Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Supreme Court Finds a 14th Amendment Size Due Process Violation Inside of Caperton and Major Donor State Supreme Courts; Ohio's next in line?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Massey Case Sends Powerful Message to Courts like Ohio's Republican and Special Donor Dominated High Court
The Massey Energy v Caperton case, is a significant Due Process and game changing case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, in part, due to the award winning article written by Adam Liptak of the New York times regarding the Ohio Supremes.
Like most major impacting cases, affecting the state of the judiciary in states like Ohio and America in general, this case due to certain business ties, is being made all too soon, invisible, if not, safely, forgotten by most major media in the State of Ohio and beyond. Perhaps, it may be they just don't wish to face the stark reality that justice in America, for some time, now, has not been the thing of what most American's are led to believe by various sectors including the media and by some measure of expense, the high court's themselves often portray and try to make people still believe what it isn't.
In part, it may be also, major media corporate interests don't want to turn a true investigative eye on the serious corrupting and affecting interests who hold such all too obvious sway over the present Supreme Court of Ohio and numerous other states high courts, even when a paper like the New Times and well documented evidence, from judicial Center's are willing to put some substance to the issue and to provide at least, some political cover over any would be true investigative effort about the serious bad influence and bribery of high court officials in Ohio and elsewhere by large donor law firms, chamber of commerce interests and other significant special interests with business to get done at this level of operations and government.
The Caperton/Massey Case indicates, there may be an end point at which major donor funding for major supreme court races, like those in Ohio for the past eight years, is to be perceived within the context of a Constitutional level violation terms. In fact, such a violation of major donor special interest funding over such high courts and their actions and decisions, is truly a civil rights type of 14th Amendment Due Process violation as per the arguments for the Caperton side has argued, for those affected citizens and individuals and party litigants who have been so adversely impacted by powerful donor groups and interests who have conspired with the republican party across the State of Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and others to ensure justice is always firmly dispensed, in a "philosophical" favor or "bent" towards those interests who have the deepest pockets, both on the bench and those who are willing to fill those pockets of those whom serve on the bench...again, both here in Ohio as it has been for the past eight years and among numerous other states.
NOW, in light of Caperton, we need as individuals and groups to not allow the elites of a particular legal profession, or subgroup such as judiciary formed committees who already are all too well entrenched to begin to make the new rules regarding when a justice must recuse themselves given the corporate or major donor special interests are helping to pave the way for a results oriented "philosophical" outcome based series of decisions.
What instead, is needed and required, is an independent, objective "policy" for the various states when such decision, that will be responsive to the will of the people, given such a set of rules, will clearly directly affect every citizen and ordinary individual who may appear before such courts and whom, least we forget, are by definition, the true power of this supposed democratic experiment we refer to as the United States of America.
In one way, we need to immediately ask of ourselves, why do the people of our nation, continually default their rights and their voice and power to the special interests and those who are most closely aligned with the same over the most basic functions of a governmental branch as critical as the judicary?
Could it be, at least, in part, because the media in affected states, like Ohio and elsewhere, don't truly wish to report the impact and the possibilites of what can change if we would educate our common populations and the people across such states and America itself, on the impact and the consequence of major donor money
on today's various high courts? Could it also be reported that the people's courts, are not exactly run for and by the people, today, if in fact, they ever truly were in the past 120 years.
To this end, the Midwest Center is focusing its immediate attention on making known the strong message of the recent Massey v. Caperton decision and the unique status now left to the states, the various courts in the wake of Massey and to assist to raise awareness, that the people of the states are to have a key and strong voice, in recreating the standards and 'floor' for when and whether a justice can be perceived as being someone overinvolved in less than an objective impartial form of justice, and/or is in fact, engaging, individually or as a whole in nothing but crass political and personal 'self dealing' ...when it comes to serving on the high courts, and deriding, the interests of the people and those ordinary citizens, and advocates, who often, have to appear in front of them.
We need to stay engaged even with the solid positive result of the Caperton case. Its not as complete as nor an absolute clear victory for those of us who have been watching and dealing with the issue for the past three or more years.
