USPS certified mail receipt 7015 3430 0000 3310 7584
25 December 2016
Commission on Judicial Performance
455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 14400
San Francisco, California 94102
On the morning of Monday, October 17th, 2016, I was in Department 7 of Humboldt County Superior Court, attending the second hearing in the case of JV160250.
As I entered the courtroom, I saw the judge - in the back of the courtroom, on the right side of the room, located behind the court reporter - lean forward, and catch the eye of a person who, I later learned, was Evan Alves - located in the back of the courtroom, on the left side, amongst the seats reserved for the jury - the place used by Child Welfare Services, for seating, during hearings.
I saw Judge Christopher Wilson make a quizzical face at Mr Alves - he raised his eyebrows - and Mr Alves responded to the question implicit in Judge Wilson's face, by volunteering, to the judge, that they had not located any evidence or witnesses, yet.
Because I was responding to allegations of child abuse at the time I made note of this sequence of events, for later thought.
However, in retrospect, this was when I first realized that the county employees who were accusing my wife and I of criminal behavior did not actually have either evidence OR witnesses.
I say this because I am not a lawyer - and if I had not happened to witness this curious exchange between Judge Wilson and Humboldt County social worker, Evan Alves, it would have never occurred to me that the information that the court was being provided with, was not evidence.
However, Evan Alves was absolutely correct about that one thing.
I have studied it all carefully, and everything that Humboldt County Child Welfare Services has presented in Superior Court is anonymous, un-corroborated, third-hand, and hearsay.
As it so happens, Humboldt County Superior Court has a rule against anonymous evidence.
Humboldt County Superior Court Rules can be downloaded from the Internet, at this URL - http://www.humboldt.courts.ca.gov/files/humboldt.pdf - and according to 7.24(c), "For purposes of the contested hearing only, the Court shall strike any portion of the report containing anonymous information."
I'm still waiting to learn whose responsibility it is, to enforce this rule.
Over the next few months I read the materials I received from the court and asked questions of my court-appointed lawyer, Sarah Kaber.
I asked my lawyer if the court had located any evidence or witnesses, yet. She did not reply.
I instructed my lawyer to begin every hearing by enunciating the number of days it had been since I had seen my daughter, and by asking the court, if Child Welfare Services had located either evidence or witnesses, yet. She has not.
My three remaining children filed declarations affirming that they had never been abused.
Judge Wilson ignored the declarations, based his decision on facts that did not exist, ignored Child Welfare Services' own negative interviews, and took my other three children away from me - before Humboldt County had even established jurisdiction over the first child - the child this had all begun over, back in October.
I began to be concerned that Judge Wilson was not an ethical person.
I began to suspect that the reason Judge Wilson had not asked the question of Evan Alves, out loud, was that he did not want his question to be recorded - by the court reporter or by any other possible mechanism.
I realized that the question Judge Wilson had asked of Evan Alves could only have been asked, if there had been a pre-existing context, in which the raised eyebrows could be construed as a question ... and this implied that Evan Ales, and Judge Wilson, had been discussing JV160250, alone, when my lawyer and I were not present.
Based on information and belief, I think that Judge Christopher Wilson and social worker Evan Alves were engaging in ex parte communications, in violation of the Judicial Code of Conduct.
Lacking evidence to the contrary, it seems likely that this is a daily occurrence. They seem to be close.
I did some research on the Internet and quickly discovered the Judge Wilson had previously been found guilty of timesheet fraud and had been investigated and censured by your agency.
And so I think that my suspicions have a substantial basis and I am acting in good faith when I initiate contact with your agency to report this matter.
I now bring these facts to the attention of your agency, because it is clear to me that your work was left undone ... and that there is more housecleaning to be done, here in Humboldt County.
It boggles my mind that the man is still in office, as a judge, and lacks the integrity to resign - and that Humboldt County's lawyers, like a bunch of sheep, accept this state of affairs.
I would affirm any or all of this, under oath, if so required.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Richard Childers
3111 Smith Lane
Fortuna, CA 95540
Cc: California State Bar / USPS 7015 3430 0000 3310 7638