Vote the bum out!

Judge (so-called "Justice") Robert Brutinel is up for retention in the Arizona Supreme Court in a couple weeks. This is your chance to throw the bum out. He's a horribly unethical man who, while presiding judge in Yavapai County, let an underling—Judge Howard Hinson—violate the civil rights of litigants. (Not to mention defraud the state. (Felony theft.)) For three years! Nothing has changed. He's still horribly unethical. For example, Brutinel, along with the rest of the "Justices," is a traitor to our Constituion. Last year he knowingly and willfully legislated from the bench, unconstitutionally making an unconstitional "law" out of a Rule of Civil Procedure which revokes our 2nd Amendment right in civil injunctions. You can read about that here. ("Justice" Scott Bales is also up for retention. He, too, is a traitor to our Constitution because he, too, legislated from the bench in the above matter.)

Scary Story

This story isn't limited to Justice Robert Brutinel, per say, although the news story is about him and it is a little horrific.

According to a Prescott news report, Governor Brewer appointed Judge Brutinel to Arizona's Child Safety Task Force.

Ignoring for now the fact that Justice Brewer is ethically challenged, failing to act to report former judge hinson for defrauding the State for three years (as documented in this blog), one of the scariest things we've ever heard a judge say came out of the mouth of then Presiding Judge Brutinel in his first attempt to be a Justice.

It was during his interview before the Judicial Nominating Commission when he was trying to impress them. He talked about the seriousness of being a judge and in particular, when it came to "Family Law." (A euphemism for divorce court.) He said words to the effect, "nothing is more important that deciding what is in the best interest of the child."

WHAT? Since when did a judge-especially one like the ethically challenged Jutice Brutinel-have the right to decide what is best for YOUR child?

It turns out this has been going on for a long time. We have heard other judges invoke the same formula.

It suddenly hit our blogger that this is the truest, and probably most subtle form of Fascism there is. (As distinguished by "ownership" vs. "control.") In the United States, your kids are not your own. They really belong to the State. The State just lets you have control over them until its no longer convenient for the State. Just try not inoculating your children or decide you want to trust God, not chemotherapy, and see whose children yours really are.

More (Mormon) Conspiracy Theory

I've written at least twice already about a possible Mormon conspiracy involving former Yavapai County Presiding judge Brutinel. (Now a "Justice" in the Arizona Supreme Court.) It starts when you know his mom was from Safford, Arizona, which is notoriously Mormon.

And I've already posted how Pat Trebesch may have brown-nosed her way into a judgeship. (I hate that term, but she's the one who opened the door to that charge.)

Now I find one more very interesting piece of trivia for the Mormon conspiracy theory. According to the local newspaper in Prescott, Arizona , Judge Trebesch has a son named "Jared." (So, that answers one of my questions to you all. I had asked if Pat was married. Does anyone know if this is a first marriage?)

Now, unless you're LDS (Mormon) or deal with a lot of Mormons, the name "Jared" probably doesn't raise an alarm. But Jared is a popular Mormon name. It comes from a character in the Book of Mormon. Which is why most Americans have never heard the name. (To be distinguished from "Jarrod" or "Jarred.") Update: Also see this story about a Jared Ropelato. The story is from the Deseret News, a Mormon church owned newspaper. Note that Jared "knew how to pray." You connect the dots.

According the Joseph Smith, the Mormon god commanded Jared to eight build ships, somewhat akin to Noah's Ark. But apparently god didn't remember much from the first time. For example, the Mormon god told Jared to put an air hole in both the top and bottom of the boat. Holes in the bottom of boats, even if sealed, are rarely a good idea. Noah didn't need one.

So, could this be a reason why former presiding judge Brutinel selected Patrica Trebesch as a judge? Mormon favoritism? That wouldn't be very fair to the other candidates.

One of you have left a comment that you see the specter of Mormonism in Yavapai County. So there are at least two of us who see something here. Trebesch isn't a common Mormon surname. But Jared is a common Mormon given name. If anyone knows if Judge Patrica A.Trebesch is LDS, please leave a comment and let me know what Ward she attends.

