Yolo County Child Dependency Court The court is biased toward one outcome
Outline • Not a happy day • My conflict • What we control • Attorneys in the Courtroom • Lack of Open Session Discussion • Length of time to permanency • Newspaper Article • Causing Harm to Foster Families • Rotation of the Assignment • 170.6 • Statements made by Judge Basha that show bias • Board of Supervisor Action Options Yolo County Dependency Court
Not a Happy Day • We have been doing this for more than a year • Openly looking for grounds to appeal decisions • We rarely (if ever) mentioned his by name • Most subcommittee meetings have involved problems with court • Presiding Judge was given notice • Presiding Judge declined to meet with the subcommittee • We have an ethical obligation to act Yolo County Dependency Court
My Conflict — Again, I Don’t Have One • Judge Basha did not conduct the trial for Rexroad litigation • This is about future cases and other children Yolo County Dependency Court
Direct Control • Child Welfare Services • Contracts with Service Providers • Attorneys for County Involvement, But No Control • Judicial decisions • Panel for children Yolo County Dependency Court
Attorneys in the Courtroom • Last year we pointed out that the current system does not allow for passionate advocacy for the clients • We attempted to stop this • Courts took every step possible to keep the current system in place Yolo County Dependency Court
Lack of Open Court Discussion • Judge Basha brings all the attorneys into court prior to proceedings • They all discuss and decide the cases • Then they go into open court to simply report what was decided Yolo County Dependency Court
Lack of Permanency — Children Now March 10, 2017 — Yolo County Office of Education “Status of Children in Yolo County” • Children in the child welfare system who exit to permanency within three years: Yolo is tied for 48 th among California Counties Matt Taylor , Foster Parent Yolo County Board of Education Trustee Education Professional Yolo County Dependency Court
Newspaper Article — Matthew • Matthew will be three years old in July • Mother with Mental Illness • Mother with severe drug use • Three brothers already had parental rights terminated and adopted Yolo County Dependency Court
Causing Harm to Foster Families • AB 403 (Stone – 2015) – Elimination of group homes • Visitation problems for foster families • Study of retaliation • “Pervasive bias” • “has been outrageously pro-reunification, and takes action that negatively impact Foster Families” • “second chances beyond what is reasonable, to the detriment of the Foster Child.” • Source: Municipal Resource Group, LLC. (2016) Yolo County Foster Care CWS Summary Retaliation Review Yolo County Dependency Court
Rotation of the Assignment • This is not a huge burden • Has rotated in the past annually or bi-annually • Basha has had this assignment for more than seven years Yolo County Dependency Court
CCP 170.6 • A party to, or an attorney appearing in, an action or proceeding may establish this prejudice by an oral or written motion without prior notice supported by affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury, or an oral statement under oath, that the judge, court commissioner, or referee before whom the action or proceeding is pending, or to whom it is assigned, is prejudiced against a party or attorney, or the interest of the party or attorney, so that the party or attorney cannot, or believes that he or she cannot, have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before the judge, court commissioner, or referee. Yolo County Dependency Court
Statements by Judge Basha May 9, 2014 at Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner “I will return them to their parents” May 1, 2015 at Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner • An attempt to back track on comments from 2014 and then reiterates the same concept Yolo County Dependency Court
California Judges Benchguide Section 2.19 “Judicial Tip: A judge should be careful not to make unnecessary comments or statements about a case or the litigants if there are unresolved issues, evidence is still to be received, or there is the possibility of a retrial or on an appeal. Even after those issues are resolved, a judge should avoid unnecessary comments about a case.” Section 2.38 “Judicial Tip: A judge should not take a peremptory challenge personally and seek a motive behind it. He or she should accept the challenge without rancor.” Yolo County Dependency Court
Board of Supervisor Options • Rexroad Letter – This is happening • Board Letter • Code Civil Procedure 170.6 • 170.1 applies but this takes too long and would not yield desired result Yolo County Dependency Court
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