Santa Clara and Solano Counties have been in the news regarding the recall of judges. One recall has made it to the ballot, the first recall for a judge in CA in 86 years. Other recalls have made a point: protective parents and the #MeToo movement will not stand for bad judges. It is unclear if these recalls are all a product of the lack of transparency and discipline from the Commission on Judicial Performance since most of the complaints made about judges are dismissed regardless of the validity of the complaints as we have seen.
The Santa Clara Judge Aaron Persky recall has made it to the June 5, 2018 ballot after collecting 95,000 signatures. Judge Persky has previously sat on the family court bench, including being a judge for part of the family matter of Alycia Mesiti-Allen who was forced into custody with her abusive father who later murdered her.
Another recall that we are just hearing about is for Judge Cynthia Lie in Santa Clara. It appears the first papers were filed in this matter and more information will be forthcoming.
Solano County has a history of recalls though. In fact they have had five recalls in the past five years. The Solano protective parents are calling this their “Five in Five.” Here is a list of their recalls:
2013 – Judge Daniel Healey, who was subsequently publicly admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance and moved out of family court
2014 – Judge Cynda Riggins-Unger, who still serves on the family court bench
2017 – Judge Christine Carringer, who still serves on the family court bench
2017 – Judge Garry Ichikawa, who immediately announced his retirement
2018 – Judge Cynda Riggins-Unger, served again and may be leaving family court
The 2017 recall of Judge Carringer did not get enough signatures to get on the ballot with the deadline being this past week. The process to get a recall on the ballot is cost prohibitive, but the point is made regardless. Protective parents are tired of abuse being dismissed in family court and children being forced into the custody of a named abuser.
Full article here: https://www.caprotectiveparents.org/recalls-on-family-court-judges-contiue