| Deposition of Maura Larkins by Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz attorney Ljubisa Kostic June 16, 2008 Pages 89--91 |
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1 Q. I am concerned that you have accused me of
2 not allowing you to respond fully. I want to be sure
3 that there is nothing further you want to say about
4 any of the questions I have asked so far.
5 A. Let me just say this; when we were talking
6 about whether or not the Office of Administrative
7 Hearings' decision was reasonable, it should be noted
8 that at one point while the court reporter was still
9 on duty and reporting, the judge got up, walked into a
10 little room behind the witness stand, summoned the
11 other two panelists to come, and started talking to
12 them off record -- well, outside of the court
13 reporter's hearing -- and giving them -- telling him
14 that they were to disregard everything -- well, they
15 should disregard what I had just testified about
16 Linda Watson.
17 The reason I could hear them is because I
18 was on the witness stand, and I was just a few feet
19 away. Then when he noticed that I was there
20 listening, he closed the door. They remained in there
21 for about 10 minutes while everyone else in the room
22 was just sitting and waiting. That is how reasonable
23 that hearing was.
24 Q. Is it your understanding that panelists at
25 the Office of Administrative Hearings are not entitled
90
1 to confer amongst themselves without having the
2 litigants hear what they are saying to each other?
3 A. Yes. That was extremely bad behavior. I am
4 surprised that you would want to condone that in any
5 way, shape, or form.
6 Q. I am not condoning anything. I am asking
7 you whether you think that it was improper for one of
8 three panelists to take the other two into a separate
9 room.
10 A. It was extremely improper for the judge to
11 do that. He was given two weeks suspension for it.
12 Q. Okay. How do you know he was suspended for
13 two weeks?
14 A. Because I made a complaint about it and
15 talked to the Office of Administrative Hearings in
16 Sacramento. I noticed that on the calendar he was
17 scheduled for well into the future, and then for two
18 weeks he was removed.
19 Q. That is the reason you think he was
20 suspended?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Have you now covered all of the things that
23 you felt you did not have an opportunity to say
24 earlier?
25 A. Only the ones I wrote down, but I don't
91
1 remember any others.
2 Q. So at this time you don't want to say
3 anything more. I can go on with my questions?
4 A. Go ahead, Mr. Kostic.
5 Q. Was there any attorney with the Stutz firm
6 at the hearing that you just described, where the one
7 judge left?
8 A. No.
2 not allowing you to respond fully. I want to be sure
3 that there is nothing further you want to say about
4 any of the questions I have asked so far.
5 A. Let me just say this; when we were talking
6 about whether or not the Office of Administrative
7 Hearings' decision was reasonable, it should be noted
8 that at one point while the court reporter was still
9 on duty and reporting, the judge got up, walked into a
10 little room behind the witness stand, summoned the
11 other two panelists to come, and started talking to
12 them off record -- well, outside of the court
13 reporter's hearing -- and giving them -- telling him
14 that they were to disregard everything -- well, they
15 should disregard what I had just testified about
16 Linda Watson.
17 The reason I could hear them is because I
18 was on the witness stand, and I was just a few feet
19 away. Then when he noticed that I was there
20 listening, he closed the door. They remained in there
21 for about 10 minutes while everyone else in the room
22 was just sitting and waiting. That is how reasonable
23 that hearing was.
24 Q. Is it your understanding that panelists at
25 the Office of Administrative Hearings are not entitled
90
1 to confer amongst themselves without having the
2 litigants hear what they are saying to each other?
3 A. Yes. That was extremely bad behavior. I am
4 surprised that you would want to condone that in any
5 way, shape, or form.
6 Q. I am not condoning anything. I am asking
7 you whether you think that it was improper for one of
8 three panelists to take the other two into a separate
9 room.
10 A. It was extremely improper for the judge to
11 do that. He was given two weeks suspension for it.
12 Q. Okay. How do you know he was suspended for
13 two weeks?
14 A. Because I made a complaint about it and
15 talked to the Office of Administrative Hearings in
16 Sacramento. I noticed that on the calendar he was
17 scheduled for well into the future, and then for two
18 weeks he was removed.
19 Q. That is the reason you think he was
20 suspended?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Have you now covered all of the things that
23 you felt you did not have an opportunity to say
24 earlier?
25 A. Only the ones I wrote down, but I don't
91
1 remember any others.
2 Q. So at this time you don't want to say
3 anything more. I can go on with my questions?
4 A. Go ahead, Mr. Kostic.
5 Q. Was there any attorney with the Stutz firm
6 at the hearing that you just described, where the one
7 judge left?
8 A. No.
| Judge H. James Ahler at Office of Administrative Hearings |
| 2004 Stutz invoices |
| 2005 Stutz invoices |
| Public Records Requests |
| Payments to Shinoff |
| Maura Larkins v. CVESD |
| Deposition of Maura Larkins Judge Ahler OAH page 89-91 Is Shinoff or Mark Bresee to blame? pages 91-94 CVESD objects to depositions pages 95-105 |