Yet, it will be a solid guide, even as we think it not as strong as we believe it ought to have been, given the four republican conserivate major [major donor] votes on the Supreme Court. Given Justice Kennedy's and the more moderate to liberal four others willingness to shift the paradigm of major donor interests among state high courts, in terms of viewing such a challenge as one clearly implying a Constitutional Due Process clause level violation, if even ever so slightly, the basic hands off or 'laize faire' approach of a former finanicial capitalistic approach to electing overly biased state supreme court justices, as happened in the West Virginia based Caperton case's purchasing of a seat, to get "results driven" outcomes, is probably a thing of the past.
Furthermore, advocates, court watchers and the citizens of our states, have to make it clear that the Court's recent decision has in fact, changed the rules of game, when it comes to the major donor funding of courts like Ohio's all republican major money bought and conglomerate mobbed up Court has itself, been found so emeshed within.
Our present state court is an all republican court, in a state which that has no other major state elected officials either retaining or obtaining state office or power, in the past four years; this political fact, in itself, bespeaks of corrupting influence of the same kinds of special interest who created the problem in West Virginia that formed the basis of the Caperton decision as having a very firm root on the Court system in Ohio.
Post Caperton, it is now no longer assumed that such endless amounts of cash, given to a particular 'cause' candidate or silent candidacy like those in Ohio, all too often, will NOT then, be subjected to a serious constitutional challenge, if its done in the manner its been orchestrated by certain special interests in Ohio and elsewhere this past decade.
This decision, in effect, should affect the hedgemony of the powerful money driven well honed, business/insurance/republican Supreme Court campaigns in Ohio. such efforts, have been funded by major Columbus, Cleveland and other major city insurance defense industry law firms and sizable chamber of commerce groups and related municipality insurers and business interests as well as particularly strong politically sensitive interest groups like the State FOP.
The issue, in light of Massey v Caperton opens quite a gap in fact, for the states to act in good faith with the spirit of the holding; it has left to the people and interested parties of the various states and concerned citizens and affected advocates to make clear this change is to a sincere and thorough one, not controlled or cleverly concealed by either the same special interests or store bought justices and media that helped to create such major funding issues in the first instance, in our recent American experience with our Third Branch of our government.
Again, Caperton may not have been a clear as some would have liked, including this author, but it is a true, significant start and strong first step in the right direction to curb this abuse of power and influence. We, who have been engaged in this fight and realistic assessment of the state of our judiciary, for some time, and who have as lawyers, gone up against such major special interest influcences, inside this state's high and federal courts, needed just such a win; In Caperton, as slender as Kennedy's opinion maybe, we, nonetheless, clearly obtained one.
Perhaps, there just may be hope for justice in Ohio and elsewhere across this nation, just yet.
Posted by Minneapolis Falling at 9:36 AM
Massey Case Sends Powerful Message to Courts like Ohio's Republican and Special Donor Dominated High Court
The Massey Energy v Caperton case, is a significant Due Process and game changing case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, in part, due to the award winning article written by Adam Liptak of the New York times regarding the Ohio Supremes.
Like most major impacting cases, affecting the state of the judiciary in states like Ohio and America in general, this case due to certain business ties, is being made all too soon, invisible, if not, safely, forgotten by most major media in the State of Ohio and beyond. Perhaps, it may be they just don't wish to face the stark reality that justice in America, for some time, now, has not been the thing of what most American's are led to believe by various sectors including the media and by some measure of expense, the high court's themselves often portray and try to make people still believe what it isn't.
In part, it may be also, major media corporate interests don't want to turn a true investigative eye on the serious corrupting and affecting interests who hold such all too obvious sway over the present Supreme Court of Ohio and numerous other states high courts, even when a paper like the New Times and well documented evidence, from judicial Center's are willing to put some substance to the issue and to provide at least, some political cover over any would be true investigative effort about the serious bad influence and bribery of high court officials in Ohio and elsewhere by large donor law firms, chamber of commerce interests and other significant special interests with business to get done at this level of operations and government.
