Rabbi Michael Lerner is asked to call for Tikkun (repair) of the Los Angeles Jewish/Legal Community in view of its vast over-representation in "corruption of the courts and the legal profession".
Los Angeles, November 14 - Human Rights Alert (NGO) asked Rabbi Michael Lerner of Tikkun (repair) magazine, a notable Jewish figure, to call for Tikkun of the Jewish/legal community in Los Angeles, California, in view of the vast over-representation of individuals and an organization, identified with the Jewish community in "corruption of the courts and the legal profession". The request specifically referred to the conduct of Bet Tzedek ("House of Justice"), a prominent Los Angeles Jewish charity, and three of its former senior officers: David Pasternak - former President (also former President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association), Sandor Samuels - former President (also Associate General Counsel of Bank of America), and Terry Friedman - former Executive Director (also Judge, Superior Court of California).
In response to the initial request, accompanied with references to media, expert, and official reports regarding corruption of the courts and legal profession in Los Angeles County, California, Rabbi Lerner, only responded with: "Doesn't sound good to me. But I don't have the capacity to investigate and make determinations on the issues raised below. Sorry."
Additional request was addressed to Rabbi Lerner, accompanied with opinion letter of Fraud Expert, FBI veteran, who was decorated by US Congress, US Attorney General, and FBI Director, referring to conduct of David Pasternak as "fraud being committed". The case also involved Sandor Samuels and Terry Friedman, and key events took place on the grounds of Bet Tzedek, by Sandor Samuels as President of Bet Tzedek.
No further response was received from Rabbi Lerner.
Rabbi Lerner is Editor of Tikkun Magazine, Chair of The Network of Spiritual Progressives, and Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in San Francisco and Berkeley. Tikkun Magazine runs under the motto of "to heal, repair, and transform the world".
The April 2010 submission of Human Rights Alert to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations was incorporated into the official UN staff report, with reference to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California.
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Human Rights Alert is dedicated to discovering, archiving, and disseminating evidence of Human Rights violations by the justice systems of the State of California and the United States in Los Angeles County, California, and beyond. Special emphasis is given to the unique role of computerized case management systems in the precipitous deterioration of integrity of the justice system in the United States.
http://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert
http://human-rights-alert.blogspot.com/
http://josephzernik.blog.co.uk/
http://menchenrechte-los-angeles.blogspot.com/
http://droitsdelhommealertelosangele.blogspot.com/
http://inproperinla.com/
http://pressroom.prlog.org/Human_Rights_Alert/
http://ireport.cnn.com/people/HumanRightsA?numResults=10&view=documents
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WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES?
* "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."
Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute
http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert
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WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?
* "Innocent people remain in prison"
* "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."
LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306/
* "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."
Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/
* "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."
Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/274339
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WHAT DID THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL STAFF REPORT SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA?
* "...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/
I get approximately 100 requests of this sort per week from various reasonable sounding causes. I'm just one human being and can't look into them all. I can say that I know the entire prison system in California to be deeply flawed and a moral outrage, and would support a bill to immediatley free all prisoners except those who are convicted of violent crimes--and to provide them with gainful employment so they don't end up in prison again. I can also say that I favor a total reconfiguration of the legal system along lines developed by the Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org, which would require in part a massive redistribution of wealth, but also a massive spiritual transformation of our values along lines I outline in The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Rigth.--Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine
ReplyDeleteI get approximately 100 requests of this sort per week from various reasonable sounding causes. I'm just one human being and can't look into them all. I can say that I know the entire prison system in California to be deeply flawed and a moral outrage, and would support a bill to immediatley free all prisoners except those who are convicted of violent crimes--and to provide them with gainful employment so they don't end up in prison again. I can also say that I favor a total reconfiguration of the legal system along lines developed by the Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org, which would require in part a massive redistribution of wealth, but also a massive spiritual transformation of our values along lines I outline in The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Rigth.--Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine
ReplyDeleteNovember 14, 2010
ReplyDeleteDear Rabbi Lerner:
Thanks for the comment, it was published and should be online by now.
JZ