Memo to Chief Justice Berch

Hurray for the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee. It's making some changes in the way judges are chosen. (Aside: While I would like to see the Committee involved in discipline, which is feedback, I applaud its effort at feed-forward.)

Anyway, as you can guess, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch (another one of those three-name women) opposes the changes. She was quoted saying, "The evidence shows that merit selection is working well. And common sense tells us that `if it isn't broken, don't fix it.'"

Memo to Becky: The system is broken. This blog proves it. (And you had your chance to fix it yourself.)

(As another aside, I remember Chief Judge Schroeder of the Ninth Circuit arguing similarly that all was well in the Ninth too when Congress moved to split the Circuit into two somewhat more manageable pieces. It's all about power.)

More on the GOBC

I got an interesting comment about the incestuous nature of the Club and how now Justice Brutinel might be running damage control from the Supreme Court for his bud, former judge hinson.

But remember, I don't publish unless you give me permission. So, if you (S.L.) want your comment published, or will allow me to cut and paste and post it anonymously, please send another comment telling me so.

"Thank you, dad." The incestuous nature of the beast.

A father and his daughter. This would be kind of sweet and heartwarming if it weren't for the incestuous nature of the Good Old Boys Club in the Judiciary. Especially when it happens in a small town, like the small town of Prescott, with its small town politics.

I found a photo from the Prescott Daily Courier Newspaper ("newsletter" as one local joked) of retired, but still politically active, Yavapai County Superior Court judge James Hancock swearing in his daughter, Cele Hancock, as judge. (She's married you know, but doesn't use her husband's name. Speaks volumes, spiritually speaking.)

[Out of curiosity, who's the guy sleeping in the chair in the middle background?]

Okay, okay, "incest" is too strong a word here. I'll admit I'm using it for shock value. (But, hey, Cele, you can't point a finger at me, can you? You're guilty of using the wrong words to win your point too. At least I'm admitting it.) Nepotism is the proper word here.

Now, the word "nepotism" includes "without merit" in its definition. As with Sandra Day O'Connor, who was only famous for being famous, poor Cele will never really know whether she was appointed a judge because she was really qualified or because she was in the right place at the right time. Namely, the daughter of the man who appointed Judge Brutinel.

Was Cele really the best of the best in Prescott? (No, not in my opinion. She's ethically challenged.) Or was she appointed a judge by Judge Brutinel as way of payback? Nepotism in the big judicial family in the small town of Prescott?

Well, you all will have a chance to vote on it in a few years. Let's see what happens then. You get the government (includes judges) you deserve.

Congratulations to badphoenixcops!

This post isn't "relevant," as lawyers would say, since it doesn't pertain to Judge Brutinel per se. But I wanted to acknowledge the success of badphoenixcops in conjunction with the First Amendment. (Which judge Mary E. Hamm said is "dangerous.") These guys have targeted now former Phoenix police chief Jack Harris in a relentless negative publicity campaign. To the point that they achieved "critical mass," where police officers from inside the Phoenix PD anonymously sent photos, tapes, memos, tips, etc. Someone from within the Phoenix PD even left a nice present at their door. As a result of their blog (in part), Jack Harris finally left office.

Of course, they paid for it. Mr. Harris had their home raided and computers seized. (We're not as free to speak as you might think and "absolute immunity corrupts absolutely." (You heard that here first. Blog coming to the mary hamm blog.)

Now, I'd be flattering myself if I thought anyone within the Judiciary in Arizona was reading my blogs here. (Cari probably stopped reading when she lost her job with the Court. And even then, it was her job to read what I wrote, not really her choice.) But if any of you in are reading this, especially those of you who are the subjects of my posts, you should be thankful I'm a Christian man. While I applaud the spirit of badphoenixcops, their language, photos and style are very coarse. While what some of you have done is criminal, I'm trying to keep the conversation civil.
While it's true that unless you repent, you'll pay in hell, it's not my place to give you hell here.

As I wrote previously, I haven't yet reached critical mass. Not that I want to spend the rest of my life writing this blog, but it's always nice when insiders send you info that writes itself.

Remember, you can leave a comment anonymously.

And some of you have. Thanks!

