Remember what they told you about your government in school….you know that thing about the three branches of government being co-equal? Each one respecting the other one. The people in each branch respecting the other one and ensuring that they respect the clear mandates of the Constitution that they all swore an oath to protect? Well, when you were learnt all about that, they didn’t tell you a thing about foreclosures….did they?
Well, just add that delusion into the dustbin of lies and falsehoods that you were told….because that is another one of the dangerous lies that need to be confronted. Let’s start with Florida’s Constitution:
Article I, section 21 of the Florida Constitution provides that “[t]he courts shall be open to every person for redress of any injury, and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.”
Keep that little quote in mind because it serves as the backdrop for one of the most disturbing long term consequences of the mess that foreclosures dropped in courtrooms….the fact is that Florida’s courts have become desecrated and destroyed, they have fallen weak and flaccid, laying down while they continue to be whipped and beaten by a legislative branch that refuses to fund them properly.
Florida’s courts, and its elected and appointed judges, all across this state have failed to stand up and protect themselves from a constant an debilitating onslaught. The courts have failed to stand up and protect themselves from attack. And if the courts cannot keep their own house in order….do you really think they have the power, the resolve, the strength or the courage to keep you in your home?
Every day all we hear from judges in courtrooms is,
“I have to clear these cases….Tallahassee demands that I clear this backlog!”
And so we have, once again, the much maligned Rocket Dockets. History repeats itself…a slow speed train wreck. That will wreak havoc in communities all across this state. Most people don’t know that Florida’s elected judges are graded and judged with a score sheet and statistics that appear right on their computer screens each day….The Clearance Rate Dashboard….see here for some of the details. What this fancy charts and graphs do not show is how this focus on these numbers impacts the bench and the delivery of justice each day. For some reason, our state’s elected circuit court judges will not say it, so I will….
Judges Who Bend To The Pressure of Case Clearance Numbers Risk Turning Their Backs on Justice…Judges Cannot Serve Two Masters
This is of course most evident with foreclosures and the current legislation pending in Tallahassee. All this discussion about Time to Foreclose and Clear the Backlog. Completely absent from the debate is any discussion about the fact that These Foreclosure Cases are different than all other types of civil litigation. These cases are taking longer and they should take longer….because that’s what the federal government is demanding that they do….or the banks and borrowers are working things out. Whatever the case, it is not the job of the judicial system to watch the clock and manage dockets by the calendar. Sadly, not many of our state’s judges agree with this sentiment…apparently.
The situation with retired judges is most conflicted…..they are dropped in and given most clear instructions…..their own personal fortunes tied both directly and indirectly to the daily pay they receive for sitting on the bench. Another section of the Florida Constitution demands that judges be subjected to suffrage….but no one cares about that old thing or any of those principals anymore so who am I to rattle on? Our courts would be far better off…and they would be fulfilling their Constitutional mandate, if they would refuse additional senior judge funding and instead use that money to fund additional, elected, circuit court judges…..but they will not. Courts will instead fall for the quick fix..the shot in the arm like a junkie taking a shot from a needle. Florida’s courts will fail to recognize that by taking the quick fix, the junkie’s shot, they weaken the position of the entire court system….they continue to abdicate the court’s most important function….to protect and promote the larger interests of justice and strengthen the judicial system. Every dollar spent on Senior Judge Band Aids diverts precious money away from the circuit court judge cancer that rots away at the beaten corpse of our state’s judicial system. But again, few judges agree with this sentiment…..easier I suppose to just push this whole mess off to senior judges who can do the messy work and who do not have to face voters. This situation made worse with Senate Bill 1666, leading off as it is with Senior Judge funding as the priority.
This is all too much for anyone to care about….apparently.
After all, the big thinking people have to CLEAR THE FORECLOSURE DOCKET…
ENJOY ALL THOSE FORECLOSED HOMES…….
