San Bernardino Superior Court Judge David Cohn Faces Recall Petition. Judge David Cohn a former Govt. Defense Attorney is the only judge hearing actions against Defendant Govt. Agencies in San Bernardino County. Moreover, they never appear to lose in his courtroom. This recent case has dire consequences for his victims.
California Fish and Game Code Chapter 2150 Section (c) provides:
“A zoo (defined as commercial AZA zoos & aquariums) is exempt from any permit requirement pursuant to this chapter ... Any California organization which is not accredited by the AZA may apply to the department for a waiver of specified permit requirements of this chapter. The department may grant or deny the request for a waiver for justified reasons.”
Permit requirements include:
Section 2150.2: Establishment of Fees
“The department shall establish fees for permits, permit applications, and facility inspections.”
Section 2150.4: Inspection of Wild Animal Facilities
(a) “The department or an eligible local entity shall inspect the wild animal facilities ...”
(b) “The department shall collect an inspection fee …”
The plain language and Legislative intent of the chapter is clear and unambiguous. Other courts agreed stating, the Department’s conduct in failing to consider additional waiver requests constituted “an illegal underground regulation” and characterized the whole process as “arbitrary, capricious, entirely lacking in evidentiary support, unlawful, and procedurally unfair.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal agreed upholding more than $100,000.00 in attorney fees against the Dept. which the taxpayers are paying!
Title 14 California Code of Regulations Chapter 671.1 Section (b) provides:
“Permit Fees - The following permits have fees … The department may issue permits and amend existing permits with the conditions it determines are necessary to protect native wildlife, agricultural interests, animal welfare, and / or human health and safety…”
Clearly, “conditions” may include a waiver of fees for Small Business Animal Shelters which assist the State by routinely saving the lives of animals, with no funding from the State.
Chapter 671.1 Section (b) (10) provides:
“Shelter Permits … The permit fee may be waived ... it is in the best interests of the public, the animal, or the department.”
The clear Legislative intent of (b) & (b) (10) was to provide Small Business Animal Shelters with assistance for their services. The Dept., not the Legislature amended Chapter 671.1 adding additional fees, but they waive all fees for multimillion dollar zoos like the San Francisco Zoo, SeaWorld, and LA. Zoo despite appalling Federal animal welfare and safety records. Those fees can total thousands of dollars annually for Small Business Animal Shelters.
The Dept. also began revoking State Licenses without conducting the required Administrative Hearings pursuant to Government Code 11500 et. seq. (https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-11500.html)
Due Process is an inherent fundamental right. Innocent victims had their licenses unlawfully revoked and animals they care for have been put in grave danger.
Support our Petition,
(https://www.change.org/p/california-state-house-remove-judge-david-cohn-from-the-bench)