John Chung Law

We have been receiving a lot of calls and emails from people wishing to sign up for the John Chung Law Program. Due to a dramatic rise in new memberships over the first half of 2018, we are currently not accepting new members. Our website is being moved to a new hosting platform to better handle our needs and will be in maintenance mode until approximately July 1st. We are, in the meantime, evaluating our program and staffing to see how we can open up the program to new members again. Thank you for your support and understanding.

November 2016 Northern California A correctional sergeant was dismissed in August 2016. The Department alleged that staff members informed the sergeant that a firearm was missing from a vehicle used in a medical transport of an inmate but the sergeant took no steps to find the missing weapon nor did the sergeant direct the staff members to document the loss. The Department further alleged the sergeant was dishonest in his Internal Affairs interview related to these allegati...Continue reading

Recent Case Update Northern California A correctional officer will be returning to his position this Sunday after being dismissed in June for a slew of allegations, including dishonesty. The department alleged that the officer would routinely watch television while on duty, and therefore was not being alert in the presence of inmates. The department further alleged the officer was dishonest when asked about his observations of other staff regarding their use of inmate telev...isions or their watching television while on duty. The officer contacted our office after being dismissed and retained JCL for representation at the State Personnel Board. Attorney Arthur Shin was assigned to the case. Arthur noted after extensive discussions with the officer that, in effect, all staff at the institution had multiple televisions at their disposal to watch while on duty and doing so was a generally accepted practice at the institution. Further, when the officer denied (first to a supervisor, then to OIA) seeing a coworker utilizing an inmate television at the officer's podium, the department's case largely rested on the imprecise timing of a number of inmates as well as the vague memories of staff. Still, as all staff should be alert, especially given the environment of a prison, watching television while on duty was probably not something that should be taken lightly. The officer's matter was scheduled for hearing tomorrow. However, in discussions between the department attorney and Arthur, the parties were able to reach a settlement imposing a lengthy suspension in lieu of termination given the factors of the case. The hearing has been taken off the State Personnel Board's calendar and the officer now has a return date. Cases such as these illustrate a couple of things all officers should be aware of. First, what may seem normal, even acceptable, in your institution might actually violate the department's policy or the Government Code. It is thus helpful to be wary of such practices, and if you have any questions, contact a supervisor for guidance. Second, even where this officer felt like he was not doing anything against policy, an officer may have to nonetheless take a significant penalty for what ultimately is decided is against policy. We would like to congratulate the officer on his coming return. We would also like to thank the administration and the department attorney for taking a critical view of the matter and while deciding some discipline was warranted, the penalty of dismissal was far too great ultimately under these circumstances.

Happy New Year to all CDCR employees from John Chung Law. As was previously posted, JCL Attorney Arthur Shin will be in the Sacramento area between January 9th and 10th to discuss membership with any CDCR employees interested. Due to a scheduling conflict, however, Arthur will be coming into Sacramento later than expected. Therefore, if you would like to meet with Arthur on Monday, January 9th after about 7:00, please e-mail Arthur directly at [email protected] to ar...range a time and place to meet. On January 10th, Arthur will be available to meet with potential members (and current members) at various times and locations. All locations on both the 9th and 10th will be in the Rancho Cordova area. Times and exact locations are yet to be determined but we will endeavor to ensure that anyone interested can arrange a time to come before or after standard 1W, 2W or 3W shifts. If you have an issue you would like to discuss with Arthur privately, please contact him directly to arrange a time and place to meet. While all efforts will be made to accommodate schedules, please note it may be necessary to schedule a phone consultation at a later time. We look forward to meeting all potential members and clients and whether you can make it out or not, please accept our warmest wishes for a happy and fruitful 2017!

***Final Case Update*** Below is a Case Update from November 2015 involving a correctional officer who was fired from his job and charged with 9 felony fraud counts by the Kern County District Attorney. The criminal case was successfully negotiated and JCL was retained to take over the administrative appeal before the SPB. As noted in the Nov. 2015 update, following a full evidentiary hearing, the SPB revoked the dismissal and imposed a suspension instead. The officer was ord...Continue reading

CHANGE IN PLANS For the 1:00 to 3:00 meetings originally scheduled at Chili's, please note that Arthur is at the Starbucks next door. Sorry for any inconvenience.

