August 13, 2013

A History lesson on Lawyers (Not all - but the far majority apply)

      A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political and social authority, and deliver justice. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who retain (i.e., hire) lawyers to perform legal services. 
      Lawyers were widely unloved in the 17th century in America. The first lawyer who arrived in the Plymouth colony in 1624 or 1625 is said to have been jailed and then expelled from the colony for scandalous behavior. For a time, the Bodies of Liberties (1641) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony prohibited “pleading for hire”; Virginia excluded lawyers from her Courts in 1645; Connecticut also prohibited them. The Fundamental Constitutions of the Carolina’s (1669) said it was a "base and vile thing to plead for money or reward". William Penn had a Quaker’s distaste for lawyers and formal laws. In 1682, his laws provided for the appointment of three "peacemakers" in each precinct whose "arbitration’s" were to stand as legal judgments. Thus, in Pennsylvania, it was said: "They have no lawyers. Everyone is to tell his own case, or some friend for him. . . . 'Tis a happy country." Resentment of lawyers continued into the revolutionary period and beyond.
      If there is a stain on the record of our forefathers, a dark hour in the earliest history of the American Colonies, it would be the hanging of the "witches" at Salem. That was a pinpoint in place and time -- a brief lapse into hysteria. For the most part, our seventeenth century colonists were scrupulously fair, even in fear.
      There was one group of people they feared with reason -- a society, you might say, whose often insidious craft had claimed a multitude of victims, ever since the Middle ages in Europe. One group of people were hated and feared from Massachusetts Bay to Virginia. The Magistrate would not burn them at the stake, although surely a great many of the colonists would have recommended such a solution. Our forefathers were baffled by them.
      In the first place, where did they come from? Of all who sailed from England to Plymouth in 1620, not one lawyer was aboard. "VERMIN." That's what the Colonist called them. Parasites who fed on human misery, spreading sorrow and confusion wherever they went. "DESTRUCTIVE." They were called. And still they were permitted coexistence with the colonists. For a while, anyway. Of course there were colonial laws prohibiting the practice of their infamous craft. Somehow a way was always found around all those laws.
      In 1641, Massachusetts Bay colony took a novel approach to the problem. The governors attempted to starve the "devils" out of existence through economic exclusion. They were denied wages, and thereby it was hoped that they would perish. Four years later, Virginia followed the example of Massachusetts Bay, and for a while it seemed that the dilemma had been resolved. It had not, somehow the parasites managed to survive, and the mere nearness of them made the colonists skin crawl.
      In 1658, In Virginia, the final solution: Banishment; EXILE. The "treacherous ones" were cast out of the colony. At last, after decades of enduring the psychological gloom, the sun came out and the birds sang, and all was right with the world. And the elation continued for a generation. I'm not sure why the Virginians eventually allowed the outcasts to return, but they did. In 1680, after twenty-two years, the despised ones were readmitted to the colony on the condition that they are subjected to the strictest surveillance. How soon we forget!
      For indeed over the next half century or so, the imposed restrictions were slowly, quietly swept away. And those whose treachery had been feared since the Middle Ages ultimately took their place in society. You see, the "vermin" that once infested colonial America, the parasites who prayed on the misfortunes of their neighbors until finally they were officially banished from Virginia, those dreaded, despised, outcasts, masters of confusion were lawyers.
      In most civil law countries, the government has traditionally exercised tight control over the legal profession in order to ensure a steady supply of loyal judges and bureaucrats. That is, lawyers were expected first and foremost to serve the state, and the availability of counsel for private litigants was an afterthought. Even in civil law countries like Norway which have partially self-regulating professions, the Ministry of Justice is the sole issuer of licenses, and makes its own independent re-evaluation of a lawyer's fitness to practice after a lawyer has been expelled from the Advocates' Association. Brazil is an unusual exception in that its national Order of Advocates has become a fully self-regulating institution (with direct control over licensing) and has successfully resisted government attempts to place it under the control of the Ministry of Labor. 
      Of all the civil law countries, Communist countries historically went the farthest towards total state control, with all Communist lawyers forced to practice in collectives by the mid-1950s. China is a prime example: technically, the People's Republic of China did not have lawyers, and instead had only poorly-trained, state-employed "legal workers," prior to the enactment of a comprehensive reform package in 1996 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. 
      In contrast, common law lawyers have traditionally regulated themselves through institutions where the influence of non-lawyers, if any, was weak and indirect (despite nominal state control). Such institutions have been traditionally dominated by private practitioners who opposed strong state control of the profession on the grounds that it would endanger the ability of lawyers to zealously and competently advocate their clients' causes in the adversarial system of justice.
      The concept of the self-regulating profession has been criticized as a sham which serves to legitimize the professional monopoly while protecting the profession from public scrutiny. Disciplinary mechanisms have been astonishingly ineffective, and penalties have been light or nonexistent.
      A key difference among countries is whether lawyers should be regulated solely by an independent judiciary and its subordinate institutions (a self-regulating legal profession), or whether lawyers should be subject to supervision by the Ministry of Justice in the executive branch, legislatures or executive branches..
      If you want to review or see the problems in this country – you only have to look at our Federal Government that is now over run with these Vermin?? Have to love the election process…..

