Thursday, May 31, 2012

Adult and youth literacy in 2010

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) released new literacy data in April 2012, with updated estimates of adult and youth literacy. In 2010, the latest year with data, 84% of the global population 15 years and older were estimated to be able to read and write (see Table 1). At the regional level, literacy rates are highest in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In these regions at least 9 out of 10 adults are literate. Literacy rates can be assumed to be as high in North America and Western Europe but not enough countries in that region collect literacy data to allow the calculation of a regional average. By contrast, adult literacy rates are significantly lower in the Arab States (75%), and in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (63% in both regions). Women are considerably less likely to be literate than men in the Arab States, East Asia and the Pacific, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, the female adult literacy rate was estimated to be 80% in 2010, compared to a literacy rate of 89% for men. As a consequence, nearly two thirds (497 million) of the adult illiterate population in 2010 (775 million) were women.

Table 1: Adult and youth literacy rate, 2010
Region Adult literacy rate (%) Youth literacy rate (%)
Total Male Female Total Male Female
Arab States 74.7 83.3 65.7 89.1 92.4 85.6
Central Asia 99.5 99.6 99.4 99.7 99.6 99.8
Central and Eastern Europe 97.9 99.0 97.0 99.1 99.3 98.9
East Asia and the Pacific 94.2 96.7 91.6 98.8 98.9 98.7
Latin America and the Caribbean 91.4 92.1 90.7 97.2 97.0 97.4
North America and Western Europe - - - - - -
South and West Asia 62.7 74.0 51.8 80.5 86.6 74.7
Sub-Saharan Africa 62.6 71.0 54.2 71.8 76.4 66.8
World 84.1 88.6 79.7 89.6 92.2 87.1
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, April 2012

The disparities between regions with high and low literacy rates are readily apparent from the map in Figure 1, which displays the average literacy rate in the seven Education for All (EFA) regions with data listed in Table 1. For a description of the regional groupings, please refer to a past article about the EFA regions on this website.

Figure 1: Regional adult literacy rate, 2010

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, April 2012. - Click image to enlarge.

Youth literacy rates, for the population 15 to 24 years of age, are higher than adult literacy rates in all regions as a result of improved access to education among younger generations. Globally, 90% of all youth are able to read and write. Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean have reached or are approaching universal literacy among their young population. The same can be assumed for North America and Western Europe, but no regional average is available from the UIS (see Table 1 and Figure 2). The disparity in literacy rates between men and women is generally smaller among the population 15 to 24 years than among the population 15 years and older. Yet, in the Arab States, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, young women remain less likely to be able to read and write than young men. The global youth literacy rate in 2010 was 92% for men and 87% for women.

Figure 2: Regional youth literacy rate, 2010

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, April 2012. - Click image to enlarge.

The regional averages can conceal large differences between countries within a region. This is particularly true for the adult literacy rate in the Arab States, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa (see Figure 3). In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the adult literacy rate is below 30% in Burkina Faso and Niger - the countries with the least literate population worldwide - and above 90% in Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe.

Figure 3: Adult literacy rate, 2010

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, April 2012. - Click image to enlarge.

Disparities between countries within a region can also be observed for the youth literacy rate, but to a lesser degree than for the adult literacy rate (see Figure 4). Similar to the adult literacy rate, the greatest disparities exist in sub-Saharan Africa, where youth literacy rates range from 37% in Niger to 99% in the Seychelles and Zimbabwe.

Figure 4: Youth literacy rate, 2010

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, April 2012. - Click image to enlarge.

To make it easier to explore its literacy data, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics has created an interactive visualization that combines a map showing adult and youth literacy rates, a graph with literacy rates by sex, and a scatter plot with the correlation between GDP per capita and literacy. A screenshot of the visualization is shown in Figure 5. The full visualization is available on the website of the UIS. Literacy data are also contained in the recently published World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education by UNESCO.

Figure 5: UIS data visualization with adult and youth literacy rate, 2010

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, May 2012. - Click image to enlarge.

Related articles
External links
Friedrich Huebler, 31 May 2012 (edited 1 June 2012), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2012/05/literacy.html

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Seniors turned their backs on speaker, Sweetwater trustee Jim Cartmill

Mar Vista grads protest at ceremony
Seniors turned their backs on speaker, Sweetwater trustee Jim Cartmill
Caroline Dipping
UTSD
May 30, 2012

Protesting teacher layoffs, dozens of Mar Vista High School seniors turned their backs on the keynote speaker at their graduation ceremony Tuesday on the Imperial Beach campus.

Shortly after Sweetwater Union High School District board member Jim Cartmill began his remarks at the podium, the capped and gowned students stood and turned their backs to him. They held their stance for about 20 seconds before taking their seats at the request of Mar Vista Principal Wes Braddock.

The commencement exercise continued without interruption. Braddock said the fact the seniors resumed their seats within seconds indicated “they are respectful in their hearts,” but he was still disappointed by the demonstration...

A member of Occupy Sweetwater, a community activist group leading an effort to recall trustees Arlie Ricasa, John McCann and Cartmill, said the group was not involved in prompting or planning the students’ actions. The group has collected more than 500 of the 18,000 signatures needed by Aug. 27 to recall the board members in light of a district attorney’s investigation into construction contracting procedures.

“We’re just very proud that students took such a risk and stood up for themselves and their classmates,” said Lauren McLennan, an Occupy Sweetwater member. “Some adults are already trying to blame us, but it was the students’ decision and they organized it themselves.

Hours after his graduation ceremony, Mar Vista High senior Josh Cade posted on Occupy Sweetwater’s Facebook page.

“We took a stand against their corruption and we recommend other graduating students mimic our actions to show the school board that they can’t continue this outrageous mishandling of their budget,” Cade wrote. “They are ruining lives of our cherished teachers, mentors, and friends; students, we need to show our disapproval.”...

Is there really a mystery in Rani Goyal's resignation from Helix High? She “worked with the teachers to help them better their own practices”

I'm not sure what happened at Helix, but I know what's happened at three of the four schools where I taught. Here's what I've seen time and again:

A principal comes in with plans to improve teacher performance. At first you just hear griping, and there's no problem if the principal just picks on teachers who aren't part of the ruling teacher clique.

Heaven help the principal who dares to ask for change from politically powerful teachers. That's when the secret teacher meetings and the petitions start. Pretty soon you have a school where teachers refuse to behave professionally. It rarely gets as bad as Castle Park Elementary, which had eleven principals in eleven years, but it's a remarkably common scenario. The fact is, even if the principal is excellent, he or she has to go, because the teachers simply refuse to function properly as long as the principal is there.


Helix Mystery: Head of Charter High School Quits After Less Than 2 Years
Rani Goyal resigns as executive director despite legacy of accomplishments at La Mesa school.
By Ken Stone
La Mesa-Mount Helix Patch
May 30, 2012

A dozen days before graduation and less than two years after taking the school’s top job, Rani Goyal resigned Friday as executive director of Helix Charter High School.

No explanaton was given publicly.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, we are limited by confidentiality laws that affect our ability to comment on personnel issues,” Helix spokeswoman Jennifer Osborn said late Tuesday night in reply to a Patch query.

“I know you understand that it is not an unwillingness to answer questions, but an inability to do so.”

Osborn shared a memo dated May 25 from the Helix Charter school board to “Helix Community Stakeholders” with the subject line “Change in Executive Director Position.”

The note said:

This letter is to notify the Helix community that, effective today, Executive Director Rani Goyal has resigned from employment. We wish her the best in the future and want to thank her for all her efforts and contributions to the School and the community.

With the goal of identifying and securing a future leader for HCHS who will carry on Helix’s legacy of educational innovation and excellence, the Charter Board will immediately begin seeking an extremely qualified pool of candidates from which to select its future Executive Director.

Please be assured that it is the Charter Board’s goal to ensure that our students and families experience little to no disruption of the day-to-day routine of the school.

All end-of-the-year activities will proceed as usual, and Helix staff members will assume various roles to make sure this happens. Further information concerning contact information for high level operations decisions will be forthcoming.

Thank you for your continued support of our School.


