Category: Initiatives

Initiatives — Specific programs developed by GRIP to battle dishonesty and corruption in government.

Some Ideas for Fixing the Judicial Corruption Problem

Here are my thoughts about what can be done to fix this problem:

  1. Rescind all lifetime appointments for federal judges.  See how countries handle this that are successful, and copy their system.
  2. Name an independent prosecutor to investigate all reports of judicial corruption, and indict and impeach the crooks.
  3. Let corporations represent themselves in legal proceedings.  This will allow companies to be able to afford to defend themselves.  It will reduce legal fees. 
  4. Have attorneys in every federal district and circuit to assist pro se parties at no charge.  Pro se parties now represent approximately one-third of all parties in lawsuits.
  5. Increase the size of the House of Representatives.  A nice man has sent me his detailed study of this issue, and he accurately reports that our forefathers said we need representatives with a far fewer number of constituents than we have now.
  6. Return The Supreme Court to the role of a court of appeals.  Require that The Supreme Court rule on every petition submitted to it.  Let them hire all the people they need to do this.  Increase the number of justices by having more than one panel, if necessary.
  7. Have Congress modify 28 U.S.C. 455 to make it clear that judges have to recuse themselves in specific circumstances, including if they are party to a lawsuit with a litigant.  Make it clear that bias can be demonstrated by actions in a lawsuit so the judges can’t claim the only bias is extra-judicial.
  8. Establish a body that handles judicial misconduct complaints that is not within the judiciary.  Judges policing their fellow judges is a sick joke.  Make all judicial complaints public.
  9. Establish cause for termination of a judge.  If a judge states as facts in orders information that can be proven to be false from the record before the Court, that’s cause.  If they use erroneous law or ignore the valid precedents, that’s cause.
  10. Require that all points be addressed in every district court decision.
  11. Require that all points of error be addressed in every appellate decision.
  12. End judicial “interpretation.”  Let’s have laws, and let’s go by them.  Park some people in an office somewhere, and have them go through cases to identify legal issues.  Make a recomemndation as to how to eliminate the gray areas, and feed those to Congress to amend statutes or enact new law.
  13. End judicial immunity.  Have Congress enact a statute that removes immunity.  Make judges accountable and liable personally for actions under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and Bivens.  Make the Bivens ruling (right to sue federal government officials) a statute.
  14. Disbar all the attorneys who violate their Code of Professional Conduct.
  15. Enact a statute that lets perjury be a cause of action in a civil suit.
  16. Require judges to insist that people tell the truth in court with extreme consequences for those who don’t.
  17. Require that attorneys go by the letter of every law and every professional rule.  Have onerous consequences for anyone who violates anything.
  18. End “motion practice” in federal courts.  Require that judges hold conferences and speak to attorneys and pro se parties when there are serious issues.
  19. Enact a statute that does not allow judges to enter summary judgments when a jury trial has been requested.  Take everything out of the hands of judges except application of precise laws.
  20. Enact a statute that does not allow judges to ignore or change the rules.
  21. Give parties some avenue for recourse when there is attorney misconduct and/or judicial misconduct in a case.
  22. Require that all decisions are published.  This will require judges to be much more honest.  They can’t hide their corrupt rulings as easily.
  23. Require that all orders must be signed by the judges involved.
  24. Require that votes of each judge involved in a decision are made part of the public record.
  25. Eliminate the fraud in court clerk offices.
  26. Eliminate the requirement that materials have to be provided to The Supreme Court in an odd-sized booklet that has to be commercially printed and thus forces appeals to The Supreme Court to be very expensive.
  27. Minimize paper filings.  Convert to electronic filings for everyone.  Pass a national law accepting digital signatures, or allow a scanned signature page with the original to follow by mail.
  28. Eliminate the requirement of a legal degree and experience in judge elections in cities, counties, and states.
  29. Return the Constitutional power of “Presentment” to citizen grand juries. 
  30. Establish more political parties in hopes of more honesty in government.
  31. Find 4,100 truly honest people, and make them federal judges, senators, and representatives.

Those are my thoughts for the moment.  I’ll add more later.  Please feel free to add your ideas.

 

More Information

29.  Return the Constitutional power of “Presentment” to citizen grand juries.

The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says in part as follows: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury . . . .”

“‘A presentment, properly speaking, is an accusation, made by a grand jury of its own mere motion, of an offence upon its own observation and knowledge, or upon evidence before it, and without any bill of indictment laid before it at the suit of the government. Upon a presentment, the proper officer of the court must frame an indictment, before the party accused can be put to answer it.’”

So, government officials prepare an indictment and lay it before the grand jury. On the contrary, the presentment originates in the grand jury. The grand jury discovers an offense on its own. It observes and collects evidence of the offense and the government has nothing to do with it. So the grand jury is independent. The court then prepares the indictment based on the presentment.

Here is Rule 7 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCP): “An offense which may be punished by death shall be prosecuted by indictment. An offense which may be punished by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year or at hard labor shall be prosecuted by indictment. . . .”

As you see, there is no mention of “presentments.” But Note 4 of the Advisory Committee Notes on the Rules says this: “4. Presentment is not included as an additional type of formal accusation, since presentments as a method of instituting prosecutions are obsolete, at least as concerns the Federal courts.”

But a rule or a statute cannot amend the Constitution.  So this is absolutely clear to judges, law enforcement, and attorneys, Congress needs to amend Rules 6 and 7 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to properly include presentment.

See Alan Stang article.  Liberty for Life article.  DC Dave article.  American Grand Jury article.  CountyGrandJury.org. 

William M. Windsor