Every day I ask myself, how can such blatant violations of law and ethics, committed by lawyers and judges, continue to go unpunished? Day-in and day-out I get emails about another case of legal misconduct. And in my own experience, I’ve only encountered one judge who fits my idea of a ‘judge’ – Stephen Holman.
Is the system this corrupt? …. or, hmmmm … are the lawyers and judges, in general, that incompetent? Either way our society has a serious problem. However “corruption” can be cured, but incompetence? … not so sure.
What if there are so many incompetent judges and lawyers, the dishonest judges and lawyers simply blend in or take advantage of the target-rich environment? Clearly if the regulatory bodies – the WA State Bar and the Commission on Judicial Conduct – are faced with wide-spread incompetence, what are their options? Remove or disbar them all? Who will solve our problems? Or, lower the ‘standard of conduct’ required of lawyers/judges? When ‘government’ is the employer, and we, the people, want government to solve our problems, it is always ‘lower the standards’ to accommodate the incompetence/corruption that permeates government service.
There needs to be an ‘alternative’ … of course one alternative is for people to solve their own problems, or better yet, prevent problems from taking root. If there are no problems for government to fix, the issue of incompetence/corruption in government begins to go away.
However this is the planet Earth and we like problems. We crank out problems like Henry the VIII goes through wives. But, we want others to fix our problems. So what to do? If government isn’t the answer, and prevention isn’t the remedy, what other ‘system’ may work? I’m not sure, but the ‘Common Law Grand Jury‘ movement bares watching. It may offer a quick, efficient and “fair” alternative to our failing justice system.
Your thoughts.
Snohomish County Reporter 
Here is a perfect example of attorney incompetence:
A defendant or respondent is ordered to pay a sum of money by a date certain. If the litigant does not, he/she is brought before the court for contempt. He/She is not drug before the court for owing money, because our Washington Constitution prohibits being jailed for merely owing money (debtor’s prison), unless he or she absconds. As such, the case focuses on failure to comply with a court order, instead. It’s the end run around the legal system loves.
To handle the situation, when a debtor cannot pay, attorneys file motions that grovel for lower payments, more time and so forth. In reality, the solution is simple:
The debtor need only establish he cannot pay, such as by filing an affidavit or declaration.
The document can also notice all the debtor will not waive a protected right, such as those touched upon in the commonly known 4th and 5th amendments to the federal constitution, as the defendant claims their protected right under article 1, sections 7 and 9 of the Washington Constitution.
Once the record reflects the inability to pay, the state/county must overcome the facts of the case. If it cannot, and, again, constitutional protections prohibit them from forcing you to disclose what may/could be used against you, then it stands the contempt cannot be PURGED. Based on that fact, alone, the contempt cannot be had by the state/county.
I have witnessed this work several times. Twice when the defendant was in jail.
SIDE NOTE: Even in family law, where courts claim the matter is civil so no attorney is provided, individuals MUST be appointed counsel when a contempt is being sought. Anytime there is a loss of right (e.g., jail or loss of a right), you have the right to counsel.
I should note that there is a possibility much of the aforementioned incompetence may be nothing more than a willful and knowing refusal to rock the boat.
There are many unwritten rules in the legal profession. Some of them are, sadly, common sense. For example, if you make a fool of a judge for one client, such as by siting laws or court rules that require him to withdraw a ruling, or if you otherwise hold him/her to task for clear violations of laws and rights, how do you think it will go for you and your next client when again before that judge? And, do we believe there is no grapevine to share information about litigants and their “defenders”?
One thing which can monkey wrench a case is, notice to the attorney of client expectations and demands. I know of several instances in which public defenders offices had to appoint no less than seven different attorneys, after all “found a conflict of interest” (keep in mind public defenders offices are treated like law firms for purposes of conflicts, so if one member is barred from a case, all its members are).
The notice informs the attorneys you do not waive right, expect a record [on which and appeal can be mounted] to be made, including forming meaningful discovery, making objects, instroducing documents and MOVING them into evidence and so forth. Of course, it goes on to seek Omissions and Errors insurance, bonds, other insurance and private contact information, in case you are damaged by ineffective assistance of counsel (incompetence, etc.).
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Posted by Kelly Craig | May 28, 2014, 7:47 amIn regards to judges and attorneys, it is impossible for a Law abiding attorney or a judge to uphold the Law and yours rights, then violate them at the same time. Just like Harper is a prime example, Light years away from having any intention of being a Law abiding Judge or upholding any one’s rights.