Goyal resigned just days before senior boards—portfolio presentations and interviews with community members—that began Tuesday and senior awards on Thursday.

Graduation is June 6.

Goyal was hired in the summer of 2010 in the wake of a battle with the Grossmont Union High School District over its charter status after a series of teacher-student sex incidents.

She succeeded Doug Smith, who resigned after 21 years as part of a settlement between the school district and Helix Charter High.

“We need to start focusing on the positive,” Goyal told Patch in an October 2010 interview. “Let’s focus on the present and the future and where we’re going.”

Brian Kick, chater board president at the time, called Goyal a perfect fit for Helix because of her past experiences as an instructional leader.

Goyal took over the top Helix job in early September 2010 after serving as principal for three years at Temecula Valley High School in Riverside County.

“I worked with the teachers to help them better their own practices,” she said at the time—having started a schoolwide intervention program, curriculum teams and increased training for teachers.

At Helix,” she said two years ago, “the board wants me to lead the school in a direction that promotes student achievement.”

Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz partner James F. Holtz selected Super Lawyer; Holtz is now the firm's lead attorney in defamation case against this blogger

James Holtz has become the lead lawyer in Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz' defamation lawsuit against this blogger. However, Mr. Holtz let his partner Jack Sleeth handle the firm's losing attempt to convince the California Court of Appeal that this blogger should be enjoined from mentioning--either in print or orally--the name of Mr. Holtz or any other lawyer in the firm.

Partner James F. Holtz Selected Super Lawyer & Top Rated Lawyer
MARKETWIRE via COMTEX
May 29, 2012

The law firm of Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz APC is proud to announce that founding partner James F. Holtz has been honored with selection to both the 2012 San Diego Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters, as well as the 2012 Top Rated Lawyers published by The American Lawyer Magazine. Both selections are for "Business Litigation."

Mr. Holtz has been selected to Super Lawyers every year since 2008 when Super Lawyers first expanded their rating service nationwide. Super Lawyers lists outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The magazine names exceptional attorneys annually in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The San Diego Super Lawyers list will be published in June and will also be featured in the New York Times, San Diego edition.

Top Rated Lawyers is published by The American Lawyer and developed in partnership with Martindale Hubbell. It is based on Martindale's AV Preeminent ratings, the highest possible review rating in "Legal Ability and Ethical Standards." Mr. Holtz has been AV Preeminent rated for the last 16 years (1996-2012).

Mr. Holtz represents clients in both California and Nevada and has focused on trial and appellate work in complex business and corporate litigation since the firm began in 1982. He is a frequent lecturer before legal and insurance organizations, as well as an Adjunct Professor at California Western School of Law.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Arizona girl, 8, humiliated with "catastrophe" award

UPDATE: I watched this video of a report on this story and was delighted to get a look at the girl's actual homework. Some of the assigned work looked like excellent reinforcement, assuming it was actually at the girl's independent reading level. But then I spied the spelling work. Experts long ago found that copying spelling words more than three times is completely useless, in addition to being mind-numbingly boring. I could see that the words were repeated well over three times each. It is busy work, pure and simple. Shame on the teacher.

Experts say that children should be given no more than ten minutes homework for each year they have been in school. I wonder if this girl's teacher followed best practices in assigning homework. Did she give more than half an hour's homework to this eight year old? Yes, I know that parents often want more homework for their kids. They think it will make them better students. Instead, the parents should be reading to their kids, discussing what they've read, discussing everyday math, and exchanging ideas and opinions with their kids. A lot of parents do this, and their children do better in school.
Also, I'd really love to know what the assignment was. Many teachers give work that they didn't have time to cover in class, so they expect parents to teach it. This girl's parents may not have been able to give her the needed help.

Many teachers think respect is a one-way street, something kids owe to them, but they don't owe to kids. One teacher at my school contemptuously referred to kids without homework as "losers".


Arizona girl, 8, humiliated with "catastrophe" award
Teacher pointed her out for not having homework
BY NANCY DILLON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
May 28, 2012

An Arizona teacher gave her 8-year-old student a "catastrophe" award for not having her homework.

The dog ate her homework, so third-grader Cassandra Garcia got a serving of humiliation that some are finding hard to swallow.

The 8-year-old was called in front of her laughing classmates recently to receive a “catastrophe” award for “most excuses for not having homework” at her Tucson elementary school, KGUN9 News reported.

The colorful certificate included a giant cartoon ice crream cone, her teacher’s signature and a smiley face in black marker.

“It’s cruel, and no child should be given an award like this,” the girl’s mom, Christina Valdez, told KGUN. “It’s disturbing.”

She said her daughter was crushed by the hazing, so she complained to the principal at Desert Springs Academy.

“She blew me off. She said it was a joke that was played and that the teachers joke around with the children,” Valdez said.

Sheri Bauman, a psychologist at the University of Arizona College of Education, agreed.

“That isn’t an award,” Bauman told KGUN. “It doesn’t fit the criteria."

Being humiliated after making mistakes is counterproductive to learning, she said.

Administrators prevail over teachers and students who follow them to lunchtime trysts

This case interested me because it is somewhat similar to what happened at Castle Park Elementary, except that it was not students, but teachers, who followed a district administrator to a lunchtime tryst in the California case. Castle Park Elementary had a very disturbed culture among the teachers, who wanted to retaliate after several teachers had been transferred out of the school.

The teachers didn't seem to appreciate that the district was in the middle of a court case in which it paid $100,000s to lawyers to defend these very teachers for illegal actions. The teachers styled themselves as "The Castle Park Family", and they were furious.

They caused a big public brouhaha, but the lunchtime stalking incident did not reach the newspapers. The board and the district administrators should have disciplined the teachers at the beginning instead of paying $100,000s of tax dollars to conceal their illegal actions. They became drunk with power, and could not be controlled by any principal. The school had eleven principals in eleven years. Also, one of their leaders, Peg Myers, became the President of Chula Vista Educators, and retains that position today. During the strife at Castle Park Elementary, Peg Myers worked closely with CTA director Jim Groth.


Court Decisions Favor Schools
BY ANDREA BELL
nassp.org
National Association of Secondary School Principals
Nov. 2000

Principal Prevails

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas found in favor of a school principal on legal issues related to the intended use of dubious photographs that could have potentially compromised the principal’s integrity.

In Riggan v. Midland Indep. Sch. Dist. (86 F. Supp. 2d 647 [W.D. Tex. 2000]), Casey Riggan, a senior at Midland (Tex.) Senior High School, along with several o f hi s f r i ends, followed the school’s principal to the house of a teacher and photographed the principal’s car in front of the house. Not long after, administrators investigating rumors of the principal’s sexual impropriety learned that Riggan had photos that might be linked to their investigation. The principal himself also learned of the photos and contacted Riggan’s father for a conference.

Although the parties disputed exactly what was said at that meeting, the principal alleged that Riggan intended to print the photograph on a T-shirt with the statement “I never had sex with that woman” for graduates to wear during graduation to publicly humiliate him.

Additionally, the principal charged that Riggan’s photos were taken in retaliation for prior disciplinary actions and attempted to punish Riggan by suspending him and temporarily assigning him to the Alternative Education Program and requiring him to write apologies or be banned from graduation. Riggan claimed that the photos were absolutely protected under the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression and that, as a result, the school could not regulate the photos or their use. The court held that although the photo-bearing T-shirt would be considered an expressive activity, regulation of the photographs in this case would not violate the First Amendment because Riggan did not have the absolute right to publicly humiliate the principal at graduation. Additionally, the court explained that if the p h o t o h a d b e e n p r i n t e d o n t h e Tshirts for graduation, the resulting disruption would have justified Riggan’s punishment by the school.

Top Labor Leader Lorena Gonzalez Hints at Teacher Givebacks

Be sure to click on the following link to get the original story with lots of links to other stories:

Morning Report: Top Labor Leader Hints at Teacher Givebacks
By Randy Dotinga
Voice of San Diego
May 25, 2012

In almost as many words, the top labor leader in the region yesterday told the San Diego teachers union to get off the dime. Lorena Gonzalez's message: It's time for movement already.

