California, A Land Of Kings

To:         Open Editorial

From:    Lorraine Bradley, Author
                State Secrets

RE:        THE CALIFORNIA MONARCHY - A LAND OF KINGS!

In monarchies throughout the world, ascension to the throne is accomplished through the succession of an heir. The overt European philosophy which keeps a family in power has historically been the "Divine Right of Kings" which asserts that GOD has deemed a royal family bloodline to be worthy of kingship.

In California, things are done a little differently - kings and queens are elected at the ballot box.

Elected politicians which probably start their careers by filling a political niche or plugging a governmental hole, quickly learn that they have garnered power in their little corner of the world, power that they use to promote their own, personal, agendas and beliefs. Advocation that exists as despotic decrees which often violate the policies of the public that elected them to the throne and, sometimes, even violate the law. The resulting anarchy seems to be of no concern to the new monarchy, as long as they have moved their personal beliefs forward, eroding society just that much further.

We need look no further than our local newspaper to see mayors involved in their, illegal, imperial pursuits, joining, in matrimony, the proud groom and the blushing bride as they both gaze longingly into each others eyes, both sporting a five o'clock shadow.

However, mayors are not the only ones that are elected to the throne and exercise their sovereignty over the laws of the land. We can't forget the District Attorneys - county prosecutors who are demanding their piece of the kingdom

In a headline published in the Los Angeles Times, Saturday, May 8, 2004 it is stated:

"Officer's Murder Divides San Francisco. Atty. Gen. Lockyer may step in as the D.A. refuses to seek death in the killing of a police officer."

"SACRAMENTO — California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer indicated Friday that he is likely to take over the controversial prosecution of the accused killer of a San Francisco police officer because the district attorney there is philosophically opposed to the death penalty and refuses to seek it."

With increasing frequency, the Attorney General is being called upon to don his armor, mount his steed and, with lance in hand, ride into the local castles to do battle with the elected monarchy. With increasing frequency, these elected potentates are thumbing their noses at public policy and the taxpayers that pay their salaries. However, this is nothing new and District Attorneys have a rich history of actions against the public interest. Chaos and disorder merely continue to reign in California's Halls of Justice - nothing new here!

What is reported in the paper is only the sensational tip of a huge ice burg that awaits, just below the surface, to wreck the ship of our Constitutional government.

Workers' Compensation Reform seems to be a historical hotbed of silent inequity and corruption for District Attorneys.

While the California legislature, in concert with the Governor, can pass laws that address and seem to rectify Workers' Compensation abuses, ultimately it is the District Attorneys who must enforce the most egregious abuses of the system - fraud.

The quality of enforcement of these laws against the abuses of Workers' Compensation Fraud seems to be contingent on the dichotomous philosophy that attaches itself to this single law which, constitutionally, should be applied equally to both employers and employees. Regrettably, this never seems to be the case.

District Attorney Philosophy #1:

Workers' Compensation Fraud, when committed by an employer against an employee, constitutes a "Personnel Action".

District Attorney Philosophy #2:

Workers' Compensation Fraud, when committed by an employee against an employer, invariably, constitutes a crime.

Even though it is the same law, if the perceptions of the two largest counties in California¹ are any measure of the validity of this duplicity, then the disparity and discrimination are whole and factual.

Click here for the August 6, 2000 scanned article in the L.A. Times regarding the self-serving prosecutorial practices of the Los Angeles District Attorney's office (1.2 Mb. file size PDF).

Click here to read how the District Attorney, in San Bernardino County, evaded Workers' Compensation Fraud prosecutions in favor of politics (647 Kb. PDF).

While civil disobedience by Mayors and breaches of public policies regarding death penalty cases by District Attorneys are aberrational signs of the times, the refusal of County Prosecutors to prosecute employers and insurance companies for their perpetration of Workers' Compensation Fraud committed against employees is the standard of political justice that endures, decade after decade.

Since California's District Attorneys are incapable of circumnavigating politics in the workers' compensation arena, the time has come for the Attorney General to create a special prosecutions unit which deals exclusively with Employer Perpetrated Workers' Compensation Fraud or, perhaps, a State Grand Jury if the Attorney General believes he cannot withstand the politics of TRUE Workers' Compensation Reform. If workers' compensation reform is ever going to be more than a mockery, the problem of Employer Perpetrated Workers' Compensation Fraud must be addressed.

Where kings reign, there needn't be either law or equity - only power.

Sincerely,

Lorraine Bradley, Author
State Secrets, The Website.
State Secrets, The Book.
lbradley282@msn.com
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com


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¹Los Angeles County, Largest in Population and San Bernardino County, largest in area.