Boy, it’s a good thing that we are patient and persistent. After three years of heavy lifting in the state legislature, a contentious two-year legal battle that nearly killed it, and our ongoing commitment to hold the powerful accountable, we are thrilled to report that the first external review into the state’s only judicial oversight agency in nearly 60 years is now complete. This report is a major victory for sunshine and judicial accountability in the interests of public protection, and it definitely did not come easily.
The 85-page report from the California State Auditor details how serious ongoing judicial misconduct has fallen through the cracks at the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP). The report affirms what we have recognized for years, and it provides a detailed roadmap toward increased accountability for California’s judicial branch. In order for change to happen, we now need leadership from brave legislators willing to push through a Constitutional Amendment to meaningfully reform the CJP and better protect the public from harm.
The Center for Judicial Excellence looks forward to working with lawmakers, our court reform allies and other stakeholders to better protect the public from the ongoing judicial misconduct that tragically destroys people’s lives in the Golden State on a daily basis. The first step is always to identify the crisis, which this investigation has so powerfully done. Now we can go about fixing it.
Thanks to everyone who played a role in this important milestone in judicial accountability reform.
Click here for a summary of the report: https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2016-137/summary.html
Click here for the complete 85-page report: https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2016-137.pdf