What kind of movement? Forgoing pay raises instead of allowing one of every five teachers to be laid off? Well, Gonzalez, the most powerful labor leader in San Diego, didn't quite go that far. But she got close.

"It doesn't make any sense to play a game of chicken, it's not going to work on either side," she said. Gonzalez didn't let the district off the hook, saying it's got to do more to explain the options that exist.

Meanwhile, the teachers union president told the U-T that he wants to survey its members about what to do over the next few days to see how to proceed.

For a quick explainer, check out our Reader's Guide on the district's financial crisis.

• In letters, San Diego teacher Joe Wainio says it's time for his union to negotiate. "To say that our raise is non-negotiable, standing by while hundreds of our fellow teachers and other staff are downsized and the quality of instruction is necessarily compromised, is irresponsible and short-sighted."

Monday, May 28, 2012

Diane Tran, Honor Student At Texas High School, Jailed For Missing School

UPDATE: Lots of good news for Diane Tran!

Diane Tran, Texas Honor Student Jailed For Missing School, Has Contempt Order Vacated
The Huffington Post
By Timothy Stenovec
05/30/2012
Diane Tran, the Texas honor student who was jailed last week for missing too much school, will not have to worry about telling future employers or college admissions offices that she has a criminal history.

Lanny Moriarty, the judge who ordered the 17-year-old to go to jail after more than ten unexcused school absences, has set aside the contempt of court order he entered last week, according to Tran's lawyer, Brian Wice.

"She can now truthfully say that she doesn't have a criminal history," Wice told The Huffington Post by phone on Wednesday afternoon. He added that he's now going to find a lawyer to expunge the record.

Tran, a junior at Willis High School who takes AP and college level courses, works both full and part-time jobs to help support herself and two siblings, according to KHOU-11. She sometimes misses class because she's so tired from work.

"She goes from job to job from school," Devin Hill, one of Tran's classmates, told KHOU-11 last week. "She stays up until 7:00 in the morning doing her homework."

Her story resonated across the country and throughout the world. Nearly $100,000 in donations have come in from 49 states and 18 countries, according to HelpDianeTran.com, a site established in part by the Louisiana Children's Education Alliance (LCEA), a non-profit that focuses on education reform.

"We read the story and our hearts just broke thinking about what this girl had gone through," Charlie Davis, the president and founder of the LCEA, told HuffPost. "At same time we were infuriated that she'd become a victim of both the public education system and the judicial system, and we wanted to do something to help her, to show her some support."

Davis stressed that 100 percent of the money donated outside of the credit card processing fees will be donated to Tran, and said that he's hoping to give the money to the high school junior next week...



ORIGINAL POST:

A Texas judge sentenced an honor student to jail because she missed class due to exhaustion. She works one full-time job and one part-time job in addition to a heavy load of advanced classes.

What exactly is the judge trying to teach her? That she should quit working and quit eating? That she should take easy classes so she doesn't need to spend hours studying? Or perhaps she should drop out of high school?

The law was obviously designed for kids who are failing in school due to truancy. But isn't it likely to cause kids simply to drop out of school? And many kids who are never truant are graduating without minimal skills. If schools were offering a more useful and more pleasant experience, they might not have to use the threat of jail to get kids to come to school.

Ten or more unexcused absences within a six-month period is just one-and-a-half days per month. I don't see how that could severely impede the education of a smart kid. And even for a not-so-smart kid, a carrot might be better than a stick to achieve a good educational outcome.


Diane Tran, Honor Student At Texas High School, Jailed For Missing School
The Huffington Post
By Timothy Stenovec
05/27/2012

Diane Tran, a 17-year-old honor student in Texas, was forced to spend the night in jail last week after missing too many classes, KHOU-11's Sherry Williams reports.

The Willis High School junior, who helps support two siblings, has both a full time and part-time job. She said that she's often too tired to go to school.

"She goes from job to job from school," Devin Hill, one of Tran's classmates, told KHOU-11. "She stays up until 7:00 in the morning doing her homework."

In an interview with KHOU-11, Tran said she takes AP Spanish, college level algebra and dual credit English and history courses. Her parents divorced and no longer live near her, so she lives with the family that owns the wedding venue where she works on weekends.

According to Texas law, if a student has ten or more unexcused absences within a six-month period, the school district may refer the student to a juvenile court. "In such cases, resolution of the issue is entirely in the hands of the court," reads a statement on the website of the Willis Independent School District.

After being warned by a judge in April about missing too much school, Tran was arrested in court on Wednesday and required to spend the night in jail, according to the above video from KHOU-11. She has also been fined $100.

Tran's case has spread online, with dozens of news outlets across the country picking up her story. HelpDianeTran.com, a site set up by the Louisiana Children's Education Alliance in partnership with Anedot and Gatorworks, has raised over $28,000.

A petition at Change.org that calls for the judge to revoke the teen's fine and sentencing was approaching 26,000 signatures on Monday afternoon.

"This remarkable young woman doesn't deserve jail," wrote a Change.org commenter going by Letitia Gutierrez. "She deserves a medal."

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Camille Zombro goes off: she appears to want power for herself, and silence from rank-and-file teachers

See all Camille Zombro posts.

Teachers Union President: No Concessions Planned
Updated: May 25, 2012
By Will Carless
Voice of San Diego

Bill Freeman, president of the San Diego Education Association, just called to respond to claims made yesterday in an extraordinary open letter from Camille Zombro, the former teachers union president.

In her letter, Zombro heaped criticism on Freeman, saying the union was close to offering concessions on pay and benefits, and claiming she and a fellow colleague were “purged” from the union because they refused to follow Freeman’s agenda for negotiating an agreement with the school district to solve its fiscal crisis.

Freeman characterized Zombro’s comments as “sour grapes,” and said several of the claims she made are “absolutely untrue.”

“It’s very unfortunate that Camille Zombro would do this during such troubling and difficult times,” Freeman said. “To take this divisive measure is very sad, particularly for someone who has supported her for many, many years.” Sounding emotional and tired, Freeman said he would talk to me more tomorrow. But I managed to ask a couple of quick, specific questions.

I asked why SDEA Executive Director Craig Leedham was removed from his office. Leedham was placed on administrative leave in March and Zombro claimed that he had been forced out, with “no just cause or progressive discipline.” Freeman would only say that Zombro’s claims are “absolutely untrue.” He said he would elaborate Wednesday on Leedham’s removal.

I also asked about Zombro’s claim that the union is close to making concessions. He said that was not accurate. Freeman said the union’s representative council, made up of reps from around the district, voted overwhelmingly to open lines of communication with the district. Just because the union’s talking to the district doesn’t mean it’s going to make concessions, he said.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to have a more in-depth conversation with Freeman on Wednesday.

A couple of other follow-ups to the Zombro story:

• The Breakfast Club blog, which was started to put pressure on the SDEA, and which yesterday featured Zombro’s letter, has a new post. This one is from union secretary-elect Michelle Sanchez, who claims that free speech is being stunted at the union.

Sanchez raises concern that the union is effectively seeking to censor “subversive” groups within it by changing its bylaws.

She writes:

I honestly can’t believe what is happening to our union or that our leadership is spending time, energy, and money on this when we have more pressing issues to deal with like 1,700 laid off members! I assume that these bylaw changes are in response to Camille’s email, and the efforts of myself and a group of other SDEA members to found the Breakfast Club Action Group… A group we founded only after being told repeatedly at the membership meetings to go organize ourselves to fight against layoffs and keep our contract closed.

We are hardly “subversive,” as we have a public website, and have been explicitly organizing to pressure the School Board to recall layoffs while keeping their hands off of our contract. How can we be “subversive” if we agree with SDEA’s message of “No Concessions! No Layoffs!”?

Saturday, May 26, 2012

From the teacher defamation files: Poway school district settles psychologist's defamation complaint

It seems that school districts have problems with psychologists who evaluate children who need special education. Often districts want to save money by evading state laws. In the B.J. Freeman case, Stutz law firm conducted a lawsuit on behalf of Vista Unified School District against a psychologist who insisted that a child qualified for special education. The psychologist did not back down, and Dan Shinoff was forced to drop the suit.

