California Mourns the Loss of A Judicial Giant, Richard Mosk

The California Courts lost another great judge this week. Richard M. Mosk served on the California Court of Appeal, but was renowned for a career that spanned three decades of public service working on a host of high profile commissions.

While serving on the Warren Commission, Mosk had the rather unique task of directly investigating the background of Lee Harvey Oswald.

The LA Times reports: “He firmly believed that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman,” said Matthew Mosk, his son and an ABC News producer. “He did not want to see history distorted by conspiracy theories.”

Mosk also served on Iran-US Claims Tribunal at The Hague. The Tribunal was created following the hostage crisis to resolve issues between the two countries.

The Times reports, “Richard Mosk also served on the Christopher Commission — which investigated the LAPD in the wake of the Rodney King beating — the Los Angeles Board of Inquiry on Brush Fires, the Los Angeles Commission on Judicial Procedures, the L.A. County Law Library board and the Stanford Athletic Board. He also was on the boards of the California Museum of Science and Industry and Town Hall California.”

At CCM, we send our deepest condolences to his family and friends who are mourning his passing, and we salute a long-standing public servant of the California Courts

Divorced? You Might Want To Double-Check That

With California divorce courts slowing to a snail’s pace, some citizens who want to re-marry are finding out that they can’t – because clerks have not yet processed required documents for a judge’s signature. And now Ted Rall, one of the more famous cartoonists contributing to the Los Angeles Times, has issued both a cartoon and a column mocking the sorry state of our courts.
 
He suggests switching it all to the Internet, using a lie-detecting algorithm and delivering results via robots and drones. He also solidifies his optimist cred by noting a positive side to the mess: Every cloud has a silver lining. Because so many courthouses have closed, some Californians are automatically getting exempted from jury duty: “In San Bernardino County, the Superior Court has stopped summoning jurors from Needles, making the guarantee of a jury of one’s peers elusive. Because of court closures in the High Desert, a trip to court from Needles can take some residents 3 1/2 hours.”
 

It’s a fridge-worthy cartoon and column: If our courts are broke, how can Californians get divorced? An idea.