I love that cops and judges get to do ethics investigations into themselves, and usually find no wrongdoing. Really shocked at all the corruption and tomfoolery. Have a great Thanksgiving Steve.
These Investigations should be done by an entirely independent group of officials tasked just for that. Policing themselves was the worst most awful idea for them to come up with. Of course they will protect themselves
@@alexm7777 Because we nor the media hold them to any kind of tasking. The media now is too caught up in ALL of this political crap that you see these days
Some successful attorneys do well because are friendly with Judges with Little ability and able to get these judges and because they are prominent what they say is looked at as true by these judges.
Smart attorneys can actually turn this to their advantage by claiming the judge has a conflict on interest and should they refuse to recluse themselves, it gives a very valid reason to have the verdict overturned on appeal. This is part of why the system is broken, as that's not an immediate requirement.
As a Realtor, my observation has been that Realtor's and nearly EVERY licensed professional face significantly more strict oversight than attorneys or Judges. Unfortunately, in our legal system, it often seems justice frequently falls a distance second to legality.
If you think that's absurd, then check out barbers. They're regulated far more than most things. You need a license, health checks, etc . Meanwhile, any jack off can literally be in the govt or enforcement.
@@charlesreid9337 she made much less than you think. She has to split her pay with her brokerage, pay all of her overhead costs such as fuel, advertising, continuing education, fees upon fees, and pay 100% of her Social Security taxes. Net net she probably made about 25% of what was listed on your closing statement.
We had one in Hotsprings Arkansas where a family law Judge left his infant son in his car all day even driving all over town all day in and out of the far at least 7 times , did not realize he had forgotten to drop off his son at daycare, was charged but found not guilty and was not punished even in his job and continued to sit on cases and convicting people of doing the same thing, wish you could review this one
Yes we do absolutely!! This is sadly a major problem and the only way of changing this is accountability to the public. What the heck happened to the justice system?? The entire field is filled with attorneys and police officers!!! Omg.... whose idea was that?? There are good cops and good judges but unfortunately the good ones are the minority.......
Judges have absolute immunity. This is what happens when you have judges making decisions about how to discipline judges. It's similar to the police investigating themselves and finding no wrong doing.
No kidding. I spent all day in court one day recently where the judge just kept anyone not pleading guilty as punishment. He put us in a side rood and held us all day upwards of 8 hours sitting in court. Kendal Wynne is this particular dudes name. Terrible fellow
Thank you for revealing the reality of our system Steve. After a decade of working in the criminal justice system, I was stunned by how much the system protects these judges and lawyers who violate their professional ethics. The public is simply unaware of how often sanctions are placed on the judiciary.
The public knows, we just dont k ow how to fix it or fear speaking up in the face of retaliation. That's why I tell everyone interested in helping to join the 1st amendment audit movement .
@@ATSucks1 As long as those "auditors" do not carry firearms into public or privately owned business buildings, grounds or other associated areas and understand that they must not engage in "confrontational activities" or "trolling actions".
@@ATSucks1 Yea because they kill, or imprison anyone that goes against their will, and get the simple minded public to agree with them because, "the laws the law". Absolutely no individuality, free thought, or moral compass, really sad
@@chrism8180 indeed. My theory on it goes like this, we exhaust the 1st to the fullest before resorting to the 2nd... although, in these covid clown world times, I kinda suspect we may have to resort to our last resorts.
I filed a complaint against a judge in Utah for not taking action against a prosecutor who clearly doctored evidence in my case. The state judiciary investigated, but said I had no right to know the outcome. It's totally secret. A year later, a defense attorney discovered this same judge was having illegal conversations with the prosecutor in a high-profile case. The judge tried to claim the conversations weren't substantive, but a recording proved he was lying. He had to recuse himself from that case. He's still a judge. Never skipped a beat. I also filed a complaint against the prosecutor. The state responded by saying that because I had the right to appeal, that was my remedy and therefore they weren't obligated to take any action. It was absurdity and corruption defined. Our noble public servants at work just trying to seek justice. Ha!