The Caperton/Massey Case indicates, there may be an end point at which major donor funding for major supreme court races, like those in Ohio for the past eight years, is to be perceived within the context of a Constitutional level violation terms. In fact, such a violation of major donor special interest funding over such high courts and their actions and decisions, is truly a civil rights type of 14th Amendment Due Process violation as per the arguments for the Caperton side has argued, for those affected citizens and individuals and party litigants who have been so adversely impacted by powerful donor groups and interests who have conspired with the republican party across the State of Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and others to ensure justice is always firmly dispensed, in a "philosophical" favor or "bent" towards those interests who have the deepest pockets, both on the bench and those who are willing to fill those pockets of those whom serve on the bench...again, both here in Ohio as it has been for the past eight years and among numerous other states.
NOW, in light of Caperton, we need as individuals and groups to not allow the elites of a particular legal profession, or subgroup such as judiciary formed committees who already are all too well entrenched to begin to make the new rules regarding when a justice must recuse themselves given the corporate or major donor special interests are helping to pave the way for a results oriented "philosophical" outcome based series of decisions.
What instead, is needed and required, is an independent, objective "policy" for the various states when such decision, that will be responsive to the will of the people, given such a set of rules, will clearly directly affect every citizen and ordinary individual who may appear before such courts and whom, least we forget, are by definition, the true power of this supposed democratic experiment we refer to as the United States of America.
In one way, we need to immediately ask of ourselves, why do the people of our nation, continually default their rights and their voice and power to the special interests and those who are most closely aligned with the same over the most basic functions of a governmental branch as critical as the judicary?
Could it be, at least, in part, because the media in affected states, like Ohio and elsewhere, don't truly wish to report the impact and the possibilites of what can change if we would educate our common populations and the people across such states and America itself, on the impact and the consequence of major donor money
on today's various high courts? Could it also be reported that the people's courts, are not exactly run for and by the people, today, if in fact, they ever truly were in the past 120 years.
To this end, the Midwest Center is focusing its immediate attention on making known the strong message of the recent Massey v. Caperton decision and the unique status now left to the states, the various courts in the wake of Massey and to assist to raise awareness, that the people of the states are to have a key and strong voice, in recreating the standards and 'floor' for when and whether a justice can be perceived as being someone overinvolved in less than an objective impartial form of justice, and/or is in fact, engaging, individually or as a whole in nothing but crass political and personal 'self dealing' ...when it comes to serving on the high courts, and deriding, the interests of the people and those ordinary citizens, and advocates, who often, have to appear in front of them.
We need to stay engaged even with the solid positive result of the Caperton case. Its not as complete as nor an absolute clear victory for those of us who have been watching and dealing with the issue for the past three or more years.
Yet, it will be a solid guide, even as we think it not as strong as we believe it ought to have been, given the four republican conserivate major [major donor] votes on the Supreme Court. Given Justice Kennedy's and the more moderate to liberal four others willingness to shift the paradigm of major donor interests among state high courts, in terms of viewing such a challenge as one clearly implying a Constitutional Due Process clause level violation, if even ever so slightly, the basic hands off or 'laize faire' approach of a former finanicial capitalistic approach to electing overly biased state supreme court justices, as happened in the West Virginia based Caperton case's purchasing of a seat, to get "results driven" outcomes, is probably a thing of the past.
Furthermore, advocates, court watchers and the citizens of our states, have to make it clear that the Court's recent decision has in fact, changed the rules of game, when it comes to the major donor funding of courts like Ohio's all republican major money bought and conglomerate mobbed up Court has itself, been found so emeshed within.
Our present state court is an all republican court, in a state which that has no other major state elected officials either retaining or obtaining state office or power, in the past four years; this political fact, in itself, bespeaks of corrupting influence of the same kinds of special interest who created the problem in West Virginia that formed the basis of the Caperton decision as having a very firm root on the Court system in Ohio.
Post Caperton, it is now no longer assumed that such endless amounts of cash, given to a particular 'cause' candidate or silent candidacy like those in Ohio, all too often, will NOT then, be subjected to a serious constitutional challenge, if its done in the manner its been orchestrated by certain special interests in Ohio and elsewhere this past decade.
This decision, in effect, should affect the hedgemony of the powerful money driven well honed, business/insurance/republican Supreme Court campaigns in Ohio. such efforts, have been funded by major Columbus, Cleveland and other major city insurance defense industry law firms and sizable chamber of commerce groups and related municipality insurers and business interests as well as particularly strong politically sensitive interest groups like the State FOP.
