Emma's Profile
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27 Bills
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H.R.3996 Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007
No New Comments
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S.2248 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008
- Anonymous : We have just witnessed multiple felonies committed by Herr Bush to cover up multiple felonies that the Telecoms committed. But if it were you or I that did it, they would hound us and get some whore prosecutor to hang us. Ahhh, Amerika!
- Anonymous : The telecoms always had immunity. Congress took the power to do the work from the government. Telecoms can't do this work for the government anymore because they will be sued when Congress changes it's mind again. The CEO will be fired for incompetence. 31 More
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H.R.6 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
No New Comments
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H.Res.63 H.Res.63
- rbenech : This is right along the lines of other rules that we need to get our government to follow. Check out Downsize DC @ http://www.downsizedc.org/ Specifically, One subject at a time act, Read the bills act, Enumerated Powers act (where the bill has to site where in the constitution it is allowed)
- ericj : Why would anybody, congressperson or public, *not* want this to pass? How many contracts do you personally sign that you don't read through first? Even worse when it's not a personal contract, but a law that will take effect and be enforceable over the whole of the United States population. It's sad this resolution even needed to be stated and formalized. 0 More
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H.R.3915 Expand and Preserve Home Ownership Through Counseling Act
- margereis : It is not only sub prime loans that are the culprit. My disabled son and myself were put into a loan we could not afford. I started having second thoughts about the loan and wanted to back out and was told I could possibly be sued. Everyone knew I was not happy the way things were going but they just kept prompting me along with my son. We are now about to go into foreclosure and the good credit we had to be able to buy a home we could afford is long gone. The only solution the bank could come up with is We now don't qualify to save the loan so they suggested we put the home up for sale. When I asked the broker who was working with me to relist it He said he did not think he could sell it now. What now????
- textdog : I was in Philadelphia in 2002-2003 when Bush came to speak and mentioned the predatory lending industry and how they mus tbe stopped. I watched him on this issue after he mentioned it and I guess he didn't find anything he could do to stop what was happening. Living in Philadelphia where there were hundreds of signs seeking out low-income residents for sub-prime loans, I felt like the least we could do was take down those signs in poor neighborhoods. 0 More
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H.R.73 Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2007
- mason1 : I Think This is a Great Start, But They won't Pass it cause Crime might go down and then the States would loose funding for more Police in the Comunity. Bill M.
- AndrewJackson : I would like to first commend Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R, MD-6] for sponsoring a bill that makes sense. This bill runs right along with take back our rights as law biding citizens back from the criminals and straighten the laws back out to serve and protect the common person (law-biding citizens). I wish I had him as our Rep. for N.C. for taking the stand and I also hope he gets the support of Sen. Dole and Sen. Burr from N.C. 2 More
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S.522 Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Act
- adelie : With the MPAA showing record profits for 2007, I think this is further proof that the government and people have been tricked into associating ~$10,000,000,000 profit with "starving artists". What a committee should really be looking into is the value and impact of work that has been effectively stolen from the public domain, and compare big media's gain to the loss by the American public. The only purpose for such a committee, let alone a not to 'limited period of time' copyright term is to control the ability for people to create and compete for a part of that ten billion dollars. How about a 'Public Domain Enforcement Act' that punishes people for destroying (intentionally or otherwise) works that have ever been of any kind of value, keeping them from ever falling into the public domain. Or further, mandate that copyrighted works be made EASILY available for purposes of fair use and make it a right rather than an 'affirmative defense'. Legislation like that would tell me that the government is looking out for the best interests of artists and people, and not just the guys that can steal more than anyone else such as Warner, Fox, and Disney. -1 More
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H.R.2060 Internet Radio Equality Act
- Anonymous : Considering the crap the labels and "new" artists are offering, boredom and lack of talent ought to be reason enough to make sure this legislation passes. Until the RIAA realizes that internet radio listeners are looking for music that either is never played or the past "oldies" that had not only talent writing and performing, but also the demand that is there to re-release these albums on to CD's for the public to buy outright. Start to offer what the public wants then maybe the'll see their profits rise a bit. Then again, they also need to quit screwing artists out their fair share of the royalties and lying about their decreasing bottom line. RIAA tactics of late against those who were trading songs has recently come under fire by the courts since they are acting like militia's without any legal documents to allow them to just walk in and bust someone and their equipment. Boycotting the labels ought to be threatened. I think we can live with out Britney and the rest of the "Paris Hilton" drug and lesbian experimentation cartel.
