June 2022 ~ Senator Susan Rubio’s SB 616 – “Piqui’s Law”
The Center for Judicial Excellence is the sponsor of SB 616 ‘Piqui’s Law’, which was was officially introduced in the California Legislature on June 2, 2022. This bill is the state’s response to federal Kayden’s Law which was included in the VAWA reauthorization in March. CJE is proud to be working with California State Senator Susan Rubio as is the primary author and Ana Estevez, whose 5-year-old son ‘Piqui’ was murdered by his abusive father, and for whom the legislation is named after.
SB 616 Piqui’s Law (Susan Rubio) passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee in a bi-partisan unanimous vote at its first hearing on Tuesday June 28th. It now heads to the Assembly Floor, where it will likely be voted on in early August 2022 by the entire California State Assembly.
SB 616 Center for Judicial Excellence Letter of Support
Supporters of SB 616 Include:
Center for Judicial Excellence (Sponsor)
Advocates for Child Empowerment and Safety
Angelina Jolie, Actress & Humanitarian
California Children’s Law Center
California Protective Parents Association
California Women’s Law Center
Crime Survivors Resource Center
Family Court Awareness Month
Family Violence Appellate Project
Incest Survivor’s Speakers Bureau of California
Just-a-Word Ministries
LA County District Attorney
LA County Board of Supervisors
Legislative Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse
Los Angeles Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children
National Family Violence Law Center
One Mom’s Battle
United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
18 Individual Californians
Then There’s California Podcast
SB 616: “Piqui’s Law”
CA State Senator Susan Rubio, a domestic violence survivor, is joined by Ana Estevez, whose 5-year-old son ‘Piqui’ was murdered by his abusive father – and by Kathleen Russell, Executive Director of the Center for Judicial Excellence – to discuss her legislative efforts to further protect victims of child abuse and domestic violence, in our family courts.
Episode streaming now on Audible, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Amazon Music.
Listen Here
On Monday June 27, 2022 Senator Rubio and other legislative champions hosted a press conference on Piqui’s Law and other domestic violence and child abuse issues on the West Steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento. The event recording can be viewed on the Senator’s Facebook page.
March 2022 ~ Kayden’s Law in VAWA Victory
Kayden’s Law in VAWA 1-Page Summary Here
In March 2022, Kayden’s Law was signed into law by President Biden. The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or “Kayden’s Law” in VAWA financially incentivizes states to prioritize child safety and restrict court-ordered reunification threat therapy in family law, along with other key child safety provisions and ensure that their child custody laws adequately protect at-risk children by:
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Restricting expert testimony to only those who are appropriately qualified to provide it
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Eliminating the use of reunification camps and therapies which cannot be scientifically proven to be safe and effective
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Providing evidence-based initial and ongoing training to judges and court personnel on family violence subject matters, including coercive control and child abuse
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Requiring judges to consider any past or current sexual or physical abuse by the accused parent
In December 2019, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick came to the Center with a specific ask – help him create a federal Kayden’s Law. We are not only grateful to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick for his leadership, but also to our pro bono lobbyists at Pillsbury Law, former Representative Greg Laughlin and Craig Saperstein, for their stellar lobbying work on this crucial bill, U.S. Senators Feinstein, Durbin, Ernst & Murkowski, retired California Judge Eugene Hyman, Protective Father Darrel Riley, the National Family Violence Law Center and others that helped get this across the finish line! Thanks also to our ally Angelina Jolie, who never wavered in her advocacy for Kayden’s Law. Protective Mom Kathy Sherlock’s courageous advocacy ensures that her precious daughter Kayden will never be forgotten. We deeply value our work with Kathy since 2018.
Media Coverage
- NBC Nightly News interview, Angelina Jolie and Ruth Glenn talking about Kayden’s law and the family court crisis
- Segment on the Today Show, featuring an interview with Angelina Jolie talking about VAWA, specifically Kayden’s Law and its importance
- Angelina Jolie spoke at the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence rally
- Angelina Jolie speaking on Capitol Hill about VAWA and the importance of Kayden’s law
- Congress Finally Reauthorizes VAWA After Years of Republican Stalling
- ‘We finally did it’: Four years after Kayden Mancuso’s death, reform bill in her name becomes law
- House and Senate pass Fitzpatrick-authored Kayden’s Law; legislation heads to President’s desk
- Four years after losing her daughter, a mom’s fight for justice is just beginning
The full text of VAWA can be found at www.congress.gov/bill/117th-
September 3, 2021 ~ Senator Min’s Child Safety Bill SB 654 Clears the CA Legislature
Senate Bill (SB) 654, backed by Angelina Jolie and Dylan Farrow, would require a judge to consider a parent’s history of domestic violence and substance abuse before allowing unsupervised visits with children.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) announced today his bill to create and extend protections for children in family court advanced from the State Legislature and will head to Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature. SB 654 passed the Senate Floor with unanimous support.