The issue, in light of Massey v Caperton opens quite a gap in fact, for the states to act in good faith with the spirit of the holding; it has left to the people and interested parties of the various states and concerned citizens and affected advocates to make clear this change is to a sincere and thorough one, not controlled or cleverly concealed by either the same special interests or store bought justices and media that helped to create such major funding issues in the first instance, in our recent American experience with our Third Branch of our government.
Again, Caperton may not have been a clear as some would have liked, including this author, but it is a true, significant start and strong first step in the right direction to curb this abuse of power and influence. We, who have been engaged in this fight and realistic assessment of the state of our judiciary, for some time, and who have as lawyers, gone up against such major special interest influcences, inside this state's high and federal courts, needed just such a win; In Caperton, as slender as Kennedy's opinion maybe, we, nonetheless, clearly obtained one.
Perhaps, there just may be hope for justice in Ohio and elsewhere across this nation, just yet.
Posted by Minneapolis Falling at 9:36 AM
Monday, July 28, 2008
Link to Chronology of Events
http://www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID=1237766255931605933&action=editWidget§ionId=footer&widg
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The List of Conflicts of Interests in Ohio's High Court and Board of Disciplinary Issues Is Considerable
This blog will begin to make some small dent on the kinds of conflicts of
interests that exist within the Ohio Legal system and how some of them
are extremely critical in terms of who may be focused upon by the
State and Local Disciplinary Counsel across Ohio.
Certainly, there are numerous instances of legal misconduct which need
to be ferreted out and investigated properly. Individuals and businesses
across Ohio have been severely damaged by lawyer's dishonest acts, or poor
representation.
There are also some instances where truly evil things have been done by
lawyers which have, in turn, produced very severe human suffering. These lawyers
do not to be regulated and sanctioned, where applicable, once due process is afforded to their defense.
However, what is clear, this kind of conduct, the most serious form, is not
either limited to solo lawyers and/or those who happen to be trying to earn a living
from their law license in the private sector nor is it being reviewed by disinterested "police" of the profession; i.e. the dreaded, 'ethics prosecutors' of our so-called "self regulating" profession....
Politics brings influence and politics is a business today, as much as it is
an art of persuading people that their policies and/or agenda is the better or best
among several competing views.
However, what is well settled, is political agendas can and do operate within the context of major donor interests among the State's Third Branch...the Judiciary.
...And these donor interests, are neither neutral nor indifferent to the issues and interest they pay politicallly driven candidates and high officer holders, great sums of money, to help them reach their high offices...
The Ohio Supreme Court and its branches of various agencies and areas of influence is no exeption to this money washing and its high stakes game of multi-
million dollar donations and corrupting influence on the legal process. The same high roller for justice cash donor process of the Ohio Supremes has even caught the national media attention and that of various serious court watchers and scholars throughout the nation.
Much has been written in recent years on the legal case outcome side of this
issue. Many scholarly and legal publication articles are being discussed as the
topic heats up not just in Ohio but around the nation. A non profit center called
"Justice at Stake" has published for the past several years, a startling annual reivew of the amounts of money and cash that special interest groups, like the Chamber of Commerce and the municipal insurance defense law firms are pouring into the cofferes of vapid, often listless and non inspirations judicial female candidates, who then take office w/ nuns and tom noe and the FOP color guards at their side, ALL AT ONCE AS IF IT WERE SOME KIND OF STRANGE RELIGOUS-STATE-MONEY LAUNDERING CELEBRATION EVENT, instead of the opening of the calender year for the
State's highest court of law....[see the link to the "Justice Judy" 2004 "innaguration day parade of fools" w/ Master of Ceremonies, Tom Noe, whom the justice assuringly states openly and publicly, "without whom i would not be here"]
tongue in cheek was never so glib! again..w/ her favorite nun at her side...!
...catholic church religious and the mafia types always did go hand in hand...
but today...its not of any particular ethnic origin that this is so...
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConner, has spoken out against this type of political purchase power of variety of special interests who are increasingly buying their way in and out of the highest Court houses doors around the various states.