- Anonymous : George Bush is a terrorist 3 More
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S.1957 Design Piracy Prohibition Act
- adelie : After reading the fashion design blog, I had some other thoughts: As mentioned in the article, it is easy to tell a knock off from the original. Is there really so many problems with this 'piracy' that people don't want the newest trendy thing because it looks like the knockoff everyone else wears? I don't think so. Trademark law protects designers and consumers from these plagiarized works by uniquely allowing them to mark them in a way that will distinguish them. People know and respect Prada for their innovative and classy designs, with their superior craftsmanship, and it can't be mistake for the $10 slave labor knockoff. If people are copying their trademark, then there is STRONG legal protection that already lasts forever. A 3 year 'special' copyright would distort the intended scope of copyright (USC 17 SEC 102), and set a bad precedent, despite the understandably good intentions of the CFDA.
- adelie : Is there any reason why this can't be an extension of patent law? It is important that the scope of copyright is maintained and that there continues to be clear rules between copyright and patent. If there is a concern for 'uniquely identifying a product or service' authenticity, use a trademark. That is what trademark law is for. Are they really going to try to argue that name branding hasn't a positive impact on the sale of high end fashion items? The law is already there to protect them. Vote NO! 0 More
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H.R.676 United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act)
- bpartoens : Dear twonursesus, Please keep up the good fight. Do not forget the amount of money Mr. McGuire made by back dating stock options (not illegal but failing to disclose so is not very ethical). I have been posting my story on-line for a year now (wall street journal, CNA etc..). I laugh at the proposals like the state of Colorado(where I reside), up for a vote. We are voting that companies that employ over 20 people provide health benefits for the employees. My husband works at a resort in Co. The company has over 6,000 employees. The property he works at has over 300. Just 2 weeks ago, 75% of the full time hourly employees were put back to part time. Don't worry, most will still have full time hours, because there is still work to be done, but this way the company will not have to pay into their retirement , health care, vacation, sick pay etc... There are not alot of jobs out there so people have to put up with this. Full time hours with no benefits.What a scam!
- luzagape : I can believe this was introduced a year ago and has not moved faster to get approved when in reality this will benefits no only the people who needs the medical attention now like the seniors but those who are young and active and are expose to live, to accidents, to new viruses, diseases, and what about the children? nothing more depressing that a sick kid who can not have a normal life.... keep this moving PLEASE.... 14 More
- 17 more bills
2 Senators
Sen. Cornyn
- New Votes (1) Hide New Votes
- News Updates (98) Hide News Updates
- Blog Updates (267) Hide Blog Updates
- Anonymous : * ARE THEY KINGS OF SLAVES OR THE US CONGRESS ? CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN USA HAVE BEEN DEVIOUSLY & DECEPTIVELY INFLICTED ON POORER AMERICAN’S ! **** A INTERNATIONAL WORLD COURT INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED INTO THESE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ! PRESIDENT OBAMA NEEDS TO TELL THE LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD DEMOCRATIC US CONGRESS ~ LET MY PEOPLE GO ! WILL THE INTERNATIONAL WORLD COURT AND THE POPE COME TO THE RESCUE OF THESE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ENSLAVED POORER AMERICAN’S ?? ***The CATHOLIC CHURCH could really help AMERICA right now by arranging a speech from the VATICAN by the POPE concerning THIS modern day ENSLAVEMENT of POORER AMERICAN’S by our complacent IVORY TOWER US CONGRESS who appears to be more interested in financing other US Congressional interests then our UNDERFUNDED AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM. THE POPE KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STATE MURDER OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA, AND A JUDICIAL EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA. MANY INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO BOYCOTT THIS ROGUE STATE OF GEORGIA ! WILL MILLIONS MORE OF CARING AMERICAN’S AND INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS AVOID GIVING THE STATE OF GEORGIA ANY FUTURE