As was mentioned in a previous post, JCL Attorney Arthur Shin will be in the Rancho Cordova area from the evening of January 9th to the evening of January 10th to discuss membership in the JCL program with potential members and to discuss any work-related disciplinary issues for existing members. In an effort to meet with as many individuals as possible, please note the following meeting times and locations. January 9th (evening): If you would like to meet with Arthur on th...e 9th, please contact him directly at [email protected] to arrange a location and time. January 10th (5:30 AM to 8:00 AM): Arthur will be (as early as possible) at the Starbucks Coffee located at 3195 Zinfandel Drive, Rancho Cordova. January 10th (1:00 PM to 3:00 PM): Tentatively, Arthur will be at the Chili's Restaurant located at 3199 Zinfandel Drive, Rancho Cordova, January 10th (5:00 PM to 7:00 PM): Arthur will be at The Lodge, 2801 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova. Any changes to the locations or times will be posted in new posts and/or updated on this post. If you would like to speak with Arthur but cannot make any of these times, please contact Arthur by e-mail. Failing all else, telephone consultations regarding membership or work-related disciplinary issues can also be arranged. Please feel free to bring coworkers or refer them to these dates and times. We appreciate your interest and will be happy to assist you as much as possible.

Happy New Year to all CDCR employees from John Chung Law. As was previously posted, JCL Attorney Arthur Shin will be in the Sacramento area between January 9th and 10th to discuss membership with any CDCR employees interested. Due to a scheduling conflict, however, Arthur will be coming into Sacramento later than expected. Therefore, if you would like to meet with Arthur on Monday, January 9th after about 7:00, please e-mail Arthur directly at [email protected] to ar...range a time and place to meet. On January 10th, Arthur will be available to meet with potential members (and current members) at various times and locations. All locations on both the 9th and 10th will be in the Rancho Cordova area. Times and exact locations are yet to be determined but we will endeavor to ensure that anyone interested can arrange a time to come before or after standard 1W, 2W or 3W shifts. If you have an issue you would like to discuss with Arthur privately, please contact him directly to arrange a time and place to meet. While all efforts will be made to accommodate schedules, please note it may be necessary to schedule a phone consultation at a later time. We look forward to meeting all potential members and clients and whether you can make it out or not, please accept our warmest wishes for a happy and fruitful 2017!

Dear JCL community: JCL is currently gauging interest in meeting and discussing JCL membership with Attorney Arthur Shin between the evening of January 9, 2017 to January 10, 2017 in the Sacramento area. Arthur would be available to meet with potential members to discuss what membership entails, costs, and the benefits of membership with JCL. CDCR employees with pending cases can also meet with Arthur to discuss their cases and possible representation. Currently, Arthur is... planning on being available in the Sacramento area on those dates (times and location are still to be determined). If you are interested in meeting, please contact our office or "like" this post. Location is to be determined but likely in the Rancho Cordova area or thereabouts. Those wishing to discuss their cases in private can also arrange individual meetings with Arthur with no charge. Please note that membership dues for new members are set to increase sometime in 2017. Current members and members at the time of the increase will continue to be protected at the same rate, so will be unaffected by any rate increase. The exact date and amount of the rate increase has yet to be determined, but due to overwhelming demand, monthly/yearly membership dues will increase within the next year. If you have any questions about membership and how JCL differs from your union, this would be an ideal time to meet and address your questions. Current members, please note even with the anticipated rate increase, your rate will remain the same. These meetings are to discuss membership with those who are not yet members but would like to meet to ask their questions personally. Of course, current members are also welcome to meet to discuss any personnel issues that they would like to discuss. We look forward to meeting all current and potential members!

Recent Case Update Northern California December 2016...Continue reading

November 2016 Northern California A correctional sergeant was dismissed in August 2016. The Department alleged that staff members informed the sergeant that a firearm was missing from a vehicle used in a medical transport of an inmate but the sergeant took no steps to find the missing weapon nor did the sergeant direct the staff members to document the loss. The Department further alleged the sergeant was dishonest in his Internal Affairs interview related to these allegati...Continue reading