I suspect this case concerns the opposite situation: the psychologist did exactly as the school district wished. I suspect that he intentionally wrote evaluations in which children who qualified for special education were found not to need it. This, of course, made the teachers angry. But since he had done what the district asked, the district paid him off.
Here's the story of an administrator, Mary Anne Weegar, who insisted that her school district obey the law. All three school districts involved in the above cases have Daniel Shinoff as their lawyer.

Poway school district settles psychologist's defamation complaint
By Eleanor Yang
SDUT
June 20, 2001

The Poway Unified School District has agreed to pay $50,000 to a school psychologist who filed complaints against the district alleging slander, defamation, retaliation and violations of state laws.

Robert Gregory Nunn, who has worked for the district since 1999, will resign June 30 as part of the settlement agreement. Nunn worked full time at mt. Carmel High School and made special education assessments at several elementary schools.

The district denied a Union-Tribune request for records pertaining to Nunn's complaints, stating they were made orally and that there were no documents to release...

San Ysidro school bonds placed on watch

San Ysidro school bonds placed on watch
The issue is a lawsuit that wasn't disclosed to potential investors
Jeff McDonald
May 25, 2012

A New York bond-rating agency on Friday warned that it may lower its A and A-plus grades for $132 million worth of bond offerings from the San Ysidro School District, saying analysts were not told about a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the South Bay district.

The district’s bond counsel says there was no need to disclose the lawsuit to potential investors because property taxes are a stable revenue source.

Still, Fitch Ratings acted in response to questions from The Watchdog, which sought an explanation for why the litigation was not disclosed in a favorable analysis released last week.

“The negative rating watch is based on Fitch learning of a complaint of breach of contract filed against the district, which was not disclosed to Fitch in conjunction with last week’s rating action,” the company said. “Fitch has requested additional information from the district.”

It is not clear how the action will affect the district’s construction plans. Board President Paul Randolph referred questions to Superintendent Manuel Paul, who did not respond to multiple calls and emails starting Thursday morning.

Daniel Shinoff, the district’s lawyer, issued a brief statement Friday saying his clients will comply with Fitch’s request for more information.

“The district has always taken the required measures to ensure full disclosure to ratings agencies, and the district does not believe they have legitimate financial risks to the bond offering out of this lawsuit,” Shinoff said.

The rating agency resisted discussing details about why it placed the bond offerings on a negative-watch status, saying a review of its initial analysis was pending.

“Fitch will take rating action when appropriate, which may result in an affirmation, downgrade or withdrawal,” a statement said.

On May 17, Fitch issued an A-plus rating for up to $101.5 million in general obligation bonds and an A rating for $31.5 million in certificates of participation.

The district was sued last month for nearly $18 million by EcoBusiness Alliance, a company that was retained to install solar energy projects at various San Ysidro campuses.

According to that six-page complaint filed April 5, district officials reneged on the $17.9 million agreement late last year without explaining why. The district contends the company did not perform.

EcoBusiness Alliance filed a claim against the San Ysidro School District in February and followed up with the lawsuit last month.

“Plaintiffs have neither abandoned nor neglected their obligations and responsibilities under terms of the contract and at all times have been ready, willing and able to perform,” the suit states.

According to attorney Warren Diven of the law firm Best Best & Krieger, which served as bond counsel for the district, disclosure of the lawsuit was not required...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Part 2--Should Roland Achtel be disqualified from this case: Silvia Peters deposition

See also Part 1 of this story.
Also see Judge Richard G. Cline.

May 24, 2012
Roland Achtel, Esquire

Dear Mr. Achtel:

It would appear that you have incorrectly remembered what happened at Silvia's deposition [regarding the David L. Bedolla case].

I never said a word to you about the handling of the deposition transcript, nor did I discuss it with the court reporter. I do remember looking up at you in surprise when you said that no copy of the deposition would be mailed to the deponent for review. You suddenly said you wanted to go off the record. The reporter immediately stopped recording, without getting Silvia's agreement to go off the record.

It should be noted that all day long you had unilaterally decided when the court reporter would go off the record, without asking for Silvia's approval. Early in the day I briefly discussed the issue with you, and you claimed to have no knowledge of any rule requiring that both parties agree in order for the reporter to go off record.

When you decided to go off record so you could discuss the handling of the transcript with the reporter, Silvia asked the reporter to go back on the record. The court reporter said to her, "I need to talk to him, and I can't record when I'm talking to him." Then you and the court reporter had a discussion off the record. The gist of your discussion was that the deponent would have to go to the reporter's office instead of your office to read and sign her deposition...

Then you went back on the record and said the transcript would be handled according to code...Shortly after, you stood up and said the deposition was over and you walked out with Alejandra...

I asked the court reporter why she didn't get Silvia's agreement to go off the record. "I never interfere," she said. I said that she should get the approval of both parties before going off the record. She repeated that she never did that. I assume she meant that she never did that when the deponent was in pro per. I asked her for her name and said I wanted to report her to the court reporters' licensing agency. She gave me her business card.

Then you came back in and ordered me to leave. I left within ten seconds. I did not say another word to the court reporter, and I didn't say anything at all to you.

Sincerely,
Maura Larkins

Judge Richard Cline opposes putting court documents online, then orders court records destroyed rather than turning them over to party

See all posts re Judge Richard Cline.

This is one of the documents that Judge Cline doesn't want online (see Courthouse News story below).

















If I didn't know better, I'd say that Judge Cline is trying to conceal his own actions as a judge in San Diego North County Superior Court

A petitioner in the David L. Bedolla case received notice from the court that her case records would be destroyed if she didn't request that the probate department turn them over to her. She filed an ex parte request to pick up the documents.

On May 22, 2012 Judge Richard Cline refused to allow her to have the documents, ordering them to be destroyed instead.

Interestingly, Judge Cline has told Courthouse News (see next story) that he no longer uses the court's new IT system to post documents online. Why is Judge Cline so opposed to allowing the public, and even the parties in a case, to have access to case documents?

Perhaps he wants to conceal some of his own orders.

On May 24, 2012, in the case mentioned above, he supported the court clerk's violation of law when she refused to file documents. Judge Cline has made it clear that he wants to help Roland Achtel win his case.

The above events put the following story in perspective: it appears Judge Cline doesn't like the public--or in pro per parties--to have access to court records.



Trial Judges Fire Back After Justice's Email Defending $1.9 Billion IT System for Courts
By MARIA DINZEO
Courthouse News (CN)
February 14, 2011

Trial judges around California are firing back after an appellate justice sent out an email saying trial court judges "uniformly and enthusiastically" support a controversial $1.9 billion IT system. The email was sent just before the release of a blistering state audit that suggested administrators had hid the true cost of the system and failed to make sure it was necessary before plunging ahead.

Mounting dissatisfaction with the massive IT project, where the current version is called CCMS V-3, prompted state administrators to form a set of "oversight" committees two weeks ago. In the first memo coming out of those committees, Justice Terence Bruiniers said, "The judges who actually use CCMS uniformly, and enthusiastically support CCMS."

That statement brought a rapid rebuttal from judges in San Diego, where the system has been put in place.

"I dispute the contention that CCMSV3 works," wrote San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Cline in a response to Bruiniers.

Cline said in an interview that he no longer uses the system, but did use it during his ten-year tenure as a probate judge. "It takes many more steps to do the same job," Cline said, noting that one staff research attorney in probate had reported that it took 42 steps just to post her work online through the system...

Studies Illustrate Plight of Introverted Students

May 23, 2012
Studies Illustrate Plight of Introverted Students
By Sarah D. Sparks
Education Week

Educators often look for ways to bring quiet children out of their shells, but emerging research suggests schools can improve academic outcomes for introverted students by reducing the pressure to be outgoing and giving all students a little more time to reflect.

"Whoever designed the context of the modern classroom was certainly not thinking of the shy or quiet kids," said Robert J. Coplan, a psychology professor and shyness expert at Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada. With often-crowded, high-stimulation rooms and a focus on oral performance for class participation, he said, "in many ways, the modern classroom is the quiet kid's worst nightmare."

Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, published by Random House this year, argues that such children often stop learning when they feel emotionally threatened in a class environment in which being an extrovert is considered the norm.

"There is too often a tendency to see it as inferior or even pathological," Ms. Cain said, "so teachers feel they have to turn the introvert into an extrovert."

Quiet as Stupid?

Take a typical class review session, in which a teacher asks rapid-fire questions and calls on students in turn. "So if a teacher asks a question and the person doesn't answer right away," Mr. Coplan said, "the most common thing is the teacher doesn't have time to sit and wait, but has to go on to someone else—and in the back of their head might think that child is not as intelligent or didn't do his homework."

That slowness to speak can dramatically affect a student's success in classrooms where vocal participation and group activities are critical.

A 2011 study found teachers from across K-12 rated hypothetical quiet children as having the lowest academic abilities and the least intelligence, compared with hypothetical children who were talkative or typical in behavior.

Interestingly, teachers who were identified as and who rated themselves as shy agreed that quiet students would do less well academically, but did not rate them as less intelligent.

As many as half of Americans are introverts, according to the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, located in Gainesville, Fla.

There's a distinction between shyness—generally associated with fear or anxiety around social contact—and introversion, which is related to a person's comfort with various levels of stimulation.

VISTA: Students given a false sense of justice in our courtrooms

Photo: Judge Richard G. Cline, attorney Kenneth Feinburg and Judge Ronald Styn in 2005



See all posts re Judge Richard Cline.

VISTA: Students get a taste of justice
August 03, 2011
By DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN
North County Times

Twenty-six middle school students got a taste of justice at the Vista Courthouse Tuesday through a program that introduces them to the legal system.

One student defended herself against charges of theft, and was ultimately led away in handcuffs for drug possession. Another student, her alleged accomplice, sat silent on the advice of his attorneys. The accuser was reprimanded by the judge for name-calling on the witness stand.

The gifted and talented students, whom their instructor, Gregg Primeaux, called "future leaders of the community," were role-playing a trial in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Richard Cline, a co-founder of the civics curriculum, "On My Honor."

"I learned a lot about how the court works," said Miranda Colvin, 12, the seventh-grader from Aviara Oaks Middle School who played the defendant. "It was really fun because I got to put on handcuffs."

The program began in 1999 with a fourth-grade field trip to the courts, and expanded into a series of regionwide events, including "Youth in Court Day" and, more recently, the week-long summer symposium for gifted students. The programs are sponsored jointly by the San Diego Superior Court, the North County Bar Association, Cal State San Marcos, and local schools.

Cline said he developed the curriculum to supplement dwindling civics education, and counterbalance what he considers the poor depiction of judicial proceedings on television.

"It teaches students factual information about the (legal) process by participating in an active trial," Cline said. "And hopefully it teaches them respect for the law."

During the summer program, gifted students in grades 5-9 prepare a case with attorneys and judges, investigate case studies using technology labs, present legal arguments, debate complex issues, select jury members, explore rights and responsibilities as citizens, and take a tour of the court facilities.

"We wanted to bring a higher critical thinking opportunity for them during the summer, within the courts," Primeaux said, adding that the program aims to both cultivate legal literacy and inspire future legal professionals.

During the mock trial, a student, Emily, faced theft charges for allegedly stealing $200 of charitable donations from a teacher's desk during lunch hour. Fellow students testified that they suspected her of taking the cash, noting that they saw her in the classroom and watched her buy a new iPod.

However, they acknowledged they never saw her steal the money, and school administrators admitted that while they found the new iPod in her backpack, she told them she earned the money through odd jobs.

Throughout the mock trial, Cline offered judicial guidance on examining the evidence, and at one time reproached a witness, Colleen, for calling Emily a "liar and a loser" on the stand.

A dozen student jurors then weighed the testimony and declared Emily not guilty. In a final twist, however, Cline announced that a court search of Emily's backpack turned up a white, powdery substance found to be methamphetamine, and a student actor playing bailiff escorted her out of court in handcuffs...

[Maura Larkins comment: This seemed to be a real exercise in critical thinking--until that "final twist". Shame on the adults for pulling that parlor trick. The students were given the impression that in a typical case, defendants are wrongly found innocent. Obviously, the jury in the above exercise was right to find the girl innocent. Judge Cline would have done these students a service if he acknowledged that the outcome in the story below is more common in the US justice system. The idea that defendants bring methamphetmine to court in backpacks is silly, bordering on dishonest manipulation of children's minds. Judge Cline seems to want kids to believe that courts make mistakes when they find defendants not guilty.

A more typical situation can be seen in the following case, which, interestingly enough, involved a fifteen-year-old girl. (Perhaps Judge Cline should have included in his lesson an admonition not to make false allegations?) The defense attorney in the following case described our justice system to the innocent young man accused by the fifteen-year-old: "When you go into that courtroom the jury is going to see a big black teenager and you're automatically going to be assumed guilty."]




May 24, 2012
Onetime top Calif. football prospect exonerated after serving 5 years on rape charge
(CBS/AP)

A former high school football star whose dreams of a pro career were shattered by a rape conviction burst into tears Thursday as a judge threw out the charge that sent him to prison for more than five years.

Brian Banks, now 26, had pleaded no contest 10 years ago on the advice of his lawyer after a childhood friend falsely accused him of attacking her on their high school campus.

The district attorney offered Banks a deal -- plead guilty to rape and spend another 18 months in prison, or go to trial and face 41 years to life, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Banks said his defense attorney told him, "'When you go into that courtroom the jury is going to see a big black teenager and you're automatically going to be assumed guilty.' Those are her exact words."

In a strange turn of events, the woman, Wanetta Gibson, friended him on Facebook when he got out of prison.

In an initial meeting with him, she said she had lied; there had been no kidnap and no rape and she offered to help him clear his record, court records state.

But she refused to repeat the story to prosecutors because she feared she would have to return a $1.5 million payment from a civil suit brought by her mother against Long Beach schools.

During a second meeting that was secretly videotaped, she told Banks, "'I will go through with helping you but it's like at the same time all that money they gave us, I mean gave me, I don't want to have to pay it back,"' according to a defense investigator who was at the meeting.

It was uncertain Thursday whether Gibson will have to return the money.

Prosecutors also said they didn't immediately know if she might be prosecuted for making the false accusation when she was 15...

Banks said he had verbally agreed to attend USC on a four-year scholarship when he was arrested.

He still hopes to play professional football and has been working out regularly. His attorney Justin Brooks appealed to NFL teams to give him a chance.


Banks said outside court Thursday that he had lost all hope of proving his innocence until Gibson contacted him.

"It's been a struggle. But I'm unbroken and I'm still here today," the tall, muscular Banks said, tears flowing down his face.

He recalled being shocked and speechless on the day Gibson reached out to him after he had been released from prison, having served five years and two months...

In court, Deputy District Attorney Brentford Ferreira told Superior Court Judge Mark C. Kim that prosecutors agreed the case should be thrown out. Kim dismissed it immediately.

Banks had tried to win release while he was in prison, but Brooks, a law professor and head of the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law in San Diego, said he could not have been exonerated without the woman coming forward and recanting her story.

Brooks said it was the first case he had ever taken in which the defendant had already served his time and had been free for a number of years.

Banks remained on probation, however, and was still wearing his electronic monitoring bracelet at Thursday's hearing. His lawyer said the first thing the two planned to do was report to probation officials and have it removed.

"The charges are dismissed now," Brooks said. "It's as if it didn't happen. ... It was the shortest, greatest proceeding I've ever been part of."

Banks had been arrested after Gibson said he met her in a school hallway and urged her to come into an elevator with him. The two had been friends since middle school and were in the habit of making out in a school stairwell, according to court papers.

There were contradictions in Gibson's story, as she told some people the rape happened in the elevator and others that it happened in the stairwell.

A kidnapping enhancement was added to the case because of the allegation Banks had taken her to the stairwell. That enhancement also was thrown out Thursday.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I'm guessing that Sandra Layne was a mean teacher

Did any parents complain about this woman during the 30 years she taught school? If she had made an effort to be an effective teacher, she would have learned how to cope emotionally with misbehaving children.

