Judge ousts Sillen from state prison medical oversight post

Sacramento Bee ^ | 1/22/8 | Andy Furillo

[SmithL]

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson on Wednesday removed Robert Sillen as the federal receiver who oversees medical care for California's prison system.

Sillen will be replaced by McGeorge School of Law professor J. Clark Kelso.

In his seven-page order, Henderson said the receivership needs to move from what has been primarily "an investigative and evaluative phase" toward a system that "must ultimately be transitioned back to the state of California's control."

Henderson said in his order that appointing a new receiver is more "appropriate" for the second phase, one that requires a "style of collaborative leadership."

[SmithL]

Henderson has moved from being activist judge, to being defacto emperor.

[SmithL]

Henderson, Thelton Eugene

Born 1933 in Shreveport, LA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nominated by Jimmy Carter on May 9, 1980, to a seat vacated by Cecil F. Poole; Confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1980, and received commission on June 30, 1980. Served as chief judge, 1990-1997. Assumed senior status on November 28, 1998.

Education:
University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1956

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1962

Professional Career:
U.S. Army Corporal, 1956-1958
Attorney, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1962-1963
Private practice, Oakland, California, 1964-1966
Directing attorney, East Bayshore Neighborhood Legal Center, East Palo Alto, California, 1966-1969
Assistant dean, Stanford Law School, 1968-1977
Private practice, San Francisco, California, 1977-1980
Associate professor, Golden Gate University School of Law, 1978-1980

Race or Ethnicity: African American

Gender: Male

[Spok]

“must ultimately be transitioned back to the state of California’s control.”

That’ll be the day. Our federal judges have yet to encounter the boundary of their jurisdiction to micro-manage every facet of our lives. We’re lucky that most of them prefer to do as little as possible. Our only refuge from government omnipotence is sloth and incompetence.