Do we have a new trend? Are the corrupt officials actually afraid of jail? Or maybe they are afraid of the best TV investigative reporter in our market who is famous for his ambush attacks on the guilty.
The sheriff resigned. Just like the county recorder's brother. Neither one of them put in a fair day's work. There was more digging into the sheriff's background and a closet full of skeletons was coming to light. This time it wasn't so much the print media as our best TV investigative reporter. He's the one who got the county recorder's brother too.
The sheriff claims he had a stroke in 2006 and all of a sudden after appearing in the local news for several evenings in a row, decided to retire on doctor's advice for health reasons that didn't seen to bother him the last 3 years. More likely a lawyer's advice than a doctor's. He's been in office over three decades.
So how will he be replaced? By the county political party machine. As they said on the news, "politics as usual". When is his resignation effective? April 1st, guess we're the fools, the joke is on us.
On the one hand its good to get the corrupt person out, but what's next? Can they just resign and it all goes away, "no harm, no foul"? Is voluntary resignation sufficient punishment? Not in my mind. Don't get me wrong, its a good first step, but only a small one. But its a small step that many don't even take.
Too bad my famous judge and his famous auditor brother didn't resign. They are both employed, drawing money and only an occasional headline. They aren't chickenshit, they have big brass balls. They don't care about headlines, because after a while they fade away, but their power doesn't.
Maybe it's not fair to call the sheriff and other guy chickenshits. Maybe they were doing the honorable thing? Nah! I doubt it. I think they know the media too. And resigning takes the wind out of the media sails. And it just may be the key for them to skate free of their just punishment. I guess I'm bothered that this will allow them to get out of jail free. It shouldn't be that easy.
But then my judge has escaped his just punishment and he's still drawing over $121,000 in taxpayer salary. I wonder if he's working more than three hours a day? I doubt it, old habits die hard.
Especially when you not only think you are above the law, but you know it.
Well here's hoping that we have a new trend of resignations as the rats abandon the corrupt government ship.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Law Enforcement is corrupt too
I mentioned that the federal government took the unusual step of not involving local law enforcement in their investigative efforts of corruption in our county governement. The easiest and normal course of action would be to issue subpoenas for the needed info with the involvement of local law enforcement. Instead FBI agents from 3 states were assembled to do dawn raids on county officials residences. Logistically this is much more difficult, since you can't trust that you will get what you are after you have to take out lots of materials (truck loads), take it to a secure warehouse, inventory it all, and then keep it secure.
Original speculation was that the county prosecutor would be implicated since he also acts as the lawyer for the corrupt county officials and should have known of their wrong doing. Actually a classic conflict of interest because he advises corrupt officials that should be prosecuted (by him). But judges are a member of the same labor union (bar) of the people they are to manage (lawyers). So the judiciary is fraught with conflicts. He's been in the spotlight but no strong allegations yet. Guess they are still going through the warehouse of material.
But our county sheriff is attracting attention now, apparently he advised someone how to avoid a subpoena (like the ones he's charged with serving), he has relatives on the payroll (like my judge's brother did), and he only shows up to work 1 day a week, but has no trouble cashing his $110,000 pay on time. Hmmm, assuming an 8 hour day (unlikely), that means he averages 1.6 hours a day, slightly more than half of my judge's 3 hour day. That would be a theft in office of $88,000 per year. Maybe he and my judge ($75,000 per year theft) should share a cell.
The key word is should. But they won't, and that's the sad state of justice in our corrupt county.
Update1: The sheriff resigned, just about insuring he won't be be sharing any cell.
Update2: The State Attorney General raided the sheriff's offices today (03/26/09) on the suspicion that evidence was being destroyed.
Original speculation was that the county prosecutor would be implicated since he also acts as the lawyer for the corrupt county officials and should have known of their wrong doing. Actually a classic conflict of interest because he advises corrupt officials that should be prosecuted (by him). But judges are a member of the same labor union (bar) of the people they are to manage (lawyers). So the judiciary is fraught with conflicts. He's been in the spotlight but no strong allegations yet. Guess they are still going through the warehouse of material.
But our county sheriff is attracting attention now, apparently he advised someone how to avoid a subpoena (like the ones he's charged with serving), he has relatives on the payroll (like my judge's brother did), and he only shows up to work 1 day a week, but has no trouble cashing his $110,000 pay on time. Hmmm, assuming an 8 hour day (unlikely), that means he averages 1.6 hours a day, slightly more than half of my judge's 3 hour day. That would be a theft in office of $88,000 per year. Maybe he and my judge ($75,000 per year theft) should share a cell.
