeting between Ruthe Ashley (a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and Vice President of the State Bar of California) and Peter Arth, Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC President Michael Peevey.  Also present at that meeting was Professor Sarah E. Redfield.

CaliforniaALL’s alleged purpose was to award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the “pipelines” that feed into various industries, such as finance, technology, and law.

<img src=”http://data6.blog.de/media/201/5550201_701f880cde_m.jpeg” alt=”California ALL DLA Piper Reception” style=”margin:5px;” />
On January 27, 2009 DLA Piper’s Gilles Attia and the Office of Assembly-member Mike Davis co-hosted a reception honoring California ALL at the Tsakopoulos Galleria in Sacramento.  Bottom (left to right): Ruthe Ashley; Judge Morrison England and Mrs. Torie Flournoy-England; Ruthe Ashley, Gilles Attia, News 10 Presenter Sharon Ito, and Assembly-member Mike Davis. Top right is Karina Hamilton. Mike Davis, an ally of former assembly-member Gwen Moore and Karen Bass, is the vice-chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, member of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, and the Chair of the California Assembly “Select Committee on Rail Transportation.”  DLA Piper’s Gilles Attia is the corporate counsel of Wireless Rail Network (Wi-Fi Rail)– a high-speed broadband wireless provider with specific focus on commuter rail lines and WiFi on trains. Around 2008, Wi-Fi Rail was in negotiation with BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to provide lightning-fast Internet connections for thousands of daily commuters. (Photo:courtesy)

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies (including AT&amp;T, Sempra Energy, and PG&amp;E). In its brief existence from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million, including an unusually large sub rosa contribution of $780,000 from the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008.

CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

<u>JUDGE AND MRS. MORRISON ENGLAND</u>

Hon. Morrison C. England, born 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, received a B.A. from University of the Pacific in 1977 and a J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in 1983.  He was in private practice in California from 1983 to 1996 and served as a judge on the Sacramento Superior Court for the State of California from 1996 to 2002.  In 2002, England was appointed to serve as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, located in Sacramento, California.

Serving on the board of directors of CaliforniaALL (which was in a partnership relationship with the State Bar of California) were Torie Flournoy-England, the esteemed and educated spouse of a Sacramento- based federal judge, Hon. Morrison England.

Judge Morrison England, as well as then-State Bar of California Executive Director Judy Johnson and State Bar employee Patricia Lee were part of CaliforniaALL’s Advisory Council.  See below.

<img src=”http://data6.blog.de/media/203/5550203_6bd7f157c7_m.jpeg” alt=”California ALL Advisory Council” style=”margin:5px;” /><img src=”http://data6.blog.de/media/202/5550202_57b5e4e19e_m.jpeg” alt=”California ALL BOD ” style=”margin:5px;” />

<strong><u>Sara M. Granda v State Bar of California</u></strong> (2009 cv 02015)

<img style=”margin: 0px;” src=”http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2009/05/14/22/25-5M15GRADUATE.standalone.prod_affiliate.4.JPG” alt=”" width=”540″ height=”400″ />
Ms. Sara Granda.  It is easy to imagine Sara Granda in a courtroom, questioning witnesses,  challenging the opposition, and fighting for justice with the force of her large personality.  A ventilator, which she needs to breathe, would hang from the back of her wheelchair.  An assistant would help her flip through files, since she cannot move her hands or arms.  When she approaches the bench, Ms. Granda would maneuver her chair using her tongue.   “So much of what happens in the courtroom is theater,” says Ms. Granda, 29, who has lived out her own drama since she became paralyzed from the neck down at age 17.  “I’m not sure how much time I will spend in court as an attorney.  But I know I could do it.”  (Photo and Narrative Courtesy of www.alldeaf.com)

In May 2009, Granda graduated from U.C. Davis School of Law and, like most of her peers, hoped to sit for the July 2009 bar exam.

California’s Department of Rehabilitation paid the $600 bar exam fee with a check, and Granda was assured that she was properly registered.
However, the State Bar of California’s Office of Admission, headed by Ms. Gayle Murphy, never processed Granda’s application because the Department of Rehabilitation paid the $600 fee with a check, rather than a credit card.

The State Bar of California did not relent, and neither did Granda. 

