admin | Paul Goyette Blog

Movement to End Collective Bargaining in CA Gains Momentum

by admin on July 14, 2011 • Comments Closed • association, attorney, benefits, California Center for Public Policy, collective bargaining agreements, Lanny Ebenstein, lawyer, pension reform, public employee, public sector employee union, retiree

The Sacramento Bee recently reported that a group, looking to abolish collective bargaining rights for all of California’s public sector employees, filed three ballot initiatives this week. The group is called the California Center for Public Policy and arrears to be led by a UC Santa Barbara economic lecturer named ...Read More

Not Following Orders? Could Result in Insubordination Allegation

by admin on June 8, 2011 • Comments Closed • attorney, California Correctional Supervisors Organization, CCSO, Correctional Sergeant, Department Operations Manual, disciplinary action, hearing, insubordination, law enforcement, lawyer, orders, State Personnel Board, superior, willful disobedience

Most people would agree that any form of law enforcement is considered a para-military organization. This is to include all aspects of custody and control wheather it be at the county jail or a state prison. Within such organizations the chain of command is the back bone of operations, with ...Read More

Know your Audience: a Key to Skelly Success

by admin on May 20, 2011 • Comments Closed • administrative, attorney, case, Correctional Sergeant, defense attorney, demoted, disciplinary appeal process, discipline, law, lawyer, overturn, representation, skelly hearing

Recently Sgt. Butler* received word that his rank as a correctional sergeant was being taken away and he was to be demoted to a correctional officer position. As anyone who has attained a supervisory rank knows, getting your stripes is generally a product of years of hard work. Not only ...Read More

The Importance of Being Earnest

by admin on April 26, 2011 • Comments Closed • appeal, attorney, California Correctional Supervisors Association, CCSO, Dan Thompson, demand to withdraw the action, disciplinary action, G&A, legal action, Letter of Reprimand, patient, registered nurse, RN, State Personnel Board

Recently Goyette & Associates represented a registered nurse who is a member of the California Correctional Supervisors Association and is employed by the Department of Mental Health. She received a Letter of Reprimand because she authorized treatment of a patient in compliance with the specialized needs of the individual and ...Read More

Allegation of Untruthfulness Leads to Termination

by admin on March 29, 2011 • Comments Closed • attorney, hearing, lawyer, peace officer, Police Officer, Termination, untruthfulness, use of force

In this case, a city police officer was terminated for allegations of untruthfulness related to a use of force incident where he and fellow officers were required to use force to arrest a fleeing felon suspect. In the course of the altercation four different officers applied various levels of force ...Read More

POBR Vioalations

by admin on March 29, 2011 • Comments Closed • attorney, bill of rights, internal affairs, investigation, lawyer, officer, police, Termination

A woman filed a complaint against a sheriff’s deputy for various allegations of misconduct while off duty. The woman and the deputy are next door neighbors and have a fairly typical neighbor feud going between them. The woman filed the complaint with a sergeant who happened to be working as ...Read More

I can rest easily at night, knowing menacing Barry Bonds is off the streets

by admin on March 29, 2011 • Comments Closed • Barry Bonds, Federal indictments, federal investigation, high profile federal prosecution, obstruction of justice, perjury

I feel so much safer that Federal Authorities are spending boat loads of tax payers’ dollars getting bad guys off the street and keeping our children safe at their schools by … prosecuting retired baseball star Barry Bonds. Are you kidding me? Ah, but remember, this case isn’t about Bonds. ...Read More

G&A HELPS CERES POA PREVAIL- Officers Receive Pay for Exam Time

by admin on February 28, 2011 • Comments Closed • employee organizations, grievance, Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, paid leave, police, release time

Recently, Ceres POA filed a grievance with the city of Ceres after the Finance Department refused to pay officers who took approximately six hours for a promotional exam while they were on-duty. The officers pointed to uncontested twenty year old language in their Memorandum of Understanding which states: Section 7.5 ...Read More

Your day in Court. Maybe.

by admin on February 22, 2011 • Comments Closed • attorney, defense attorneys, forced mediation, juries, Jury trials, law, lawyer, mandatory mediation, over-litigation, plaintiff

Written by Joy C. Rosenquist, Esq. Jury trials are at the very foundation of American democracy. However, for every 100 cases that are filed in court, statistics say that only about 5 of them will ever make it to a jury trial. Why is this? There are a few ...Read More

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS NEED TO FOLLOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN WISCONSIN

by admin on February 18, 2011 • Comments Closed • deferred budget, public employee demonstration, public sector employee organizations, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

California public sector employee organizations need to closely follow how things are unfolding in the State of Wisconsin. Recently, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker proposed the passage of a plan to have Wisconsin public sector employees pay a greater share of their pension costs and healthcare coverage. The governor’s proposal comes ...Read More