Whistleblower Attorney Reveals Systemic Corruption in California Courts: Institutionalized Judge Misconduct, Prosecutor Misconduct, Police Misconduct

Attorney Valerie Houghton and Terry Houghton Criminal Prosecution Santa Clara County: Fraud Investigation Report

Controversial family law attorney Valerie Houghton has been under criminal indictment since 2016.

• View the catalog of Houghton prosecution criminal case records.  

Moral Turpitude, Dishonesty, Fraud, Corruption or Concealment: Rules of Procedure of the State Bar of California

Rule 2.11 of the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar of California provides for the disbarment or actual suspension of an attorney for misconduct, including moral turpitude. The rule was revised and renumbered on July 1, 2015. The rule previously was designated as 2.7. The 23-page document catalog embedded at the end of this post includes the 2016, 2014, and 2012 versions of the rule. 

Under rule 5.126, a serious offense is defined as conduct involving dishonesty, moral turpitude, or corruption, including bribery, forgery, perjury, extortion, obstruction of justice, burglary or related offenses, intentional fraud, and intentional breach of fiduciary relationship. 

This compilation also includes the moral turpitude section from the California Compendium on Professional Responsibility Index, published by the State Bar. Under California law, there are more than 100 forms of attorney misconduct that are considered acts of moral turpitude. Common forms include:

• Advancing untrue facts prejudicial to opposing party. 
• Concealing material information. 
• Misleading the court. 
• Acts of deception. 
• Omission of material facts from documents. 
• Misrepresentation and concealment of adverse and material facts. 
• Dishonesty. 
• Misrepresentations to opposing counsel or pro per. 
• Overreaching. 

Under California law, codified at Code of Judicial Ethics canon 3D(2), judges are required to report, or otherwise correct attorney misconduct, including moral turpitude, dishonesty and concealment.

For more information about moral turpitude and attorney misconduct, visit the California Attorney Misconduct page at Sacramento Family Court Report. 

California State Bar Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim Misconduct: Disciplinary Backlog Data Manipulated

Fired State Bar Executive Director Joe Dunn Files Whistleblower Lawsuit - Jayne Kim Cooked Books

Former California State Bar Executive Director Joe Dunn alleges misconduct by Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim. 

From The Recorder:

Fired California State Bar executive director Joe Dunn filed suit Thursday afternoon, alleging that he was canned after alerting the bar to "serious ethical breaches" among top leaders. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, says that Dunn and other unnamed plaintiffs filed two whistleblower notices with the bar during the first week of November. Dunn says he was fired two days later - via email - while giving a speech in San Francisco...

...The whistleblower notices, the complaint alleges, warned administrators that Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim - hired on his watch - was manipulating the agency's books to conceal a disciplinary backlog - an issue that Dunn had pledged to lawmakers that he would correct when he came on the job. Dunn also says he complained the bar wasn't doing enough to prosecute non-lawyers performing legal work.

Click here to read the full story at The Recorder. For the Courthouse News Service report, click here. Read the complete lawsuit filed by Joe Dunn below, posted exclusively by State Bar of California News.  

Joseph Dunn v State Bar of California - Complaint for Damages - Office of Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim Cal... by California Judicial Branch News Network

State Bar Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim Ignores Alleged Criminal Conduct, Serial Moral Turpitude Acts By Sacramento Attorney Against Pro Per Domestic Violence Victim

Sacramento Bar Association Officer Repeatedly Violates State Law, Attorney Ethics Rules - Maintains Clean Bar Record

The State Bar of California and the California Supreme Court are responsible for attorney oversight in California. Despite documented, multiple violations of state law and attorney ethics rules, Sacramento lawyer Paula D. Salinger maintains a pristine State Bar record.

Whistleblower leaked records from a Sacramento Family Court case indicate that criminal acts were committed by family law attorney and temporary judge Paula Salinger against an indigent, unrepresented, pro per family court party. The pro per was a victim and witness in a family court criminal contempt case filed against a Salinger client, and the pro per also is a domestic violence victim, according to court records. Family court reform advocates say the case is another example of the complete lack of oversight and accountability of attorneys who engage in egregious misconduct against disadvantaged, pro per litigants who can't afford legal representation. 

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