But what has NOT been so readily discussed, is the putative connection between
such political interests, and the convergence of special interest donor money and the literaly disciplinary state and local bar associations prosecutions of certain
"undesirables" within the legal system that seems to have its own sphere and orbit
of a particular virulent form of political corruption operating in under a heavy
guise of legal ethics in a complete stealth mode, and its operating as needed and when turned on, and loosed upon the unsuspecting non conventional lawyer by the very
highest memberes of this proffession and those high court officials who may be doing the very bidding of their well documented expensive and well healed donors and special intersts, who happened to have the ability to call in a few favors, when
necessary to silence the judges and lawyers who are a bit too "noisy" for their own
good.
This is the blog that specially wishes to delve in this particular issue. It is not often very clear exactly what type of influence such speical interests are purchasing w/ their multimillion dollar 'roll outs' of serious campaign cash donations in our modern era of High Court Elections in the Judicial cycles of Ohio
and other major states.
But what is clear, is for whatever shadows exist in this process on the up front
aspect of the donor's pet agendas, there seems to be no question, at least sometimes
very clear results obtained that just happen to coincide with these special interests interests, and those actions taken against lawyers and particularly solo
and independent minded judges, who do not happen to share the same political party,
or philosophy or worse, the same worldview of those special interests that are most
heavily contributing tot he outcomes of this high court officials and are most heavilty invested in maintaining their world view thru the status quo political machinery of the present era, inside this state.
To make such comments, risks automatic denounciation and certain calls which raise "serious questions of competency" among the peers and profefssionals.
This is a way in which to isolate 'the problem lawyer' who is not acting in according with "professional standadrs and expectation of the kind of high conduct
which is expected of all lawyers"
Such is the language of the American legal gulag process that high court officials like Thomas Moyers and company at the Ohio Supreme Court have created in a very serious, deliberate and yet low profile manner, at least in terms of the general
public image of what they have done and what they publicly state they exist for...
This blog will start in a basic manner; by listing those officials who are known to the blogger, who are most likely to have been major donor interested individuals
who are today, high ranking officials in the legal disciplinary system of Ohio...
and who just happen to be those whom republican interests among the large corporate world and municipal insurer community find very much their own and have
helped with them , to create the present day machinery that can make life for a 'disobedient' lawyer, and one who is "not playing by the rules"...nor doing the
conventional lawyering among the present day public, very very difficult, if not
miserable and impossible to continue on as a functioning liigator or active legal
advocate for those who may need just this sort of lawyer who is NOT conventional, and is not willing to sell out to the lowest bidder his time and value of his services and who may just be willing to buck the normal conventions of what a lawyer is to be "like" and how he/she is "supposed to conduct themselves among the profession"...aka make money and shut up and don't dare critique the judiciary...in ohio or the state of the American judiciary itself, inside any motions filed on behalf of shot dead black men from Minneapolis...or racially beaten young black men from Warren, Ohio before the Northern District of Ohio...
Such code words, sound high and mighty and ethical; in reality, they are not unlike the talibanite codes words for exerting tremendous controlling influence
of the legal profession as a whole and have created a certain living trynny for
all lawyers who dare to even consider becoming whistleblowers, legal watchdogs, and/or self appointed constituitonal lawyers who care more about civil rights
of others, than he does about the bottom line of his own bank account, which defies the logic and the norm for what the law profession today, is defined as and by;
pure material considerations of monetary success; its a profession wholly consumed
w/making money and making money its basis for being...
and so..those with the most influence at the present moment in several states,
but especially in ohio, organizations with great sums of money at hand, can exert
tremendous influence, over the few judges in Ohio who control the livelihoods of
tens of thousands of legal practitioners and so make the same, conform to their
understanding of what represent the idea legal "model' of the profession of
law for solo and small firm pratitioners...
in the end, the image of a lawyers, is being controlled and tightly monitored
and severely restricted in terms of the individual's ability to speak out, write
strongly and advocate zealously for certain groups who do not fit the matrix or the
philosophy of the corporate world and their elite few groups and interests.
Today, where one stands in relation to his law license and his ability to practice depends largely on those whom he cares to represent and how serious
he wants to do geniune lawyering for them, versus, being a figure head static
lawyer who goes through the motions of doing legal work for clients but is more
in it for the material considerations, thatn the ideals behind the law itself.
