Note on a newsletter- that failed to note the evil that is Judge Maria Stratton

It's bad enough when sociopathic criminals like Judge Maria Stratton, are not held accountable for their chilling crimes, but instead are lauded and profiled in Law Publications or Newsletters or whatever this fake interview is about...http://www.wlala.org/?page=296

 

Women Defenders of the very sick status quo in the Los Angleles Superior Court: A Con(artist)versation with the (Deeply dis)Honorable Maria Stratton

By Amanda R. Touchton(Notes by Alisa Spitzberg, and any decent person who knows the truth about Judge Stratton)

                      

 The worlds most wicked witch-  Hon. Maria Stratton

Amanda R. Touchon: Today, women are practicing criminal defense in greater numbers than ever before.  A recent study reveals that women constitute 52% of San Diego County’s deputy public defenders and 45% of the alternate public defenders. [1] These statistics contrast starkly with a 1950’s study, which found that only 2% of criminal defense attorneys were women, and a 1984 survey, which found that 16% of criminal defense attorneys were women. [2]

(Note by me: And this means that evil wretches like Judge Maria Stratton, Judge Marie Lou Villar, Judge Elizabeth Grimes, Judge Jacqueline Connor, Judge Karla Kerlin, Judge Samantha Jessner, and the judge in the Paulley Perret case can compete with their male counterparts when it comes to railroading innocent people, and dismissing meritorious lawsuits, and Maria Stratton even will commit innocent non violent misdmeanor defendents with no history of mental illness, to Patton while her Holocaust survivor mother looks on. Stratton will refuse to even talk to Henya Spitzberg, of course, because the mental health court is not there for the betterment of society or to afford anyone genuinely incompetent to stand trial a more merciful disposition. No,  division 95, under Judge Maria Stratton and with the grinning complicity with females such s as Judge Samantha Jessner, Judge Marie Lou Villar(Delongiara blah) and Judge Karla Kerlin - Division 95 exists to derail trials that will prove them and their cronies guilty of unspeakable crimes against innocent defendants and the People of Californa. 

Judge Maria Stratton calls on sweaty Charlatans who are referred to as doctors: Dr. Francisco Verlarde and Dr. Kaushal Sharma to falsify evaluations. In fact, they make no effort to evaluate anyone for competency and if you are too competent to win at trial then you will get the Stratton Treatment. Judge Samantha Jessner only had to use A Doctor Kristen Ochoa to achieve her means and then Sabrina Di-Biaggio was brought in to play pretend "competency coach."

Judge Maria Stratton wants innocent defendants  forcibly medicated for reasons that point to either greed or just general wickedness.

Amanda Touchton: Curious about the relationship between gender and criminal defense, I reached out to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria E. Stratton.  As her bio reveals, no practitioner in Los Angeles can match Judge Stratton’s cross-section of experience as a criminal defense attorney.  

( Note by me. Ms. Touchton, you should be curious about the relationship Maria Stratton has with the Kroll family and you should be curious how much she is making in kickbacks with Dr. Kaushal Sharma and Pattons and Gateways. You should be curious as to why she orders men like Dr. Francisco Velarde and Sharma to falsify reports and to force medication on non violent misdemeanor defendants with no known history of any mental illness. You should be curious why all the baillifs in that court shake their heads and say, "nothing would surprise me about this court" when they talk to super sane defendants who are locked up in cells with the insane because they refused to back down when falsely accused.  

Her bio clearly does not reveal the fact that though Stratton pretended to preside over a humane court she would not even speak to a Holocaust survivor whose daughter Maria Stratton had locked up, without bail, for a month and with no charges and no viable reason other than that her daughter had the misfortune of earning the malice of Nick Kroll's comedy connection- Mathilde "Tig" Notaro. Her bio does not reveal that with such a twisted character like Stratton, the chances are she sold all her non paying clients down the river. The bio does not express the threat and dread she inspires in those who can't pay her bribes. It can't show her ugly expression as she was foiled in case 8CA10541.  Nor, does the bio inform the public that Stratton is as evil as hell and as connected as hell and that not only will she bury you alive, she'll make sure you can't sue for it. Her bio has yet to be properly written and when it is she will resemble Eva Braun and not Clara Foltz et al.

Amanda Touchton: 

Judge Stratton began her career in 1979 as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry Pregerson, a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  For the first year of Judge Stratton’s clerkship, Judge Pregerson was a District Judge in the Central District.  Judge Stratton left her clerkship with one goal – to get into the courtroom.  

