Legislature proposes big fat check to county courts to not self-police

Foxes get cash infusion to guard hen house

The legislature proposes writing misbehaving County Superior Courts a big fat grant to non self-police themselves. Currently there is no authority policing lower courts for misconduct. This bill adds mortar to and propagates the already bloated and corrupt family court system. This is really icing on the cake in light of the fact that Thurston’s courts have recently declared themselves exempt from ALL public records laws.**

The bill hands out plenty of cash, but mentions nothing about gaining accountability for CUSTOMERS of the courts.

By accountability, I mean looking into allegations against courts like:

• A commissioner or judge ruling on your case w/out first hearing arguments.
• Judges reducing a parent to >10% (essentially zero) time in a custody battle with no proof of abuse or neglect.
• Excessive cost run ups by court appointed “facilitators” and “evaluators” profiteering in custody battles.
• Inappropriate business relationships between judges and the non-profit organizations they pander to.
• Quid pro quos between courts and DSHS for grant money as is rampant in Thurston.
• A judge ruling on an order and then changing it later w/out a hearing or trial.
• Serving papers that request support of X and then getting a default judgment tripling that amount.
• Evicting people from their homes at gun point based on allegations and holding a trial later.

Apparently this group (of mainly democrats) isn’t aware of, or doesn’t care about Thurston’s Courts pulling strings to get a court employee (Traci Black) assigned to a legislative committee guised as a private citizen. Apparently she was a more qualified disinterested private citizen than all of the private citizens who applied for the position.* Traci’s job was funded by a grant to facilitate keeping fathers involved with their kids in ensuing custody disputes. One of Traci’s primary metrics to achieve this end (according to records) has been to issue protection orders against fathers.

Yeah- This new infusion of grant money into the most corrupt institution in the state will be totally well spent.




*BTW- thanks to the pressure applied by fans of this blog- Traci Black stepped down from the Legislature’s Child Support Workgroup. Now we want access to the records that will identify WHO pulled the strings to get her selected over all the actual private citizens who applied.

**Thurston County Superior court is refusing to hand over records from judges on their involvement in the public policy decisions on the legislature’s Child Support Workgroup. Of course the legislature should write these guys a big fat check to self police themselves.