10-11-17 A Question and Response by Rabbi Lerner in re: "Corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California and the Los Angeles Jewish Community // Una Pregunta y Respuesta re: "La corrupción de los tribunales y la profesión jurídica" en California y Los Angeles Comunidad Judía

 

Attorney Mitchell Kamin, Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice)

  

Jay Sanderson, CEO and executive producer of Jewish Television Network 
President, Los Angeles Jewish Federation
 

Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor - Tikkun Magazine (to heal, repair, and transform the world)

1) On  Wed, 17 Nov 2010 Joseph Zernik wrote:
To: Michael Lerner
From: joseph zernik
Subject: Ethics Question for TIKKUN's Rabbi Lerner

RE: Ethics Question for TIKKUN's Rabbi Lerner

Dear Rabbi Lerner:

I realize that you are busy repairing and transforming the world and fighting the religious right.

However, I was still hoping that you would find in your busy schedule time to answer a simple ethics question:

Should the Los Angeles Jewish Federation and Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice) respond, when asked whether they have in place grievance procedures for an individual who claims he was harmed through fraud by Bet Tzedek and its most senior officers, perpetrated on the grounds of Bet Tzedek?

Truly,

Joseph Zernik, PhD
Human Rights Alert (NGO)

2) On 11/17/2010, Rabbi Lerner wrote:

Yes,they should respond.
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun Magazine  www.tikkun.org
Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives  (www.spiritualprogressives.org)
Rabbi, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in S.F. and Berkeley (www.beyttikkun.org)
rabbilerner@tikkun.org 

Office: 510 644 1200 

10-11-17 Foreclosures USA - Robber Baron Revival Era - from the OAK Discussion Board // Era del Barones Ladrónes en EEUU

Comment by Joseph Zernik, Los Angeles, CA 1 hour ago

 

Foreclosures, USA

Hi Dr Jackson:

While legal theories are of interest, you seem to have missed the main point. The true facts in the matter are that most foreclosures in the USA in recent years were conducted through what is alleged as Fraud on the Courts - with no valid mortgage records ever produced by the banks, by collusion of the state court judges and large banks.

Moreover, such conduct was eventually brought recently to an end - not by the judges, but by large banks - first and foremost among them Bank of America, only after markets were glutted by foreclosed properties.

In short: It is Robber Baron Revival Era - collusion of judges and large corporations in the looting of the American people.

See detailed reports on the matter from mainstream media outlets:

[1] 10-10-08 a) AP - Bank of America Issues Nationwide Moratorium on Foreclosures, b) CNBC - Foreclosure Primer:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/40470701/

Comment by Dr. A. D. Jackson 3 hours ago

A lot has been written lately about foreclosures with images of banks pitching people into the street. Some mortgages were written with that in mind, and one thing taught in law schools is that equity abhors a forfeiture. On occasion we read about a court that actually follows that principle and either reforms or doesn't enforce the agreement to prevent that sort of thing.

For some reason, I thought back to a time before I entered the university. I heard of an immigrant with at most a grade school education who became a banker and headed a local S & L. The Depression came and instead of foreclosing and throwing people into the street- which caused many people to like John Dillinger- he collected rent at a lower rate until the economy improved and then let these debtors resume payments. Mortgagees stayed out of the street, and the S & L survived the Depression. There's a lesson in there somewhere, as "Colonel Chilla" was certainly no MBA.

Andrew 

10-11-16 Galdjie v Darwish: Judge John Segal, Attorneys David Pasternak and Richard Green - Corruption of the Los Angeles Courts and the Los Angeles Jewish Community // La corrupción de los tribunales de Los Angeles y la comunidad judía

 

Attorney Mitchell Kamin, Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice)

  

Jay Sanderson, CEO and executive producer of Jewish Television Network 
President, Los Angeles Jewish Federation

 

Judge John Segal                Attorney David Pasternak

Galdjie v Darwish: Judge John Segal, Attorneys David Pasternak and Richard Green - Corruption of the Los Angeles Courts and the Los Angeles Jewish Community