The key word is should. But they won't, and that's the sad state of justice in our corrupt county.
Update1: The sheriff resigned, just about insuring he won't be be sharing any cell.
Update2: The State Attorney General raided the sheriff's offices today (03/26/09) on the suspicion that evidence was being destroyed.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Corruption, a family affair
Our town has some big political names. My judge has a big name, big enough to work 3 hours a day and still get promoted. After our media had run more than half dozen front page articles on our "worst family court in the state", they moved to county government and found my judge's equally famous brother had 90 friends on the government payroll. After another half dozen front pages, they even ran a headline with the famous corrupt brothers together on the front page.
Our TV media ran a story on another corrupt political family name. This one was just a county laborer, sort of the lesser known in the family. I'm sure his name got him his job and got his supervisor to look the other way as he did just about everything (errands, shopping, etc) but his job on the county clock. Well our crack investigative reporter tracked him down pushed a mike in his face and got the door slammed in his face. They took their surveillance to the only untainted county commissioner who said he'd start proceedings to fire him. So the guilty guy, unlike the big names, decided to resign and save embarrassment. That is ironic since his more famous brother was run out of a powerful position for viewing porn on the county computers on the county clock.
What perked up my ears was talk that this laborer who earned $65,000 / year (not bad pay) could be prosecuted for "theft in office" for turning in a false time card. Wow, that would be an interesting precedent that my judge escaped from. He was found to work only 3 hours per day on his $121,000 job, thus stealing $75,000 per year. If he were criminally prosecuted for this it could end his career (well deservedly so).
But my judge did so much worse, he created false "shadow trials" to hide his absence. He allowed the lawyers to steal their clients blind by his absence and lack of supervision. I wouldn't be surprised if his total impact was over a million dollars a year, which adds up in a decade. He allowed over $100,000 to be stolen from me and I'm just one of his many cases.
Here's how I think things will go, and the thieves reactions seems to bear this out. The little guy is in danger, even with his name. He could go to jail. But my judge, the fat cat, will skate free. That's the nature of our screwed up justice system, put shoplifters and laborers in jail, while county commissioners, auditors, and judges get a free pass. I don't condone any theft, they all should be in jail. But they won't be, and that's the sad state of American "justice".
Our TV media ran a story on another corrupt political family name. This one was just a county laborer, sort of the lesser known in the family. I'm sure his name got him his job and got his supervisor to look the other way as he did just about everything (errands, shopping, etc) but his job on the county clock. Well our crack investigative reporter tracked him down pushed a mike in his face and got the door slammed in his face. They took their surveillance to the only untainted county commissioner who said he'd start proceedings to fire him. So the guilty guy, unlike the big names, decided to resign and save embarrassment. That is ironic since his more famous brother was run out of a powerful position for viewing porn on the county computers on the county clock.
What perked up my ears was talk that this laborer who earned $65,000 / year (not bad pay) could be prosecuted for "theft in office" for turning in a false time card. Wow, that would be an interesting precedent that my judge escaped from. He was found to work only 3 hours per day on his $121,000 job, thus stealing $75,000 per year. If he were criminally prosecuted for this it could end his career (well deservedly so).
But my judge did so much worse, he created false "shadow trials" to hide his absence. He allowed the lawyers to steal their clients blind by his absence and lack of supervision. I wouldn't be surprised if his total impact was over a million dollars a year, which adds up in a decade. He allowed over $100,000 to be stolen from me and I'm just one of his many cases.
Here's how I think things will go, and the thieves reactions seems to bear this out. The little guy is in danger, even with his name. He could go to jail. But my judge, the fat cat, will skate free. That's the nature of our screwed up justice system, put shoplifters and laborers in jail, while county commissioners, auditors, and judges get a free pass. I don't condone any theft, they all should be in jail. But they won't be, and that's the sad state of American "justice".
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Corruption begets more corruption
Our town is running a cottage industry on corruption, it is so extensive that Federal agents from neighboring states are being brought in to handle the extensive workload. It all started when our local newspaper ran a story on my judge's 3 hour work day and the rampant corruption in our county's divorce court. Interestingly, six months earlier I had an interesting conversation with the senior editor about that very subject.
After my judge made the front page, following additions discussed other judges, ruined lives by the court's inefficiency and how dismally our courts compared to other large county's in the state. The daily exposes caught the attention of the State Supreme Court that is charged with overseeing the county courts. They came to the conclusion that our county's court system was the most inefficient in the state. Not rocket science when you consider that none of the judges worked a full day.