2013 Legislative Ideas and Principles

As we head into this legislative session a few ideas and principles to pass along for a successful 2013! Good luck to all of you!!

Conservative Ideas - Building A Solid Foundation

Suggestions:

Accountability for Government

1)     Setting up the Redress of Grievances Committee. This committee will meet year round. This has been implemented or reintroduced in New Hampshire.

2)     Special Grand Juries - Complaints will come before them only after other legal remedies have been exhausted. The Juries should have the power to strip those judges of their protection of judicial immunity who are the subject of complaints for criminal acts and be able to investigate, indict, and initiate criminal prosecution of wayward judges and public officials.

3)     Executive and Legislative Branch Adoption of Originalism - Both the executive and legislative branches should be encouraged to adopt originalism as a mode of constitutional analysis when deciding on the constitutionality of executive and legislative branch actions and the constitutionality of legislation.

4)     Recall Statutes - Every elected official in the State can be recalled except for judges. This practice must end.

5)     A Public Integrity Act - This bill would allow or give the Attorney General the power to investigate Color of law violations and other criminal violations of “ANY” public employees in their capacity to do their jobs. This law would allow the Attorney General to go into any county without invitation to investigate these types of problems to prevent local corruption as well as suspend or place on administrative leave any public employee, or recommend a Grand jury investigation of those allegations.

6)     Secure the 2^nd Amendment for the State. Conceal carry on campus’s and public buildings.

7)     Cut State spending projects and employees. Many jobs can be supported through private business and contracts.

8)     Take the courts out of the family business - Domestic Courts were never designed or intend to be punitive. These courts were set up after the Constitution was written and to use the same adversarial settings as criminal courts is an absolute abomination to our society. Courts will no longer be able to order, hold or take children without documented evidence.

9)     Add voluntary "Citizen Review Boards/Panels". These can be selected by the County Commissioners, or others that provide for “NO” Judicial tampering or interference in this process. Mandate for every county.

10)  Immigration – Illegal means “Illegal”. We must stop the public funding of these individuals. There is a system and laws in place to be here “Legally”. This goes for schools, colleges, etc.

11)  Major reform in “not sending people to jail” for non-aggravated crimes i.e. (child support, trespassing, and other misdemeanors) to reduce the taxpayer cost. Consider fines for marijuana possession rather than jail terms or arrest? We do not have to participate in this "war on drugs" ignorance.

12)  Make major cuts in the funding of SRS, Youthville and other services that interfere in child development and family settings with a “state first” mentality.

13)  Making sure Capital punishment is instituted and carried out. That murder, rape, aggravated crimes are penalized accordingly for the crime.

  

Judicial Branch

1)     State ballots in 2014? Let the citizens of Kansas elect of our District court Judges for the state process.

2)     State ballots in 2014? Change the Constitution for the selection of the Supreme Court Justices.

3)     Change the Statutory law for the selection of the Appellate Court Justices. A Governor selection with a Senate majority approval..

        a.     HB 2101http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/hb2101_00_0000.pdf

        b.     SCR 1606 http://24.123.107.252/blackbelt_kf/FMPro.php?-DB=BillTracker_KS_109&-lay=Description&-format=Bill_Detail_House_109.html&-RecID=706&-find

4)     Make sure the Statutory laws for the selection of the District Court and Magistrate judges can be opened up to (non-attorneys) and allow them to serve by the age of 18, as Texas has done for decades.

5)     Create voting Districts for both the Supreme and Appellate Courts. Give the State balance in representation on the State Courts.

6)     Look at taking the “retention votes” for State Judges to 75% to retain them, or raising them.

7)     No Judicial Immunity for Judges or others within the court system. Immunity was reserved for the legislators only in the Kansas Constitution.

8)     Abolish Judgeships and Lower Courts - The Constitution vests Congress with the power to create and abolish all courts, with the sole exception of the Supreme Court.

9)     Cutting court staff - It would be more cost effective to have video recorded court hearings, eliminating the need to pay a transcriptionist to transcribe the record of every hearing. You would only need to cite the record and the time, which would be recorded on the video. Voice inflection, body language and gestures would now be seen. Reduces cost!

10)  Limiting the General Application of a Judicial Decision - As the head of the executive branch, a Governor can command all executive branch agencies or its sub contracted agencies in certain circumstances to limit the application of a Supreme Court decision to only the litigants involved and otherwise ignore it as a rule of general application.

11)  The court lacks jurisdiction anytime it denies you the Bill of Rights or Amendments, especially Due Process. Any judges orders issued under these conditions are to be void immediately when found.

12)  Anyone can assist others in the courtroom. SCR 5.5 Law Firms and Associations: This legislation does not, in any way shape manner or form, define a non-lawyer assisting others, whereby it was legal to assist others in the State of Kansas. These rules were put in place originally for only disbarred attorneys. The practice of common law is a public arena, in which all those who are caught up in it are always advised that there is no excuse for ignorance of the law. Multiple areas of the law that are presented by non-attorney’s every day are (police, real estate agents, law clerks, lobbyist, etc. the courts cannot be allowed to regulate non-attorney’s.

