A couple of years ago, attempt was made to contribute some Human Rights data to Wikipedia. Two items were briefly noted at the end of a lengthy, self-congratulatory report on "Human Rights in the United States":
1) The ongoing false imprisonment of thousands of Rampart-FIPs (Falsely Imprisoned Persons) in Los Angeles County, California, and
2) The abandonment of prisoners in Louisiana jail to drown during Hurricane Katrina.
Both items were documented through official reports (the former - LAPD Blue Ribbon report and the latter - United Nations Human Rights Council report).
Both items were repeatedly deleted. It became apparent that no data of this sort were admissible in Wikipedia.
Later, a concise article was written regarding the Richard Fine affair. It was repeatedly deleted for "lack of notability". At the same time, minor shopping malls in California deserved their entries in Wikipedia.
It should be noted that regardless of the egalitarian image that Wikipedia tries to cultivate, the site is carefully edited by persons operating from government and corporate sites, as documented in a study based on IP addresses, published by CalTech.
[3]
In recent weeks, attempt was made to contribute some Human Rights data to Judgepedia. Initially, a short report, meticulously referenced with official, expert, and media reports, was added under "Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California" [1,2]
Within days the entire article was deleted with the note: (Deleted unsupported section)
Based on chat with the editor, it became apparent that objection was to the fact that the reports were linked as PDFs, which were archived in Scribd site of Human Rights Alert.
Today, a more modest attempt was made to provide some basic facts, with links to sites other than Human Rights Alert. Copied below is the new concise section, as it appears today.
One must wonder how long it will last, and what reason would be provided for the deletion this time around.
In contrast, one should note the openness in China and Europe regarding judicial corruption. [4][5]
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LINKS:
[1] Judgepedia site: "Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California" as it may appear in any given time:
[2] The deleted November 2010 Judgepedia article: "Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California":
[3] 07-08-14 Wired "See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, The CIA, A Campaign"
[4] 09-05-01 Fighting Judicial Corruption Tops Agenda- China Daily
[5] Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46157398/
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Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California
Excerpt from Judgepedia, January 26, 2011
Reports on the Rampart Scandal
- In 2000-2001 the reputed PBS Frontline series "LAPD Blues" quoted estimates from official reports of wrongful convictions related to the Rampart scandal at 8,000-16,000. [2]
- In 2001, in the wake of the Rampart corruption scandal (1998-2000), renowned constitutional scholar, Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California Irvine Law School published his independent report regarding the justice system of Los Angeles County, California. Regarding the ongoing large-scale false imprisonments that was uncovered in Los Angeles County, California, Prof Chemerinsky opines:
"This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted." [3].
- In 2001 Prof David Burcham, then Dean, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles opined regarding the Rampart Scandal false imprisonments:
"...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit." [4].
- In 2006 the official LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel report "Rampart Reconsidered" concluded:
"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..." [5]
- In 2010 upon review of the reports of the Rampart Scandal and failure of the US Department of Justice to release the Rampart FIPs (Falsely Imprisoned Persons), the United Nations Human Rights Council Staff Report, issued as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States concluded:
"...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California." [6]
[edit]Reports of financial mismanagement and allegations of bribes
- In 1999 the Washington DC based "Insight Magazine" published reports of "slush funds" and secret corporations held by the judges of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County,California, under the title: "Is justice for sale in LA?" [7]
- In 2009-10 allegations of widespread corruption and bribing in the Los Angeles Superior Court were again raised, by former US prosecutor Richard Fine. [8] [9]
[edit]Solitary confinement of former US prosecutor Richard Fine
- Following his exposure, protest, and rebuke of the "bribes" taken by Los Angeles Superior Court judges, Richard Fine was held in solitary confinement for 18 months (March 2009 - September 2010). [10]
- Confinement of Richard Fine was seen as retaliation by the Court, and led to protests. [11]
[edit]Pardoning of judges
- In February 2009 then Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SBX211 into law as part of an emergency budget bill, according all judges, who took "not permitted" payments "retroactive immunities". [12]
- The SBX211 itself was protested as deception. [13]
In assessing conditions of the justice system in Los Angeles County, California, one should also consider comments made in July 2010 by Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School, in his capacity as Senior Counsel, Access to Justice Initiative, US Department of Justice, before the annual conference of the chief justices of the several states. The speech was reported by the National Defender Leadership Institute as follows: "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." [14]
References
- ↑ California Trial Courts Roster
- ↑ PBS Frontline,LAPD Blues series "The Outcomes of the Rampart Scandal Investigations" updated, 2008
- ↑ Chemerinsky,E "The Rampart Scandal and the Criminal Justice System of Los Angeles County", Guild Practitioner 57: 121, 2001
- ↑ Burcham,DW and Fisk CL "The Rampart Scandal - Policing the Criminal Justice System", Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 34: 537, 2001
- ↑ LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel"Rampart Reconsidered"June, 2006
- ↑ United Nations Human Rights Council "Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:United States of America" November, 2010
- ↑ Kelly Patricia O'Meara, CBS Interactive Business Network,"Is Justice for Sale in L.A.?" May 3, 1999
- ↑ Leslie Dutton, Full Disclosure Network, Excerpts from transcript of video interview "Attorney Richard I. Fine Speaks Out on Judges, Corruption, Circumstances" March 3, 2009
- ↑ Kelly Troy Anderson, Daily News, Los Angeles "Richard Fine looks to next step in judicial crusade" September 26, 2010
- ↑ Abbie Boudreau, CNN Special Investigative Unie,"Lindsay Lohan's soon-to-be fellow jail inmate" July 7, 2010
- ↑ AngieMedia,"LA Protest to Free Political Prisoner Richard Fine" April 20, 2010
- ↑ [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx2_11_bill_20090220_chaptered.pdf California Senate,"An act to add Sections 68220, 68221, and 68222 to the Government Code, relating to judges" February 20, 2009]
- ↑ Richard Fine, Full Disclosure Network,"The Deception of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George" September 14, 2009
- ↑ NALDA "U.S. Department of Justice challenges state Chief Justices to fix access to justice systemic deficiencies" July 26, 2010