 Notes by me: No, she left with many goals. She wanted to get rich and she wanted power, or maybe she didn't start off as evil as she'd become. Her actions in the last few years indicate extreme sociopathy so it's doubtful she was ever a good human being. Her desire to lord over other is a tragedy.

Amanda Touchton continues to not get that Maria Stratton is a dangerous psychopath:

Then as now, the quickest route to the courtroom was through a public office.  Having spent two years watching attorneys make appearances, Judge Stratton knew that “criminal lawyers were courtroom lawyers.”   Judge Stratton applied to both the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Public Defender’s Office. 

Note by me: I'm getting tired of this, fast.  Stratton certainly likes the quickest route and she will do anything to get rich and powerful without having to practice law. She discovered that practicing lawlessness is much more lucrative.  She fails to tell this Amanda lady that she likely pulled all kinds of string to get these prestigious positions. Why else would a a potato faced monster like Stratton go so far so fast?

Amanda  keeps chugging with this bullshit:

 Although it was happenstance that the Federal Public Defender responded before the United States Attorney, Judge Stratton is confident that she ended up in the right place.  “I loved talking to my clients – that was the most rewarding part of the job – the clients.

Notes by myself and I, and me too! Happenstance can be a cruel mistress. I wish Happenstance made Judge Maria Stratton a resident of Siberia. Had that happened she would not be free to ruin and keep ruining the lives of law abiding and bright American Citizens. As of 2009, the only right place for Judge Maria Stratton is Sing Sing Prison, but Pelican Bay would suffice. Also, this is an imagine conversation between Stratton and her poor poor clients(literally and figuratively) 

Client: I'm innocent.

Stratton as public defender: Who gives a shit. Plea or I'll sic Sharma on you and get you jailed and discredited. HA!

Client: But I have evidence and witnesses.

Stratton as public defender : Shut your pie hole or you'll eat commisarry for life. If you have 100k I might glance at one witness statement. Plea or I'll get you dead or worse. Try to sue if you survive and I'll make sure you keep losing.

When Maria Stratton says it was rewarding she means it in the literal sense: She made a lot of money selling out whomever could buy her off. 

Amanda Touchton has no clue:

Practicing in federal court in 1981 was not without drawbacks.  Although many of the judges were fair, some treated her differently because she was a woman.   “Not a woman,” she says with a shake of her head, “a girl.”  She explains:

If you made a mistake, it was because you were a girl.  If you didn’t get along with the prosecutor, it was because you were a girl.  And if it was a woman prosecutor you were having difficulties with, it was because you were both catty girls.  

Me, fed up with this new time waster: 

Oh shut up you vicious sociopath. You were never a "girl." You were always a thug with lumpen bosoms, at best.

Touchton is so out of touch if she believes this shit:

To this day, Judge Stratton recalls her experience representing a young defendant charged with bank robbery who had determined to plead guilty.  When the defendant balked on the day set for his change of plea, Judge Stratton asked the court for more time.  The judge was furious.  “You girls!  Can’t control your clients.”  The defendant later apologized for “getting her in trouble.”  

Me, clearly: OMG, this is all a lie!!!! Stratton never would help anyone who didn't grease her witchy palms.

 Or, maybe this defendant was Nick Kroll  or Tig Notaro or John Gregozek, and so she could say, " Nick or Tig or John- no need for that. We'll not only get you an acquittal but we'll get you better jobs and comedy shows too."

Stratton keeps the crap coming:

 Although these experiences were frustrating, Judge Stratton received support and encouragement from her fellow Deputy Public Defenders, her clients and even her opponents.   “It’s what I miss most about criminal law,” she says, “the respect and professionalism that exists between prosecutors and defense attorneys.”

Me, out of steam: She really misses being able to terrorize her poor "clients" into submission, if anything. By professional relationship she means prosecutors gave her cold hard cash so they could claim to win losing cases. Tsk Tsk Maria Stratton.

Okay, I'm bored with this now but will just say that the prospect of being stuck with Maria Stratton is a chilling one. A sad, scary, and miserable reality for anyone stuck with such misfortune as to be assigned this be-robed gutter snipe from the bowels of purgatory AKA judge Maria Stratton.

blah blah blah goes one of the world's most sinister and sickening examples of benchhood-

Outside of the courtroom, gender was less of an issue.  Judge Stratton never felt discriminated against by prosecutors, and found her gender rarely mattered to her clients.  “Being a good defender isn’t about being a man or a woman, it’s about understanding the client and the client’s situation.  Those clients didn’t choose me – they were stuck with me.  It was my responsibility to win them over.”  Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

After leaving the Federal Public Defender’s Office in 1983, Judge Stratton worked as an associate and then a partner at Talcott, Lightfoot, Vandevelde, Woehrle & Sadowsky (“Talcott Lightfoot”).   “After working as a Deputy Federal Public Defender, I knew my way around a courtroom and could try a case.  I could go into any courtroom and function.”   Talcott Lightfoot was known nationwide as a preeminent white collar criminal defense firm and Judge Stratton had both a civil and criminal practice.  The environment at Talcott was collegial and the partners employed a team based approach, involving all of the attorneys as equals.  Judge Stratton never perceived that her status as a woman hindered her success in private practice. 

