Saturday

Lawyers Who Profit at the Expense of our Children.

The late Judge E. Spencer Walton of St. Joseph County, Indiana often remarked that one of the most important duties of an attorney opening a new file was also one of the least appreciated.
Guess which he was referring to?

A.  Keeping the client informed. 

B.  Treating the client as an equal

partner in the matter. 

C.  Reviewing the file regularly. 

D.  Closing the file. 

E.  Copying the file for the client

d. Closing the file.
(The actual answer - and 21% of responses)
Judge Walton’s admonition may actually stand in some considerable contrast to what the general ethic of the legal profession is: dedicated, zealous, and perhaps even endless advocacy.
But we think that at least in family cases he may be absolutely right.  Are families actually assisted by teams of lawyers and a judiciary remaining more or less permanently involved in their affairs?
Family Law (film)
Family Law (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It seems to us that the legal profession, not to mention members of the public wanting to make aggressive and far-reaching use of the legal profession, could take a lesson from Judge Walton.  And perhaps from the tendency of more progressive physicians to attempt to work with the human body rather than against the human body.
The “Extra Quote” this week speaks to this point.  Chief Justice Burger went to considerable lengths to try to put the brakes on the law’s tendency (sometimes even a well-intentioned one) to get involved in too much of people’s lives.  And then to stay too long.
At the very least, it seems to us that in family matters parents should be encouraged to do all they can, and use all the useful counseling, mediation, and other resources at their disposal, to reassume responsibility for their lives and the lives of their children.

What Kind of Civil Litigator Are You?

Top 30 indications that you are probably a sleazy civil lawyer
 "South Florida Style"
(if 3 or more apply it’s a rebuttable presumption):


(1) You’ve got a red “YES” next to “10 year disciplinary history” on the Flabar.org website.


(2) You have a law firm called “[insert your name] and Associates, P.A.,” but don’t have any associates.


(3) You serve, or are the recipient of, a 57.105 motion in more than half of your cases.


(4) You’ve had Rule 11 or 57.105 sanctions imposed against you more than once during your career.

(5) You’re in motion calendar an average of one or more times a week.

(6) You routinely have 2-3 motion calendar hearings before different judges on the same morning.

(7) You surprise opposing counsel with your case law in the middle of the hearing, despite having sat next to him for 20 minutes before the hearing.


(8) You highlight the Court’s case law, but not opposing counsel’s.

(9) You’ve ever had a raised-voice argument with opposing counsel outside the courtroom, douching out everyone in the hallway.

(10) You make lengthy speaking objections during depositions despite the fact that everyone knows they’re forbidden.

(11) You permit your staff to negotiate settlements and/or argue substantive issues with other attorneys.

(12) You boast on your website of your admission to practice in the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida or the Supreme Court of Florida.

(13) You regularly tell your assistant to wait until after 4PM to fax or email something to opposing counsel.

(14) Pre 2005: you used to turn your fax machine off at 5:30 every day.

(15) You’ve ever condescended to/dressed-down someone who works in the Clerk’s office.

(16) You’ve ever moved to recuse a judge based on an adverse ruling.

(17) You’ve ever tried to bait a judge into making a recusal-worthy statement.

(18) You ask for punitive damages and/or 57.105 sanctions in your initial Complaint.

(19) You’ve ever refused a request for a reasonable and routine extension of time to respond to discovery/serve an amended pleading, etc., because “your client” said no.

(20) You think it’s OK to notice hearings and discovery without clearing dates with the other side

(21) You’ve ever had a judge yell at you to “go outside” because you and your opposing counsel loudly argue over the language of an order after a ruling has been made.


(22) You’ve paid a settlement to a former employee for a sexual harassment claim anytime after 1995.

(23) You’ve had your firm sued for malpractice more than once.

(24) That whole meet and confer requirement just doesn’t apply to you.

(25) You have an AOL email address on the Florida Bar directory.

(26) You routinely cite to Fla.Jur., Corpus Juris Segundum, AmJur, Trawick, etc. without citing actual controlling authority.