From Safford, Arizona, more Conspiracy Theory

Do you remember the movie "Conspiracy Theory?" In the movie, Jerry Fletcher could see conspiracies when no one else could. (A somewhat lonely world when you're so gifted.) Based on peculiar coincidences, Jerry tells Julie Robert's character (Alice) that NASA is using a secret weapon on the Space Shuttle that triggers earthquakes to kill the President of the United States. In two fast moving scenes easy to miss the first time through the movie, he passingly tells Alice an earthquake will occur during an upcoming presidential visit in Turkey. And sure enough, in a later somewhat chaotic scene, Alice briefly catches a TV news report that there had been a 7.3 earthquake in Turkey while the President was visiting!

Well, I don't have that kind of evidence of a conspiracy, but while re-reviewing Justice Bruntinel's application to the JNC to be an Arizona Justice, I noticed another piece that fits my Conspiracy Theory. Brutinel's mom is from Safford, Arizona.

Hmmm. Safford, Arizona. Anyone know the demographics of Safford? (Answer below.)

In my "Conspiracy Theory" post, I postulated that Mormonism might be involved here. For I am a Christian Evangelist who spent about a decade witnessing to Mormons and judge Mary Hamm, a BYU graduate, presumably Mormon, was assigned to a case of mine in Prescott. Maybe by Judge Brutinel.

Since pre-trial "evidence" had been presented that I was what Mormons call an "Anti-Mormon," and knowing that Mormons are taught in their temple ceremony that people like me are paid by the devil (see my recusal motion for Mormon federal judge David Campbell, where the temple ceremony is cited in an affidavit by a former Mormon) I filed a pre-trial motion that a judge who was Mormon or who had taken the oath of allegiance the Mormon church (called the "Law of Consecration") recuse themselves from my case.

But Mary Hamm, BYU graduate (BYU stands for Brigham Young University, a Mormon church owned institution, if you didn't know) did not recuse. Instead, she engaged in a horrifically biased "trial" in which she engaged in ex parte communication with the opposing party and acted as counsel for the opposing party, even calling and questioning witness for the opposing side! (A federal civil right lawsuit is in process. CV-10-8049 in the Arizona District.)

I previously postulated that this peculiar coincidence was the result of Judge Brutinel extracting revenge for this blog and for being used to remove former judge howard hinson from office. All good motives. But then I noticed Judge Brutinel's mom was from Safford.

Safford is a predominately Mormon town!

Hmmm... I wonder what the next earth shattering event will be? Can anyone tell me if Judge Brutinel is LDS? You can anonymously submit a comment. I would need to know what Ward he belongs to.

P.S. Thanks also to the anonymous commenter who left a comment on my "The Inside Dope" post. He/She sees the problem too.)

P.P.S. Judge Bruinel also reports he gave a talk with Mormon federal judge Murray Snow. (see p. 33 of Brutinel's application) That could be random coincidence, since he gave a lot of talks with a lot of other judges too. But, at that talk, was Joe Kanefield, the guy who picked Bruintel for Governor Brewer. Have I ever told you it's a Good Ole Boys Club?

Good Ol' Girls Club? Part II, Pat Trebesch

My last post was about how the Judiciary is a de facto "Good Old Boy's (and Girl's) Club."

Part and parcel with that metaphor is that judges within the Judiciary comprise a "priesthood" of sorts. (Which explains the robes.) As it pertains here, we're going to talk about judicial "blessings."

When it comes to admitting fault within, I argue the Judiciary is just like the Catholic Priesthood denying pedophilia. The little "gods" can do no wrong. But that post is for another time.

Now, when I was a kid, before I became a Christian, I was raised in a Catholic background. Maybe that was a good thing, since it made me cynical, questioning everything. (Even the Bible after I finally read it.) As a child, I always wondered why we had to kiss the (so-called) priest's hand when we received the sacrament from him. The arrogance and implications repulsed me then and still do now.

If you played the game and if you kissed the right body parts, you were rewarded in this life. (I'll not get any more graphic than that, but the color "brown" is the usual derogatory noun associated with people who play the game.) But you know the ambitious type who climb the ladder and become good altar boys and girls.

Not to mix metaphors, but I prefer Jesus's instructions for getting the best seat.