• Galdjie v Darwish is considered a prototype of real estate fraud by judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
• The three main perps are identified as Jewish: Judge John Segal, Attorney David Pasternak (Pasternak, Pasternak, Patton), Attorney Richard Green (Green and Marker)
• Other Jewish judges and attorneys were involved as well.
• David Pasternak is also former President of Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice) - a prominent Los Angeles Jewish charity, affiliated with the Los Angeles Jewish Federation.
• Both Bet Tzedek and the Los Angeles Jewish Federation refuse to assume accountability for conduct of Bet Tzedek and its senior officers.
• It was one of a series of cases, which were filed with US DOJ with a request for Equal Protection of the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County against racketeering by the judges of the Superior Court.
• US DOJ refuses to take action, even after Congressional Inquiries by Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Watson.
• The case was also part of the evidence submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, which led to the recent UN report referring to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California.
• The full complaint is also posted at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34504304/

Executive Summary

Los Angles, July 18  complaint was filed with US Attorney Office, Central District of California, by Human Rights Alert (NGO) and Joseph Zernik, PhD, against John Segal  Judge, John A Clarke  Clerk, Attorney David Pasternak  former President of the Los Angles County Bar Association, and others of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, alleging public corruption and deprivation of rights relative to their conduct in Galdjie v Darwish (SC052737).

The complaint named as co-conspirators all attorneys who appeared in the case, including, but not limited to Plaintiff's Counsel Richard Green and Defendant's Counsel Rhonda Walker.

The complaint alleged that the named accused conspired to conduct pretense litigation, to employ the Court's fraudulent case management system  Sustain - in generating fraudulent court records, and to take Defendant's property  a 6-unit rental property in Santa Monica - under the color of law. 

The complaint further alleged that the case of Galdjie v Darwish, in and of itself, held sufficient evidence for prosecution of judges, clerks, attorneys, and the Los Angeles Superior Court itself for conduct of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity.

The case proceeded from 1998 to 2006, by a group of judges, who presided with no Assignment Orders and with no authority at all, juggling the case back and forth among them. Judgments were falsely represented as entered, and a Receiver - David Pasternak - was falsely represented as appointed by the court. 

The minutes as registered in Sustain showed routine back-dating - at times by half a year or more, and also the "waiving" of notice and service and failure to have the minutes authenticated by the clerks. Therefore, all such records were alleged as void, not voidable.

The Register of Actions (California civil docket) in Sustain showed the listing of numerous dates for jury trial, repeatedly continued. However, Defendant declared that her counsel had informed her at the onset of the litigation that the case would be heard by an "Equity Court". Therefore, she had been told that she would not be eligible for a jury trial at all. The Register of Actions also provided evidence of routine false registrations of numerous actions in the case. 

On May 13, 2002 the Register of Actions again listed jury trial in the case. However, Defendant declared that upon arriving at the Santa Monica Courthouse of the Superior Court of California, she was instructed to proceed to the Culver City Municipal Court.

The Register of Actions noted that on the same afternoon a "Court Trial" was conducted by a judge who remained anonymous, listed in the Register only a "Muni-Judge". However, Defendant declared that it was Judge John Segal, who acted with no authority at all.

Attorney David Pasternak later acted as "Receiver" in the case. However, the hearing of a motion and the order for his appointment of receiver, were falsely registered. The Register of Actions also showed that no writ of execution was ever issued in the case.
Regardless, David Pasternak took Defendant's property, under the color of law, and conveyed it into possession of Plaintiff. However, no conveyance of title was ever found in searching the records of the Los Angeles County Registrar/ Recorder.

The Register of Actions further showed that all court fees in the case, without exception, were listed as "Journal Entry", whereas in other cases of the Court they were listed in the Registers as "Filing Fees", "Motion Fees", "Stipulation Fees", etc. Presiding Judge Charles McCoy and Clerk of the Court John A Clarke refused to disclose the ultimate designation of the funds collected in the case. It should be noted that accountancy textbooks consider misuse of "Journal Entry" registration as a cardinal sign of high-level financial management fraud.

Presiding Judge Charles McCoy and Clerk of the Court also denied access to the paper court file in the case and to various Sustain records  alleged in the complaint as violation of First Amendment Rights and an ongoing effort to cover-up alleged criminality by the Court.

The Clerk of the Court John Clarke also refused to certify the case as litigation conducted by the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. 

