Ramblings from a Pro Se

This is not a Truther rant or the Truther's own work. I am passing along some "Ramblings" (not to be construed as legal advise, mind you) from one of the best and legendary Pro Se's and a true patriot to American principles of freedom, liberty and justice. These are our (we, the people's) courts, our laws and we have a right to have and express our opinions of them under the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

I would only add a couple things to the ramblings below. First, not only are bar complaints and AVVO.com a waste of time for reporting lawyers, but so is the Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) for reporting bad judges. The CJC is a huge joke, too. I would also add that if you are building a record in the family court, do so for posterity not the appeals court. Perhaps in Spokane where a credible appeals court exists that might make sense. Even there, it is likely going to get challenged and overturned in the highest state court which is back (guess where?) over here. But, here in the south sound, don't waste your time and money with the Division II appeals court in Tacoma. They are buddies with this local court and will not rule on the law or pursue the "ends of justice over procedure" (nit picky rules) that they can manipulate to dismiss what they don't want to rule on. Above the local appeals court is a Supreme Court Justice that has spent a career on gender biased causes and committees. You get the picture. Lastly, I like the idea of a reporting program for attorneys similar to what we have going on with http://ratethecourts.com/ for the judges. Some enterprising screwed over Dad should look into that.


Ramblings . . .


Generally, bar complaints are, at best, a fly-in-the-ointment thing and most effective when made a part of a bigger plan. Rarely do they get the attorney disbarred, even temporarily. The majority of disbarments that happen are reported to be due to that the attorney could not overcome the urge to reach in to the cookie jar (access trust accounts in their care).

Years ago, I started a parents' right group. As part of it, I put together a performance reporting program. It allowed people to report on the performance of the professionals with whom they came in contact. It required people to submit their reports in declaration form, so that when others asked me about a given professional, I could give them a copy of the declaration and not fear liable for making statements I did not know to be true. In promoting the program, I tried to educate people on the importance of only reporting documented facts, to avoid liable. In the end, it hurt a few arrogant dirt bags. For example, imagine a family law attorney who loses three active clients, and at least as many more, because of reports. That amounts to thousands of dollars of lost income. Keep in mind, that was in the days before the net and email. Those two things would vastly improve the impact of such a program.

If you are scheduled to have a hearing or trial, you need to demand, in writing, your attorney build a record. It is that record which will determine the outcome of any appeal. Reading cases taken to appeal, you often see proof favorable to the appellant and which should have produced a "slam-dunk," but then go on to read the higher court say "there were no facts IN EVIDENCE supporting the appellant's claims." MANY attorneys either don't know what a record is, or feign ignorance. I have heard attorneys, repeatedly, say the case file is the record. IT IS NOT! The record is testimony, including depositions moved into evidence, and other things properly moved into evidence (method set out below).

While a [competent (effective assistance of counsel)] attorney must have some leeway to run a case his way, it remains your case. In some instances, you may come to know of things the attorney should be doing to protect your interests and earn your money. In those events, you have the right to compel them to perform their contractual obligation (void contracts aside). It should be remembered your attorney cannot file criminal complaints for anyone but himself. Criminal complaints are the realm of prosecutors and AG's. An exception is in matters of theft. In such instances, it is called theft when the prosecuting authority pursues the matter and conversion when addressed by a client's attorney, to allow it to be addressed in civil court.

Attorneys are businessmen (actually, much of their training centers on this), first and foremost, regardless of any altruistic claims to the contrary (when considering claims made by them or their bar union, consider the Bible verse that said it best: "You will know them by their fruits."

Attorneys have developed the art of "being sincere, without really meaning it." Per their laws, their first duty is to the court. This, simply, means they may be sanctioned for acts that annoy the courts' animators. So, unless they think they can get away with it, they will always function to serve what they believe are a court's interests (remember, case files well document that courts often wander away from what is claimed to be the law they operate under). After that, their self interest kick in. In either event, your interest will be last in place. Rare is the attorney who would throw himself in front of a train to protect a client.

Attorneys have so complicated law, even they cannot know it (as of twenty some years ago, there were over three hundred million laws on the books). As such, the layman is lost to it. As such, much of what takes place in the courts is not the practice of law, but a dance with special effects, commonly called "smoke and mirrors." For example, attorneys, as a matter of routine, set up elaborate hearings to address contempt actions when their clients are unable to perform the act out of which the contempt was born. Because their client was unable to purge the contempt (e.g., the client cannot pay the money, produce the record, etc.), the contempt would, essentially, be killed. It is not up to the client to prove the inability, it is up to the other side to prove the ability. But attorneys play the more complex game and profit from doing so.

Your friendship with an attorney is a purchased thing and when the money runs out, so does the friendship. If it looks, up front, like the money will not get the friendship very far, the quality of the "friendship" will be adversely affected from the start. Compound this with incompetence and you have a recipe for client confusion and disappointment.

Perry Mason was not all that far fetched. He had paralegals doing much of his work, along with private detectives and secretaries. Unfortunately, this makes for a very expensive hourly billing. For the average individual to attain any semblance of this level of representation, he must take on the role of detective, paralegal and secretary.

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[ENTERING EVIDENCE INTO THE RECORD]

(1) Introduce each exhibit (explain how the exhibit supports your argument;
(2) Provide each exhibit to the clerk and ask the item be marked as plaintiff's/petitioner's or defendant's/respondent's exhibit;
(3) Show the opposition the exhibit, or provide it a copy;
(4) Ask that the exhibit be moved into evidence.

[CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE]

Whenever possible, documents placed in evidence should be certified. HINT: You can file a document (e.g., affidavits/declarations) with the county/court clerk, then purchase a certified copy.

RCW 5.44.040 Certified copies of public records as evidence.

Copies of all records and documents on record or on file in the offices of the various departments of the United States and of this state or any other state or territory of the United States, when duly certified by the respective officers having by law the custody thereof, under their respective seals where such officers have official seals, shall be admitted in evidence in the courts of this
state. [1991 c 59 º 1; 1891 c 19 º 16; Code 1881 º 432; 1854 p 195 º
336; RRS º 1257.]

NOTES:

Rules of court: Cf. ER 803; CR 44(a)(1).

For more information on entering evidence, see the Supreme Court’s Evidentiary Rules, including, but not limited to ER 902 and ER 904.