Such is the present day realities of the practice of law. EVery solo lawyer knows exactly what i am stating and its taken for granted by all lawyers, so much so, its hardly even discussed and its understood, from law school on...that simply
certain "hot button" issues are not going to be delt with by the solo lawyer in
any truly effective way, when it comes to being able to police the police of one's own profession.
The lawyering system is not a democratic based model. The profession has its
madrians and its feudal lords; its a throw back to the old world way of controlling
special interests and political power spheres; its not revolutionary whatsoever; its more reactionary than anything, if that; in one simple way, its a pure oligarchy
and its pure dictorial model if not a soviet style approach to running human delivery system of social legal services; its a top down strict vertical operation; there is little input from teh bottom up, unless the 'bottom' means you make over 500,000 a year and can contribute heavily to one of the major republican party funders and/or supreme courtjustices; if you can do this, or have someone assist with this for you, you have potential standing befoer this court, as a loyal subject; if you do not, you will be considered as dust beneath their feet and so treated as if anything you read in history books or read in great American speeches or anything that learned hand considered vital for american democratic freedoms
has AnYTHIng to do today for the way, this profession is to operate today and how
those in control of the highest aspect of this profession, dominate the profession
from the highest considerations to the lowly solo lawyers little practice;
its isn't without reason, this kind of repression exists...
we will start this blog, w/ some of the critical names by simply listing them
here...for the public to begin to see the light of day, as to who often hides
in their dark officers, like spiders ready to be sent on their secret missons
halfway around the state w/high paid investigations aiming and directing their
every word, their every step and orchestrating their very prosecutions against
those lawyers who just may not agree w/ their political boss's main donor's
best interest/....in a another era, the mafia took tribute money; today, high
court justices, in robes of righteousness, take millions in campaign donations
and other favors; the enemies of these cash transfers interests, in turn,
are delt with not unlike those who dared to buck the mafia of another era; the
may not be killed physically; but their ability to practice within this profession and bring any influence to bear that just may torquet the special interests interests, is going to be severely if not permanenty ended.
The first and most serious name at the moment, on this list, is not the top
lawyer for the state; but one who is most often relied upon the high court
justices to do their darker bidding;
Ms. Lori Brown, of the State Office of Supreme Court's Disciplinary Counsel's Columbus based office is the first to become the focus of this blog;
This diminutive and rather non courageous woman seems to be where despite other
higher powers right next to her, w/ greater outward authority, the heart of darkness
resides inside this Stsate controled powerful Disciplinary Counsel's office.
Im a word, she brings a whole new level of darkness to the state operation because simply she is ready willing and able to do the kinds of "necessary" tasks
that such political ops must consider in order to keep their true constitency satisfied; money talks and it also demands from now and then, a real push...
so....it is to her "the willing useful one", we will call her. ..
we will turn our attention...
interests that exist within the Ohio Legal system and how some of them
are extremely critical in terms of who may be focused upon by the
State and Local Disciplinary Counsel across Ohio.
Certainly, there are numerous instances of legal misconduct which need
to be ferreted out and investigated properly. Individuals and businesses
across Ohio have been severely damaged by lawyer's dishonest acts, or poor
representation.
There are also some instances where truly evil things have been done by
lawyers which have, in turn, produced very severe human suffering. These lawyers
do not to be regulated and sanctioned, where applicable, once due process is afforded to their defense.
However, what is clear, this kind of conduct, the most serious form, is not
either limited to solo lawyers and/or those who happen to be trying to earn a living
from their law license in the private sector nor is it being reviewed by disinterested "police" of the profession; i.e. the dreaded, 'ethics prosecutors' of our so-called "self regulating" profession....
Politics brings influence and politics is a business today, as much as it is
an art of persuading people that their policies and/or agenda is the better or best
among several competing views.
However, what is well settled, is political agendas can and do operate within the context of major donor interests among the State's Third Branch...the Judiciary.
...And these donor interests, are neither neutral nor indifferent to the issues and interest they pay politicallly driven candidates and high officer holders, great sums of money, to help them reach their high offices...
The Ohio Supreme Court and its branches of various agencies and areas of influence is no exeption to this money washing and its high stakes game of multi-
million dollar donations and corrupting influence on the legal process. The same high roller for justice cash donor process of the Ohio Supremes has even caught the national media attention and that of various serious court watchers and scholars throughout the nation.
