A grassroots group advocating judicial reform received approval Monday, Feb. 23, to begin circulating petitions to recall six Orange County probate and family court judges on allegations of bias and disregard for due process.
The judges were formally notified in mid-December of the recall effort by the California Family Law Naked Truth group, a fledgling organization headed by Christine Fleming that is gathering steam throughout the state.
Fleming said 7,500 affected families statewide belong to the group, which also is planning recall attempts in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, as well as in the Sacramento area. Fleming said she experienced the so-called corruption first hand during a case involving a child she raised as a grandson.
She and her husband are now covering the cost of the group’s recall effort. The tab so far: more than $16,600, Fleming said. The group is seeking charity status with state and federal regulators so it will be able to accept donations.
Fleming said she started connecting with other families who posted reviews on Yelp about the judge in her case. Then the communications mushroomed.
“We hear from so many people who have had these challenges in the courtrooms,” she said.
Targeted for recall are former Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Maria D. Hernandez and Judges Carol Henson, Julie Palafox, Stephen Hicklin, Mary Kreber-Varipapa and Kimberly Carasso.
The recall notices generally accuse the judges of judicial misconduct, failing to hear evidence and discriminating against women and people representing themselves. The judges all are represented by attorney Mark Rosen.
In their formal responses, the judges generally painted the recall effort as an unwarranted attack on six respected jurists that would cost taxpayers more than $8.5 million for a special election.
Hicklin, in his response, noted the recall attempt was lodged by people unhappy with the rulings in their own cases, choosing politics over the appellate process.
“Instead of appealing, these litigants are trying to unseat fair and experienced judges for trying to do their jobs,” he wrote.
The recall notice against Hernandez says she authorized multiple investigations into family court misconduct, but never followed through, showing “a pattern of protecting judicial colleagues.”
Hernandez’s response noted her 19 years as a judicial officer and multiple commendations.
According to Fleming, the group would have to gather about 152,000 valid signatures for each judge to qualify a recall election for the ballot — which would be a mammoth undertaking.
The signatures must be turned over to the Registrar of Voters Office by 5 p.m. July 23 for all the judges, except Kreber-Varipapa. The signatures in her case must be turned over by Aug. 2 because her petition was approved later than the others.
The last recall campaign against an Orange County jurist came in 2015, when a group attempted to recall Judge Marc Kelly for sentencing a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old to 10 years in prison instead of the mandatory 25 years to life. The effort failed to gather enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Organizers said they simply could not raise enough money to support a signature-gathering campaign.
In an official statement filed with the Orange County registrar of voters, Kelly labeled the recall effort an “attack on judicial independence.” He remains on the Orange County bench.