Case3:08-cv MMC Document54 Filed07/17/09 Page1 of 8

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1 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 LAW OFFICE OF THOMAS K. BOURKE Thomas K. Bourke, State Bar No. Talltom@aol.com Rizwan R. Ramji, State Bar No. 0 One Bunker Hill, Eighth Floor 0 West Fifth Street Los Angeles, CA 00- Tel: () -0 / Fax: () - LAW OFFICE OF PATRICK J. MANSHARDT Patrick J. Manshardt, State Bar No. 0 PJManshardtlaw@aol.com 0 Grayson Ave. Venice, California 0 Tel: (0).0 Attorneys for Plaintiffs CUNZHU ZHENG, et al. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CUNZHU ZHEN; et al., ) NO. CV-0-00 MMC ) Plaintiff, ) DECLARATION OF PATRICK J. ) MANSHARDT IN RESPONSE TO vs. ) DEFENDANT YAHOO!, INC. S ) CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT YAHOO!, INC., et al., ) ) Case Management Conf: Defendants. ) ) Date: July, 0 Time: 0:0 a.m. Judge: Hon. Maxine Chesney I Patrick J. Manshardt declare as follows:. I am an attorney and inactive member of the State Bar of California. I am counsel of record for Plaintiffs Cunzhu Zheng, Tao Jun, Liu Guokai, and the China Democracy. I make this declaration in response to the Yahoo! Defendants Case Management Statement.. I have been engaged in constitutional rights and civil rights litigation for the past fourteen years including the following matters: New Jersey Council of

2 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 Boy Scouts v. Dale, 0 U.S. 0 (00) (amicus); Hi-Voltage Wire Works v. City of San Jose, Cal. th (amicus for Governor Pete Wilson); Gratz v. Bollinger, U.S. (0) (amicus); Grutter v. Bollinger, U.S. 0 (amicus); Manshardt v. Federal Judicial Qualifications Committee, 0 F.d (th Cir. 0); Schiff v. City & County of San Francisco, 0 WL 0 (N.D. Cal. 0); California Teachers Ass n v. Davis, F. Supp.d (C.D. Cal. ), aff d, California Teachers Ass n v. State Bd. of Education, F.d (th Cir. 0); DiLoreto v. Bd. of Education, Cal. App. (), review denied, Dec., (Kennard, J. and Brown, J. dissented); DiLoreto v. Board of Education of the Downey Unified School Dist., F.d (th Cir. ), cert. denied, U.S. 0 (00); Blumenthal v Drudge, F. Supp. (D.D.C. ); Lincoln Clubs of Orange County v. City of Irvine, F.d (th Cir. 0); San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School Dist., F.Supp.d 0 (N.D. Cal.); Doe v. Wilson, Cal. App. th (); In re Agency Fee Payers, American Arbitration Ass n, No. 00 (). I have authored editorials appearing in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, National Law Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal and the San Diego Union-Tribune.. In law school I was a teaching assistant and the lead articles editor of the Whittier Law Review and was the recipient of three American Jurisprudence Awards. I have testified on legislation before the United States House of Representatives, and testified on legislation I authored before the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. I was also a guest lecturer at Pepperdine Law School and Chapman Law School.. On February, 0, I was suspended from practice of law by the Supreme Court of California for 0 days. The 0-day suspension was pursuant to

3 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 a settlement that I had reached with the State Bar to conclude the disciplinary proceedings. The reason for the disciplinary proceedings is that I made an emergency appearance I while on inactive status in a case whereby my client had been turned out of his home because of a default judgment against him. The opposing party in that case made a complaint against me because I was able to get the judgment reversed and the court returned the house to my client.. The reason I was placed on inactive status while I made an appearance was because I did not complete my MCLE requirement. The reason why I did not complete my MCLE requirement was because on the day I was scheduled to take the classes in January 0, I had been the victim of a home invasion robbery in Arcadia the night before. During the robbery I was stabbed in the face, beaten repeatedly in the face and knee caps, and was left naked and unconscious in a ditch in pre-dawn hours. I awoke as I was being placed in an ambulance.. I became increasingly anxious and depressed after the robbery, in large part because I could not figure out who wanted to kill me and whether this episode would be repeated.. I was scheduled to take another MCLE course but in February 0, I was civilly committed to the Charter Oaks Psychiatric Hospital in West Covina by the Arcadia Police Department. I learned from reading my chart that I was committed because the police found me wandering the streets in an altered state wearing only a coat and babbling to myself. I have no memory of any kind about this episode and recall only waking up to find myself in a mental hospital. I was released after two days.. I again scheduled myself to take a MCLE course in March 0 but found myself waking up one morning in the emergency room of Arcadia

4 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 Methodist Hospital in restraints. I learned from reading my chart that the police found me lying on the sidewalk at night in an altered state and called an ambulance to take me to the hospital.. I remained in the hospital for days while numerous medical tests were done. None of the tests provided any answer for my apparent blackouts but I was also diagnosed with a sleep disorder. One psychiatrist at the hospital believed the blackouts were caused by the prescription medication Ambien, which I was taking. I subsequently stopped taking Ambien and have not had any episodes since doing so. I did eventually complete my MCLE requirement. 0. When I arranged the settlement agreement with the State Bar, I asked counsel for the State Bar when the suspension would take effect. I was told that he was unable to say, but that the suspension would take effect once it was taken up by the California Supreme Court, which would occur some time within the next two years.. I am currently on involuntary inactive status because I defaulted with respect to State Bar Case No. 0-O-0 concerning notice of disciplinary charges against me. The disciplinary charges arise out of six actions in San Mateo County Superior Court I filed for a former client and long time friend, Norm Ryan (whom I had over the past decade represented in numerous actions) under the Political Reform Act.. Shortly after filing these actions, Mr. Ryan informed me that he no longer wanted to go forward with the cases and discharged me. Although I was discharged, I did not file any substitution of counsel. The San Mateo County Superior Court issued an order giving notice of a case management conference on October, 0. Because I had already been discharged by Mr. Ryan, I did not appear at the case management conferences. Because I did not file completed case