<img src=”http://media.onsugar.com/files/2011/05/18/4/93/934221/image.jpg” alt=”" title=”" />
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Courtesy CNN)

Local and national media expressed outrage after the situation gained publicity as a result of statements by Governor Schwarzenegger, who publicly stated:  “It is outrageous that someone who has overcome so much in life is penalized by a bureaucratic error that prevents her from taking the bar exam.  Government should work for the people, not against them and I’m calling on the state bar to allow Sara Granda to take next week’s test.  Sara is a fighter and I am with her all the way.”

Robert A. Hawley, State Bar Deputy Executive Director and an adjunct ethics professor at McGeorge School of Law, stated to the Sacramento Bee:
“It’s a high-tech process, and people need to maneuver it successfully, and we can’t be in the business of helping any one person out with it.”  Hawley continued: “That takes us down a path that ends up in a place we don’t want to be.  How do you then choose which ones to help and which you don’t?”

“I worked very, very hard for every cent,” Granda stated to the local media.  “So for everything to come together in the end and for it to just kind of fall through on such a minor, minor detail.”

True to her spirit, Granda filed an action in federal court seeking an order directing the State Bar of California to allow her to take the fast-approaching bar exam.

The case was assigned to the courtroom of Hon. Morrison C. England, the husband of California ALL board member Torie Flournoy-England who, together with State Bar Executive Director Judy Johnson, served on CaliforniaALL’s advisory council.

Making an appearance and vigorously contending that the federal court had no jurisdiction over the State Bar of California was Mr. Mark Torres-Gil of the State Bar office of General Counsel, the same office that drafted the partnership agreement between CaliforniaALL and the State Bar of California. 

In addition to Mr. Torres-Gil, the State Bar of California also retained the services of a private law firm — Kerr &amp; Wagstaffe.

To be continued.

Disabled U.S. Marine Veteran Newest Victim of California State Bar Court Judge Patrice McElroy as Century City Law Firm Comes to his Rescue

Just as Californians manage to put behind them the embarrassing
mistreatment of quadriplegic Sarah Granda by the State Bar of
California, Gayle Murphy, Judy Johnson and Dean Barbieri – which
necessitated direct intervention of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, now
comes a new scandal to stir up the firestorm again.

William G. Wells, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corp, was admitted to the
practice of law in California in 1959. He practiced for approximately
35 years without discipline. Unfortunately, Wells’s career has recently
come to a screeching halt.

According to Wells, while he was recovering from a serious stroke, an
attorney in his office conspired with the office’s legal secretary to
transfer ownership of a parcel of land located in Corona, California and
owned by Wells to the secretary. The secretary maintained that the property was a retirement gift from  Wells, and that it was hers to keep.

Wells, one upset lawyer, turned to the judicial system to vindicate his
rights. Years of litigation ensued, and the secretary was ultimately
declared the rightful owner of the Corona parcel. Later, the secratary complained to the State Bar against Wells, alleging that had he misused the court system in pursuing his claims against her.
In turn, the State Bar charged Wells with various acts of misconduct.

Wells, who is legally deaf, ended up in the courtroom of Judge Patrice
McElroy after Presiding judge JoAnn Remke issued an order disqualifying
Judge Richard A. Platel.

A settlement conference was held in front of Judge Platel.
Notwithstanding Judge Platel’s disqualification from “any further
involvement” in Wells’ case, Judge Platel took the bench to serve as
the settlement conference judge. Wells did not and could not object to
Judge Platel serving only as the settlement conference judge, pursuant
to C.C.P. § 107.4(a)(6). However, Wells stated that he did not consent
to any waiver of Judge Platel’s disqualification and that he did not
waive any objection to Judge Platel’s involvement in his case.
Apparently, despite a direct order from the presiding judge Remke
disqualifying Richard Platel, Judge McElroy attempted to force on Wells
a non-existent agreement that had allegedly been entered into during the
settlement confrence:

Photo:courtesy of Bar Journal

THE COURT (McElroy): Okay. My understanding is there was an agreement at
the end of the settlement conference, that the parties reached an
agreement on all issues, including findings of facts and conclusions of
law and a proposed degree of discipline.

MS. MEYERS: That’s my understanding, your Honor.

MR. WELLS: Well, that’s not correct.

THE COURT: Well, my understanding is the specific terms of the
agreement between the parties was explicitly placed on the record. Do
the parties agree with that?

MR. WELLS: It was not concluded.

MS. MEYERS: That’s my – that’s my understanding.

MR. WELLS: Well, I don’t know where you get your understanding, but it
was not concluded. And this-

THE COURT: It’s my understanding it was, and as a result, I’m going to
vacate the trial dates. Mr. Wells?

