Difference between revisions of "Faux Process And Rubber-Stamped Orders"

So what happened here? How could a judge simply sign parental rights away at the drop of a hat, without notice or a hearing? This is what I call “faux process” (contra to “due process”) and what many attorneys refer to as a “rubber-stamped” order. The formula for this injustice is as follows:<br>

So what happened here? How could a judge simply sign parental rights away at the drop of a hat, without notice or a hearing? This is what I call “faux process” (contra to “due process”) and what many attorneys refer to as a “rubber-stamped” order. The formula for this injustice is as follows:<br>

(1) First, a judge holds a hearing on a specific matter.<br>

(1) First, a judge holds a hearing on a specific matter.<br>

(2) Then at the hearing, the judge makes a verbal unwritten ruling and tells the attorney for the "winning party" to draft a proposed order for the judge to sign.<br>

(2) Then at the hearing, the judge makes a verbal unwritten ruling and tells the attorney for the "winning party" to draft a proposed order for the judge to sign.<br>

(3) The drafting attorney then inserts wording awarding additional remedies that were not part of the judge's verbal unwritten ruling nor within the scope of the hearing.<br>

(3) The drafting attorney then inserts wording awarding additional remedies that were not part of the judge's verbal unwritten ruling nor within the scope of the hearing.<br>

(4) Lastly, the judge signs the order without scrutiny, thus awarding the drafting party the remedies improperly inserted into the proposed order by the drafting attorney.<br>

(4) Lastly, the judge signs the order without scrutiny, thus awarding the drafting party the remedies improperly inserted into the proposed order by the drafting attorney.<br>

Now, obviously the Muscogee County judge described above erred by signing an order that the judge did not draft nor review. But why did this happen? That was not the first time I witnessed the entering of a rubber-stamped order, nor was it the last. In fact, my first recollection of such injustice occurred at the hands of Judge Carl W. Bowers, and my most recent experience was at the hands of Judge G. Grant Brantley. While I sincerely want to believe that these were honest mistakes, rare flukes caused by the coincidental alignment of the planets, mere cursory research into the personal backgrounds and experience of these two judges shows otherwise.

Now, obviously the Muscogee County judge described above erred by signing an order that the judge did not draft nor review. But why did this happen? That was not the first time I witnessed the entering of a rubber-stamped order, nor was it the last. In fact, my first recollection of such injustice occurred at the hands of Judge Carl W. Bowers, and my most recent experience was at the hands of Judge G. Grant Brantley. While I sincerely want to believe that these were honest mistakes, rare flukes caused by the coincidental alignment of the planets, mere cursory research into the personal backgrounds and experience of these two judges shows otherwise.