The case was claimed as holding unique public policy significance: It provided detailed evidence of the conduct of pretense litigations at the Los Angeles Superior Court and of real estate fraud by the Los Angeles Superior Court, which was alleged as central to propelling Los Angeles County to its distinction by the FBI as "the epicenter of the epidemic of real estate and mortgage fraud".

Moreover, the case provided detailed evidence of efforts by the Court to establish the law as permitting "oral modifications of real estate contracts"- which would no doubt increase the incidents of real estate fraud in Los Angeles County even further. 

The complaint further alleged that the case presented unique evidence of the tight linkage between corruption of the courts and corruption of the legal profession in Los Angeles County, California.

In addition, the case provided detailed evidence of the central role of the Court's case management system  Sustain - in conducting of pretense litigations, through fraudulent registrations of actions and minutes. Sustain was installed at the Los Angeles Superior Court circa 1985, at a time that today's California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George served in leadership positions at the Court.

The case also provided detailed evidence of the refusal so far of the US and the California government to address alleged racketeering by judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Complaints regarding fraud committed by the Superior Court in the case of Galdjie v Darwish and other similar cases, were previously filed with California Attorney General and gubernatorial aspirant Jerry Brown. Jerry Brown, who was recently quoted by media a "appalled by corruption", refused to initiate any corrective actions. FBI, likewise, has so far refused to investigate such allegations.

Conduct of the Los Angeles Superior Court and the Los Angeles Justice system were described already in 2001 by Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Founding Dean of the University of California Irvine Law School, as "conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states", and the Blue Ribbon Review Panel recommended already in 2006 external investigation of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Regardless, the April 2010 report, filed by Human Rights Alert with the United Nations, documented ongoing refusal of senior officers of the US Department of Justice to enforce the law in Los Angles County, California, and to accord equal protection to its 10 million residents.

The complaint was copied to the United Nations and the US State Department, as part of the first ever, 2010 review by the United Nation of Human rights in the United States. Responses by the US State Department to the United Nations are due by August 2010, and the United Nations review session and report are scheduled for November 2010. 

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. 

10-11-15 Calendars and Clerks of the US Courts – Additional Evidence of Fraud on the Courts in Litigations Involving Bank of America and Government Officers // Fraude por los jueces en litigios participación de Bank of America

 

Brian Moynihan_ _  _ __ _ _ _ _ Ben Bernanke
 
_ Judge Jed Rakoff _ _Judge Virginia Phillips

 

