Judge Barry Baskin |
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California, United States |
About Judge Barry Baskin
Since being appointed to the position of Judge in Contra Costa County’s Superior Court in 2002, Judge Barry Baskin has made rulings to defend democracy and the environment, inter alia. In one of his most recent rulings, Judge Barry Baskin championed the tenets of democracy by ruling that the names of government employees with annual pension amounts over $100,000 are a matter of public record. Judge Barry Baskin dismissed former County Deputy Sheriff Donna Irwin’s lawsuit calling the release of that information a breach of privacy.
A similar case involving Oakland workers was dismissed in 2007, when a judge ruled that public disclosure of the names and salaries of government employees was not a breach of privacy. In his July 2009 ruling, Judge Barry Baskin stated that the former deputy sheriff failed to show how her case differed from the 2007 case. Furthermore, Judge Barry Baskin reiterated the importance of government transparency for purposes of exposing “corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice, and favoritism.”
Judge Barry Baskin’s decision is a major win for the area’s taxpayers in that they will be able to see that their tax money is distributed equitably and not being abused.
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