Come down to Osceola county Fl . There is a Judge here that had multiple DUIs and stayed on the bench for years . I found out lattee she was invested in the local county jail while still on the bench . I am not saying there is a conflict of interest ...... 🤔
@@mf-- As for the Judge she has been here for decades and is well known . As for being a partner to the jail ...... my parents used to ride with a couple of the partners of the privately run jail and the husband told me . Many this judge is not anymore but this was a credible person .
Fantastic story! I did a case pro se decades ago, the judges closing statement was " Randy you have a valid argument but the plaintiff has a lawyer you don't therefore they win"
I've dealt with more than several judges in my life, including one of them with whom I was on first name basis. Not one of them was honest. From nepotism to favoritism for their college buddies, to sexual harrasment from the bench, to soliciting sexual favors from clients once they moved to their own private practice. That includes ex prosecutors and the president of the Bar.
I had an issue in court once with a Justice, had a civil fine I had to appear in court for. The carbon copy the officer handed me was not in great shape and he had flowery cursive which didn't exactly help so the 25 looked like a 26. I tried to talk to them about it but they just didn't care. I was half tempted to get a transcript of the trial and submit it to the barr as a complaint but I just don't have the money to participate in p2w justice.
The first comprehensive accounting of judicial misconduct is done by a news outlet, not by judicial oversight committees. There’s a huge problem there alone
@@MyWifeSally0202 I think the point is more like they are both sketchy groups. New could be sensationalizing, they have a vested interest in this and have a disastrous track record. But they could be right, so these cases need to be investigated in order to ensure judges avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
For those that wonder why "good judges" don't tend to call the bad judges to account nor give more than slaps on the wrist. Judges are deeply aware of the flawed system, much more so than any outsider. They are very well aware of malicious use of the tribunals/committees and as such they picture themselves sitting where the bad judge is sitting and don't want to set precedence that may negatively effect them in the future. Same goes for most "good cops" and why they don't call out the bad. Good or Bad is a very "mutable" thing in the LEGAL system and is more a matter of dominant political party and cultural trends and of the moment than most would care to admit.
It's not "precedence" it's "precedent"! I always thought they wouldn't "call out" a bad cop or judge to keep from bringing it to light, and damaging their own profession. Also most are undoubtedly members of some union or some such, and would not be looked upon well!
A judge banned me from entering the downtown area of my hometown, from putting protest signs on my own property and from discussing the details of the 'case' against me on social media under penalty of arrest. I was not convicted of any crime, and had no recourse to a jury regarding this 'sentence' - just an egregiously biased and highly irregular kangaroo hearing. Regardless, the local police enforce it as law b/c a judge signed off on it. I lodged a complaint with the Maine Committee on Judicial Responsibility, but never heard anything back (yet...).
I have lost faith in the whole judicial system from the bottom to the top. A judge can follow the law or choose not to. The people who are judged can get a correct judgment or a horrible judgment. It's not equal anymore. When a judge is breaking the rules and laws but is not judged and prosecuted it's not a good system. Judges overseeing judges and doing nothing to set things right for the people who were misjudged like just leave the rulings of judge so the people staying in jails and prisons should have been released. Legalese is hard for me so I hope you understand what I mean.
There was an interesting case here in Germany where a panel of 3 judges was accused of perversion of the course of justice. The trial court decided to now allow case. It argued that, since they were a collegial court deliberating behind closed doors, one of them could in theory have voted against the others in the decisions in question and thus be innocent. And since there was no way of knowing which one (since they all refused to testify), there was no point in even putting them on trial in the first place. Meaning that collegial courts (where the important stuff happens) can basically pervert the course of justice with impunity, as long as they keep their mouths shut afterwards. Only pleb judges in the lower courts who are alone on the bench can ever be held accountable. Yeah.
I’ve run into a very bad judge in a rural Oklahoma county. He presided over my divorce and child custody. Refused to even enforce his own custody order which allowed my ex to disappear with my kids for several years. It was only when the kids were in danger and removed from her care in another state that I was able to sue for custody and get them into a safe environment. My oldest was already 14 by then. Ironically the state never enforced her child support order either and in 6 years she never paid a dime nor suffered any negative consequences. Totally broken system in my state.
you cant give any human this much power for this long with no checks and expect them to just out of the goodness of their heart not turn into a despicable criminal
Even with the commissions "generally" getting it right isn't good enough. It needs to be gotten right every time, judicial misconduct is no joke but the way it's reprimanded sure is one
Seems like there's a common problem with judges and prosecutors getting way to lenient punishments. The problem seems to be the state protecting the state.