Shooting someone eight times is an indication of out-of-control anger--especially when the victim is one's own grandson.

Jonathan Hoffman Dead: Sandra Layne Shot Grandson Eight Times, Police Say
By COREY WILLIAMS
HuffPost
05/21/12

Jonathan Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday.

By the time officers arrived at the family's upscale condo in a Detroit suburb, at least four more shots from a .40-caliber handgun had been pumped into the 17-year-old high school senior.

A West Bloomfield Township detective told a judge during Monday's arraignment for 74-year-old Sandra Layne that eight entry and exit wounds were found in Hoffman's body after the Friday afternoon shooting.

Layne has been charged with open murder and held without bond. She stood mute in court when the charge was read, and a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf. An open murder charge allows a jury to decide on whether a first- or second-degree charge applies after hearing evidence.

Hoffman had been attending an alternative high school in nearby Farmington and living with his maternal grandparents so he could complete his senior year while his divorced parents settled in Arizona, according to his father, Michael Hoffman of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Layne's attorneys have said there were problems at the condo, and Layne was afraid of her grandson. One of her attorneys, Mitchell Ribitwer, told reporters Monday that drugs and drug paraphernalia apparently belonging to the teen were found at the condo after Hoffman was killed.

Michael Hoffman said that regardless of his son's behavior, the teen was unarmed and didn't deserve to be shot to death.

Detective Brad Boulet testified about Hoffman's 911 call and said when officers arrived at the condo, Layne was inside, behind a screened door.

"She put the gun on the floor after being ordered so by officers," Boulet said. "She exclaimed she had just murdered her grandson."

Wearing an orange jumpsuit in court, Layne smiled and nodded to her husband and other family members.

Ribitwer described her to the judge as a retired teacher who has lived in the West Bloomfield area for 30 years. His requests for a reasonable bond and electronic tether monitor for Layne were denied. A pre-examination conference for Layne was set for Thursday morning.

Prosecutors had no comment after the hearing. Layne's husband and other relatives attended the hearing but also didn't comment.

Police had responded in March to a domestic disturbance at Layne's home.

"I spoke to the officer who responded, and he indicated this young man was totally out of control in the street," defense attorney Ribitwer told reporters Monday. "He was derogatory to his grandmother. He was yelling and shouting and almost got into it with the police."

Jonathan Hoffman's funeral is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Rutgers Trial: Tyler Clementi's nemesis Dharun Ravi Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail

Trying to gain popularity by abusing outsiders seems to be a typical tactic of human beings. It's the preferred strategy of both student and teacher cliques in schools. It's known as "girl culture" but obviously it's practiced by men, too.

And, of course, witness tampering is very common in schools. I saw it firsthand in Chula Vista Elementary School District. Administrators do it as a matter of course. It's appropriate that there should be some punishment for a crime that undermines our justice system.

Rutgers Trial: Dharun Ravi Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail
By MICHAEL KOENIGS, CANDACE SMITH and CHRISTINA NG
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.
ABC News May 21, 2012

Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail by a New Jersey judge today for spying on his roommate's gay tryst. Ravi's freshman roommate Tyler Clementi committed suicide days later.

"I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi," Judge Glenn Berman told the court. "He had no reason to, but I do believe he acted out of colossal insensitivity."

Ravi must report to Middlesex Adult Correctional Center on May 31 at 9 a.m. for his probationary sentence.

"I heard this jury say, 'guilty' 288 times--24 questions, 12 jurors. That's the multiplication," Berman said. "I haven't heard you apologize once."...




Rutgers webcam case: Victim's family wants prison for Dharun Ravi
By Tina Susman
May 21, 2012

...A jury last March found Ravi, who is now 20, guilty of invasion of privacy and a host of other crimes, including hate crimes, which could bring at least 10 years in prison. Ravi denied wrongdoing and denied allegations he was motivated by anti-gay attitudes toward Clementi.

“I believe Mr. Ravi exploited my budding … relationship with Tyler Clementi in his vain attempt to gain attention and popularity with others,” M.B.’s statement, read by attorney Richard Pompelio, said in part. M.B. wrote that he was “devastated” to learn he had been “placed under a microscope for the sole amusement of Mr. Ravi and his friends,” and that his emotions had not lessened. In fact, he said, they had only intensified.

“I just wanted him to acknowledge that he had done wrong and take responsibility for his conduct,” M.B. said in asking for Ravi to be sentenced to some prison time. He did not specify how much time Ravi should receive. Neither did Clementi's family members.

The statement was one of several made to Judge Glenn Berman in the run-up to the sentencing. After M.B.’s statement, Clementi’s father, Joseph, spoke, as did Clementi’s brother, James, and his mother, Jane, who said Ravi had given her son the cold shoulder from the moment the two young men had met at the start of classes in the fall of 2010.

Joseph Clementi accused Ravi of acting “without a thought” of how his actions might affect his son or his son’s date when he set up the secret video cam. “And he did it in a cold and calculating manner and then he tried to cover it up,” said Clementi, who at one point seemed about to break down but who kept on speaking after briefly halting.

“Mr. Ravi still does not get it, he has no remorse, and he has said he was genuinely surprised that a jury could find him guilty,” Clementi said before his surviving son, James, delivered another impassioned statement tinged with bitterness toward Ravi.

“My family has never heard an apology…the behavior I saw in the courtroom…suggests a complete lack of concern for my brother or the pain inflicted on him,” said James Clementi. “I watched as Dharun slept through court as if it were not something worth staying awake for,” he said of the trial, which ended with the guilty verdicts in March.

“Through it all, I bit my tongue.” But James Clementi added that his brother’s “fate was sealed” from the moment a computer randomly assigned him to share a room with Ravi. “He could never have known the viper’s nest he was walking into,” he said...



Guilty verdict in Rutgers webcam spying case
By David Ariosto
CNN
March 17, 2012

...His roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself in 2010 after learning of webcam spying
Ravi was not charged directly with Clementi's death

A former Rutgers University student accused of spying on and intimidating his gay roommate by use of a hidden webcam was found guilty Friday of all counts -- including invasion of privacy and the more severe charges of bias intimidation -- in a case that thrust cyberbullying into the national spotlight.

Dharun Ravi, 20, was also found guilty of witness tampering, hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence, and could now face up to 10 years in jail and deportation to his native India.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Judith Hayes believes in free speech for some people, as shown by this ruling from Judge Hayes in the Digital Cornerstone v. Kevin Carmony case:

"...the Defendant had a bona fide noncommercial use for the website, the Court finds the general purpose of the website to be a free speech forum wherein Defendant criticized the management of Plaintiff. ..the Defendant at no time harbored a bad faith intent to profit from a registered mark and that his use of the website undertaken to inform consumers and criticize Plaintiff's management constituted a lawful use of the site."

But Judge Hayes came to a very different conclusion about free speech in a case where there was no attempt to fool people about who owned the website, and no profit was made.

The possible explanations for her behavior in my case are considerably narrowed by her recent ruling in Digital Cornerstone v. Kevin Carmony.

One difference between my case and the Kevin Carmony case is that I'm a school teacher, not a CEO, and I'm representing myself. Judge Hayes apparently sees me as someone whose rights can be easily violated, and no one will notice. Clearly, she sees Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz law firm as a group of people whom no schoolteacher should ever criticize, no matter how much money they charge the public or how many documents that refuse to produce. The firm walked out of its deposition, and the lawyer most involved in my case refused to show up for his deposition. This was fine with Judge Hayes. I wonder if Digital Cornerstone also walked out of its deposition? I'm sure Carmony's lawyer Gil Cabrera wouldn't let the plaintiff and Judge Hayes get away with such shenanigans. I'm trusting that in my case, the Court of Appeal will put a stop to the shenanigans of Stutz law firm and Judge Hayes. UPDATE: The Court of Appeal did indeed overturn Judge Hayes' injunction on Aug. 5, 2011.

