This case has made it further than most 42 U.S.C. 1983 suits. The civil rights statute was written by the legislature who attempt to be responsive to the will of the People, but judges misinterpret it to exclude the conduct of almost every government actor, especially when the defendant is a judge or other court employee.

Two California state judges, Gus T. May and Michael C. Small were dismissed after the complaint was filed.

The original complaint and the first amended, operative complaint are posted below. They are a great read. Mr. Sobel’s integrity as an officer of the court in pursuit of justice overshadows his one commonplace error. (Yes, attorney Sobel used that awful character chain “and/or”, the use of which I intend to challenge at the Supreme Court if the case of Micheal Pietrczak v. Laura Lynn et al reaches that level.)

I wrote about attorney William Spiller, Jr. more than a decade ago, chronicling his lucrative gig supposedly representing children in family and dependency court. He racked up obscene bills that seemed to require the superhuman ability to work ceaselessly. The bills were paid by taxpayers or the middle class and affluent parents forced to pay under the authority of the courts.

The results of Mr. Spiller’s misrepresentations were devastating.