(27) You trial court filings are in anything other than 12pt Times New Roman or Arial font

(28) You own a smartphone and deny having read an email within 4 hours of it being sent during normal business hours.

(29) You mention to the court during a hearing how long you’ve been practicing law.

(30) You like to mention to opposing counsel how long you’ve been practicing (because your facts and law suck).

IN THE INTEREST OF A.R., A CHILD :: October, 2007 :: Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Decisions :: Texas Case Law :: US Case Law :: US Law :: Justia

It is attorneys like this who are exacerbating and profiting from the family court disaster at the expense of our children!!! This guy has been sanctioned at least 6 times, and only represents woman???


"Significant documentation about Ducote and his judgments, sanctions, and disciplinary actions was attached to the motion. The attachments to the motion also included the affidavit of an investigator retained to investigate a kidnapping in one of the cases in which Ducote was involved. The investigator stated that anytime Ducote is involved in a case, the parent and child are considered a high risk for flight from the court, not just because of Ducote, but because of the groups with which Ducote is involved. The motion further asserted that when Ducote is involved in cases, there is a pattern of false allegations of child abuse, the filing of multiple unfounded pleadings, and suing the attorneys, investigators, therapists, evaluators and ad litems appointed by the courts".


“I believed in our constitution and our heritage of honor, liberty, and justice so strongly that I joined the armed forces when I was seventeen and served for six years.  I went to law school because I hoped that I could help people who needed an attorney, and in law school I was taught that when a trial judge makes the wrong decision, the appellate courts should rectify it.  Apparently, I am incredibly naive.” ~ Mark Adams

Justice for All or Justice for Sale?


English: Typical Parenting Order
English: Typical Parenting Order (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mark Adams was the attorney retained by Jeffrey Smith, a sales employee of Corporate Sports Marketing Group (CSM) of Florida, who quit his job rather than sign a "non-competition" agreement as a condition of future employment. At the time, Smith was allegedly owed $20,000 in commissions which CSM refused to pay. 

Adams filed suit of behalf of Smith in state court in Pinellas County, Florida, against CSM for breach of contract. After many procedural moves and statements by CSM management about how well connected their Battaglia firm attorneys were, the case ended with Smith and Adams sanctioned for $20,000 each by Judge Crockett Farnell.
Devastated, Smith in the end settled by paying $15,000, but Adams appealed his sanction, using a writ of prohibition. 

A Second District Court of Appeals panel quickly issued a stay of proceedings in Judge Farnell's court and ordered Farnell to show cause for his actions. But the clerk failed to communicate the show cause order to Farnell. A separate Second District panel then denied the writ of prohibition — without a written opinion, but it did not lift the stay issued by the original panel. Judge Farnell then issued an order for Adams' arrest.
Adams filed a motion with the Second District to enforce the never-released stay on Judge Farnell's action. That motion disappeared from the clerk's system. When Adams pushed to have it found again, it was construed to be a second request for a writ of prohibition, and it was entered into the system with a date later than the original filing date, but before its disappearance was reported to the clerk. The Second District Court then ordered the stay removed.

Realizing that the arrest order occurred during the duration of the stay and therefore was void, the Battaglia firm asked for a rehearing. Without giving Adams a chance to respond, the Second District declared that the stay had been lifted when they originally denied the writ of prohibition. Adams' counsel persuaded Judge Farnell to videotape Adams' trial on March 26, 2004.

At the trial, which was attended by about 20 witnesses, Judge Farnell agreed that a conflict of interest existed in the fact that the Battaglia firm was both serving as a witness and prosecution in the trial. Judge Farnell then asked the Florida State Attorney to prosecute the contempt citation, and the trial was deferred. Florida has an abysmal law that allows appeals courts to avoid review of their decisions if they refuse to explain their ruling. Florida calls this practice "per curiam affirmance."
On December 20, 2004, after months of emotional strain, lost income, and attorney's fees for the Adams family — and on the day before the contempt trial for Mark Adams — Judge Farnell recused himself from hearing the contempt charges. As of this writing in early January, 2005, Adams is waiting to hear when the trial will be rescheduled [see below].