Henry Paulson _ _ _Ken Lewis

Los Angeles, November 15 – Joseph Zernik, PhD, and Human Rights Alert (NGO) submitted a report for international peer-review, providing additional evidence of Fraud on the Courts in litigations at the US courts, involving Bank of America Corporation and/or government officers:
1) SEC v Bank of America Corporation (1:09-cv-06829) – conducted by Judge JED RAKOFF at the US District Courts, Southern District of New York – complaint under cause of action of Securities Fraud;
2) Fine v Sheriff (2:09-cv-01914) – conducted by Judge JOHN WALTER and Magistrate CARLA WOEHRLE, at the US District Court, Central District of California - Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and
3) Zernik v Connor et al (2:08-cv-01550) – conducted by Judge VIRGINIA PHILLIPS and Magistrate CARLA WOEHRLE, at the US District Court, Central District of California – Complaint under cause of action of Deprivation of Rights under the Color of Law.
All three cases originated from matters involving alleged criminality by government officers: In the former case – Chair of the Federal Reserve BEN BERNANKE and former Treasury Secretary HENRY PAULSON, and in the latter two cases – alleged racketeering by judges of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. In addition, the first and third cases involved alleged criminality by the most senior officers of Bank of America Corporation – former President KEN LEWIS and current President BRIAN MOYNIHAN.
The report centered on public access and validity, or lack thereof, of Calendars of the US courts and the critical role of the Clerks of the courts in ensuring the integrity of the Calendars and other court records – to prevent the conduct of pretense proceedings and pretense litigations by judges of the US courts.
The survey encompassed 22 of the 95 US district courts, showing that only 14 of the 22 district court provided any public access to Calendars of the Courts. Some of the district courts, where access to the Calendars was entirely denied were the Central District of California (California Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts permitted limited access), Delaware, and Georgia Middle and Northern Districts. Even in courts, where access to Calendars was provided, such access was limited, and the Calendars lacked in validity. The US District Court, District of Columbia, was found unique in the extent of access permitted to its Calendars. In none of the three cases, listed above, was any access to Calendars permitted by the courts.
In contrast, Calendars of the Courts are considered part of the fundamental Books of Courts, and public records that are essential for allowing the public to “keep a watchful eye on government” (Nixon v Warner Communications, Inc, 1978). The report concluded that compliance of the US district courts with the First Amendment right of the public to access court records to inspect and to copy was arbitrary and capricious.
The report further reviewed the duties and responsibilities of the Clerks of the US courts, who are bound by Oath of Office, in the safeguard of integrity of the courts, comparing conditions that prevail today to the rampant corruption that prevailed in the US courts a century ago, during the Robber Baron Era. Reform of the US courts in the late 19th and early 20th century spanned decades, and key to it was the Salary Act of 1919 (Statutes at Large 40, 1919: 1182), which placed the Clerks of the US courts under the authority of the US Attorney General. The paper opined that transfer of the authority over the Clerks to the US judiciary in the mid 20th century was a central event in undermining the integrity of the US courts, and that implementation of PACER and CM/ECF by the Administrative Office of the US Courts, completed only in recent years, entirely undermined the autonomy of the Clerks in maintenance of valid and honest court records.
The report noted that in the three cases, which were the focus of the review, there was not a single valid court record, duly attested/authenticated by a Clerk, who was identified by name and authority, and bearing his/her graphic or digital signature.
Accordingly, the report called upon US Congress to initiate reform of the US courts, centering on enactment of federal rules of PACER and CM/ECF, and again placing the Clerks of the US courts under the authority of the US Attorney General. The report also opined that until reform of the US courts was accomplished, it was unlikely that the US would be able to establish effective banking regulation and stabilize its financial markets.
Previous report, published in an international computer science journal with Editorial Board listing scholars from six European nations and Canada, opined large-scale computer fraud in PACER and CM/ECF. [1]
LINKS:
[1] Zernik, J: Data Mining of Online Judicial Records of the Networked US Federal Courts, International Journal on Social Media: Monitoring, Measurement, Mining 1:69-83 (2010)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38328585/

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://inproperinla.com/ http://pressroom.prlog.org/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://ireport.cnn.com/people/HumanRightsA?numResults=10&view=documents

10-11-15 The Death Penalty and Corruption of the Courts - Discussion in the Lawsters Group // La pena de muerte y la corrupción de los tribunales de Los Ángeles

 

 

Judge Jacqueline Connor _  Former LAPD Rafael Perez
The Two Central Figures of the Rampart scandal (1998-2000)

1) Mon, 15 Nov 2010, Joseph Zernik wrote:

Subject: Re: Los Angeles Superior Court's Judges Slush Funds - and the Death Penalty.

Bob:
When it is fully documented for over a decade that a judge is corrupt, and yet, she is permitted to continue to sentence persons to the death penalty, that is no "mistake" any longer.  I am no attorney, but you put the right legal lingo on such conduct, not by the judge - but by all of us who permit it to go on...
JZ

2) On  Mon, 15 Nov 2010, Bob wrote:

Joseph:

Try another perspective.  Look at the process of death sentences as the pulling of a trigger in a war.  Mistakes unfortunately cause some of the munitions to kill our own troops with  "friendly fire."  Other mistakes cause "collateral damage" to cause civilians to lose their lives.  And the "fog of war" takes a similar toll.  It seems unavoidable because it has continued to happen for centuries.

Criminal Courts constitute an instrument of war of the people of a state or nation against those who would harm others or put them at serious risk of harm.  SOME collateral damage will happen, for a variety of reasons.  That does not mean we should stop the prosecutions or ameliorate the sentences.

Seems to me the time has come to excise the crooked public employees who wantonly, whimsically, or negligently cause the collateral damage.   Maybe you could start a volunteer roster.