Then the local media moved onto county government, one headline even had the famous named brothers on the front page, one was my judge working a mere three hours a day, the other as county auditor with 90 political friends on the government payroll.
Now the supreme court is considering suspending or disbarring a pair of pit bull lawyers. When I complained about my ex's pit bull tactics, bystanders assumed I was talking of this team being investigated. I wrote about them in a post entitled Circles of Hell.
There are 23 pages of allegations including lying to judges, not filing required paper work, wrongful allegations against the opposition. While this firm is synonymous with pit bull lawyering, they are by no means alone in reputation or questionable practices. My ex's lawyer practiced all these bad habits too. Maybe the State Supreme Court could investigate some more powerful lawyers in our court.
If the judges worked full days for their $121,000 per year salary and managed the lawyers who practice before them, then maybe these abuses could not occur. When I personally reported the violation of civil rules on handling of subpoenas by opposition counsel, my judge's reaction was one of amusement. He chuckled that a mere lay person such as myself caught my ex's 25 year veteran pit bull breaking the rules. It mattered not that I am college educated, a professional, and intelligent. I have no JD, and in our courts that makes me subhuman, an opinion shared by his boss, the administrative judge as reported in the same newspaper at his re-election. The judge did take the unusual step of requiring all parties to stay until an AJE was signed by all parties. But proper management would have called for disciplinary action up to contempt and sanctions. That just doesn't happen in our courts, hence the State Supreme Court's label as "worst court in the state".
Legal disclaimer, I do not know, nor have I had dealings with the lawyers mentioned in the media. I am merely republishing the media's investigative findings. My allegations of similar behavior are against the parties in my litigation covered by my legal notice.
After my judge made the front page, following additions discussed other judges, ruined lives by the court's inefficiency and how dismally our courts compared to other large county's in the state. The daily exposes caught the attention of the State Supreme Court that is charged with overseeing the county courts. They came to the conclusion that our county's court system was the most inefficient in the state. Not rocket science when you consider that none of the judges worked a full day.
Then the local media moved onto county government, one headline even had the famous named brothers on the front page, one was my judge working a mere three hours a day, the other as county auditor with 90 political friends on the government payroll.
Now the supreme court is considering suspending or disbarring a pair of pit bull lawyers. When I complained about my ex's pit bull tactics, bystanders assumed I was talking of this team being investigated. I wrote about them in a post entitled Circles of Hell.
There are 23 pages of allegations including lying to judges, not filing required paper work, wrongful allegations against the opposition. While this firm is synonymous with pit bull lawyering, they are by no means alone in reputation or questionable practices. My ex's lawyer practiced all these bad habits too. Maybe the State Supreme Court could investigate some more powerful lawyers in our court.
If the judges worked full days for their $121,000 per year salary and managed the lawyers who practice before them, then maybe these abuses could not occur. When I personally reported the violation of civil rules on handling of subpoenas by opposition counsel, my judge's reaction was one of amusement. He chuckled that a mere lay person such as myself caught my ex's 25 year veteran pit bull breaking the rules. It mattered not that I am college educated, a professional, and intelligent. I have no JD, and in our courts that makes me subhuman, an opinion shared by his boss, the administrative judge as reported in the same newspaper at his re-election. The judge did take the unusual step of requiring all parties to stay until an AJE was signed by all parties. But proper management would have called for disciplinary action up to contempt and sanctions. That just doesn't happen in our courts, hence the State Supreme Court's label as "worst court in the state".
Legal disclaimer, I do not know, nor have I had dealings with the lawyers mentioned in the media. I am merely republishing the media's investigative findings. My allegations of similar behavior are against the parties in my litigation covered by my legal notice.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Search for the good...
Your mind can do many things, worry, ruminate or meditate. The later being more productive. In the midst of divorce your world seems like its collapsing. It's easy to see only the bleak, to fall so far that the daylight seems faint.
Reflect on good times, pray, listen for God's answer, plan, count your blessings. During a divorce, this isn't easy at all, but it is necessary.
A few years ago (during lent) in the height of nasty litigation that literally kept me up all night until I collapsed in fatigue, I participated in a retreat based on the teachings of St. Ignatius founder of the Jesuit order. I remember commenting to my group that I saw so much evil in the court system (ours is under state and federal investigation for corruption) that I could not see God's good anymore. Intellectually I knew it existed, emotionally I was blind to it.