Much has been written in recent years on the legal case outcome side of this
issue. Many scholarly and legal publication articles are being discussed as the
topic heats up not just in Ohio but around the nation. A non profit center called
"Justice at Stake" has published for the past several years, a startling annual reivew of the amounts of money and cash that special interest groups, like the Chamber of Commerce and the municipal insurance defense law firms are pouring into the cofferes of vapid, often listless and non inspirations judicial female candidates, who then take office w/ nuns and tom noe and the FOP color guards at their side, ALL AT ONCE AS IF IT WERE SOME KIND OF STRANGE RELIGOUS-STATE-MONEY LAUNDERING CELEBRATION EVENT, instead of the opening of the calender year for the
State's highest court of law....[see the link to the "Justice Judy" 2004 "innaguration day parade of fools" w/ Master of Ceremonies, Tom Noe, whom the justice assuringly states openly and publicly, "without whom i would not be here"]
tongue in cheek was never so glib! again..w/ her favorite nun at her side...!
...catholic church religious and the mafia types always did go hand in hand...
but today...its not of any particular ethnic origin that this is so...
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConner, has spoken out against this type of political purchase power of variety of special interests who are increasingly buying their way in and out of the highest Court houses doors around the various states.
But what has NOT been so readily discussed, is the putative connection between
such political interests, and the convergence of special interest donor money and the literaly disciplinary state and local bar associations prosecutions of certain
"undesirables" within the legal system that seems to have its own sphere and orbit
of a particular virulent form of political corruption operating in under a heavy
guise of legal ethics in a complete stealth mode, and its operating as needed and when turned on, and loosed upon the unsuspecting non conventional lawyer by the very
highest memberes of this proffession and those high court officials who may be doing the very bidding of their well documented expensive and well healed donors and special intersts, who happened to have the ability to call in a few favors, when
necessary to silence the judges and lawyers who are a bit too "noisy" for their own
good.
This is the blog that specially wishes to delve in this particular issue. It is not often very clear exactly what type of influence such speical interests are purchasing w/ their multimillion dollar 'roll outs' of serious campaign cash donations in our modern era of High Court Elections in the Judicial cycles of Ohio
and other major states.
But what is clear, is for whatever shadows exist in this process on the up front
aspect of the donor's pet agendas, there seems to be no question, at least sometimes
very clear results obtained that just happen to coincide with these special interests interests, and those actions taken against lawyers and particularly solo
and independent minded judges, who do not happen to share the same political party,
or philosophy or worse, the same worldview of those special interests that are most
heavily contributing tot he outcomes of this high court officials and are most heavilty invested in maintaining their world view thru the status quo political machinery of the present era, inside this state.
To make such comments, risks automatic denounciation and certain calls which raise "serious questions of competency" among the peers and profefssionals.
This is a way in which to isolate 'the problem lawyer' who is not acting in according with "professional standadrs and expectation of the kind of high conduct
which is expected of all lawyers"
Such is the language of the American legal gulag process that high court officials like Thomas Moyers and company at the Ohio Supreme Court have created in a very serious, deliberate and yet low profile manner, at least in terms of the general
public image of what they have done and what they publicly state they exist for...
This blog will start in a basic manner; by listing those officials who are known to the blogger, who are most likely to have been major donor interested individuals
who are today, high ranking officials in the legal disciplinary system of Ohio...
and who just happen to be those whom republican interests among the large corporate world and municipal insurer community find very much their own and have
helped with them , to create the present day machinery that can make life for a 'disobedient' lawyer, and one who is "not playing by the rules"...nor doing the
conventional lawyering among the present day public, very very difficult, if not
miserable and impossible to continue on as a functioning liigator or active legal
advocate for those who may need just this sort of lawyer who is NOT conventional, and is not willing to sell out to the lowest bidder his time and value of his services and who may just be willing to buck the normal conventions of what a lawyer is to be "like" and how he/she is "supposed to conduct themselves among the profession"...aka make money and shut up and don't dare critique the judiciary...in ohio or the state of the American judiciary itself, inside any motions filed on behalf of shot dead black men from Minneapolis...or racially beaten young black men from Warren, Ohio before the Northern District of Ohio...
