I remember, back in the 1980s, there was a conservative school of thought that believed many of our problems could be blamed on poor, single, often non-white mothers who refused to 'take personal responsibility' (e.g., welfare queens, Murphy Brown! ZOMG!). I never quite understand how anyone could believe that the most powerless Americans would be able to destroy us. I thought that societal breakdown would be triggered by the failure of political and economic elites.
Well, guess what? We're approaching breakdown:
Let's look at one example of banana republic faux justice in the US, via a speech by foreclosure court Judge Roger Colton to his court on how the day was going to go. It's simply breathtaking. He says that if the bank is foreclosing, he's not going to consider any evidence that the foreclosure is in error (servicing errors, plaintiff can't provide proof it owns the note, which means it might not be the right party and procedurally, means it lacks standing to take action). He says he has already heard everything, there is a lot of unemployment in the area; he is going to schedule a court date, but that is merely a deadline for negotiation. In other words, he makes it abundantly clear he has no interest in hearing evidence. When he gets to seeing a defendant after his speech to the court (p. 13), he rubber stamps what the bank wants without even considering the evidence. And apparently his entire day went like that. The summary from an attorney who was representing a client before him that day:
On 8/30, I had a Summary Judgment Foreclosure hearing on Palm Beach County's "Rocket Docket". The judge spoke for 14 minutes to the crowd, of mostly pro se defendants, about how they should just agree to the summary judgment and the plaintiffs, (whose attorneys (Shapiro & Fishman had a dedicated courtroom and to whom he referred to as "my attorneys") would be gracious (Ha!) enough to allow them to stay in their homes for 120 days if needed (even though the statute says he only has to give them 30). When it came to hearing arguments which were fully briefed and provided to the court (pursuant to the instructions of the Divisions head judge) he only allowed 30-60 seconds for argument, failed to read any of the papers, failed to review the plaintiff's foreclosure package,flatly ignored the Affidavit filed in Opposition, ignored my plea for a trial, signed the judgment and dismissed me. I never was permitted to even read the proposed judgment or to examine the "newly discovered" allonge which Shapiro's counsel said I had no right to see.
We don't need no stinkin' evidentiary procedure! This is even worse:
Alan Grayson's office provided a particularly troubling example, that of a counterfeited court summons. It's bad enough that servicers and foreclosure mills are making up securitization-related paperwork out of whole cloth, but now court documents to seize someone's home? This is lawlessness. (View on ScribD)
This is the breakdown of the mechanism of property ownership. It demonstrates a complete disregard for the rule of law. And we can't blame poor, single minority mothers for it, either. This has to be laid squarely at the feet of those who wield economic and political power.
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Stuff like this makes me glad I don't live in the US.
The federal government has the right/responsibility to regulate interstate commerce, right?
And the vast majority of mortgages are held by entities not in the same state as the property on which there is a lien, right?
So the federal government should make all mortgages non-recourse.
That might slow down the foreclosures. Or maybe just get them all over with.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT FORECLOSURE AND MORTGAGE FRAUD
I would like to emphasize more about fraudulent foreclosures. Some people who express their anger at "deadbeats" appear to be more acceptable about the manifest fraud and criminal activity being carried out by people with credentials to practice law. Equally ironic is the reality that some people pretending to be annoyed about "deadbeats"are the actual people who are participating in real estate racketeering -fully sanctioned by the majority of courts, especially Bankruptcy Courts!
Foreclosures via DECEPTIVE and FRAUDULENT PROCEEDINGS enables repetitive, and illegal property flipping; it enables lenders to falsify IRS form 1099-A''s; it enables unscrupulous foreclosure mill lawyers (especially because of judges who purposefully abet deceit) to
deceptively hold auctions and make insider bids to acquire those properties; and blighted neighborhoods. Fraudulent foreclosures ensure the success of FABRICATED BANKRUPTCY COURT 'Lift Stay motions' and false 'Proof of Claims'. Foreclosure via fraud is the reason for illegitimate homelessness and underhanded evictions, unjustified IRS tax bills due to false 1099-A's, and unfair "Deficiency Judgments." *more @
http://www.lawgrace.org/2010/09/30/important-facts-about-foreclosure-an…
This is what you get from a flawed constitution that has "elected" Judges. Corruption is one of the biggest problems on the planet today, and in the U.S. it is rife.
The appropriate response within rule of law would seem to appeal to higher courts for procedural violations tantamount to violation of equal protection, and to appeal to the legislature for impeachment - although that may be more a transition to politics.
In practice, neither seem likely to work in the current social climate. Since once law and politics have failed, the only recourse is Continuation By Other Means, such failures increase the chances of civil unrest and manifest breakdown of civil law.
OMG that's so unfair! All those poor people who had been diligently making the mortgage payments they promised to pay, tossed out of their own homes! There is no justice in Amerikkka!