5 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 management conference statements, the Court issued six orders imposing sanctions of $0 per case (for a total of $,00) against me for failing to appear and file the case management conference statements.. The San Mateo Superior Court ultimately dismissed the Ryan cases and referred the matter to the State Bar because I had failed to pay the sanctions ordered.. The State Bar s Notice of Disciplinary Charges contains three counts: Count One: Failure to Withdraw; Count Two: Failure to Obey a Court Order; and Count : Failure to Cooperate with State Bar investigation.. As to Count One, the State Bar alleges that I should have withdrawn from the case because I was placed on inactive status because of my earlier failure to complete the MCLE requirements. But there was no reason to withdraw as I had previously been discharged by Mr. Ryan well before being placed on inactive status, and I made no subsequent appearances after the initial filing of the complaints. I was informed of the State Bar s investigation of the San Mateo Superior Court Clerk s complaint in February 0. On or around March, 0, I faxed a letter to the State Bar investigator informing him that I had been discharged by Mr. Ryan well before the Superior Court s sanction orders and could not have appeared at the Superior Court s Case Management Conference.. As to Count Two, the State Bar alleges that I wilfully disobeyed a court order. But because I had been previously discharged by Mr. Ryan, I had no authority (or obligation) to appear or pay the sanctions so ordered for failing to appear and file the case management statements.. As to Count Three, the State Bar alleges that I have failed to cooperate in its investigation. This is not correct. The State Bar concedes that I responded to the investigator s initial letter concerning the complaint by the San

6 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0 Mateo Superior Court Clerk and explained that I had been previously discharged by Mr. Ryan well before the status conference or the sanctions order. In response, the State Bar investigator prepared a letter asking that I provide a copy of the executed substitution of attorney filed with the [SMSC] which released [me] from all Norman Ryan matters. After receiving this letter, I telephoned the State Bar investigator and told him no such substitution existed as I had not filed one.. I understand that the correct course of action on my part would have been to file a substitution of attorney (or get Mr. Ryan s permission to dismiss the cases) instead of letting the matter lay. But I am guilty of, at most, failing to do so. But I am not guilty of the counts alleged by the State Bar.. Because I did not respond to the State Bar s notice of disciplinary charges, the State Bar placed me on inactive status on March, 0. In May 0, I moved the State Bar to set aside the default so that I could contest the matter on the merits at a trial by providing testimony from Mr. Ryan. But my request was rejected.. The reason that I was previously unaware of the State Bar s Notice of Disciplinary charges in this matter was because I was in the process of moving my office from downtown L.A. to Venice. The office staff, instead of placing my mail in the firm s usual mailbox, placed it elsewhere in the office, without informing me. Accordingly, the State Bar s Notice escaped my attention.. I had seen the Court s order setting the status conference for July, 0 and that I send a letter to the Court regarding my status and my plans for prosecuting the case by July 0, 0. I don t know why, but I failed to calendar that date and I apologize to the Court for not submitting the letter. I ask that the Court consider this declaration an appropriate response to its order that I submit a letter concerning my status with the State Bar and plans for continuing this case.

7 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of 0. Today, I associated in counsel, Thomas K. Bourke, in this case for the purpose of continuing on with this litigation and allowing me to continue to participate as provided by Rule -(C) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct. That subsection provides: A member may employ, associate professionally with, or aid a disbarred, suspended, resigned, or involuntarily inactive member t o perform research, drafting or clerical activities, including but not limited to: () Legal work of a preparatory nature, such as legal research, the assemblage of data and other necessary information, drafting of pleadings, briefs, and other similar documents; () Direct communication with the client or third parties regarding matters such as scheduling, billing, updates, confirmation of receipt or sending of correspondence and messages; or () Accompanying an active member in attending a deposition or other discovery matter for the limited purpose of providing clerical assistance to the active member who will appear as the representative of the client.. My experience is that the State Bar will return me to active status pending my -day recommended suspension, but I yet do not know when that will happen. Further, the State Bar is unable to tell me when the suspension will actually occur by may not be for another year or so.. I propose that the Court set a quick briefing schedule and hearing on the Yahoo! Defendants motion to dismiss (I understand it is already drafted) and refer the case to mediation.. Mr. Bourke informs me that today, in an effort to reduce unnecessary costs, he spoke with Matt Kine, counsel for the Yahoo! Defendants and requested a stipulation that counsel participate in the case management conference by telephone. But Mr. Kline declined this request. Unless the Court orders otherwise, Mr. Bourke and I will plan to appear in person at the July, 0 status conference

8 Case:0-cv-00-MMC Document Filed0//0 Page of I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on July, 0 at Los Angeles, California. PATRICK J. MANSHARDT 0