Daily Journal
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The Recorder
California Supreme Court Justices Condemn Racism ‘In All Its Forms’ All seven of the court’s justices signed the statement promising to confront racism in their personal and professional lives. The proclamation from the court follows a separate statement from Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye on Monday.
L-R: Supreme Court of California Justices, Leondra Kruger, Ming Chin, Goodwin Liu, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Carol Corrigan and Joshua Groban. California’s high court has vowed to not rest until equality for all is a “living truth.”
The California Supreme Court issued a statement signed Wednesday by all seven justices condemning racism. The proclamation from the court follows a separate statement from Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye on Monday. The justices said that the United States is at an “inflection point” in history and called upon society to own up to these unacceptable failings and build on shared strength.
“We state clearly and without equivocation that we condemn racism in all its forms: conscious, unconscious, institutional, structural, historic, and continuing,” they wrote. “We say this as persons who believe all members of humanity deserve equal respect and dignity; as citizens committed to building a more perfect Union; and as leaders of an institution whose fundamental mission is to ensure equal justice under the law for every single person.”
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The Recorder
California Justices Uphold Ouster of Contra Costa County Judge "We are extremely disappointed with the court’s decision to not accept Judge Laettner’s petition for review," an attorney for John T. Laettner said.
The commission found that Laettner had engaged in more than two dozen instances of misconduct. The California Supreme Court has denied a Contra Costa County judge’s petition challenging his removal from office.
A docket entry posted Wednesday notes, without explanation, that the court rejected Judge John Laettner’s petition for review of his ouster by the Commission on Judicial Performance in November. The justices’ decision ends Laettner’s 13 years on the bench.
The commission found that Laettner had engaged in more than two dozen instances of misconduct ranging from making inappropriate comments about women’s appearances and demeanors to revoking a defendant’s own recognizance release without giving him or his attorney a chance to be heard.
“We are extremely disappointed with the court’s decision to not accept Judge Laettner’s petition for review,” said Laettner’s attorney, Joseph Leveroni, an associate at Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney. “We remain convinced his due process rights were violated not only at the hearing before the Special Masters but before and after the hearing by actions of the Commission on Judicial Performance.”
Laettner’s petition alleged he was improperly blocked from arguing that allegations made against him were motivated by public defenders’ unhappiness with rulings against their clients.
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