Chief Justice Presses for Expedited Court Rule on Disclosure of Sexual Harassment Claims

SAN FRANCISCO—Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye today announced that she is asking the Judicial Council to take immediate action to revise court rules on public records to ensure that all levels of the state court system be required to disclose the names of judicial officers who entered into settlement agreements to resolve sexual harassment or sexual discrimination complaints.

“I want to make sure there’s no ambiguity as to whether courts should be required to disclose those records now,” the Chief Justice said. “The current rule does not make it clear enough that these records should be disclosed. Judicial independence relies in part on judicial accountability. The judiciary relies on the trust and confidence of the public it serves, and the public has a right to know how the judicial branch spends taxpayer funds.”

The Chief Justice named five Judicial Council members to work on the rule change: Justice Marsha G. Slough, Judge Stacy Boulware-Eurie, Judge Kyle S. Brodie, and attorneys Gretchen Nelson and Rachel W. Hill.

A proposed rule change would come through the council’s Rules and Projects Committee, which is chaired by Justice Harry E. Hull, Jr. before it’s voted on by the entire council. As chair of the Rules committee, Justice Hull will also be participating with the working group.