Such code words, sound high and mighty and ethical; in reality, they are not unlike the talibanite codes words for exerting tremendous controlling influence
of the legal profession as a whole and have created a certain living trynny for
all lawyers who dare to even consider becoming whistleblowers, legal watchdogs, and/or self appointed constituitonal lawyers who care more about civil rights
of others, than he does about the bottom line of his own bank account, which defies the logic and the norm for what the law profession today, is defined as and by;
pure material considerations of monetary success; its a profession wholly consumed
w/making money and making money its basis for being...
and so..those with the most influence at the present moment in several states,
but especially in ohio, organizations with great sums of money at hand, can exert
tremendous influence, over the few judges in Ohio who control the livelihoods of
tens of thousands of legal practitioners and so make the same, conform to their
understanding of what represent the idea legal "model' of the profession of
law for solo and small firm pratitioners...
in the end, the image of a lawyers, is being controlled and tightly monitored
and severely restricted in terms of the individual's ability to speak out, write
strongly and advocate zealously for certain groups who do not fit the matrix or the
philosophy of the corporate world and their elite few groups and interests.
Today, where one stands in relation to his law license and his ability to practice depends largely on those whom he cares to represent and how serious
he wants to do geniune lawyering for them, versus, being a figure head static
lawyer who goes through the motions of doing legal work for clients but is more
in it for the material considerations, thatn the ideals behind the law itself.
Such is the present day realities of the practice of law. EVery solo lawyer knows exactly what i am stating and its taken for granted by all lawyers, so much so, its hardly even discussed and its understood, from law school on...that simply
certain "hot button" issues are not going to be delt with by the solo lawyer in
any truly effective way, when it comes to being able to police the police of one's own profession.
The lawyering system is not a democratic based model. The profession has its
madrians and its feudal lords; its a throw back to the old world way of controlling
special interests and political power spheres; its not revolutionary whatsoever; its more reactionary than anything, if that; in one simple way, its a pure oligarchy
and its pure dictorial model if not a soviet style approach to running human delivery system of social legal services; its a top down strict vertical operation; there is little input from teh bottom up, unless the 'bottom' means you make over 500,000 a year and can contribute heavily to one of the major republican party funders and/or supreme courtjustices; if you can do this, or have someone assist with this for you, you have potential standing befoer this court, as a loyal subject; if you do not, you will be considered as dust beneath their feet and so treated as if anything you read in history books or read in great American speeches or anything that learned hand considered vital for american democratic freedoms
has AnYTHIng to do today for the way, this profession is to operate today and how
those in control of the highest aspect of this profession, dominate the profession
from the highest considerations to the lowly solo lawyers little practice;
its isn't without reason, this kind of repression exists...
we will start this blog, w/ some of the critical names by simply listing them
here...for the public to begin to see the light of day, as to who often hides
in their dark officers, like spiders ready to be sent on their secret missons
halfway around the state w/high paid investigations aiming and directing their
every word, their every step and orchestrating their very prosecutions against
those lawyers who just may not agree w/ their political boss's main donor's
best interest/....in a another era, the mafia took tribute money; today, high
court justices, in robes of righteousness, take millions in campaign donations
and other favors; the enemies of these cash transfers interests, in turn,
are delt with not unlike those who dared to buck the mafia of another era; the
may not be killed physically; but their ability to practice within this profession and bring any influence to bear that just may torquet the special interests interests, is going to be severely if not permanenty ended.
The first and most serious name at the moment, on this list, is not the top
lawyer for the state; but one who is most often relied upon the high court
justices to do their darker bidding;
Ms. Lori Brown, of the State Office of Supreme Court's Disciplinary Counsel's Columbus based office is the first to become the focus of this blog;
This diminutive and rather non courageous woman seems to be where despite other
higher powers right next to her, w/ greater outward authority, the heart of darkness
resides inside this Stsate controled powerful Disciplinary Counsel's office.
Im a word, she brings a whole new level of darkness to the state operation because simply she is ready willing and able to do the kinds of "necessary" tasks
that such political ops must consider in order to keep their true constitency satisfied; money talks and it also demands from now and then, a real push...
so....it is to her "the willing useful one", we will call her. ..
we will turn our attention...
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