http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=5095724 'Bush Boys' Corruption Lawyer in Showdown with Judge
Posted by BreakForNews on Tue Oct-18-05 06:31 PM
Original *** DU Thread at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5063096 Lawyer Exposed 'Bush Boys' Corruption --Now Faces Jail
What do you get if you mix a cabal of Florida judges with a Republican-linked legal firm that boasts of being able to use corrupt influence to get the legal decisions they want?
Well, you get twelve months in prison -if you're not carefull. Especially if you are a legal practictioner with the guts to stand up and challenge this corruption. That's exactly what Tampa, Florida lawyer Mark A. Adams did. Now he's facing bankruptcy and the prospect of a year's imprisonment for his alleged contempt of a judicial system which he says richly deserves the contempt of all.
It's a story about swaggering Republican Battaglia firm lawyers; about links to controversial Bush ambassadorial appointee, Mel Sembler; about a cosy nest of judicial legal eagles, grown fat from plunder; about a relentless vendetta against the man who drew a line in the sand to say -'no more', and about an imminent decision next week by Florida's Chief Justice which will put the credibility of the State's legal system to the test.....
Original *** DU Thread at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5063096 Dear Friends, Activists, and Media Reformers:
From Mark A. Adams, Esquire
Is bail in the amount of $25,000.00 reasonable for a charge of contempt of
court? Can a judge issue an arrest warrant for someone when an appellate
court has stayed proceedings in that action before that judge? Do we live
in some third world country where the courts do the bidding of the
connected, where judges are for sale, where the law means nothing, and where
the mainstream press is afraid to cover a scandal involving corrupt judges
and a powerful Republican law firm that boasts of its connections and
ability to improperly influence judges?
On Wednesday, October 19, 2005 at 1:00 PM in Courtroom 20 of the Pinellas
County Criminal Justice Center at 14250 49th Street North in Clearwater,
Florida 33762 we will see whether Judge Robert E. Beach will follow the law
or whether he will choose to ignore it for some reason or another.
Judge Beach is a retired judge who is quite active on the bench in Pinellas
County. He is a former Chief Judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit for
Pinellas County. As a retired judge, he has been appointed rather than
elected to sit as a judge, and he has been serving as a senior judge for
quite some time now, once again, without being elected. That’s right, Judge
Beach has no accountability to the voters, yet Florida law allows him to
continue to decide their cases.
The motions which have been set for hearing before Judge Beach have been
ducked for quite some time now apparently due to their embarrassing nature.
In fact, at a hearing in this case on September 30, 2005, David A. Demers,
Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, pretended that he did not know
that these motions had been set to be heard by him on that date even though
prior to this hearing his judicial assistant admitted to a reporter that he
was aware that those motions had been set for hearing. However, at that
hearing, Judge Demers did admit that he did not comply with the law when he
reassigned this case to Judge Beach.
Judge Demers reluctantly followed the law requiring him to refer this case
to the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court for selection of a new
judge, but he sent a misleading letter to the Chief Justice which implied
that this case had been reassigned to Judge Beach after Judge Crockett
Farnell entered an order disqualifying himself. In fact, after Judge
Crockett Farnell disqualified himself in this case, it had been randomly
reassigned to Judge Bruce Boyer. The Chief Justice apparently relied on
Judge Demers’ misrepresentation and appointed Judge Beach to hear this case,
but a motion for rehearing of that decision has been filed today which
points out Judge Demers’ misrepresentation and which includes a request to
refer Judge Crockett Farnell to the Judicial Qualifications Commission for
investigation of his willful violation of an order of the Second District
Court of Appeal staying proceedings in this case.
Although Judge Crockett Farnell has been under a cloud of suspicion for
quite some time now, Judge Demers recently appointed Judge Crockett Farnell
to the position of the Chief Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division
of Pinellas County’s Courts, a position that had previously been held by his
wife, Judge Dee Anna Farnell. The reason for this promotion and demotion is
not clear, but it appears to have something to do with who is doing favors
for whom and sexism in the old boys club.
On Wednesday, October 19, 2005, Judge Beach will be faced with deciding
whether bail in the amount of $25,000.00 is reasonable for a charge of
contempt of court and whether Judge Crockett Farnell’s order for the arrest
of attorney, Mark A. Adams, which was issued in violation of the Second
District Court’s order staying proceedings should be vacated. This promises
to be an interesting hearing, and the State Attorney is expected to raise a
number of laughable arguments in opposition to any reduction of this
outrageous bail amount.
A videotape of this hearing should be available for review by late tomorrow
afternoon. A citizen journalist who is a member of the Tampa Bay
Independent Media Center and of the Tampa Bay Community Network has filed a
request to videotape this hearing. Although Florida Rule of Judicial
Administration 2.170 provides that at least one portable television camera
shall be permitted in any proceeding in any trial court, Judge Beach has
previously refused this journalist’s request to videotape a hearing in this
action, and Judge Beach had allowed her to videotape a previous hearing but
then he threatened to hold her in contempt of court if she provided a copy
to anyone before giving him one.
In Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Lewis, 426 So.2d 1 (Fla. 1982), the
Florida Supreme Court cited its decision from 1979 allowing a camera in
court, and it stated that public access to the courts is an important part
of the justice system because it serves as a check on corrupt practices by
exposing the judicial process to public scrutiny and it protects the rights
of the accused to a fair trial. Why would Judge Beach want to keep the
public from knowing what is going on in this case? Is he trying to help
cover something up?
If you are interested in learning more about this case, please visit the
following links:
Fintan Dunne’s interview with Mark Adams on BreakforNews.com
http://breakfornews.com/my/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=147&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Visit Teknosis to see the letter to Chief Justice Pariente requesting an
investigation of this judicial corruption scandal and appointment of a judge
from another area of the state to hear this case.
http://tekgnosis.typepad.com/tekgnosis/2005/10/florida_judicia.html More coverage of this scandal can be found at the following links:
The Empire Journal Article 1
http://www.theempirejournal.com/082005_Justice_For_All_Or_Justice_For_Sale.html The Empire Journal Article 2
http://www.theempirejournal.com/082305_Pinellas_Judge_Crockett_Farnell_No_Stranger_to_Recusal_Motions.html North Country Gazette Article 1
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/092305ContemptHearingFLAtt.html North Country Gazette Article 2
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/101005JudiciaryProbe.html Rule of Law info
http://www.rule-of-law.info/adams-smith.htm Tulane Link
http://www.tulanelink.com/tulanelink/adams_box.htm If you would like more information, please attend the hearing on Wednesday,
October 19, 2005 at 1:00 PM or join me at the news conference which will be
held immediately after it in front of the Pinellas County Criminal Justice
Center. If you have any questions, you can also reach me at 813-654-1235 or
via email. Thank you for your interest in this scandal.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Adams, Esquire
P.S. If you can attend this hearing and the press conference following it,
it would be very helpful as the judges have been reluctant to completely
ignore the law when several people are watching. Also, please pass this
along to your contacts because the more people who know about this
scandal, the greater the chance that these corrupt judges will be removed
from the bench before they can do any more harm.
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