THE EVOLUTION OF JUDICIAL TYRANNY IN THE UNITED STATES:

"If the judges interpret the laws themselves, and suffer none else to interpret, they may easily make, of the laws, [a shredded] shipman's hose!" - King James I of England, around 1616.

“No class of the community ought to be allowed freer scope in the expression or publication of opinions as to the capacity, impartiality or integrity of judges than members of the bar. They have the best opportunities of observing and forming a correct judgment. They are in constant attendance on the courts. Hundreds of those who are called on to vote never enter a court-house, or if they do, it is only at intervals as jurors, witnesses or parties. To say that an attorney can only act or speak on this subject under liability to be called to account and to be deprived of his profession and livelihood by the very judge or judges whom he may consider it his duty to attack and expose, is a position too monstrous to be entertained for a moment under our present system,” Justice Sharwood in Ex Parte Steinman and Hensel, 95 Pa 220, 238-39 (1880).

“This case illustrates to me the serious consequences to the Bar itself of not affording the full protections of the First Amendment to its applicants for admission. For this record shows that [the rejected attorney candidate] has many of the qualities that are needed in the American Bar. It shows not only that [the rejected attorney candidate] has followed a high moral, ethical and patriotic course in all of the activities of his life, but also that he combines these more common virtues with the uncommon virtue of courage to stand by his principles at any cost.

It is such men as these who have most greatly honored the profession of the law. The legal profession will lose much of its nobility and its glory if it is not constantly replenished with lawyers like these. To force the Bar to become a group of thoroughly orthodox, time-serving, government-fearing individuals is to humiliate and degrade it.” In Re Anastaplo, 18 Ill. 2d 182, 163 N.E.2d 429 (1959), cert. granted, 362 U.S. 968 (1960), affirmed over strong dissent, 366 U.S. 82 (1961), Justice Black, Chief Justice Douglas and Justice Brennan, dissenting.

" I do not believe that the practice of law is a "privilege" which empowers Government to deny lawyers their constitutional rights. The mere fact that a lawyer has important responsibilities in society does not require or even permit the State to deprive him of those protections of freedom set out in the Bill of Rights for the precise purpose of insuring the independence of the individual against the Government and those acting for the Government”. Lathrop v Donohue, 367 US 820 (1961), Justice Black, dissenting.

"The legal profession must take great care not to emulate the many occupational groups that have managed to convert licensure from a sharp weapon of public defense into blunt instrument of self-enrichment". Walter Gellhorn, "The Abuse of Occupational Licensing", University of Chicago Law Review, Volume 44 Issue 1, September of 1976.

“Because the law requires that judges no matter how corrupt, who do not act in the clear absence of jurisdiction while performing a judicial act, are immune from suit, former Judge Ciavarella will escape liability for the vast majority of his conduct in this action. This is, to be sure, against the popular will, but it is the very oath which he is alleged to have so indecently, cavalierly, baselessly and willfully violated for personal gain that requires this Court to find him immune from suit”, District Judge A. Richard Caputo in H.T., et al, v. Ciavarella, Jr, et al, Case No. 3:09-cv-00286-ARC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Document 336, page 18, November 20, 2009. This is about judges who were sentencing kids to juvenile detention for kickbacks.


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Is it a disciplinary violation for attorney Thomas Schimmerling of Delhi, NY to not pay village taxes in the amount of $14,456.35 for his law office for 8 years?


At this time I am simply referring to my post in my other blog, dedicated to fiscal responsibility of the government.

It mentions a local attorney, Thomas Schimmerling of Delhi, NY, who is over $14,456.35 in arrears for 8 years while, upon my review of his cases on E-Courts and in just one Appellate Division of New York state out of 4, Mr. Schimmerling was actively generating income out of the  very office for which he did not pay taxes.

Attorney fees for an attorney of Mr. Schimmerling's experience in this area is nowhere lower than $175.00 per hour, the five pages of listings of court cases that I obtained from New York e-courts clearly indicate that Mr. Schimmerling was appearing in the New York State Supreme Court mostly as Plaintiff's attorney, and retainer fees in Supreme Court cases start from $3,000.00.








It is apparent that Mr. Schimmerling generated income out of his office located in the poor area, Delhi, NY, without any intention to share his income, as he was supposed to, and to pay taxes to the Village of Delhi.

I believe, this is a large disciplinary violation, but, since nothing has been done about it for 8 years, I guess, nothing will be done about it anyway - so I decided to go public with it.

How ethical is for attorney Schimmerling to use the services of the Village of Delhi without paying village taxes, in a village where, according to the census, per capita annual income is $13,421 and where "about 8.1% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 19 and 7.1% of those age 65 and over"?

Moreover, had this same attorney not paid income taxes in the same amount, he would have been prosecuted for a federal felony and, possibly, automatically disbarred.

Apparently, not to pay property taxes for the property that helps generate that income is ok.

Yet, the Committee for Professional Conduct of the 3rd Department has no time prosecuting Mr. Schimmerling, because its time and "limited resources" are all tied up in eliminating attorneys who criticize judicial misconduct and misconduct within the Committee.

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