2013 is NOT The Year Wall Street Took Over Florida’s Court System!

Earlier in the week, my colleague and North Florida’s Best Foreclosure Defense Attorney, Chip Parker wrote a post entitled,

2013, The Year Wall Street Completes Its Purchase Of Florida’s Court System

Believe me, I understand perfectly the sentiment in Chip’s post.   I find it infuriatingly disturbing, and so blatantly a slap in the face of notions of justice, the mere potential that

THE FINES PAID BY CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE BEING FUNNELED BACK TO A COURT SYSTEM TO FURTHER AND FURTHER THE VERY CRIMES THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS PLEAD GUILTY OF

Let me speak very plainly here.   Attorney Generals from 49 states and the federal government made a deal with 5 devils, the 5 biggest banks which had them handing back a few percentage points of their ill-gotten loot to the people they took the money from…you and I the American taxpayer.   Many states are using that money to plug budget holes, which is to say their legislators will spend that money on pet projects and reward those corporations and lobbyists that fund their campaigns.   Surely the banks that paid that money will figure a way to directly or indirectly get much of the money back by lobbying for contracts and additional programs.   That’s just the way our corporately-funded government operates today.

In Florida, the return on the banksters money is far more direct.   At the one year anniversary of the signing of the deal between the devils, Florida began announcing that the fines would be used to:

“Help Speed Foreclosures Through Florida’s Court System!”

And then immediately, the reporting begins that the banksters are indeed speeding fraudclosures through the court system in ways that are potentially a far greater desecration of our faded notions of justice and the rule of law than the Rocket Dockets that brought an infamous lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union that was just dismissed and shut down immediately after it took it’s first baby breaths of life. The headline from Daily Business Review:

Defense attorneys say judges wrongly allow ‘robo-witnesses’

Robo-signers, who broke court rules by signing foreclosure affidavits without personal knowledge of loans for banks, may have faded from the scene. But homeowners now are dealing with a similar lender’s representative who they claim infringes on their right to due process.

South Florida foreclosure defense attorneys object to the breadth of records introduced in foreclosure trials by business custodians of record, dubbing them ” robo-witnesses.”

DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

Now, the headline and the facts asserted are certainly disturbing.   And unfortunately, I can only assume that the facts, as reported in the story, are true.   But I will say that I have not seen such things, and I do not expect to see such things, because I work primarily in Florida’s Sixth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits…that area that encompasses Tampa, Sarasota and Florida’s Central West Coast.

Come to the courtrooms in this area of our state, and you will see bank attorneys, homeowner attorneys and judges all working together to:

FURTHER THE INTERESTS OF JUSTICE!

Yes, that’s what happens in the courtrooms in this area of the state.   I’ve said that before, in fact I’ve said that almost consistently from the beginning of Florida’s Foreclosure Wars…if you want to see the finest and best aspects of our nation’s court system as it’s played out in fraudclosure, come see your courts and our judges at work in this area of the state, here’s what you see:

Fairness, Equity, Professionalism, The Rule of Law

An entire court system, an entire region, that the citizens of this state can be very proud of.   Now, I also know that a big reason for these characteristics is because we have a corps of fine, hardworking and dedicated Consumer Justice Attorneys who passionately fulfill their sacred roles as defenders of the highest and best aspects of our notions of justice.   We work together.   Defense attorneys work together, Defense attorneys work with Plaintiff attorneys, and we all work cooperatively in front of the courts to fulfill ethical obligations to the clients we serve, keeping in mind a directive that sits on most judge’s benches for all attorneys to read….

Professionalism, Dignity and Civility At All Times….Nothing Less Will Be Tolerated.

Now, I’m glad that money from the bank settlement agreements is being used to fund the court system that has been so overwhelmed by this fraudclosure crisis. I’m glad to know that our judges and their staff will get some much needed assistance. I also have full confidence that the judges, the defense attorneys, the plaintiffs attorneys and the court staff in this area of the state will work together to see the new funding will do what it is intended to do…..

SERVE THE INTERESTS OF JUSTICE!

But with all due respect to the consumers and citizens out there who do not understand the complex rules of court and procedures that apply, I want you to understand something.   Our courts cannot grant you the relief you seek if you do not follow the complex and constantly changing rules that we must all insist be followed.   We must understand and insist that courts apply the rules evenly and fairly and that means holding both sides accountable to the same rules of procedure, evidence and decorum.

And so Chip and every other warrior for the cause of Consumer Justice out there….put your boots on, and let’s get ready to make this a fair, a full and an honest fight.   Let’s use the rules and our courts to fight for Consumer Justice. Let us use this moment to protect, to build up and to promote our courts.   Working together, we can ensure that foreclosures are indeed processed efficiently, with equal attention being paid to dismissing cases which are not properly before the court and granting foreclosure judgments for which there are no proper legal objections.

Working together, we make 2013 the year Consumer Justice shines in Florida’s Court System!