Hear Mark Adams' story in his own words as he is interviewed by Fintan Dunne on October 14, 2005 forBreak for News (39 min).  Source: http://www.breakfornews.com/Audio.htm/..., (accessed 08/30/07).


The Florida Bar v. Mark A. Adams

Earlier, Adams had moved to disqualify Judge Crockett Farnell on evidence that clients of attorney Timothy W. Weber of the St. Petersburg law firm of Battaglia, Ross, Dicus & Wein, P.A., had repeatedly boasted that Weber was "connected" and could influence the judge. Adams was also aware that Farnell was capable of glossing over the law to rule in favor of Weber's clients. Neither was pleased with Adams' conduct.

In a retaliatory move, belatedly taken more than nine months after Judge Farnell had accepted Adams' withdrawal as attorney for Jeffrey Smith, Weber sought to bring sanctions against Adams, and Farnell obliged him by entering a judgment and an order granting those sanctions.

The sanctions, entered without apparent jurisdiction or due process, were also in conflict with the law and the facts, and Adams moved to have them vacated. His motion included a protective order seeking to stay discovery in aid of execution of the sanctions judgment. Weber countered with a document asking the judge to charge Adams with indirect criminal contempt, and once again Farnell obliged by issuing an order charging Adams with indirect criminal contempt on October 1, 2003. 

Although Judge Farnell had previously denied Adams' motions to disqualify him, he did disqualify himself from Adams' criminal contempt proceeding when he learned that a TV news reporter wanted to cover the contempt trial. With a new judge presiding, the criminal contempt charges brought against Adams were dismissed on November 28, 2005 by Judge Robert Beach. But the financial burden of his defense had taken a toll, and Adams was forced to file for bankruptcy that same year.

Ultimately, however, in the Florida Bar's action against Adams, Judge Gregory Holder ruled that Adams was guilty of all charges the Bar had brought against him — including the contempt charges that the Bar's only witness testified had been dismissed. The Florida Bar cruelly labeled Adams "a danger to the public," claimed he was incompetent, permanently disbarred him effective August 13, 2007 and imposed a fine of nearly $9,000.

The Florida Bar's pursuit of Adams may have been motivated, in part, by his aggressive opposition to Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, who was elected Florida's Governor on November 7, 2006. As an attorney for Max Linn, the Reform Party candidate, Adams had filed lawsuits that won Linn the opportunity to participate in major debates for the gubernatorial race. Adams is also an outspoken critic of Florida's questionable election practices and continues to actively campaign to reform the state's electoral process

[1]. What began as an attempt by Adams to obtain justice for a client by seeking to recuse a judge who appeared to be in league with the opposing attorney, ended with Adams being disbarred and unable to earn a livelihood by practicing the profession to which he had dedicated his career. This lesson is not lost to attorneys who would dare challenge those from entrenched law firms who have good working relationships with fraternal cohorts who have been elevated to the bench and whose political views they share.
Special Treatment
In a 2008 video, Adams shows how the Florida Supreme Court uniquely and improperly supported the Florida Bar's politically-motivated action to disbar him by issuing court orders signed only by the Clerk of Court, whereas Florida law requires the concurrence of a fixed number of named judges as necessary to decide a case [2].
References
  1. Mark Adams, "How to Take Action on Holt and Fix our Elections," OpEdNews, September 19, 2007,http://www.opednews.com/..., accessed 10/08/07.
  2. Mark Adams, "'Justice' in Florida's Supreme Court," [Video] October 9, 2008, http://blip.tv/file/1339250, accessed 02/27/09.

Text taken, in part, from an abbreviated account of the case of Jeffrey Smith and Mark A. Adams.  For further information, see http://rule-of-law.info/adams-smith.htm (accessed 02/09/05) andhttp://www.msnusers.com/FloridaBarvAdams/_whatsnew.msnw (accessed 08/30/07).  The Empire Journal also features an account of the Mark Adams case.  See: http://www.theempirejournal.com (accessed 08/22/05).

