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 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 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.


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.
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