BUSINE$$ IF A 3YR. BOYCOTT TAKES PLACE OVER THIS STATE NOT EVEN OFFERING JUSTICE WITH A NEW LEGITIMATE CRIMINAL TRIAL FOR MR.TROY DAVIS? IT’S BEEN SAID BY MANY THAT A THREE YEAR INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF THIS STATE MIGHT VERY WELL COST IT TENS OF MILLION$ WHERE A NEW AND FAIR TRIAL OF TROY DAVIS MIGHT COST THE STATE LESS THAN $100,000. A SPECIAL FEDERAL TASK FORCE MADE UP OF INVESTIGATORS AND LAWYERS DESIGNED TO VERIFY EVERY ASPECT OF THE 3,300 VARIOUS DEATH ROW LEGAL CASES NATIONWIDE,IS OUR COUNTRIES ONLY REAL METHOD TO MAKE SURE WE DO NOT ALLOW STATES LIKE GEORGIA TO CONTINUE ATTEMPTING TO MURDER POSSIBLE INNOCENT POORER AMERICAN’S LIKE MR.TROY DAVIS! FOR THOSE MILLIONS OF AMERICAN’S WHO BELIEVE IN GOD, WE ALL HAVE TO WONDER IN TOTAL AMAZEMENT, HOW OUR AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAVE ALLOWED THIS HORROR TO CONTINUE WRONGFULLY EXECUTING AND INCARCERATING INNOCENT AMERICAN’S ALL ACROSS OUR COUNTRY ??? LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS A DEDICATED WWW VOLUNTEERS LOBBY GROUP WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PREVENTING FURTHER CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONTINUING TO BE INFLICTED ON MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS WHO ARE BEING DENIED PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND BEING FALSELY IMPRISONED AND EXECUTED ALL ACROSS AMERICA!! lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com 424-247-2013) **GIVE THEM LIBERTY OR GIVE THEM LAWYERS ! *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** THE GREAT LIE by Gerry Spence The idea that we should furnish the poor with a public defender has been an effort to save our nation from shame - for sending the poor to prison without adequate representation. But today the nation’s public defender system has become a mockery of justice. To provide an accused with a public defender who has three hundred other cases to defend is simply to laugh in the face of both justice and the accused himself. It takes me months to prepare the average criminal case for trial. The trial itself can take weeks, even months. While O.J. Simpson was being tried in Los Angeles for murder, a case that cost millions to defend and months to conclude, another black man was being tried in the same courthouse for a similar murder. It took only three days for a jury to find him guilty. He had a public defender with scores of other cases to defend. Many prosecutors boast that they have over a 90 percent conviction rate. Little wonder. Under the present public defender system the prosecutors should enjoy one hundred percent convictions, and many in fact approach perfect conviction rates. The public defenders in seven states have finally refused to take on any new cases. It’s about time. If I walked into court to defend my client and had never talked him, never previously opened his file, never discovered the witnesses against him, much less interviewed them, never reviewed the evidence in the hands of the prosecution, never demanded my clients rights to discovery, never read the cases relevant to the case at hand, never prepared the cross examination of the witnesses against my client, never … and on and on, I would be guilty of legal malpractice. Every public defender who purports to represent an accused under circumstances in which he or she has neither the time nor the resources to fully defend the client is guilty of malpractice. These public defenders cannot be saved from malpractice because they are crushed under a ridiculous case load - some with even as many as five hundred cases or more. No one who was accused with such an attorney has received a fair trial and every such accused is entitled to an appeal on that basis alone. The judge must not sentence the accused under these circumstances because the judge would be taking part in a fraud on the system. Yet hundreds of thousands of indigent persons go to prison each year under circumstances no better than those outlined above. When I was coming up as a young prosecutor, the defendants were represented pro bono by the lawyers in the local bar. It was part of the duty of members of the bar to take part in the justice system. Today that idea is unheard of. The practice of law is first and foremost a money-making profession. I see nothing wrong with that notion, but what about giving back? Every trial lawyer should be required to take on a couple of pro bono cases every year. At our office we have a separate pro bono law firm and have for over ten years. It often brings us more satisfaction than our big money wins. The job of a lawyer is to represent the people - the lost, the forgotten, the damned, the hated, the voiceless and