Nevada County Superior Court Judge Julie McManus filed for disability retirement with the state, nearly 10 months after she left the bench on medical leave.

Her decision comes amidst a move to start a recall petition due to her continued absence and alleged erratic behavior in Family Court.

And the stated reason for her retirement, a “traumatic brain injury,” has some community members questioning rulings she made in the time period between the injury and the date she went on leave . . . More

Nevada County Superior Court Judge Julie McManus filed for disability retirement with the Commission on Judicial Performance on December 15, 2011.

McManus was appointed to the Nevada County Superior Court in December 2005. She ran unopposed in June, 2008. Her term expires in 2014.

Judge McManus has been on medical leave since March, 2011, and was subsequently found to have sustained a traumatic brain injury in a fall. McManus will require further treatment, the duration of which is unknown at this time . . . More

Sometimes we just like their hair, which is why we rarely see bald governors and presidents (there is a reason our country is in the toilet … not enough bald leaders).

Every once in awhile we actually elect someone who does what he promised to do, but, no matter what, we always get the government we deserve . . . More

A coalition of county residents is gearing up to mount a recall petition against two Nevada County Superior Court judges — Julie McManus and Candace Heidelberger.

The proposed recall of McManus stems from her continued absence from the bench. She has been on medical leave since March 3. Heidelberger has been widely criticized over what many perceived as too-lenient sentencing of a child molester last week.

The recall is not targeting Presiding Judge Thomas Anderson, although his sentencing in a separate child molestation case last week was also the subject of similar criticism . . . More

A coalition of county residents is gearing up to mount a recall drive of two Nevada County Superior Court judges — Julie McManus and Candace Heidelberger . . . More

Nevada County Superior Court assignments for the coming year were released this week, with a vacancy created by the continued absence of Judge Julie McManus.

McManus has been absent from family law court on medical leave since March 3, the day before she was scheduled to be in San Francisco for a meeting of a collaborative justice courts advisory committee. She missed that meeting after having car trouble in Sacramento, according to Nevada County Superior Court Executive Officer Sean Metroka . . . More

The Nevada County Superior Court has issued an order prohibiting “expressive” activities inside county courthouses or on courthouse grounds.

The formal written policy, which was being circulated for signature by the court’s judges, comes in the wake of a free speech flap involving a group known as Family Court Reformers.

Two reform advocates were asked to leave the courthouse by Court Executive Officer Sean Metroka after they entered the building Oct. 5, and allegedly were warned they could be cited for a misdemeanor for obstructing business . . . More

Court officials kicked two Family Court Reformers out of the Nevada County Courthouse Wednesday morning, warning they could be cited for a misdemeanor for obstructing business.

But the advocacy group reportedly has rallied the American Civil Liberties Union to their cause and promises to continue the fight . . .  More

Nevada County Superior Court Judge Julie McManus has been absent from family law court on medical leave for more than six months — at an estimated cost to the state of nearly $100,000 . . . More

In most ways, it looks like a typical custody battle. A courthouse in Roseville, a father and his attorney on one side, a mother and her lawyer on the other. A bailiff, a judge and fewer than a half-dozen people in the gallery.

On the stand is a court-appointed social worker who has long been associated with the case. But she’s not focusing on the absent teen-age son who the former couple is fighting over. Instead, she’s defending her own credibility, including whether she has the right to actually call herself a social worker or psychologist.

And what is happening in Courtroom 43 in Placer County Superior Court might become more common. A growing number of people in California argue that there are serious problems in California family courts, and there also appears to be an increasingly popular legal strategy of challenging the credibility of some of those who make life-changing decisions in family court cases . . . More