St. Ignatius advocated seeing God's good in the world, in a sunset, in nature's beauty, in your fellow people. He also developed a set of spiritual exercises and discussed levels of prayer. We've all "talked at God", he advocated reaching a level where you quiet your mind and listen for his answer.
During this time it is easy to see evil, its all around us. It takes effort to search out the good in the world and to be comforted by it. It's easy for our lonely mind to ruminate on our misfortune, its hard to meditate and hear God's direction. It's easy to worry about the future, its hard to find the confidence to take control and direct it.
So when you are alone and tempted to worry, ruminate, and be depressed over your plight, work hard, struggle, to do something better with your solitude. If you can't, I understand, many times I have difficulty too, just keep trying. Even better, find some support to help you.
Best wishes on your journey...
PS: This is the season of lent and I just completed a 3 day Lenten Mission. It was good, but I long for more.
Reflect on good times, pray, listen for God's answer, plan, count your blessings. During a divorce, this isn't easy at all, but it is necessary.
A few years ago (during lent) in the height of nasty litigation that literally kept me up all night until I collapsed in fatigue, I participated in a retreat based on the teachings of St. Ignatius founder of the Jesuit order. I remember commenting to my group that I saw so much evil in the court system (ours is under state and federal investigation for corruption) that I could not see God's good anymore. Intellectually I knew it existed, emotionally I was blind to it.
St. Ignatius advocated seeing God's good in the world, in a sunset, in nature's beauty, in your fellow people. He also developed a set of spiritual exercises and discussed levels of prayer. We've all "talked at God", he advocated reaching a level where you quiet your mind and listen for his answer.
During this time it is easy to see evil, its all around us. It takes effort to search out the good in the world and to be comforted by it. It's easy for our lonely mind to ruminate on our misfortune, its hard to meditate and hear God's direction. It's easy to worry about the future, its hard to find the confidence to take control and direct it.
So when you are alone and tempted to worry, ruminate, and be depressed over your plight, work hard, struggle, to do something better with your solitude. If you can't, I understand, many times I have difficulty too, just keep trying. Even better, find some support to help you.
Best wishes on your journey...
PS: This is the season of lent and I just completed a 3 day Lenten Mission. It was good, but I long for more.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
No Prep, No Problem
It's that time again, I go to court at the end of the week. So I figure it's time to set the agenda. I am Pro Se, so I called the opposing lawyer. I ask what we're going to accomplish at the hearing.
"I don't know, my client hasn't called me. It's just a pre-trial, we'll discuss it there."
Translated: "I don't get paid to prepare for court."
Expected result: "Nothing will get accomplished, but we'll schedule another hearing."
How do these pompous assholes have the balls to call themselves professionals? Do you know any professionals that go to a meeting without an agenda and without preparation? That's a trick question. Irresponsible people who do that are not professionals by definition.
What a waste of money that could go to my son. Maybe four years from now my ex and her slow uptake will admit that, just like she recently did about her first lawyer.
Well I'm not going in unprepared. Never have, never will. As a favorite quote of mine goes - "It's not in my nature". I will file an affidavit with the court stating facts that support my request to restore visitation as no evidence has come forward to continue to justify its being withheld. It was easy really, I just wrote down what we discussed in the last two hearings. Maybe seeing it written down the third time will be a charm. I hope so.
Why don't lawyers prepare? Its a conflict of interest. If they prepare, it will result in efficiency, and that will reduce billable hours, and that is the worst thing a lawyer can do. (jqism)
"I don't know, my client hasn't called me. It's just a pre-trial, we'll discuss it there."
Translated: "I don't get paid to prepare for court."
Expected result: "Nothing will get accomplished, but we'll schedule another hearing."
How do these pompous assholes have the balls to call themselves professionals? Do you know any professionals that go to a meeting without an agenda and without preparation? That's a trick question. Irresponsible people who do that are not professionals by definition.
What a waste of money that could go to my son. Maybe four years from now my ex and her slow uptake will admit that, just like she recently did about her first lawyer.
Well I'm not going in unprepared. Never have, never will. As a favorite quote of mine goes - "It's not in my nature". I will file an affidavit with the court stating facts that support my request to restore visitation as no evidence has come forward to continue to justify its being withheld. It was easy really, I just wrote down what we discussed in the last two hearings. Maybe seeing it written down the third time will be a charm. I hope so.
Why don't lawyers prepare? Its a conflict of interest. If they prepare, it will result in efficiency, and that will reduce billable hours, and that is the worst thing a lawyer can do. (jqism)
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