November 2016 Below is a testimonial that one of our clients recently provided for us to share. The testimonial is 100% unedited. There are 2 primary takeaways that we hope people will understand after reading this post: 1. The sooner you contact us, the better. Our client did not wait until he was served a Notice of Interview by OIA or a Notice of Adverse Action from CDCR. He contacted us the day after the alleged misconduct. Because of that, we were able to counsel him on ...what to expect and what steps to take to better his chances at a favorable outcome. 2. Do not take the OIA Subject Interview lightly. Cases are typically won or lost because of the interview. Our client admitted that he made some mistakes, but because he was thoroughly prepared, he avoided hurting his case by misspeaking or answering questions in a vague way. Employee discipline cases are not always about getting every allegation of misconduct dismissed. Most of the time, proper representation will help avoid UNJUST and EXCESSIVE punishment (which usually takes the form of dismissal). ---- Below is the testimonial: "I was facing adverse action for allegations of neglect of duty and other failure of good behavior, which was my fault and in which I take full responsibility for. I requested assistance from Mr. John Chung and Mr. Arthur Shin. They thoroughly reviewed my case and the charges against me and guided me throughout this stressful and difficult process. They were extremely helpful in explaining the adverse action and disciplinary process in its entirety. Mr. Shin thoroughly explained to me what to expect during the interview and afterwards. Mr Shin was always responsive to my endless concerns and questions. At the end I received a favorable outcome due to their expertise. Both Mr.Shin and Mr. Chung have years of experience as Special Assistant Inspector General in the Office of the Inspector General, or OIG (an independent government agency that monitors, consults, and advises hiring authorities on appropriate penalties for CDCR employee misconduct) thus they were very familiar with employee disciplinary process. Again, I am very grateful for their assistance and I highly recommend their services."

Recent Case Updates Central California October 2016...Continue reading

Recent Case Updates Northern California February 2016... On February 8, 2016, a correctional Sergeant returned to work following his dismissal from CDCR in July 2015. The Sgt. had been with the department for nearly 19 distinguished years (only one Letter of Instruction in his personnel file). The Sgt. was dismissed for allegations of negligence in the handling of an inmate kite and dishonesty and falsification of a FLSA. The FLSA issue boiled down to a difference of ONE MINUTE between the sign-out time written by our client and the sergeant that he was relieving! The department chose not to conduct an OIA investigation and dismissed the Sgt based on memos submitted by staff. The department did not even take the time to have investigators interview the Sgt. to get a complete understanding of his side of the story! Following the dismissal, the Sgt. retained the services of JCL and was represented by attorney John Chung. At the SPB Settlement Conference, the department's best and final offer was for the Sgt. to resign and agree never to work for CDCR again. The offer was rejected and the matter was confirmed for a full evidentiary hearing beginning January 20, 2016. On January 15, 2016, the Friday before the hearing was set to start, the department contacted attorney Chung and changed their position. The hiring authority initially wanted the Sgt. to take a demotion, but the department came to their senses and realized that a demotion would not be accepted. Ultimately, the department agreed to reinstate the Sgt. back to work with his stripes and also allowed the Sgt. to take a few extra weeks to settle his personal affairs before reporting back to duty. We have seen more and more cases where CDCR is dismissing employees without even conducting an investigation (Direct Action Cases). This is troubling because the department has no true sense of how strong or weak the "facts" in the Notice of Adverse Action are until the matter is set for a hearing and they begin to prepare their case for trial. As in this case, that is when the department realizes that they will have a difficult time proving the allegations by a preponderance of evidence and a compromise is reached. This case could have, and should have, been resolved much earlier. Ultimately, these delays only hurt the employee because they are the ones who have to struggle to survive the long process. In the end, we are pleased that the case was resolved to our client's satisfaction, but we remain frustrated that the disciplinary and appeal processes are heavily skewed in favor of the State.

Recent case Updates Northern California An officer was dismissed from his position in February 2015 for alleged inefficiency, neglect of duty, failure of good behavior, and, of course, dishonesty. The allegations resulted from the officer's failure to take action for an inmate's alleged exposure of his genitals to three separate health care providers who were providing 1-on-1 observation of the inmate while the inmate was on suicide watch. Further, the department alleged th...Continue reading

As a change of pace, we wanted to share a very nice card that we received this week from someone who reached out to us for help last year. We received permission to share the card here. Below is the verbatim text from the card. We are glad that we were able to help. "Mr. Chung, On October 25, 2015 I experienced a situation my family and I would of never guessed it would happen to me. Never the less the situation required assistance from an experienced and knowledgeable profes...sional such as your self. I called your office and left a message. You returned my call promptly and very professionally guided me after hearing me out. Through a couple of phone conversations you helped me see the light when it was dark in front of me. Your firm is highly recognized at my institution and I encourage existing and new staff to seek membership. My family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for professional assistance. Thank you, [redacted] The [redacted] Family. Wishing you a wonderful new year."