Judges, attorneys, courts, Bar Assoc., Commissions all stick together like something you accidently stepped in that is now clinging to the bottom of your shoe. They help each other and look out for each other, will violate your rights, break the law, breech Oath to Office for each other, whereas the public does not. Therefore making it easy to gang up on individuals, illegally beat them up & rob them blind.
Prime example is just like here as of late, when I informed you of the Wa. State Dept. of Rev. now trying to assault me for 15k in sales tax when in fact I do not owe them a penny. but where did they get copy of my Federal income Tax form? Right from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Judge Lynch’s case where he lied to me from the stand about the title 18 chap. 9 sec. 3057 Law , refused to report clear violation of it to the U.S. Attorney, refused to recuse himself from the case (with him being the attorney originally assigned to the case when the suspended from practice attorney and the unprofessional negligent Superior Court illegally forced me to file for Bankruptcy) Knowing that the 3057 Law recommends a Grand Jury Investigation, and if I would have received a new unbiased judge like the Void Judgment Doctrine Calls for, plus a Grand Jury investigation it would have blown the lid off of this Corrupt Organized crime Judicial Cover up and busted them all.
So he violated rule 10 and assigns my adversary case to Judge Snyder who is the main defendant in that adversary case, to rule on himself, which he does twice and dismisses himself and the entire case for a reason that is not to used in a pro se case. They never provide a new unbiased judge as the Void Judgment Doctrine calls for.
Knowing that handling your own problems via the same rules that most likely created them, however tempting & efficient it appears, generally is illegal, and the results of which speak for themselves.
In regards to competence, when the lawyers Fund for Client protection (what a sham fraud sick joke) defrauded me by illegally falsifying/altering the main facts in my application to their Fake Fund to read 180 degrees opposite to what in truth took place, stating that I had lost my home years before and I did not agree to pay the attorneys $1500 just to provide me my deed release as agreed to in court and is clearly reflected on signed court documents.
So as to secure my new affordable mortgage and have the nightmare over with, Of course doing this while I was still continuously residing in and maintaining ownership of the very same home for the prior 30 years, So based on this, they deny the application to the Fraudulent, False, Misleading, sacred Lawyer’s Fund via they don’t Fund for Fee disputes, nor consequential damages.
Then in such a hurry to cheat, weasel and defraud me, they hurry up and get it in the mail to me before the ink is even dry on their signature! And!! where do these bird brains send the denial?? You guessed it, To the very same home and address they just swore to and signed their name to document stating I had lost that specific home years ago ……….& ……
The sick truth of it is, there in itself combined with the related fraudulent biased , bathed in cronyism, results of the Disciplinary, demonstrate not only conspiracy to defraud, the actual Fraud itself, aiding & abetting, accessories after the fact, intentional malicious imprisonment of corruption , conspiracy and various other Felony crimes regarding Grand Theft, etc. == Organized Crime/RICO/ Legal Abuse to the Max by the very Fund that is suppose to be correcting this behind the tent at the Carnival conduct by these various bankrupt of ethic’s attorneys with blood hound noses for other peoples money.
What it amounts to is simply the confidence of knowing that the FBI, U.S. Attorney, the AGO , the CJC, State Law enforcement, the remaining Courts, Clerks Offices are all going to roll with them on practically what ever, to the point it is no big deal any more, NORMAL BIASED. These perverted little birds don’t even think they are doing anything wrong any more, because if there is no one to stop , or correct it, then that is just the way it is, next please
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Posted by Bruce Gambill | May 28, 2014, 11:19 amBill,
BINGO!! What an excellent and insiteful article. You have hit the nail on the head. I would just like to “piggyback” a bit….in our society, and as far back as we go as a Nation, The Judiciary held a postion of supreme respect ..as a Priest, really. They were austere, almost other-worldly, they were our barrier from the Bad…perhaps people were a bit different then, more ethical, revered Justice and most thought only evil people broke the law.
To say we have backslided is a very small understatement. Many who are elected now strive for the post of Career Politician because it is Lucrative, rock-star flattering, the perks are never-ending as everything is free and the Best of Everything is offered, from private jets, limos, staff and they are shielded from the Mundane.
Consequently, we DON”T have the cream of the crop wanting to run for office….you have the EGOS and opportunists running…and there are no Term Limits of value in place. I have often asked, while living in New York, is a Judge REALLY elected for a term of 14 years per? Some Judges run unopposed given the entrenched partiasanship existing on their behalf. This Nation is in very deep trouble unless the electorate does their homework and really digs in regarding any and all candidates.
Loved the Article….