Then as now, the white collar criminal defense bar was predominately male with higher percentages of women in public defender offices than private practice. [3]  Judge Stratton believes this may have resulted, at least in part, from the fact that, for many years, women leaving the United States Attorney’s Office were top candidates for judicial appointments.   During the administrations of Governors Deukmejian, Wilson, and Davis, defense attorneys rarely received judicial appointments.   “They were trying to get more women and they only wanted prosecutors.  A lot of former female Assistant United States Attorney’s wound up on the bench.”

In 1993, Judge Stratton was appointed Federal Public Defender for the Central District of Los Angeles – the first woman to hold the position.  Nationwide, the public defender leadership was predominately male but Judge Stratton formed close bonds with the women heading other district offices.  Judge recalled that many of these women defenders looked out for one another and took extra care to mentor each other. 

In her new role as the head of one of the largest Federal Public Defender’s offices in the nation, Judge Stratton found herself managing a staff that grew over the course of her tenure from 35 attorneys to 65 attorneys.  Although she did not emphasize gender when making hiring decisions, she made it her goal to reach an even ratio of male to female attorneys.  Judge Stratton also heavily recruited other minority candidates in an effort to make sure that the office was balanced and representative of the diversity of the Central District. 

Rather than focus on what are sometimes perceived as “women’s issues” in the workplace, Judge Stratton used her leadership role to concentrate on issues that impacted all her employees.  From Judge Stratton’s perspective, balancing work and family was not a women’s issue, but a concern shared by the majority of her employees.   “My goal was to foster a family friendly environment – not mom friendly, but family friendly.”  In keeping with this philosophy, she instituted a paternity leave policy and encouraged her male attorneys to take advantage of it.   Acknowledging that attorneys without children often felt overburdened carrying the caseloads of attorneys on maternity or paternity leave, Judge Stratton allowed any attorney who wanted to take a substantial leave of absence to apply.  “I represented all defenders and I didn’t go out of my way to promote the needs of any one group.” 

As for differences between the male and female criminal defense attorneys she supervised, Judge Stratton could recall only one.  “The men were more likely to come into my office and tell me about their victories.  I thought it was great, but the women would never do it.”   To make sure that the women’s victories received as much attention as the men’s, Judge Stratton started a policy of collecting success stories and sending out emails to the entire staff.

In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Judge Stratton to the Superior Court.   Her first assignment was in a misdemeanor trial court, her second in a criminal drug court and her third as a felony preliminary hearing judge in the Metropolitan courthouse.  From her seat on the bench, Judge Stratton gained yet another perspective on criminal defense attorneys and women defenders.  

According to Judge Stratton the difference between male and female criminal defense attorneys is, to put it plainly, nothing.  When asked her thoughts on the idea that women may bring unique talents to criminal defense such as “pay[ing] more attention to the clients as people,” “being more willing and able to listen to clients” and “being better listeners and nurturers,” Judge Stratton does not hide her disdain. [4] “Being a good criminal defense attorney is personality driven, not gender driven.”  Good criminal defense attorneys, she explains, are “fearless lawyers with a healthy disrespect for authority.  They are comfortable being troublemakers and relish pushing buttons.  But they also have to have a real affection for their clients.  It’s not a gender difference.  It’s a difference between criminal defense attorneys and the rest of the universe.” 

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[1]Lawyers Club of San Diego, 2010 Equality Survey (September 2010).

[2]Kittel, Norman.  Criminal Defense Attorneys: A Study of Pluralism in Practice Styles and Conditions.  The Journal of the Legal Profession. (Vol. 11, 1986-87).
[3] Barbara A. Curran, American Bar Associations, Women in the Law: A look at the Numbers 18 (1995).
[4] Joan W. Howarth, Women Defenders on Television: Representing Suspects and the Racial Politics of Retribution. The Journal of Gender, Race and Justice (Vol. 3, 2000).

Amanda Touchton practices criminal defense law at Isaacs Friedberg, LLP where she is Of Counsel.  Ms. Touchton is also a WLALA member.