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Lawyer Who Questioned Judges' Pay Released from Jail
After spending 563 days in jail for contempt of court, Richard Fine has been freed. In fact, Fine broke the L.A. County record for a lawyer held in contempt. He was officially jailed for not adhering to a court order: pay $46,329 or release details of personal finances, but he believes it was in "retaliation for exposing Los Angeles County's practice of paying judges an annual bonus of $57,000 in addition to their state salary of $179,000 - providing local judges with salaries higher than the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who earns $218,000 annually," according to the Daily News. Read LAist's previous posts on Fine here and here.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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