Los Angeles, California -

The nation is outraged over the $165 million in bonuses which AIG is paying to those who created the massive financial fraud that has devastated the U.S. and the world.

Los Angeles - and most of California - has its own AIG - it's the California judges' cartel!

This year, the County of Los Angeles will give to each of its 450 judges a bonus equal to 26% of their salaries. This will cost the county approximately $20 million this year, and a similar or greater amount in each succeeding year.

As the county is deeply in debt, this is not surplus money which the county has tucked away. No. Instead it will cut back on services to citizens and lay off workers in order to give the judges this 26% pay increase.

The county will then say to the federal government that it needs its stimulus money to provide these services and hold on to the workers. In effect, the county is using the federal stimulus money to give a pay increase of 26% to its judges. That is a version of AIG receiving $180 billion from taxpayers, and then turning around and paying $165 million in bonuses.

But the situation is even worse.

For the last 20 years, the County of Los Angeles has been illegally paying these bonuses to its judges. The total is estimated to exceed $300 million. According to a former United States Department of Justice prosecutor, Richard Fine LA County Payments to LA Superior Court Judges Cost Taxpayers Almost 1 Billion Dollars and - Denied Constitutional Rights to the People of LA County -January 07, 2009 -By Richard I. Fine, Los Angeles, California

Watch Richard Fine's explanation why SBX 11 which the lobby of state public officials and judges passed, and why it was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on February 20, 2009. Fine explains why giving perks and immunity to California judges is illegal.

In October 2008, a California Court of Appeal, in Spurgeon v the County of Los Angeles, ruled that such payments were unconstitutional, as the constitution specifically restricted judges' pay to the California legislature. On December 23, 2008, the California Supreme Court unanimously upheld that ruling.

Did the county stop paying those bonuses? No. Did the judges stop taking those bonuses? No.

Instead, behind the scenes and out of the public eye, the judges took taxpayer money from the operating fund of the courts and hired a lobbyist at $10,000 a money to get a bill passed in the legislature overturning the Sturgeon decision. Ronald George, the California Supreme Court chief justice, also intervened, using taxpayer money to lobby for the bill.

The bill, SB 11, was introduced into the California legislature on February 11, 2009 by Darryl Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Even though the legislature was consumed with trying to pass a budget bill to close a $42 billion deficit, it passed the bill without any public discussion in 4 days. By February 20, 2009, the governor had signed it.

Not only did the bill overturn the Sturgeon decision, but it also granted immunity to the judges for illegally taking the $300 million over the last 20 years.

As 55 of California's 58 counties give these bonuses to their judges. the true cost far exceeds the $300 million in Los Angeles County. It begins to make the AIG bonuses look miniscule in comparison.

Of course, if the counties had not illegally spent that taxpayers' money, there would be less need for the federal bailout money.

In essence, the judges are feeding at the public trough without shame or remorse. They are telling the homeless and umemployed that they do not count, as long as the judges get all that they can get.

The honorable thing for the judges would be to pay back the money and resign. Instead the same judges involved in taking illegal payments and not disclosing these Judicial benefits have jailed Richard Fine for exposing their illegal actions. These judges have denied Fine access to pen or paper, access to library or the ability to file the papers in Federal court to defend himself

The people of Los Angeles should remove its county supervisors, and file a lawsuit against these judges.

Alternatively, the federal government should subtract all the bonus money, both past and present, from the stimulus funds given to the county.

Either way, another $300 Million AIG should not be allowed to be committed in Los Angeles and California by judges citizens elect to uphold the laws and the constitution.

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