"In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

7th Amendment to the United States Constitution


John Adams on the need for this amendment: "As the Constitution requires that the popular branch of the legislature should have an absolute check, so as to put a peremptory negative upon every act of the government, it requires that the common people, should have as complete a control, as decisive a negative, in every judgment of a court of judicature."


#takejusticeback

8 comments:

  1. These ancient laws have to change. Alimony needs to work like Child Support in Florida. Fixed amount, fixed period of time, nothing to argue about.

    That’s why Child Support works just fine. Nothing for the family law attorneys to fight (and bill you) for.

    Girlfriends or fiancee’s dare not ever marry a lifetime alimony payer in Florida – their income can then be counted to give the first wife a raise in her alimony!

    The current draconian laws are anti-family and oppressive to our entire state. With over a 50% divorce rate out there, our lousy laws may not impact your happy marriage, but the odds are good that you brothers, sisters, children, or close friends will one day feel the wrath of these pro-lawyer, anti-family mandates.

    And their lives will be destroyed.

    Support Alimony Reform in Florida this year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HOW DID CHILDREN OF DIVORCE GET STUCK WITH THE VISITATION PLAN THAT AFFORDS THEM ACCESS TO THEIR NON-RESIDENTIAL PARENT ONLY ONE NIGHT DURING THE WEEK AND EVERY OTHER WEEK-END?

    What is the research that supports such a schedule? Where is the data that confirms that such a plan is in the best interest of the child?

    Well, reader, you can spend your time from now until eternity researching the literature, and YOU WILL NOT DISCOVER ANY SUPPORTING DATA for the typical visitation arrangement with the non-residential parent! The reality is that this arrangement is based solely on custom. And just like the short story, "The Lottery," in which the prizewinner is stoned to death, the message is that deeds and judgments are frequently arrived at based on nothing more than habit, fantasy, prejudice, and yes, on "junk science."

    This family therapist upholds the importance of both parents playing an active and substantial role in their children's lives----especially in situations when the parents are apart. In order to support the goal for each parent to provide a meaningfully and considerable involvement in the lives of their children, I affirm that the resolution to custody requires an arrangement for joint legal custody and physical custody that maximizes the time with the non-residential----with the optimal arrangement being 50-50, whenever practical. It is my professional opinion that the customary visitation arrangement for non-residential parents to visit every other weekend and one night during the week is not sufficient to maintain a consequential relationship with their children. Although I have heard matrimonial attorneys, children's attorneys, and judges assert that the child needs the consistency of the same residence, I deem this assumption to be nonsense. I cannot be convinced that the consistency with one's bed trumps consistency with a parent!

    Should the reader question how such an arrangement can be judiciously implemented which maximizes the child's time---even in a 50-50 arrangement----with the non-residential parent, I direct the reader to the book, Mom's House, Dads House, by the Isolina Ricci, PhD.

    Indeed, the research that we do have supports the serious consequences to children when the father, who is generally the non-residential parent, does not play a meaningful role in lives of his children. The book, Fatherneed, (2000) by Dr. Kyle Pruitt, summarizes the research at Yale University about the importance of fathers to their children. And another post on this page summarizes an extensive list of other research.

    Children of divorce or separation of their parents previously had each parent 100% of the time and obviously cannot have the same arrangement subsequent to their parents' separation. But it makes no sense to this family therapist that the result of parental separation is that the child is accorded only 20% time with one parent and 80% with the other. What rational person could possibly justify this?

    ReplyDelete
  3. How to file complaints against Florida Judges and Florida Lawyers?

    Florida Judge Complaints
    Contact the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee. To file a complaint about a judge in Florida: http://www.floridasupremecourt.org

    Write to the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee.