SB 654 would require judges to make findings on the record when entering an order for unsupervised visitation with a parent who has a history of domestic violence or substance abuse. This bill would also ensure children who wish to testify in contested custody battles do not have to do so in the presence of the parties seeking custody, unless it is deemed necessary by a judge.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for their overwhelming support of SB 654, which will save lives,” Min said. “Child safety must be our number one priority in the courts, and we must ensure that we don’t put children in situations of ongoing danger of domestic violence or substance abuse. I am proud that this measure brings us one step closer to guaranteeing our laws better protect children and prioritize their health, safety, and welfare.”
This bill has enjoyed prominent and widespread bipartisan support. It is sponsored by the Legislative Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse.
According to Melissa Knight-Fine, Director of this organization, “SB 654 promotes risk assessment and consideration of information from law enforcement and other child protection agencies, proven tools to help prevent abuse. The bill will protect children in high-risk cases where parents who have been on supervised visitation due to violence now are asking for unsupervised visits.”
SB 654 has also received notable support from actor and internationally renowned children’s rights advocate Angelina Jolie.
In her letter of support, Jolie wrote, “Having courts make findings on the record will ensure that histories of domestic violence or substance abuse are addressed and treated, and such findings will protect children from unsupervised visitation when unsupervised parenting is unsafe. The modest measures in SB 654 are also expected to prevent the need for additional hearings due to unsafe visitation.” Dylan Farrow, a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual abuse. also encouraged public support for “this crucial legislation.”
The Center for Judicial Excellence has advocated for fifteen years for the safety of California
children whose parents are going through separation and divorce in our state’s family courts and CJE strongly supports Senate Bill 654. CJE previously served as the lead sponsor of then-Assemblywoman Fiona Ma’s 2010 Assembly Bill 1050, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law (Fam. Code Section 3042). AB 1050 first gave children 14 and older the right to speak directly with a family court judge.
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Dave Min represents California State Senate District 37, which is located in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park.
Dave was a University of California Irvine law professor and a former economic policy staffer in the United States Senate and for the Center for American Progress. He began his legal career at the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the retirement security of seniors, turning down high paying jobs to serve the public interest. Dave and his wife Jane live and work in Irvine, where they are raising their three young children.
June 2021 ~ AB 1577 Commission on Judicial Performance Unanimously Passes in the Assembly, Then Passed and Funded as Urgency Measure via CA Budget Bill
AB 1577 Bill Highlights 1-Page Summary Here
The Assembly Judiciary Committee unanimously approved California AB 1577, that was then included into AB 143, which was passed and funded in the budget bill as an urgency measure. As a result of the bill’s successful passage, a 15-member Committee to Review the Operations & Structure of the Commission on Judicial Performance will be formed to provide a substantial opportunity to implement the State Auditor’s 2019 report recommendations and reform the largest court system in the United States by creating an entirely new culture of judicial accountability in California that does not currently exist.
In 2020, the Center for Judicial Excellence was able to increase the number of public member seats on this 15-member committee, securing seven seats for members of the public to participate. CJE also led the 3-year legislative effort to complete the first official state audit of the CJP in its then-56-year history which will serve as the roadmap for this newly formed Committee’s work. The scathing report by the state auditor found that the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) had missed numerous opportunities to fully and impartially investigate claims of judicial wrongdoing. The Committee to Review the Operations & Structure of the Commission on Judicial Performance will be tasked with review and consideration of how to best implement the state auditor’s recommendations, including holding at least two public hearings, and a requirement to file a report with state leaders and the public by March 2023.
The ability to create lasting and meaningful change for California’s nearly 2,000 judges will be determined by the individuals appointed to serve on this Committee. The Center for Judicial Excellence strongly believes that this committee could bring together the state’s smartest, most dedicated advocates for family law reform, criminal justice reform, probate/conservatorship reform and juvenile justice reform in the shared mission to protect the public from judicial misconduct and maintain public confidence in the integrity and independence of the judicial system.
How to Apply for a Public Member Appointment to the New Committee
Listen to the recording of the first public meeting, held on Apr. 19, 2022 here.
April 2019 ~ California State Auditor Exposes Crisis at Commission on Judicial Performance in Long-Awaited Report
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.
Visual summary of the report recommendations
BACKGROUND
In August 2016, the California Legislature’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) ordered the first-ever audit of the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP), the state’s only judicial oversight agency, due to a growing public outcry that the agency was not fulfilling its mission to protect the public from unethical judges. The CJP responded to the Legislature’s move two months later by suing the California State Auditor in an attempt to delay and thwart the first-ever audit of the agency in nearly 60 years.
For two years, the CJP lawsuit effectively stopped the State Auditor in her tracks, keeping her from doing the critical oversight work that the Legislature asked her to do to determine whether the CJP is effectively safeguarding the public from unethical judges. The Center for Judicial Excellence led the successful statewide lobbying effort to convince the JLAC to audit the CJP in August 2016, and we also led the effort in the Spring of 2018 to get the State Senate and Assembly to pass a $500K budget cut for the CJP that – while it was omitted from the Governor’s final budget – sent an important message to the CJP that they best cooperate, or the Legislature might yank their purse strings in the future.
