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

Faux Process And Rubber-Stamped Orders (view source)

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 (4) The judge then signs the order without scrutiny, thus awarding the drafting party the remedies improperly inserted into the proposed order by the prevailing party's attorney.<br>
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+I have witnessed this method of clearing out cases in multiple courts and by different judges across the State of Georgia. The rubber-stamped order is perhaps the most successful tool used to circumvent due process in civil cases and "if you don't like it, you can appeal," as Brantley would say. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford an appeal and the appellate court also presents its own barriers to equitable case resolution. Brantley’s way of “passing the buck” onto the Georgia Court of Appeals is an irresponsible use of resources and acts contrary to justice.
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 =Passing The Buck=
-That case in Muscogee County was not the first time I witnessed a party fall victim to 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 in Cobb County State Court, and my most recent experience was at the hands of Judge G. Grant Brantley in Fulton County Superior Court--though Brantley is a Cobb County Senior Judge. The rubber-stamped order is perhaps the most dangerous weapon used by judges in civil cases to successfully circumvent due process. "If you don't like it, you can appeal," as Brantley would say.
+That case in Muscogee County was not the first time I witnessed a party fall victim to 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 in Cobb County State Court, and my most recent experience was at the hands of Judge G. Grant Brantley in Fulton County Superior Court--though Brantley is a Cobb County Senior Judge.
 In 2017, Judge Bowers presided over a hearing regarding one very specific issue in the case. I represented the defendant in the case. Judge Bowers made an oral ruling in favor of the plaintiff and told the plaintiff's attorney to draft a "proposed order" for the judge to sign. In his proposed order, the plaintiff's attorney inserted a clause that resolved an additional issue to the case and cited inapplicable law to justify the bogus ruling. Judge Bowers signed (or "rubber-stamped") the proposed order, 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 to witness a fellow attorney attempt such an underhanded maneuver, it was far more terrifying to see the tactic succeed at the hands of a judge. Another Cobb State judge corrected Judge Bowers' order at a subsequent hearing, and I moved on with my career believing that this was simply an honest mistake by a busy judge; I never expected that rubber-stamping was this judge's ''modus operandi'' for managing his caseload. Time proved otherwise.