    Florida Judicial Complaint Mailing Address
    Judicial Qualifications Committee
    1110 Thomasville Road
    Tallahassee, FL 32303

    Telephone
    850-488-1581

    Florida Lawyer Complaints
    Florida Bar handles complaints about lawyers in Florida. To file a complaint about a lawyer in Florida: http://www.floridabar.org

    Lawyer Complaint Mailing Address
    Florida Bar
    651 E. Jefferson Street
    Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300

    Telephone
    850/561-5600

    Complaints about Florida Judges and Florida Lawyers
    Each State has its own procedures for filing complaints against judges. All states require a written and signed complaint. Some states have a form for you to fill out. Other States request a letter. Grievances of misconduct usually concern issues of conflict of interest or impartiality. Adverse rulings or judgments are not considered legitimate grievances. You must support the complaint about the Florida Judge with sufficient documentation. Contact the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee.

    All states maintain an agency to process lawyer complaints. These disciplinary counsels can usually be found as a department of the state bar association or as a branch of the state supreme court. Complaints can be filed by filling out a form supplied by the disciplinary counsel or by writing a letter to Florida Bar.

    Check the Florida web site http://www.floridabar.org to find the requirements for a complaint about a Florida Lawyer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for your comments! In addition there are forms of abuse. This type Psychological Abuse or Family Legal Abuse can cause a parent(s) a traumatic “injury”. We’re talking about very serious, blatant civil and human rights violations allowed on the part of the Family Court. Sad…but true. Often times it is caused by the excessive tactics some family law lawyers will go to knowingly and intentionally make sure they physically and psychologically injure their opponent by trying to make there client looks like the victim, What this also does is to financial cripple good and FIT parents while they hope they will give up on the child/ren and go away. In South Florida we have a few of these types of lawyers in the upcoming expose on Garbage Lawyers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's human nature to seek out a partner in life, and to possibly marry and have children. Unfortunately the matrimonial establishment, as we are all aware, is being methodically torn down by a demoralized society. Sadly the divorce rate is still on the rise and the foundation of marriage is being devalued and is crumbling. As adults we learn to adapt and move on when divorce attacks our lives but for children this is another story. They are the real victims of divorce and unfortunately they will suffer dearly from our selfishness and in most cases follow the same path of destruction if not worse.
    As a nation we have been granted certain civil rights by our constitution. Through the years it has been amended to better the lives of many Americans. The two most notable changes have come to Women in the 1920s and with African Americans in the 1960s. These rights were long overdue for both segments of our nation but thankfully we realized our mistakes and corrected them. This was not an easy journey for either of these crusades but through dedication and perseverance the bells of liberty rang loudly and victory was achieved.
    Unfortunately we have reached yet another fork in the road and with that comes another challenge to the American people. "We've worked hard for women's rights, but we have to watch out that the pendulum doesn't swing the other way" says Ruthie J. of the Reach FM. Ironically the pendulum has already swung far to one side and this time the male gender is being demonized by erroneous and fraudulent information. Males are being portrayed as callus, uncaring, and without emotion. We are being taught that men represent 95% of abuse in this nation against women. These and many other false statistics are being recklessly strewn throughout society and none of it is true. Yes, women are being abused by men that is a fact. striking a woman is abhorrent to the highest degree and should be dealt with appropriately but men are abused at an equal rate and they are being ignored. According to a study by the Center for Disease Control men represent 38% of domestic violence related injuries. Compound that with the fact that only 0.9% of men report abuse verses 8.5% of women and I think we have a pretty equal degree of violence between partners.
    The cornerstone of this "abuse" is VAWA the Violence Against Women Act. It was passed into law by Bill Clinton in 1994 and has been extended by every subsequent President. This law funnels Billions of dollars into discriminatory education and propaganda that violates men's civil rights. Many times DVIs or Domestic Violence Injunctions are used as a tool in divorce, child custody or just vengeance against a partner, most often against males. This is because the system of acquiring a DVI is simple and requires no evidence, witnesses or prior police reports. Just the word of an alleged victim making a claim of abuse. The repercussions of these orders are devastating and many times result in a violation, arrest and complete destruction of one's life. Even in cases when they are dismissed, a serious blemish remains on the falsely accused forever; how does that look to potential employers who almost always perform background checks prior to employment? This must be stopped and a better system of protecting all victims of domestic violence should be put in place.
    I hope to help bring awareness to gender discrimination and help provide support for men who are abused. There are programs to help women of abuse but nothing for men. My website will provide more information on the facts, my personal experiences and the stories of those who have been victims of this heinous tactic of relationship vengeance. Men and women should truly have equal rights and currently the scales are unjustly tilted. Let's work together to end domestic violence and not vilify one gender as inherently abusive. "United we stand, divided we fall" A powerful statement that we must never forget.