BH

3) On Mon, 2010-11-15, joseph zernik wrote:

Hi again Bob:

Let me combine the answer to your last comments into one.  According to media reports, Judge JACQUELINE CONNOR, who is a central figure in the LA-JR (alleged Los Angeles Judiciary Racket), and was a central figure in the Rampart scandal, which created some 10,000-30,000 Rampart FIPs (Falsely Imprisoned Persons), which the US DOJ refuses to take action to release, even a decade later, sentenced an unknown number of Criminal Defendants to death.

Does that change in any way your philosophical perspective?

JZ

4) 11/15/2010, Joseph wrote:

The solution, which I advocate is to go back to the Salary Act of 1919, and place the Clerks of the US courts under the sole authority of the US Attorney General.  That was a hundred years ago the only measure, which seemed to do the job.
jz

5) 11/15/2010, Bob wrote: 

So, does that mean the time has come to "lock and load?"

BH

6) On Mon, 2010-11-15  joseph zernik wrote:
Hi Bob:

There is no way to address the matter.

Already in 2008, I have noted the secret corporations held by the Los Angeles Superior Court's judges, and inexplicable fund movements in and out of them as part of the evidence in request for Equal Protection of the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County against racketeering by judges. 

FBI and US DOJ refused to respond. 

In response to Congressional Inquiries by Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Watson on my behalf, FBI Assistant Director KENNETH KAISER, and US DOJ Director  KENNETH MELSON provided US Congress with responses that were alleged as Fraud.

Complaints filed with GLENN FINE, US DOJ Inspector General, regarding Fraud by US DOJ on US Congress were left unanswered, even after repeat Congressional Inquiries by Senator Feinstein.

You should be reminded that already two years ago, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy called for Truth and Reconciliation Commission regarding conduct of US DOJ.

The above is also the outline of the evidence that was provided to the United Nations Human Rights Council, and which led to the statement "Discrimination by law enforcement in California".  Discrimination against a region of the country by the government is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in and of itself.

JZ

7) At 08:27 AM 11/15/2010, Bob wrote:

Does anyone have in mind a decent method of eliminating the Judge Slush funds depicted here?
Judges SLUSH Funds 1
Judges SLUSH Funds 2

8) On AM 11/15/2010, Bob wrote:

Yes, I do "maintain that philosophical position [that the death penalty has validity], also taking into account the rampant corruption of the courts in the US". 

As you have demonstrated in your research reports about the NEF,  the courts and their judges and administrators  fall short of perfection.  I suspect they always will.  Should we then say "Well, Hell, let's not have judges or courts at all, then?"

I feel pretty philosophic about life.

I figure we (if we wish) live for a while, die, wake up somewhere else, receive a new body, and fuse with a spirit fragment of our Heavenly Father.  It seems sensible that we then continue our spiritual growth beyond we no longer need a body, and perhaps beyond when we become able to transcend time and space limitations.  It seems likely that we ultimately do so well at all this that we become indistinguishable from the Father himself.

By contrast with scope of the grand adventure into eternity, we spend a minuscule portion of the adventure on this planet, and the consequences we suffer here pale into insignificance. We nitpick over way too many irrelevant worries while we ignore matters of monumental import, or as the Master expressed it, "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel."  Thus, the nature of the consequences does not matter much in the great scheme of things.  We should focus on perfecting our personal  ways of living so as to develop majestic and well-balanced personalities in pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.  I notice you seem interested in that ambition as you strive to identify the flaws in and improve the court system.

Meanwhile, regardless of the imperfections of our system, we ought to let consequences of behavior rain upon the unjust as well as the just, perfecting that process as we go.  We shall certainly witness a similar process in Heaven.  We do recall the story of the fall of the spiritual beings Lucifer, Satan, Caligastia, Daligastia, Beelzebub, and the aliens and one-time spiritual beings Adam, and Eve, right?

We should remember two features of consequences:

1.   The consequences of misbehavior have a justice opportunity that truly gratifies members of society, and perhaps God himself;
2.   The possibility of uncomfortable consequences (the "stick") balances the possibility of comfortable consequences (the "carrot").

 Together, these inspire and motivate good behavior, however imperfectly.

Bob Hurt

9) On Sun, 2010-11-14 joseph zernik wrote:

Do you maintain that philosophical position, also taking into account the rampant corruption of the courts in the US?

