Difference between revisions of "Faux Process And Rubber-Stamped Orders"
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=Passing The Buck= | =Passing The Buck= | ||
In 2017, Judge Bowers presided over a case and held a hearing regarding one very specific element to the case. Judge Bowers made an oral ruling in favor of the other party and told their attorney to email his staff a "proposed order" to sign. The opposing attorney inserted a clause that closed out an additional element to the case and cited inapplicable case law to justify it. Judge Bowers signed (or "rubber stamped") it, which created additional unnecessary litigation to simply undue Judge Bowers' improperly signed order. That was the first time I ever dealt with a rubber stamped order. While it was disheartening that a fellow attorney would attempt such a maneuver, it was far more terrifying to see a judge enable the tactic. Another Cobb State judge corrected Judge Bowers' order at separate hearing, and I moved on with my career believing that this was simply an honest mistake by a busy judge; I was completely unaware that this could be a judge's ''modus operendi'' method of managing his caseload. Time proved otherwise. | |||
In 2022, I was hired to defend a civil matter in Fulton County that would have been dismissed and closed with a 5-minute hearing by a competent judge. However, the Fulton judge presiding over the matter had her own agenda and was not interested in making decisions based on the facts and the law. After multiple unsuccessful motions to recuse the presiding judge, the Fulton County judiciary recruited Judge Grant Brantley from Cobb County to take over the case. With Judge Brantley assigned to the case, I had high hopes that my client would finally get a fair shake and the case would be dismissed as it should have been over two years ago. That was not the case. Rather, Judge Brantley took the baton from the previous judge, executed the "rubber-stamp" process like a science in favor of the opposing party and, even after three hearings, that case is still pending. To an experienced lawyer or judge, it would appear that Judge Brantley knew absolutely nothing about the applicable law and simply didn't care to. Again, the case should have been dismissed in 5-minutes and closed over two years ago. | In 2022, I was hired to defend a civil matter in Fulton County that would have been dismissed and closed with a 5-minute hearing by a competent judge. However, the Fulton judge presiding over the matter had her own agenda and was not interested in making decisions based on the facts and the law. After multiple unsuccessful motions to recuse the presiding judge, the Fulton County judiciary recruited Judge Grant Brantley from Cobb County to take over the case. With Judge Brantley assigned to the case, I had high hopes that my client would finally get a fair shake and the case would be dismissed as it should have been over two years ago. That was not the case. Rather, Judge Brantley took the baton from the previous judge, executed the "rubber-stamp" process like a science in favor of the opposing party and, even after three hearings, that case is still pending. To an experienced lawyer or judge, it would appear that Judge Brantley knew absolutely nothing about the applicable law and simply didn't care to. Again, the case should have been dismissed in 5-minutes and closed over two years ago. | ||
The Georgia Code of Judicial Ethics bars the mere ''appearance'' of impropriety. As to the practices and habits implemented by Judge Brantley, it "appears" that recklessly rushed rulings and "rubber-stamped orders" are his primary go-to tools for closing out cases. He's simply not preparing for cases over which he presides and blitzes to the conclusion he wants without properly verifying the law or facts to his cases. And to justify these practices, Brantley asserts that "If the losing party doesn't like it, they can deal with it on appeal." This way of rapidly closing cases is severely flawed as it often times unnecessarily expands litigation; and many people cannot afford the long-drawn-out appellate process while, in the meantime, their rights and liberties can be trampled with no recourse pending appeal. Further, appellate judges have their own backlog of cases and to '''"pass the buck"''' onto the Court of Appeals is an irresponsible use of State resources and doing so causes irreparable harm to a party's rights (especially if it involves the custody of a child). | The Georgia Code of Judicial Ethics bars the mere ''appearance'' of impropriety. As to the practices and habits implemented by Judge Brantley, it "appears" that recklessly rushed rulings and "rubber-stamped orders" are his primary go-to tools for closing out cases. He's simply not preparing for cases over which he presides and blitzes to the conclusion he wants without properly verifying the law or facts to his cases. And to justify these practices, Brantley asserts that "If the losing party doesn't like it, they can deal with it on appeal." This way of rapidly closing cases is severely flawed as it often times unnecessarily expands litigation; and many people cannot afford the long-drawn-out appellate process while, in the meantime, their rights and liberties can be trampled with no recourse pending appeal. Further, appellate judges have their own backlog of cases and to '''"pass the buck"''' onto the Court of Appeals is an irresponsible use of State resources and doing so causes irreparable harm to a party's rights (especially if it involves the custody of a child). | ||
In 2022, Judge Carl Bowers publicly praised Brantley stating: "He's given me great advice many, many times over the years when I worked with him," and "I learned so much from him that I use today in the courtroom in state court." Bowers went on to say that " | In 2022, Judge Carl Bowers publicly praised Brantley stating: "He's given me great advice many, many times over the years when I worked with him," and "I learned so much from him that I use today in the courtroom in state court." Bowers went on to say that " | ||
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