    Thank you,
    Tom Lemons
    Founder, www.falsedvireports.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. "CHILDREN OF DIVORCE DESERVE FULL ACCESS TO BOTH PARENTS, WHENEVER POSSIBLE."
    Personally, I can’t find anyone willing to reject that statement publicly. It’s a fundamental truth. We now have a wealth of evidence demonstrating children are better off, in most situations, when they have something near equal time with each parent. So why are shared-parenting bills are being rejected throughout the country?

    Do legislators believe mothers are more important to children than fathers? For the most part, I don’t think so. Politicians are, however, under quite a bit of pressure from some very powerful anti-shared parenting special interests. Recently, we’ve seen these opponents contribute to shared-parenting bills failing to pass in South Dakota and Minnesota.

    Some would argue disappointments like those are clear signs that shared parenting legislation will not happen anytime soon. The opposite is true. The near victories in these states and others is an enormous indication politicians are beginning to understand the vast majority of American citizens believe children of divorce deserve equal access to both parents, whenever possible.

    In fact, South Dakota’s bill lost in a 21-13 Senate vote. That’s a swing of 5 senators. If merely 5 senators felt more pressure from South Dakotans than they did from special interests, South Dakota would have a shared parenting statute. We should commend the remaining politicians in South Dakota’s Senate for doing the right thing.

    In Minnesota … well, Minnesota is a travesty. That bill passed, and on May 24, 2012 Governor Mark Dayton vetoed it. Governor Dayton claimed that both sides made “compelling arguments,” but because the “ramifications” of the legislation were “uncertain,” he decided to single-handedly overrule the will of his constituents and their representatives. Mr. Governor, unless you are ending slavery or beginning women’s suffrage, you will likely never have the benefit of “certainty” in your political career. Again, we should praise the Minnesotan politicians who voted for the bill.

    Six people. Six people stopped two states from enacting shared parenting. Six people do not indicate shared parenting is a distant hope – they indicate profoundly that it is an imminent inevitability.

    Mike Haskell is a divorced dad, shared parenting supporter and practicing family law attorney in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

    ACFC is America's Shared Parenting Organization

    "CHILDREN NEED BOTH PARENTS"

    The members of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children dedicate ourselves to the creation of a family law system and public awareness which promotes equal rights for ALL parties affected by issues of the modern family.

    ACFC is challenging the current system of American family law and policy. Through a national system of local affiliates and in alliance with other pro-family and civil liberties groups, ACFC is shifting the public debate to the real causes of family dissolution.

    ReplyDelete
  7. FLORIDA TODAY - OPINION
    Written by Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D., Miami

    While I applaud columnist Paul Flemming for a sound review of the issues in Saturday’s “Alimony bill will be great — for lawyers,” his bottom-line conclusion is dead wrong.

    The proposed state alimony reform bill will reduce litigation, not increase litigation. A bit of history: For years, the divorce vultures (a.k.a., the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar) have conned the Florida Legislature into writing divorce legislation that maximizes litigation and thus maximizes their income. In part, they have accomplished this by maximizing judicial discretion, which in practice means endless conflict and, of course, endless paid litigation.

    No matter what they may say, the divorce vultures are interested only in one thing — maximizing their income.