Ann M
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Posted by afinndorian | May 28, 2014, 11:34 amStart by ######## the judges and let God sort them out. Then the attorneys. What a wonderful country we would have without corrupt judges, attorneys, bar associations. There is one attorney for every 365 Americans. America has more people in jail per capita than any other country on earth (2,200,000) Prisons/jails a corporate growth industry.
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Posted by William D. Webster | May 28, 2014, 7:15 pmMr. Webster, as you can see, I edited your comment to replace the word “shooting” with “########”. While I agree with your view, which is substantiated by the words found in the Declaration of Independence that says,
While these words are attested by such noteworthy people as those from
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
… I still believe the rule of law will prevail and these corrupt agencies – the WA State Bar and the Commission on Judicial Conduct — will be placed under ‘the people’ and not ruled by their own kind. So in this belief I have edited your comment by replacing “shooting” with “######”. Hope you allow me such discretion at this point in time — at least until I’m convinced that “shooting” is actually necessary.
Bill
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Posted by Bill S | May 29, 2014, 1:29 pmThe system is a fraud from top to bottom. Take the Supremes at the top and 28 USC 455 on recusal of all magistrates, judges and justices in any case where there is even the appearance of conflict of interest. In Bush v Gore: Scalia, one son working for the law firm representing Bush;Thomas, wife vetting new Bush cabinet; O’ Connor to six witnesses at a cocktail party says she wants Bush to win because she wanted to retire and did not want Gore to appoint her successor.
Then you have the other judges from federal to local magistrates and as they say in Texas: “You can put lipstick and earrings on a pig and call it lucille, but it is still a pig.” Same way: you can put flowing robes on and arcane rituals around a malignant narcissist, megalomaniac, psychopath, control freak, political hack or whatever, but it is what it is; as Plato put it: “Those who SEEK power are invariably the least fit to hold and to wield it.”
Next, add in a system that it about winning and losing not about truth: a system of jury consultants like Dr Phil found by Opera in her case in Texas (who pick potential jurors who will ignore some evidence and judge’s instructions and vote with their guts and likely prejudices), judge and forum shopping, procedural delays, obstruction of discovery and justice, perjury and subornation of perjury, and more. Every lawyer is taught not to ever ask questions they do not already have the answer for (whereas the search for truth demands exactly that–asking questions to find answers not play “gottcha”) and they are taught to very carefully craft and proscribe any examination or cross-examination or redirect so as to limit the scope of any response or opening any doors for the opposition to exploit. The job is to hype the positives and hide the negatives of the client while hyping the negatives and hiding the positives of the opposition.
And if all else fails, they attempt to use public monies, and sleazy lawyers, or even AAGs from the AG’s office, to hide and carry on corruption and prevent legal accountability to those doing serious corruption:
http://jimcraven10.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/hush-money-and-sealed-settlements-to-cover-up-crimes-are-crimes-not-torts-no-need-to-cover-up-what-is-clean-only-what-is-dirty/
And then there is the Washington State Bar. There is the FBI, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Vancouver Police, Office of the Governor, all of whom have had serious corruption, with full supporting and accountable documentation provided, with all statements sworn under penalty of perjury and subject to criminal prosecution for any untruths or attempts to misuse law enforcement for private agenda or civil action, and with no responses.
Jim Craven
http://jimcraven10.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/attempts-to-report-felony-crimes-per-18-usc-4-28-usc-1361-exchanges-with-clark-county-sheriff-gary-lucas/
http://jimcraven10.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/an-open-letter-to-washington-state-attorney-general-ferguson-and-governor-inslee-on-allegations-of-a-climate-of-corruption-and-repression-at-clark-college-and-in-clark-county/
Title 18 U.S.C. § 4. Misprision of felony. Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
A federal judge, or any other government official, is required as part of the judge’s mandatory administrative duties, to receive any offer of information of a federal crime. If that judge blocks such report, that block is a felony under related obstruction of justice statutes, and constitutes a serious offense.
Upon receiving such information, the judge is then required to make it known to a government law enforcement body that is not themselves involved in the federal crime.
Another federal statute exists for reporting high-level corruption in government:
Title 28 U.S.C. § 1361. Action to compel an officer of the United States to perform his duty. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any action in the nature of mandamus to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff.
This federal statute permits any citizen to file a lawsuit in the federal courts to obtain a court order requiring a federal official to perform a mandatory duty and to halt unlawful acts. This statute is Title 28 U.S.C. § 1361.
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Posted by jimcraven10 | May 28, 2014, 10:52 pm