It's time to start audits of efficiency and competency of American courts and to revamp the federal and state court systems according to a business model of recruitment and management

A party or an attorney can be severely sanctioned in American courts for missing an appearance, both with a fine, with a disciplinary action (for an attorney) and for an entry of a judgment of default against the party.


Try missing a deadline to submit a pleading - the result will be the same.


Yet, I have yet to see a judge who would abide by mandatory court rules on:


(1) disqualification and disclosure of conflicts of interest;
(2) timely issuance of court orders.


In New York, written court orders must be issued within 60 days of the returnable day of the motion or the last date of the trial.


Dream on.


I had judges who denied me, off-handedly and arrogantly, any written decision to my written motions.


I had judges who told me to obtain, at my own expense or expense of my client, a transcript of the proceedings to discern from it what the judge's decision is (even when the judge did not make a decision in such proceedings).


I had judges who took, literally, years, to issue a decision.


I had judges who took years and still not issued a decision.


One of such judges is Judge Jacqueline Lamport of the Stamford Town Court.  Judge Lamport has failed to issue an order of dismissal of a criminal action, despite my repeated written and oral requests, for over 2 years now.


Delaware County Court has failed to either appoint or control a judge to settle a transcript, and as a result I cannot proceed with an assigned criminal appeal for two years.


My written requests to the courts to move the case are simply ignored.


Judge Mary Work of the Ulster County Supreme Court has taken half a year to issue a decision on a motion that was filed in September of 2013, more than a year ago.


Federal courts are no different.


Federal court can routinely deny a party or attorney extra time to oppose a motion, but then will take a year to decide that same motion.


In federal appeals courts (I have the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit) clerks delay filings that arrive by mail by 2 weeks or more, causing the court to treat necessary filings as not being made, with dire consequences to parties.


Those same clerks sometimes lose filings sent to them by certified mail and claim the filings were never made.


Those same clerks require unnecessary work from pro se parties, such as service of forms and pleadings upon non-existing opponents.  That is all from personal experience, I can only imagine how pro se parties who have no legal education are treated.


Attorneys and parties are routinely sanctioned by courts for imperfect pleadings.  Yet, judges may routinely misrepresents facts of the record, existing law, they can deviate from the law, they can make up the law for the parties or attorneys they favor, they can make up the law against the parties or attorneys they disfavor, and there will be no consequences whatsoever.


If a business model is to be applied to courts in terms of efficiency and competency, many judges, clerks and other court personnel will be fired and blackballed for what they now do on a daily basis.


No business can effectively exist and survive being so wasteful, so inefficient and so arrogantly incompetent as American courts are.


So maybe it's time for the People of the United States and of each sovereign state to start direct audits their courts, their efficiency and competency and start approaching recruitment and performance of the judiciary as any business owner approaches such issues in his business?


The question that will arise then will be - with so many sacked arrogant incompetents whose only value was familial or other "friendly" or political connection to judges or other public officials - who will hire them?  In earnest?  Imagine these people with signs "will work for food" - and what will you do for food, screw up somebody's business for food? misrepresent business records for food? misrepresent company policies or food? be arrogant to customers for food? No, thank you.  




If screwing up somebody's business is unacceptable, how is it acceptable to screw up people's lives through incompetence, arrogance, cronyism and corruption of personnel of the American courts?