10) On 11/14/2010, Bob wrote:

I believe the death penalty has merit and no international organization
should impose its will upon the USA regarding the death penalty.

Human rights come with human responsibilities, and a human in a society
must behave according to minimum standards established by law.

Unless the law violates the Constitution, society has at all times the
moral right and obligation to excise violent criminals from the
population without the obligation to feed, clothe, and house the
criminal.

If the criminal becomes too burdensome to incarcerate (such as because
of hostility, destructiveness, uncooperativeness), then the society
ought to have the right to excise the human from the planet.

This right corresponds with a person's right to use lethal force to
protect life liberty and property UNLESS the reason for the threat to
LLP lies in that person's unlawful behavior.

Philosophically, I agree with the death penalty as a means of excising
horrible people from society and from the planet.

You see, in a civilized society, people have the right to remain free of
both the harm by criminals and the need to support criminals so as to
remain free of harm.

Bob Hurt

10-11-15 Further Discussion of Ethics Questions with Rabbi Lerner, re: Vast over-representation of individuals and an organization, identified as Jewish, in "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" // La comunidad judía y "La corrupción de los tribunales y los abogados" en California

 

Attorney Mitchell Kamin, Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice)

  

Jay Sanderson, CEO and executive producer of Jewish Television Network 
President, Los Angeles Jewish Federaion


1) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:11:24 Joseph Zernik wrote:

To: Michael Lerner
From: joseph zernik
Subject: Ethics questions to Rabbi Michael Lerner: re: The Los Angeles Jewish/Legal  Community vast over-representation in "corruption of the courts and the legal profession".

Dear Rabbi Lerner:

Thank you again for your expedient response.

As I stated, Attorney Mitch Kamin, senior officer of Bet Tzedek (The House of Justice), refused for the past 3 years to respond in any way shape or form  on repeated request for information:

Does Bet Tzedek have in place grievance procedures for persons who may claim that they were harmed by Bet Tzedek, The House of Justice, and its senior officers?

Therefore, there is no way that I could inform you of Attorney Kamin's perspective on this simple question.

However, you can pick up the phone and ask him directly, or the Los Angeles Jewish Federation, with whom Bet Tzedek is affiliated, to get their clear and unbiased perspective on this simple question.

Joseph Zernik

 

Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor - Tikkun Magazine (to heal, repair, and transform the world)


2) At 08:09 AM 11/15/2010, Rabbi Michael Lerner wrote:

Could you please send me their perspective so that I'd know what they are saying about all this? I dont know you and I don't know them and I don't have the time to find the facgts, but I do agree that there should be some grievance procedure for individuals who calim that they were harmed by Bet Tzedek and I think that they should be public knowledge if this institution represents itself as open to and serving the public as a Jewish institution.

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun Magazine  www.tikkun.org
Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives  (www.spiritualprogressives.org)
Rabbi, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in S.F. and Berkeley (www.beyttikkun.org)
rabbilerner@tikkun.org
Office: 510 644 1200

3) Ethics questions to Rabbi Michael Lerner: The Los Angeles Jewish/Legal  Community vast over-representation in “corruption of the courts and the legal pro fession” .    

Rabbi Michael Lerner - Tikkun Magazine (to heal, repair, and transform the world)

Dear Rabbi Lerner:

Thank you for your expedient response.  Realizing that you are busy, let me try to boil the matter into two ethics questions, which do not require any determination of facts:

1) Should a Jewish organization, such as Bet Tzedek ("The House of Justice"), operating under the motto "Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof" (Justice, Justice you shall pursue) have in place equitable grievance procedures for individuals, who claim that they were harmed by Bet Tzedek and its most senior officers, after they responded to public solicitations by Bet Tzedek and its most senior officers, and came to Bet Tzedek for help?

2) Should Bet Tzedek's senior officers, such as Attorney Mitch Kamin, respond, after being repeatedly asked, whether Bet Tzedek has in place grievance procedures such as described above?

Joseph Zernik

4) [IN PRO PER  IN LA] New comment on 10-11-14, by Rabbi Michael Lerner, RE: Rabbi Michael Lerner is asked to call for....

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 

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
_____________________________
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
_____________________________
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
_____________________________
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/