Posted by
Mike on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 4:05:35 PM
http://www.westernperspective.blogspot.com/
In recent years, the County of Ventura, California and Jury Commissioner Michael Planet, who is
apparently in charge of court filings, have year after year deliberately obstructed court filings necessary for conservatorships for mentally disabled individuals. Last year, in filing the documents there was a long wait at the "Mental Health" window while other filings were being processed for Civil, Small Claims and divorce cases. When the clerk finally arrived at the filing window, she immediately began to separate documents which were properly stapled and give advice about what needed to be included on the forms before filing. That was the fifteenth year for filing annual conservatorship papers for my brother. The particular clerk had only just started processing these types of filings. She also unnecessarily wasted more of California taxpayer money, controlled by Proposition 13 limits on property taxes, and time by bringing the documents to a "higher up" rather than filing them as is. Although there was nothing wrong with the documents, I made minor changes requested by the clerk. After the documents were accepted, I then handed her a printed "Suggestion Card" with comments on the poor quality of government provided by the County, solely funded by taxpayer dollars.
This year today at the 16th filing, I was directed to another window toward the rear corner of the filing area. An older gentleman was waiting but there was no clerk at the window. Someone from the inside told him that he had to call from a wall telephone, to which he replied that he had already done so, and there was no answer. The woman on the inside then said that someone would be there shortly.
The clerk who came to the window said herself that her experience was limited to only one conservatorship filing, yet she began to search every document presented to her for mistakes and advise the gentlemen about what to do with the documents for his son. He had not yet mailed out copies to others in the family. The clerk then left the window to ask another clerk to help, the same young lady who had deliberately delayed my brother's document filings the year before. Then another young man arrived, and asked one of the Small Claims clerks whether he could file at that window, to which she replied that he would have to file at the "Mental Health" window, where he was then forced to stand in line. Several times I asked both clerks why they did not either accept the gentleman's documents "as is" or make the necessary changes themselves. As they had no answer, the clerk who had been uncooperative the last year threatened to call security. I told her that I have a right to express my opinion.
Only after I asked one of the Small Claims clerks, who were very polite, to speak to a supervisor, and gave her, the supervisor, my written comments, did the two clerks at the window begin to expedite the process. I was in line for approximately 30 minutes, while clerks at other filing windows were not taking care of any customers.
This is disgraceful government waste, and disrespectful to the people who pay taxes. The Jury Commissioner/Administrator Michael Planet is a pinhead. He should have received sufficient notice of improper activities by public servants last year. Nothing positive has been done. Instead, the treatment received by individuals and their families at the hands of government bureaucrats is even more repugnant this year. He should be fired without pay.