the poor. Indeed, God forbid, we may one day become one of those who are entitled to representation but cannot afford it. Every time an accused goes to prison without having received a fair trial we are one step closer to the loss of our own freedoms. Our rights are, in fact, being fought for by public defenders who can never fulfill their duty to their clients because of their pathetic, impossible, caseloads. When they fail, we are in danger. Our system becomes a hypocritical charade. And we prove, once and for all, that the promised justice for all in America is an evil lie that is imposed on the poor. If only those with money can receive justice, then how can we permit our children to recite a horrible falsehood in school when they chant, “with liberty and justice for all.” That can no longer be the truth in America. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* GERRY SPENCE IS A RENOWNED LAWYER AND PATRIOTIC AMERICAN WHO EVEN AT THE AGE OF 82, CONTINUES TO SHOW A KEEN INTEREST IN WANTING TO BETTER AMERICA FOR THE MASSES OF POORER AMERICANS BEING CAUGHT IN OUR UNDERFUNDED JUDICIAL SYSTEM.LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS THANKS YOU MR.SPENCE FOR TAKING YOUR TIME AND INTEREST IN SPEAKING THE TRUTH ABOUT A JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN NEED OF C*H*A*N*G*E… ** WE CAN ONLY HOPE AND PRAY OTHER AMERICAN LAWYERS AND JUDGES WILL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD SO THE PROPER FINANCING CAN BE ALLOCATED BY OUR IVORY TOWER US CONGRESS ! *** ANYONE INTERESTED CAN GOOGLE OR YAHOO GERRY SPENCE ON THE WWW FOR MANY OTHER ENLIGHTENING HONEST ARTICLES.
- Anonymous : *** THIS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF INJUSTICES BEING INFLICTED ON OUR POORER AMERICAN'S IN A UNDERFUNDED JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT NEEDS...C*H*A*N*G*E....... **** GOD'S HAND IS INVOLVED IN THIS ONE **** WHEN THIS HORROR IS PROVEN TO BE A TRUE EVENT AFFECTING THE POSSIBLE ENSLAVEMENT OF 2,500 POORER AMERICAN'S, THEN ALL OF AMERICA WILL BE AWARE THAT THIS SAME EXACT TREATMENT OF OUR POORER CITIZENS NEEDS A FORMAL US CONGRESSIONAL AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION NATIONWIDE !!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on October 31, 2008 by Gideon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m a little late on writing about this story (via several sources), but it sure is a doozy. You know how it’s common knowlege that most appeals aren’t successful? Well, if you were a pro-se petitioner in Louisiana for the last 13 years, you knew that you wouldn’t win. Why is that? Because the Chief Judge of their Court of Appeals directed his clerk to summarily deny all appeals from pro-se petitioners without circulating the appeal to other judges. The clerk, ridden with guilt, committed suicide earlier this year and left a note confessing everything. This immoral and apparently illegal policy was in place until Jerrold Peterson, the staffer charged with implementing it, blew his brains out in May of last year. Peterson was driven to it in part, his suicide note suggested, by guilt over the nefarious tasks the judges made him perform. In his note Peterson explained how the court gave indigent appellants the bum’s rush. Although every criminal writ application is supposed to be reviewed by three judges, he was deputed to winnow out any that had been filed pro se and arrange for their automatic rejection. Thus were an estimated 2,500 appeals deep-sixed without any judicial consideration whatsoever. Now, facing public embarassment and possible ethical violations, the Louisiana Supreme Court has stepped in and asked…get this…the same appellate court to look at the appeals again. Note that they did not ask the Court to conduct an investigation into this practice, but simply to consider those appeals that were so summarily denied. Because, if we placate the defendants with another cursory look at their appeals, we can sweep the ethical violations under the carpet. At first this whole thing seemed rather odd to me. After all, how is this even possible? Here’s how: Edward Dufresne, Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit, took charge of pro se appeals in 1994. He then had Peterson prepare rulings denying writs for all of them and signed off “without so much as a glance,” according to the suicide note. “No judge ever saw the writ application before the ruling was prepared by me,” Peterson wrote in a second suicide note to the Judiciary Commission. The rulings also bore the names, though not the signatures, of judges Marion Edwards and Wally Rothschild. Neither Edwards nor Rothschild had any clue as to what was in the applications, or even knew that they