Now, way back in September 2009 I told you about then Assistant Attorney General Patricia Trebesch, who drove all the way from Prescott to Phoenix to give a 3 minute speech on behalf of Judge Brutinel. (This was when he first applied to be Supreme Court Justice.) Aside from the impropriety of taking off work, (ab)using her prestige of office, etc., I suggested there might be a a quid pro quo in the works. That Judge Brutinel might remember that she kissed his hand then and reward her later. And that time would tell.

Well, guess what? It's now Judge Trebesch and she's now part of the Club!

---

To be fair, according to the minutes of the JNC, she did not give a speech the second time Judge Brutinel applied to be Justice. (She is not listed in the minutes.)

I'd be flattering myself if I thought she read my previous post and rethought her actions. But perhaps, to her credit, she did. Or maybe she simply couldn't get away the second time. Absent more data, we cannot know.

P.S. Does anyone know if Judge Trebesch is divorced? Just a hunch. Please leave me a comment. You can remain anonymous.

Good Ol' Girls Club? Part I, Cele Hancock.

You don't have to spend much time observing the Judiciary before you come to the conclusion it's a Good Ole Boy's Club. (As John and Susan observed also observed on their own.) Indeed, in Arizona, except for JP's, you need to be a member of the State Bar to be a judge. That makes the Judiciary a de facto "club," since it's a subset of the larger State Bar club. Of which "We, the people" are not members.

Aside: I could get cynical here and point out that, more than being a member of the Bar, you have to be a member of the Bar "in good standing," whatever that means.

Maybe that only means you don't have to have any outstanding disciplinary matters against you, although JP judge Kenneth Ray II was censured and placed on probation for one year as an attorney, yet he was appointed a judge by former Presiding Judge Brutinel. So maybe that's not what it means? Or maybe that requirement doesn't matter for JP judges in Prescott? (Some who, like Judge Arthur Markham, un-"un-recuse" themselves to avoid a civil right lawsuit.)

I'm guessing "in good standing" in the Bar means you better not be a good citizen conservative boat rocker, like me. Worse, I'm guessing it means you might need to kiss bu kowtow to certain people or policies (i.e., compromise your principles) so as to be considered in "good standing" by those (Liberals) in power in the Bar who make that arbitrary determination about you.

The Good Ol' Boy's Club aspect comes from the incestuous nature of the Club, where judges do favors for other judges and/or don't report each other for misconduct. But it's not just for Boys anymore.

In addition to being a GOBC, I submit the Judiciary is also a Good Ol' Girl's Club too, complete with pseudo-nepotism. Exhibit 1 is the appointment of Cele Hancock to judgeship by former Presiding Judge Brutinel. (Why no photo on the Yavapai County website? Send a photo if you've got one. You can remain anonymous when you leave a comment. Send me a link to imageshack.us )

It turns out that Judge Brutinel was made presiding judge by the outgoing retiring former Presiding Judge James Hancock and that, in turn, lead to an easy election to continue in office. (See p 18 of Judge Brutinel's first application. Same info is in his second application.)

So is it merely coincidence that, before he left office to become Supreme Court Justice, Judge Brutinel similarly appointed Cele Hancock, daughter of James Hancock, a Superior Court judge? As with Brutinel, her being appointed assured an unchallenged election.

Maybe this is all legit and there's no nepotism involved. I presume the argument would be, "When a judge is needed to fill a vacancy, who better to make a decision than the Presiding judge?" That is, it's an expediency.

But as I reported before, Cele Hancock may be ethically challenged when it comes to reporting bad judges. (See my post in my blog about former judge hinson.) Perhaps more important though, when she applied for former judge hinson's vacancy, she was not chosen by Governor Brewer. So, in a way, Judge Brutinel did an end run around the system of checks & balances.

And that's what this post was about. Good Ole Girls Club or not? You decide.

By the way, to keep the judiciary above reproach, the solution to this is simple. Whomever the Presiding Judge appoints to fill a vacancy should not be given an unfair advantage over other attorneys who want to be judge. Whomever is appointed should not be allowed on the ballot for one term. They can finish up the cases they started as an interim judge, but nothing further. This would prevent abuse of "special blessings" from the Presiding Judge. (Good segue into my next post.)