In 2018, Judge Cynda Riggins-Unger retired from her position on the bench amidst numerous, mounting allegations. Allegedly, she was presented with a choice to either accept a transfer out of Family Court or retire, following a growing number of complaints from litigants, attorneys, and community members. These complaints were centered around accusations of judicial misconduct, disparaging litigants, and biased rulings.
Advocates gathered enough data to demonstrate that Judge Unger was (allegedly) ruling with prejudice in cases involving domestic violence. Like other judges on the bench at that time, she (allegedly) did not want to be bound by Family Code 3044, thus she routinely refused to protect victims in cases with credible evidence of violence.
Complaint after complaint poured into the Commission on Judicial Performance and the Presiding Judge’s office about Judge Unger’s conduct. People were desperate to be heard. They documented her blatant bias, her refusal to shield vulnerable people from violence, her fundamentally unfair rulings, and her pattern of avoiding accountability. But their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The consequences were devastating. Litigants who appeared before Judge Unger suffered serious physical harm, some suffered emotional and financial devastation. Others lost their lives.
Judge Unger’s retirement marked a turning point in addressing these concerns, and the devastation left in her wake underscores the importance of transparency, accountability, and impartiality within the judicial system. It also highlights the impact that judicial decisions can have on the lives of families, especially children, involved in legal proceedings.
The judicial system that allowed her to operate unchecked for years while families begged for help. Every complaint ignored, every warning dismissed, every plea for intervention that went unanswered contributed to the suffering of countless people who trusted the courts to deliver fairness.
We cannot restore the families that were decimated by biased judicial rulings, we cannot undo the scars, bruises and broken limbs, we cannot undo the trauma suffered by children in Solano County, and we cannot undo the loss of life.
But we will be here to give voice to the unheard. To make sure that the record of what was done to litigants, their families, and their children, is not forgotten.