had been filed, according to Peterson. So you’ve got one complicit judge and maybe three. But there are 5 more on that court. What of them? Are we to really believe that these 5 (or 7) other judges never once questioned the stark absence of pro-se appeals? Particularly in Louisiana, whose system has the following characteristics: * About 90 percent of criminal defendants in Louisiana are indigent. * Louisiana only provides post-conviction legal aid in death penalty cases. Everyone else must either hire a lawyer, find a lawyer to handle their case pro bono, or handle the appeal themselves. Obviously, most have no choice but to opt for the latter. * One criminal defense lawyer in Louisiana told me that if you’re convicted of murder in Louisiana and you’re innocent, you’re actually better off getting the death penalty. At least then you’ll get a team of lawyers, investigators, and experts to help with your appeal. This from a state whose criminal justice system was already crumbling. It’s hard to believe that people such as Judge Dufresne take an oath to uphold the law and to prove equal protection under it. Disbarment may be enough, but only barely. Justice delayed is no justice at all. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE SMOKING GUN LINK TO AMERICA'S JUDICIAL INJUSTICES BEING INFLICTED ON POORER AMERICAN'S ! *********************************************************** http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1223616107256210.xml&coll=1 ************************************************************ lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com (424-247-2013) 12 More
Sen. Hutchison
- Anonymous : * ARE THEY KINGS OF SLAVES OR THE US CONGRESS ? CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN USA HAVE BEEN DEVIOUSLY & DECEPTIVELY INFLICTED ON POORER AMERICAN’S ! **** A INTERNATIONAL WORLD COURT INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED INTO THESE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ! PRESIDENT OBAMA NEEDS TO TELL THE LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD DEMOCRATIC US CONGRESS ~ LET MY PEOPLE GO ! WILL THE INTERNATIONAL WORLD COURT AND THE POPE COME TO THE RESCUE OF THESE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ENSLAVED POORER AMERICAN’S ?? ***The CATHOLIC CHURCH could really help AMERICA right now by arranging a speech from the VATICAN by the POPE concerning THIS modern day ENSLAVEMENT of POORER AMERICAN’S by our complacent IVORY TOWER US CONGRESS who appears to be more interested in financing other US Congressional interests then our UNDERFUNDED AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM. THE POPE KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STATE MURDER OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA, AND A JUDICIAL EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA. MANY INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO BOYCOTT THIS ROGUE STATE OF GEORGIA ! WILL MILLIONS MORE OF CARING AMERICAN’S AND INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS AVOID GIVING THE STATE OF GEORGIA ANY FUTURE BUSINE$$ IF A 3YR. BOYCOTT TAKES PLACE OVER THIS STATE NOT EVEN OFFERING JUSTICE WITH A NEW LEGITIMATE CRIMINAL TRIAL FOR MR.TROY DAVIS? IT’S BEEN SAID BY MANY THAT A THREE YEAR INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF THIS STATE MIGHT VERY WELL COST IT TENS OF MILLION$ WHERE A NEW AND FAIR TRIAL OF TROY DAVIS MIGHT COST THE STATE LESS THAN $100,000. A SPECIAL FEDERAL TASK FORCE MADE UP OF INVESTIGATORS AND LAWYERS DESIGNED TO VERIFY EVERY ASPECT OF THE 3,300 VARIOUS DEATH ROW LEGAL CASES NATIONWIDE,IS OUR COUNTRIES ONLY REAL METHOD TO MAKE SURE WE DO NOT ALLOW STATES LIKE GEORGIA TO CONTINUE ATTEMPTING TO MURDER POSSIBLE INNOCENT POORER AMERICAN’S LIKE MR.TROY DAVIS! FOR THOSE MILLIONS OF AMERICAN’S WHO BELIEVE IN GOD, WE ALL HAVE TO WONDER IN TOTAL AMAZEMENT, HOW OUR AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAVE ALLOWED THIS HORROR TO CONTINUE WRONGFULLY EXECUTING AND INCARCERATING INNOCENT AMERICAN’S ALL ACROSS OUR COUNTRY ??? LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS A DEDICATED WWW VOLUNTEERS LOBBY GROUP WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PREVENTING FURTHER CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONTINUING TO BE INFLICTED ON MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS WHO ARE BEING DENIED PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND BEING FALSELY IMPRISONED AND EXECUTED ALL ACROSS AMERICA!! lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com 424-247-2013) **GIVE THEM LIBERTY OR GIVE THEM LAWYERS ! *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** THE GREAT LIE by Gerry Spence The idea that we should