Separation of powers? Nah. Meet CONFLATION of power - and stupidity. A Family Court arrest warrant of a specified person, signed by an unknown judge, executed by an unknown officer, for an unspecified violation

Yesterday, New York State Delaware County Sheriff's Office has posted the following on Facebook:

Does anything seem wrong to you in what is described here?

Because if it doesn't, it most definitely should.

Remember why we have separation of government powers into 3 branches?

I don't believe they teach that in schools clearly enough.

It is because those "Founding Fathers" of ours DISTRUSTED integrity of the government and believed that, if the government is not constantly checked upon, the merged executive, legislative and judicial powers will become tyrannical.

The only thing is - their concept of separation of powers was incredibly naive and unworkable.

Why?

If the three branches, when/if merged, become an omnipowerful tyranny, why would they be entrusted to "check and balance" on one another?

Because instead of checks and balances - as we see again, and again, and again - we see that same MERGER of these three branches of power, producing tyranny.

Their separation exists only on paper.

Now, let's see again why what Delaware County Sheriff posted is Exhibit A of what I have just said about merger of power and tyranny.

Otsego County Family Court issues an ARREST WARRANT.

For an UNSPECIFIED violation of the Family Court Act.

And, the Delaware County Sheriff obliged and arrested a man whose name they publish, John P. Blackburn, of Kortright, NY, based on that arrest warrant.

Now, what is wrong about that?

Everything is wrong about that.

First, Family Court does NOT have jurisdiction over CRIMINAL proceedings, and, thus, should not be allowed to issue ARREST WARRANTS.

Arrest warrants are exclusively a feature of a criminal proceeding.

If the New York State Legislature gave this power to Family Court judges (and it did), and the Family Court judges, instead of declaring it unconstitutional, use that power, and the Sheriff, instead of refusing to obey an unconstitutional Arrest warrant, goes ahead and arrests a person based on it - AND PUBLISHES HIS NAME IN THE PAPER, damaging his reputation and likely jeopardizing his job, his business relationships etc. - that is, ladies and gentlemen, a MERGER of powers, which results in TYRANNY, in its classical sense.

Lawlessness.

Second, what kind of crap it is when a person's reputation is PUBLICLY damaged for an arrest for an "UNSPECIFIED" violation of something?

If you publish his name, do the next thing and disclose to the public, WHY, WHAT FOR.

If it is a secret (proceedings in Family Court are private), then, the arrest, is TWICE unlawful - because an arrest can be made only in a PUBLIC, criminal, proceeding.

You publicize the person's name - you publicize the charge, no way around it.

Because privacy of Family Court proceedings were supposed to protect litigants/parties in such proceedings, not judges and not the police catering for such judges.

In this case, the Judge's name who signed the warrant is - UNKNOWN, the officer's name who arrested the person based on that warrant is _ UNKNOWN, but the person's name (who is the ONLY person whose privacy the Family Court Act must protect) is publicized.

We don't know what he did wrong, but people don't get arrested for nothing, is the common line of thinking - isn't it?

So, the GOVERNMENT officials who DID WRONG by issuing and executing this arrest warrant are protected, but the person whose privacy that same Family Court Act is supposed to protect - is exposed.  Everything is topsy-turvy.

Is this what we pay these idiots in the government, all 3 branches, for?

I wonder when people start suing counties for such unlawful actions, and when County Attorneys will take their heads from where they are stuck now to figure out what kind of liability such "arrest warrants" put the County and its taxpayers into.

I will try to get a copy of that arrest warrant through a FOIL request and let my readers know who was the judge who signed it and who was the officer who executed it.  And what exactly the arrest warrant was for.

And THREE.

This announcement practically ACKNOWLEDGES what the government denies and lies to the public about.

Family Court proceedings ARE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS in their nature.

This arrest warrant is definitely not for "CIVIL" contempt of court (the only "civil" proceeding where arrests are allowed).

Because in civil contempts of court the purpose of the arrest is COERCION, not PUNISHMENT FOR A VIOLATION of anything.

Here, the arrest warrant was - as announced by the Sheriff's Office - "for unspecified VIOLATION of the Family Court Act", thus, a punishment, thus, a criminal proceeding.

The U.S. Supreme Court has long ago stated that the government's claim that a certain proceeding is "civil" in nature is not the end of story, the proceeding may still be challenged and declared criminal in nature if certain factors are present.

Later on, the U.S. Supreme Court has simplified the analysis whether a proceeding is civil or criminal in nature and provided a very simple rule:

if civil goals of the proceedings are THE ONLY goals of the proceedings - it is a civil proceeding.

if civil goal of the proceedings are NOT the only goals of the proceedings, and the proceeding ALSO has a purpose of retribution or deterrence (punishment) - they are CRIMINAL proceedings.

With all consequences of a criminal proceeding - requiring constitutional/procedural protections of a criminal proceeding.

And that is the big secret that Delaware County Sheriff has let out in his - stupidly, unlawfully - faithful following of an illegal court order that the Sheriff has proudly and publicly announced on Facebook.

Family Court proceedings are CRIMINAL proceedings in their nature - and, thus, this particular arrestee is entitled to procedural protections in a criminal proceeding - which undoubtedly he will not be given.

This is how tyranny works.