13)  Judges will no longer hide behind "Broad Discretion or Best interest of the child" terms in Domestic or Juvenile Courts. The courts are using this term to expedite court settings without vetting the cases properly. These are parents not criminals. We took away the discretion from judges when it came to sentencing criminals or clearly limited their ability or range to sentence criminals with the National guidelines. This was due to their inability to do their jobs properly or consistently. When it comes to families these judges are using the bench to intimidate and place fear in these citizens and their families - this must stop.

14)  Case Management will be voided in whole state statute 23-3507. Limited Case Management and Mediation will be available to the parties and the courts, but actually having an individual trying to run families day to day affairs from afar and through the courts is over. This social experiment of government/judicial branch has gone awry and must end.

15)  All children over the age of 10 will be allowed to testify. This legislation already exists now in Chapter 38. Both Domestic and Juvenile Courts should be using this legislation. Statute 38-2262: Placement; testimony of certain children. We have to get the courts and the State Judiciary away from this idea that they are in control of our kids until 18 simply because someone filed for a divorce
.

16)  All Juvenile and Domestic courts will offer to the parties juries of their peers. Currently judges are singularly ruling and controlling the cases by acting as Judge, jury and prosecutor. This is not working in favor of the public and or the citizens or the laws of this state.

17)  Public debate and voting of the legislature in the "Child Support Guidelines" to make them LAW. The Supreme is drafting these without a single vote of our legislature being cast. Many states use legislative committees without the Judiciary even being involved. This is a public issue being railroaded through the Judiciary. The idea that we are using a broken formula to penalize nonresidential parents, while asking them to pay child support percentages that are ridiculously high and then compounding it with having them pay shared expenses is barbaric. The state is intentionally trying to hurt one parent in this setting. Even putting them in jail for nonpayment and it's not even law or been approved by our congress.

Schools

               

Suggestions:

1)     Move toward removing the State BOE. I realize this too is a constitutional matter to change but this entity is simply inept. The school districts have the representation of legislators the same as the public. The school districts have not been redrawn or moved in over 50 years, this single item has led to school districts running into different city limits and making wasteful use of tax payer dollars to bus student that would no longer even be bused to closer schools.

2)     Hire an Independent company to evaluate each school district in the State and review its efficiency and cost per student. By learning the “true” cost associated with education and its expenditures we will never “really” know how to fix the problem. Schools are administration heavy, with an emphasis on classroom size rather than quality of education. These reports should be used by the legislature and Governor to ascertain better solutions to a growing problem of “out of control spending” and better review how certain school districts are not cost effective.

3)     Serious consideration needs to be applied to a “voucher system” for the citizens of this state. Kansan’s deserve more choices and their kids deserve an education worthy of competition.

4)     Any type of formula that allows other formulas to add to the states cost. School Districts continue to have bonds and expect the state to cover the bonds without a single legislator vote or the cost or impact to our budget. Lobbyist group continually insists on tax increases and demands more funding without any accountability for public education – PERIOD!

5)     Focus needs to be on “Special programs”, Special schools, and the needs for busing. Schools are not being responsible for this cost and providing them as a “want” not a need. Any advanced courses or college classes in high school should clearly have more students due to the very nature of the course in preparing them accordingly.

6)     School years can be shortened to eliminate enormous amounts of cost in August and May due to the Heat.

7)     Collective Bargaining for Public Employees needs to end.

8)     Privatizing KPRS.

9)     Bond and Interest formulas have to be reformed so that our legislators have to review before acted on.

10)  End the Kansas Board of Regents ability to continue to increase tuition rates yearly and at ridiculous rates.

Overall State Expenditures

Suggestions:

Tags staying on the vehicles. Texas assigns the tag to the vehicle so there is no additional cost for tags every 2-4 years. Eliminates tag offices except for new cars. The rest of the registration can be done on line. (21^st century?)

Toll fees still being incurred for 35 Turnpike. A 10 year toll that has lasted 50 years. Turn the road over to the counties and eliminate the tolls.

Tax reform, to stop increasing “Property Taxes” on retired seniors with fixed incomes. This defies logic.

Focus on ending stupid State permits and licensing that are burdensome. http://www.businesslicenses.com/licenses.php 

 The Department of Health will create a process for anything, tanning, dairy, raffle, tattoos, nails, Barbers and Cosmetologists would no longer need to be licensed. It’s these type regulations that are killing small business and if the daily individual can’t select their barber or the fact that people cut their own hair – then we are in trouble. Let alone the fact that “not having” these may lead to your imprisonment or the government fining them. We have dog licenses, hunting licenses, park permits, boat permits, garage sale permits, trash permit, just how much needs to be charged for?? Common Sense must prevail.

Laws like this:  Pedestrians crossing the highways at night must wear tail lights.