furnish the poor with a public defender has been an effort to save our nation from shame - for sending the poor to prison without adequate representation. But today the nation’s public defender system has become a mockery of justice. To provide an accused with a public defender who has three hundred other cases to defend is simply to laugh in the face of both justice and the accused himself. It takes me months to prepare the average criminal case for trial. The trial itself can take weeks, even months. While O.J. Simpson was being tried in Los Angeles for murder, a case that cost millions to defend and months to conclude, another black man was being tried in the same courthouse for a similar murder. It took only three days for a jury to find him guilty. He had a public defender with scores of other cases to defend. Many prosecutors boast that they have over a 90 percent conviction rate. Little wonder. Under the present public defender system the prosecutors should enjoy one hundred percent convictions, and many in fact approach perfect conviction rates. The public defenders in seven states have finally refused to take on any new cases. It’s about time. If I walked into court to defend my client and had never talked him, never previously opened his file, never discovered the witnesses against him, much less interviewed them, never reviewed the evidence in the hands of the prosecution, never demanded my clients rights to discovery, never read the cases relevant to the case at hand, never prepared the cross examination of the witnesses against my client, never … and on and on, I would be guilty of legal malpractice. Every public defender who purports to represent an accused under circumstances in which he or she has neither the time nor the resources to fully defend the client is guilty of malpractice. These public defenders cannot be saved from malpractice because they are crushed under a ridiculous case load - some with even as many as five hundred cases or more. No one who was accused with such an attorney has received a fair trial and every such accused is entitled to an appeal on that basis alone. The judge must not sentence the accused under these circumstances because the judge would be taking part in a fraud on the system. Yet hundreds of thousands of indigent persons go to prison each year under circumstances no better than those outlined above. When I was coming up as a young prosecutor, the defendants were represented pro bono by the lawyers in the local bar. It was part of the duty of members of the bar to take part in the justice system. Today that idea is unheard of. The practice of law is first and foremost a money-making profession. I see nothing wrong with that notion, but what about giving back? Every trial lawyer should be required to take on a couple of pro bono cases every year. At our office we have a separate pro bono law firm and have for over ten years. It often brings us more satisfaction than our big money wins. The job of a lawyer is to represent the people - the lost, the forgotten, the damned, the hated, the voiceless and the poor. Indeed, God forbid, we may one day become one of those who are entitled to representation but cannot afford it. Every time an accused goes to prison without having received a fair trial we are one step closer to the loss of our own freedoms. Our rights are, in fact, being fought for by public defenders who can never fulfill their duty to their clients because of their pathetic, impossible, caseloads. When they fail, we are in danger. Our system becomes a hypocritical charade. And we prove, once and for all, that the promised justice for all in America is an evil lie that is imposed on the poor. If only those with money can receive justice, then how can we permit our children to recite a horrible falsehood in school when they chant, “with liberty and justice for all.” That can no longer be the truth in America. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* GERRY SPENCE IS A RENOWNED LAWYER AND PATRIOTIC AMERICAN WHO EVEN AT THE AGE OF 82, CONTINUES TO SHOW A KEEN INTEREST IN WANTING TO BETTER AMERICA FOR THE MASSES OF POORER AMERICANS BEING CAUGHT IN OUR UNDERFUNDED JUDICIAL SYSTEM.LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS THANKS YOU MR.SPENCE FOR TAKING YOUR TIME AND INTEREST IN SPEAKING THE TRUTH ABOUT A JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN NEED OF C*H*A*N*G*E… ** WE CAN ONLY HOPE AND PRAY OTHER AMERICAN LAWYERS AND JUDGES WILL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD SO THE PROPER FINANCING CAN BE ALLOCATED BY OUR IVORY TOWER US CONGRESS ! *** ANYONE INTERESTED CAN GOOGLE OR YAHOO GERRY SPENCE ON THE WWW FOR MANY OTHER ENLIGHTENING HONEST ARTICLES.
