WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, a long-time elected member of the Board of Supervisors in the County of Los Angeles explained to the members of a prominent Republican organization on November 23, 2009 that the practice of providing extra payments to Superior Court Judges will be ending with the new Judges. Full Disclosure Network(R) presents an online 3 min video report covering the Lincoln Club meeting where Antonovich described the judicial payments that had been ruled illegal as having been legalized on February 20, 2009 by special state legislation. He explained that the practice had been statewide in most California counties. The video report is available at the URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/Report_Antonovich.php

The County's payments to judges over and beyond their State salaries were ruled illegal by a Fourth District CA Court of Appeals decision in November of 2008 in the Judicial Watch case Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles.

In response to a question about the continuing public concern about the county payments creating a "conflict" for judges who hear cases involving the County as litigants and how this conflict would be resolved Antonovich made the following points.

• All new judges (elected or appointed) will not be receiving payments from the county.
• Most other California counties have been paying extra benefits to the judges .
• This was not just a Los Angeles County practice .
• Recent legislation, Senate Bill SBX2 11 has now made the payments legal.
• L.A. Judges have not always ruled in favor of the County.
• Several rulings have been in favor of illegal aliens (which the county opposed).

Featured in the video are quotes from : Sterling Norris, Judicial Watch, David Hernandez and

From his L.A. County Central Men's Jail cell, anti-trust attorney Richard I Fine gave his reaction to the Antonovich statement, available at: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/news/2009/11/county-to-stop-payments-for-new-judgesl.html. Fine remains in solitary "coercive confinement" following his attempt to disqualify Judge Yaffe for not disclosing to litigants in his courtroom receipt of payments from the County .

WHAT IS THE FULL DISCLOSURE NETWORK(R)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/22429230/Leslie-Dutton-Backgrounder-111109

One Pager On Series "Judicial Benefits & Court Corruption .

Contact: Leslie Dutton, ldutton@fulldisclosure.net, 310-822-4449, Full Disclosure Network

SOURCE Full Disclosure Network

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