MR. WELLS: I’d like the ruling on my motions.

THE COURT: Your motions are moot.

When Wells inquired how Judge McElroy had developed her understanding of
the outcome of the settlement conference which had concluded the
previous afternoon, Judge McElroy disclosed that she had spoken to Judge
Platel, the judge who had been disqualified from hearing Wells’s matter.

MR. WELLS: Well, your Honor is saying that, based on somebody’s
communication to you, that something was put on the record?

THE COURT: No. This – this – it is on the record.

MR. WELLS: You have it?

THE COURT: Yes.

MR. WELLS: You have a transcript of the verdict?

THE COURT: I don’t need a transcript.

MR. WELLS: What do you have?

THE COURT: The disk.

MR. WELLS: Well, you don’t hear my agreement to it.

THE COURT: And my understanding is, having talked to Judge Platel, that
there was -

MR. WELLS: Well-

THE COURT: – an agreement on all the issues, and it was placed on the
record.

MR. WELLS: Well, that is not accurate.

Judge McElroy ultimately refused to take any evidence or allow Wells to
be heard on the issue of whether a settlement had been reached during
the earlier settlement conference:

THE COURT: What is the State Bar’s position on this matter?

MS. MEYERS: The State Bar’s position is the same as your Honor’s
position. We believe there was a settlement reached in good faith. It
was put on the record, and we believe Mr. Wells should be bound by the
settlement reached. THE COURT: Okay. And Mr. Wells, you will be bound by it.

MR. WELLS: Well, you’ve already ruled, I guess, right?

THE COURT: Yes.

MR. WELLS: Well, I haven’t even filed my motion, and you still ruled.

THE COURT: Well, I’m going to have – issue an order approving the
stipulation as to findings of facts.

MR. WELLS: Without even hearing from me, right?

THE COURT: No. I’m going to file an order approving the stipulation.

At the conclusion of the conference, Judge McElroy ordered that the case
was settled and vacated the trial date. Later, over Wells’s objections, Judge Platel sua sponte issued an “Order
Approving Stipulation re: Facts, Conclusions of Law and Disposition.” Wells moved for reconsideration of Judge Platel’s order, which Judge
Platel denied. Next, Wells filed a petition with the Review Department
to set aside Judge Platel’s order.

The Review Department ruled that Judge Platel had no authority to make
binding adjudications at the settlement conference, or any time, due to
his disqualification from Wells’s case. Wells then moved for an order disqualifying Judge McElroy based on her ex parte conversations with Judge Platel about what had occurred during
the settlement conference. Judge McElroy filed a verified answer to Wells’s motion, declining to
recuse herself.

Specifically, Judge McElroy stated, “The Court has carefully reviewed respondent’s motion to disqualify and the declaration in support thereof, and the court denies each and every allegation of
bias, prejudice or other impropriety made against her by respondent.” Judge McElroy ordered: “it is HEREBY ORDERED that respondent’s motion is  referred to Judge Lucy Armendariz for such further action as she deems appropriate.” The order was signed: “Pat McElroy, Judge of the State
Bar Court.”

Ms. Lucy Armendariz, a 1997 graduate of Hastings College of the Law. She was appointed to serve as judge in 2007. Prior to her appointment,
she was chief of staff to California State Senate Majority Leader Gloria
Romero; worked as an attorney with the law firm Heller, Ehrman, White
and McAuliffe; and as an ombudsman with the California’s women’s
prisons. At the age of 10, Lucy Armendariz was removed from her parents’
custody and entered California’s crowded foster-care system. According
to U.C. Hastings’ Magazine, in 2006, Armendariz was appointed to the
state’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care by California
Chief Justice Ronald George. The commission’s report, issued in 2008,
outlined the need to make foster children’s welfare a top priority.
(Photo: courtesy of California Leadership)

Judge Armendariz denied Wells’s motion to disqualify Judge McElroy.
Judge Armendariz wrote:

“Based on the documents filed by each party, including the declarations
of both parties, the court rejects respondent’s contention that Judge
McElroy has or will exhibit bias in her handling of respondent’s
matter. As such, respondent has failed to show sufficient cause to
warrant the recusal of Judge McElroy.”

Later on, Judge McElroy, without explanation, issued an order recusing
herself from Wells’ case. Judge McElroy did not state any grounds for
her action. Nonetheless, the State Bar has asserted that Judge
McElroy’s orders are valid and enforceable.

To be continued.