- Anonymous : *** THIS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF INJUSTICES BEING INFLICTED ON OUR POORER AMERICAN'S IN A UNDERFUNDED JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT NEEDS...C*H*A*N*G*E....... **** GOD'S HAND IS INVOLVED IN THIS ONE **** WHEN THIS HORROR IS PROVEN TO BE A TRUE EVENT AFFECTING THE POSSIBLE ENSLAVEMENT OF 2,500 POORER AMERICAN'S, THEN ALL OF AMERICA WILL BE AWARE THAT THIS SAME EXACT TREATMENT OF OUR POORER CITIZENS NEEDS A FORMAL US CONGRESSIONAL AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION NATIONWIDE !!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on October 31, 2008 by Gideon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m a little late on writing about this story (via several sources), but it sure is a doozy. You know how it’s common knowlege that most appeals aren’t successful? Well, if you were a pro-se petitioner in Louisiana for the last 13 years, you knew that you wouldn’t win. Why is that? Because the Chief Judge of their Court of Appeals directed his clerk to summarily deny all appeals from pro-se petitioners without circulating the appeal to other judges. The clerk, ridden with guilt, committed suicide earlier this year and left a note confessing everything. This immoral and apparently illegal policy was in place until Jerrold Peterson, the staffer charged with implementing it, blew his brains out in May of last year. Peterson was driven to it in part, his suicide note suggested, by guilt over the nefarious tasks the judges made him perform. In his note Peterson explained how the court gave indigent appellants the bum’s rush. Although every criminal writ application is supposed to be reviewed by three judges, he was deputed to winnow out any that had been filed pro se and arrange for their automatic rejection. Thus were an estimated 2,500 appeals deep-sixed without any judicial consideration whatsoever. Now, facing public embarassment and possible ethical violations, the Louisiana Supreme Court has stepped in and asked…get this…the same appellate court to look at the appeals again. Note that they did not ask the Court to conduct an investigation into this practice, but simply to consider those appeals that were so summarily denied. Because, if we placate the defendants with another cursory look at their appeals, we can sweep the ethical violations under the carpet. At first this whole thing seemed rather odd to me. After all, how is this even possible? Here’s how: Edward Dufresne, Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit, took charge of pro se appeals in 1994. He then had Peterson prepare rulings denying writs for all of them and signed off “without so much as a glance,” according to the suicide note. “No judge ever saw the writ application before the ruling was prepared by me,” Peterson wrote in a second suicide note to the Judiciary Commission. The rulings also bore the names, though not the signatures, of judges Marion Edwards and Wally Rothschild. Neither Edwards nor Rothschild had any clue as to what was in the applications, or even knew that they had been filed, according to Peterson. So you’ve got one complicit judge and maybe three. But there are 5 more on that court. What of them? Are we to really believe that these 5 (or 7) other judges never once questioned the stark absence of pro-se appeals? Particularly in Louisiana, whose system has the following characteristics: * About 90 percent of criminal defendants in Louisiana are indigent. * Louisiana only provides post-conviction legal aid in death penalty cases. Everyone else must either hire a lawyer, find a lawyer to handle their case pro bono, or handle the appeal themselves. Obviously, most have no choice but to opt for the latter. * One criminal defense lawyer in Louisiana told me that if you’re convicted of murder in Louisiana and you’re innocent, you’re actually better off getting the death penalty. At least then you’ll get a team of lawyers, investigators, and experts to help with your appeal. This from a state whose criminal justice system was already crumbling. It’s hard to believe that people such as Judge Dufresne take an oath to uphold the law and to prove equal protection under it. Disbarment may be enough, but only barely. Justice delayed is no justice at all. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE SMOKING GUN LINK TO AMERICA'S JUDICIAL INJUSTICES BEING INFLICTED ON POORER AMERICAN'S ! *********************************************************** http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1223616107256210.xml&coll=1 ************************************************************ lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com (424-247-2013) 8 More
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Just getting started? Check out our special page of Hot Bills. It's an easy way to find bills that affect the issues you care about, and then add them to your tracked items.
For your next steps, including ways you can use social networking on OpenCongress and participate in comment boards, visit our how-to guide.
Blogs