The odd thing is that my case is much clearer and simpler than the Carmony case. My website is a purely public interest website. I never allowed advertisements on it, much less advertisements from competitors of the people I criticized. I never paid a premium ($6000) to get a domain name that was likely to fool people into thinking my site was owned by the very people I was criticizing, as Carmony did. My site has my own name: mauralarkins.com. Judge Hayes and her research attorney Monica Barry should have had no trouble seeing that my case was completely different from Del Junco v. Hufnagel, particularly since they found a difference between Freespire.com and the website in the Del Junco case.

Judge Hayes made the above ruling in the Carmony case just over a month after this ruling slapping me with $3000 in contempt sanctions for not erasing every mention of Stutz law firm from my website. (Hayes' ruling in my case is so brazenly unconstitutional that Michael Robertson look like a free speech advocate compared to this incarnation of Judge Hayes.) Clearly, Hayes knows how to act like a good judge when she knows she's being watched. She can be quite the stickler for the appearance of integrity. For example, it was rather extreme for her to recuse herself just because her bailiff's daughter was on a high school girls sports team. But she refused to recuse herself in my case.

I keep asking myself why Judge Hayes would act as she has in my case, regardless of whether she thought she could get away with it. What was her motivation? Perhaps District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has a theory about this. She forced Judge Hayes out of the criminal courts even though both Dumanis and Hayes share a conservative philosophy. Dumanis seems to consider Judge Hayes' behavior on the bench to be unpredictable.

Freespire.com apparently exists to criticize Michael Robertson. From the home page of the website: "Freespire.com is dedicated to shedding light on the REAL Michael Robertson. Robertson tried unsuccessfully to shut down this site, as he clearly doesn't want the truth about him known. We've seen Robertson go to great lengths to create a skewed public persona, quite different from the one you will hear about from those who know him..."

I could say these same words about Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, the lawyers who are suing me on their own behalf.

But my site isn't limited to criticizing one person or even one group of people. It covers a broad range of education issues.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Michael Robertson: "Michael Robertson (born 1967) is the founder and former CEO of MP3.com, which quickly became one of the most popular Internet music sites. In the years following his departure from MP3.com, Robertson launched several small start-up companies, including Linspire, SIPphone, MP3tunes, and Ajax 13..."



Here's what Linux Watch says about Kevin Carmony:
Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns
Aug. 05, 2007

In an interview today with Linux-Watch, controversial Linux leader Kevin Carmony confirmed rumors that he had resigned as CEO of desktop Linux vendor Linspire on July 31. Carmony said he plans to work on several of his own business projects, and on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Carmony said that, after six years at Linspire, it was time to move on. Projects he plans to work on include continuing as Chairman of the Board of Sadie's, a nationwide children's photography studio chain, and serving as CEO of Dating DNA, an online dating service based on social networks. In addition, Carmony will be working more on Mitt Romney's campaign to become the Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 2008.

While he may be leaving Linspire, Carmony said, "I will always be a big supporter of Linspire and desktop Linux." And, "I will always be a desktop Linux user."

Carmony also said that Linspire is stronger than ever. "I can't speak for Linspire now, but I believe the upcoming release of Freespire 2.0 and open CNR (Click N' Run) will be great for Linspire and desktop Linux."

"With the new Freespire coming along, the continued push of Linspire to our OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], and CNR making it easy for other Linux desktop distribution users to install software, Linspire is doing great, and it was time for someone else to take it forward from here," Carmony added.

Carmony also said his resignation, contrary to some rumors, had nothing to do with any disagreement with Linspire's primary owner Michael Robertson, or with fallout from either of Linspire's recent deals with Microsoft, which covered technology licensing and patent indemnification.

Carmony joined Linspire, then known as "Lindows," in June of 2001 to become its president. Later, he became the company's CEO...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

CARLSBAD: Trial starts for girls suing school in sexual abuse claim

See update HERE. CARLSBAD: Trial starts for girls suing school in sexual abuse claim
By TERI FIGUEROA
tfigueroa@nctimes.com
May 16, 2012

A former teacher convicted of sexual battery against two Carlsbad elementary school girls is out of prison after less than two years, according to state prison officials, but his name does not appear on the state's Megan's Law website.

The teacher, Raymond Lewis Firth, 41, was released from prison on March 3, a state prison official said.

On Monday, jury selection began in a civil trial involving two of Firth's young victims, whose parents are suing Carlsbad Unified School District on their behalf. The suit says that the school district was negligent in monitoring Firth during the seven years he taught at Pacific Rim Elementary School...

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Part 1: Should attorney Roland Achtel be disqualified from this San Diego Superior Court case?

This blog has long been concerned about the fact that our legal system is often used to keep wrongdoing in schools hidden from the public, and to protect the wrongdoers. The following case is not about a public entity lawyer, but tax dollars are used to conduct cases like this.

The Bar Association seems to be happy with the current arrangement. After all, both plaintiff lawyers who represent the citizens who have been wrongly damaged, as well as the public entity lawyers who defend public officials, reap huge financial benefits from the system. Does it do any good to complain to the California Bar Association about lawyers who use unethical tactics? I doubt it. The Bar Association has officially expressed the opinion that public entity attorneys should represent the interests of public officials, not the public.








Roland Achtel



The following case, featuring attorney Roland Achtel, was discussed HERE. A motion to disqualify Judge Richard Cline was also filed.

FORMAL COMPLAINT
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TRIAL CONSEL/INTAKE, STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA
1149 SOUTH HILL STREET, LOST ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90015-2299

Name of Attorney:
Attorney Roland Achtel State Bar No. 215031

Other Attorneys
Olga Alvarez State Bar No. 222557
Jenny K. Goodman State Bar. No 177828
Jennifer W Chang State Bar No. 259643

Law Firm:
Sullivan Hill Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel
550 W "C" St Ste 1500 San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 233-4100 Fax Number: (619) 231-4372
e-mail: achtel@sullivanhill.com

Location of Court:. Superior Court of California San Diego North County Dept. NC-2
Dates of Incident:. March 1, 2012 And For The Past One And a Half Years
Name of Case:. In Re David L. Bedolla Living Trust
Case No.: 37-2010-00150345-PR-TR-NC

INTRODUCTION

This Complaint is not filed with the intent to ask the Office of The Chief Trial Counsel for legal advice; to correct errors, rulings, decision, or to issue an order in the case.

This Complaint if filed because we believed attorneys Roland Achtel, Olga Alvarez, Jenny Goodman, and Jennifer Chang engaged in an egregious pattern of misconduct that infringed the constitutional and statutory rights of our father their former client and our rights as petitioners in the above named action. These said acts by attorney Achtel and the above named attorneys were not isolated; rather, they reflected a disturbing and persistent pattern of conduct that is completely at odds with the standard of conduct expected of licensed attorneys in the State of California.

The above named attorneys, violated the American Bar Association rules of professional conduct; violations under Business and Professions Code; violations under California Rules of Professional Conduct; California Civil Rules of Procedure; Local Court rules; codes of conduct and ethics that are required guidelines for Members of the American Bar Association.

The above named attorneys actions were negligent, in bad faith, and violated public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary process. The Board of Governors has the power to discipline members as provided by law for a willful breach of any of these rules.

The exhibits attached to this complaint will support our Complaint and the facts stated in this complaint as true and correct as to the event and proceedings.

HISTORY AND EVENTS THAT LEAD TO THIS COMPLAINT

In the instant, this is a Probate/Civil case about our father who is now deceased. Our father who had been married to our mother for over 58-years before he passed away. Our father and mother had nine biological children. There were no other marriages and no other children.

Our father was emotionally and financially abused, neglected, denied medical care, and died an early horrific death. He was dehydrated, had multiple bed sores, and was isolated by our youngest sister Alejandra and our brother who is now dismissed from the complaint. Alejandra and our brother exploited their relationship with our father, and through verbal threats and abuse, manipulation, fraud and undue influence bullied our father to gift my brother and Alejandra the properties he jointly owned with his wife Maria, without Maria's knowledge or consent.

Our father was diagnosed on May 14, 2007 with terminal cance. Alejandra the Respondent did not inform any of the family members of our father's terminal diagnosis including our father and mother.