    I can irrefutably demonstrate this point with Flemming’s own words: “Thomas Duggar, an attorney in Tallahassee and a member of the Florida Bar’s Family Law Section, said last week at a Tallahassee Bar Association meeting that the section has a $100,000 war chest to sway public opinion against the legislation.”

    Do your readers honestly believe they are spending all this money so they will lose income? The divorce vultures get the message in terms of what alimony reform will cost them — and save the children, fathers and mothers of divorce. I regret Mr. Flemming did not do the same.

    Full Disclosure: I am an alimony-paying divorced father of two young adult daughters and retired university divorce researcher with multiple research and scholarly publications on this topic.

    ReplyDelete
  8. PRO SE RIGHTS:
    Sims v. Aherns, 271 SW 720 (1925) ~ "The practice of law is an occupation of common right."

    Brotherhood of Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar, 377 U.S. 1; v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335; Argersinger v. Hamlin, Sheriff 407 U.S. 425 ~ Litigants can be assisted by unlicensed laymen during judicial proceedings.

    Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 at 48 (1957) ~ "Following the simple guide of rule 8(f) that all pleadings shall be so construed as to do substantial justice"... "The federal rules reject the approach that pleading is a game of skill in which one misstep by counsel may be decisive to the outcome and accept the principle that the purpose of pleading is to facilitate a proper decision on the merits." The court also cited Rule 8(f) FRCP, which holds that all pleadings shall be construed to do substantial justice.

    Davis v. Wechler, 263 U.S. 22, 24; Stromberb v. California, 283 U.S. 359; NAACP v. Alabama, 375 U.S. 449 ~ "The assertion of federal rights, when plainly and reasonably made, are not to be defeated under the name of local practice."

    Elmore v. McCammon (1986) 640 F. Supp. 905 ~ "... the right to file a lawsuit pro se is one of the most important rights under the constitution and laws."

    Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, Rule 17, 28 USCA "Next Friend" ~ A next friend is a person who represents someone who is unable to tend to his or her own interest.

    Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972) ~ "Allegations such as those asserted by petitioner, however inartfully pleaded, are sufficient"... "which we hold to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers."

    Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1959); Picking v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 151 Fed 2nd 240; Pucket v. Cox, 456 2nd 233 ~ Pro se pleadings are to be considered without regard to technicality; pro se litigants' pleadings are not to be held to the same high standards of perfection as lawyers.

    Maty v. Grasselli Chemical Co., 303 U.S. 197 (1938) ~ "Pleadings are intended to serve as a means of arriving at fair and just settlements of controversies between litigants. They should not raise barriers which prevent the achievement of that end. Proper pleading is important, but its importance consists in its effectiveness as a means to accomplish the end of a just judgment."

    NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415); United Mineworkers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715; and Johnson v. Avery, 89 S. Ct. 747 (1969) ~ Members of groups who are competent nonlawyers can assist other members of the group achieve the goals of the group in court without being charged with "unauthorized practice of law."

    Picking v. Pennsylvania Railway, 151 F.2d. 240, Third Circuit Court of Appeals ~ The plaintiff's civil rights pleading was 150 pages and described by a federal judge as "inept". Nevertheless, it was held "Where a plaintiff pleads pro se in a suit for protection of civil rights, the Court should endeavor to construe Plaintiff's Pleadings without regard to technicalities."

    Puckett v. Cox, 456 F. 2d 233 (1972) (6th Cir. USCA) ~ It was held that a pro se complaint requires a less stringent reading than one drafted by a lawyer per Justice Black in Conley v. Gibson (see case listed above, Pro Se Rights Section).

    Roadway Express v. Pipe, 447 U.S. 752 at 757 (1982) ~ "Due to sloth, inattention or desire to seize tactical advantage, lawyers have long engaged in dilatory practices... the glacial pace of much litigation breeds frustration with the Federal Courts and ultimately, disrespect for the law."

    Sherar v. Cullen, 481 F. 2d 946 (1973) ~ "There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of his exercise of Constitutional Rights."

    ReplyDelete

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American Coalition for Fathers and Children

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

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