Instead By May 25, 2007 Respondent Alejandra had taken our father to the Law Office of Roland Achtel to draft a living trust under the name of David L. Bedolla Living Trust. No one knew that our father was terminal or that Respondent Alejandra Bedolla had taken our father to draft a living trust.

On May 25, 2007 Respondent Alejandra wrote a check to the Achtel Law Firm APC; check number 548 from the Bank of America Bank account of David L. Bedolla and Trinidad V. Bedolla for an amount of $ 1,200.00 signed with the name of David L. Bedolla. Alejandra Bedolla send a cashier's check from her San Diego Credit Union Account to pay for the trust.

Respondent Alejandra (a). drove David L. Bedolla to the law office of Achetel Law APC, (b). wrote the checks equal to $ 2, 400 from David L. Bedolla and his wife Maria's Bank of America checking account. (c). Alejandra made herself the, "Successor Trustee" of David Bedolla L. Living Trust. Giving herself, (d). "Financial Power," (e). "Power of Attorney" and sole decision making of David L. Bedolla "Power of health and directive (f) Conservator and (g). the, "sole beneficiary of the so-called David L. Bedolla Living Trust."

Based on attorney records Achtel Law Firm APC, staff member RHA wrote: under description as a flat fee for preparation of a living trust; certificate of trust, power of attorneys, designation of conservator (s); pour-over will (s); health care directive(s); one quit claim deed; general assignment of personal property and other ancillary living trust documents. The total charges were $ 2, 400.00 from David L. Bedolla and Maria V. Bedolla Bank of America Account balance of $ 1,200.00.

Our father died on February 4, 2010, a few months later our mother was contacted by the San Diego Assessors/Recorders Office about the name change of her home property her main residence in Cardiff CA the home value at that time was $650.000. The home our mother jointly owned with our father and marital community property. This is when we found out that our youngest sister Alejandra had taken our father to the law office of Roland Achtel and caused a living trust to be transcribed. Whereby Alejandra would be the sole beneficiary of our father's marital community property estate.

We filed a Petition in Superior Court of California San Diego North County Division [July 15, 2010] in the Probate department to have the David. L. Bedolla Living Trust nullified and have the property returned to the Bedolla estate. Alejandra Bedolla being the Respondent in the Probate Petition.

The David L. Bedolla Living Trust was fraud and flawed, in many ways. The trust gifts community property belonging to our mother [her main residence/ the Bedolla estate] to Alejandra Bedolla.

• Alejandra made herself the "Successor Trustee" of David Bedolla L. Living Trust Giving herself, (d). "Financial Power," (e). "Power of Attorney" and sole decision making of David L. Bedolla "Power of health and directive (f) Conservatorship and (g). the, "sole beneficiary of the so-called David L. Bedolla estate."
• Though our father presumably paid for a conservatorship, none was established.
• Our mother did not quit claim deed the property to the trust.
• The Living Trust is a couple of dozen pages long (on or about 30-plus) written only in English.
• Our father did not speak read or write English and only had a third grade education.
• A declaration of attorney Olga Alvarez states that she personally translated the trust to our father. Yet our father never saw the trust until the day he signed it. On the day he signed the trust our father was in the hospital gravely ill from En Vibrio Cholera and under over twenty one strong medications.
• All trust communication, email, mail, calls, faxes, translations with the Achtel law firm were made by Alejandra Bedolla not our father. All and other means of communication was conducted between these above named attorneys and Alejandra Bedolla and not our father David L. Bedolla.

Respondent Alejandra Bedolla is being represented by attorney Roland Achtel and Olga alvarez from the onset of this present action. Attorney Achtel and attorney Olga Alvarez joined the law firm of Sullivan Hill Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel prior to representing Alejandra Bedolla.

Olga Alvarez

Blogger note: Sullivan Hill attorneys Roland Achtel and Olga Alvarez were named San Diego Top Attorney Semi-Finalists for The San Diego Daily Transcript’s 2011 Top Attorneys. Achtel and Alvarez were recognized in the Estate Planning/Probate & Trust category.

Further Attorney Roland Achtel has brought in two additional attorneys into the litigation Attorney Jenny K. Goodman and Jennifer Chang. We the Petitioners in the above named action are representing ourselves.



Continued HERE.
Jennifer Chang
came to Sullivan Hill in Jan. 2011. Previously, she was an attorney at Sempra Energy and Analyst at DaimlerChrysler. Education: University of San Diego School of Law and Duke University


Sullivan Hill attorney Jenny K. Goodman has experience defending professionals, including attorneys, real estate professionals and stockbrokers, for malpractice.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Bad news for SDCOE's Diane Crosier and Rick Rinear from the California Court of Appeals

Rodger Hartnett has won an important decision in the California Court of Appeal regarding his lawsuit against Diance Crosier and Rick Rinear of the San Diego County Office of Education. See the article by law firm Dannis Woliver Kelley about the April 26, 2012 decision.

California Court of Appeal Determines Supervisory or Management Employees May Be Held Liable for Retaliation under the Reporting by School Employees of Improper Governmental Activities Act
Vol. 2012, Client Bulletin No. 12
Dannis Woliver Kelley
May 2, 2012

On April 26, 2012, the Fourth District California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Hartnett v. Crosier (D058914), a case in which a former employee of the San Diego County Office of Education (“SDCOE”) sued several SDCOE employees, alleging that they retaliated against him in violation of the Reporting by School Employees of Improper Governmental Activities Act (Ed. Code, § 44110 et seq.). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court in part, holding that management employees may be liable for retaliation under the Education Code.

The California Legislature enacted the Reporting by School Employees of Improper Governmental Activities Act (“Act”) in 2000, so that public school employees, particularly classified school employees and teachers, may “bring forward to their supervisors or management improper activities without having to fear they are endangering their jobs.” Education Code section 44113 prohibits employees from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with protected disclosures under the Act.

A protected disclosure is a good faith communication that discloses or demonstrates an intention to disclose information that may evidence either an improper governmental activity or a condition threatening health or safety of public employees for purposes of remedying the condition.

The Act’s prohibition on use of official authority or influence to interfere with a protected disclosure includes “promising to confer or conferring any benefit; affecting or threatening to affect any reprisal; or taking, directing others to take, recommending, processing, or approving any personnel action, including but not limited to appointment, promotion, transfer, assignment, performance evaluation, or other disciplinary action.” (Ed. Code, § 44113, subd. (b).) An employee who violates the prohibition may be liable in an action for civil damages brought against the employee by the offended party. ''

Education Code section 44114, subdivisions (b) and (c) provide also that a person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a public school employee or applicant for having made a protected disclosure is subject to a fine not to exceed $10,000 and imprisonment in jail for up to one year as well as liability for civil damages, including punitive damages for malicious acts.

Rodger Hartnett’s complaint stated that he was a claims coordinator in SDCOE’s risk management department. He alleged that he was discharged in 2007 not for incompetency, insubordination, and dishonesty as contended, but in retaliation by several SDCOE employees for reporting that some SDCOE employees referred legal business to friends and family members in exchange for gifts, gratuities, and discounted personal legal services. He claimed his discharge violated the Act and entitled him to punative damages and attorney fees among other relief.

The trial court granted summary judgment for the individual employee defendants... Hartnett appealed, contending the trial court erred in these determinations.

Decision The Court of Appeal held that management employees who are also supervisory employees with authority over personnel actions are not exempt from liability under the Act...The Court agreed with the Third District Court of Appeal’s conclusion in Conn v. Western Placer Unified School Dist. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 1163, that Education Code section 44113 does not exempt management employees from liability for retaliation if the employees were acting as supervisory employees when they committed the allegedly offending acts. In Hartnett, the Court of Appeal reasoned that to exempt management employees exercising supervisory authority in personnel actions would exempt those most likely and able to retaliate against employees making protected disclosures and thwart the Act’s very purpose...

Management employees may be held liable for claims of retaliation under the Reporting by School Employees of Improper Governmental Activities Act if such employees are acting as supervisory employees with authority over personnel actions when they commit the allegedly offending acts.