@Cmarieisme71 this is totally disgusting! There is so much outrageous police behavior out there that suddenly is found out to be "reasonable" once a lawsuit is filed and the motion to dismiss judgement is issued.
Always appreciate your informative videos Steve. All public officials, that have any type of authority, should have all disciplinary and performance made publicly accessible. The lack of transparency and their self protections allows their powers to be abused.
These are not abuses of power. This was why republicans have slowly dismantled all accountability, and have shredded all the sunshine laws we carefully assembled over the years to protect ourselves from. They cannot move forward as a party in power if the racist white people (not all white people are racist, I'm talking about the ones who *_are_* racist) become a political minority, unless the system has been stripped of all protections against corruption, cronyism and favoritism. There is a real, organized movement. It has captured the Republican party. It is called *_Dominionism._*
@@PhilLesh69 both parties ar corrupt. Its all a circus where nothing gets done and the plan to remove this country from power continues while they sell us down the road.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. John Dalberg - Lord Acton (1837-1869) Power is the ultimate drug and - once addicted - the addict can never get enough, and will do almost anything to keep what they have, and to get more.
THANK YOU Steve! It takes courage to publicly discuss issues like this, especially when the issue involves people who have so much power and there's not much to prevent them from abusing that power. I know that here in Shawnee County, Kansas, speaking out against the corruption in Shawnee County District Court has made me a target of certain crooked officials (from judges to court services workers and other court officials). Meanwhile I've found myself practically defenseless because local attorneys either refuse outright to even consider taking me on ass client, or else their performance can be easily seen as below sub-par - as if they are intentionally failing to provide effective representation and defense in order to not upset certain judges whom I've spoken out against. In fact, just a few years ago I was hit with 7 bogus felony charges in retaliation for speaking out against a particularly crooked judge during and after a custody case. The charges ranged from Perjury, to Interference with Justice: Improper Communication, to Interference with Justice: Threatening a Judicial Officer. After a criminal trial that they stretched out over almost 2 years and included the DA intentionally having me arrested AT work (which got me fired from the job I had loved working for over 10 years), forcing me to wear & pay for a GPS ankle bracelet for 8 months, had me on Bond Supervision for the duration of the case which also led to me being wrongfully incarcerated after they violated my 5th amendment rights, etc. The trial itself was rife with errors and shady actions by the trial judge and the DA, we busted the complaining judge out for lying while on the Stand while under oath, and numerous other issues. I was eventually found NOT GUILTY of 4 of the charges (including Not Guilty of threatening a Judicial Officer) but the jury found me Guilty of 3 charges (including Perjury) - but only because I want allowed to mount an adequate defense and the jury was given improper & conflicting instructions. Even tho I was found NOT GUILTY of making threats, the judge at sentencing used the excuse of "the heinousness of your crimes and all these threats you were making" as his excuse for giving me the harshest sentence possible - including sentencing me to 30 days in jail as "shock time" to punish me for exercising my Constitutional RIGHT to a trial by jury. That was not very long ago (2018), but I still refuse to stay silent. Anyway much respect to you, Steve, and thank you again for hosting such an important channel! Respectfully, Thomas Lessman TALessman's Atlas of World History www.WorldHistoryMaps.net
I know of a case in Oregon where the defendant lives off of $1200 approximately a month and they were told that they make too much money for legal representation on a dui case. It is not illogical thought of some judges but rather a systematic process that is ultimately biased and adversarial. Thank you 🤔❤️🇺🇸
Living in my car, 6 1/2 years, in a wheelchair, had a stroke so I slur sometimes, I am over the limit to get housing. Yet rent is higher than my whole disability insurance check. There is no point wasting effort getting people to see how nuts it is, and House of Representatives give themselves a $2000+ monthly raise while I still have no other options. Crazy country. If this is how people are, I’m certainly not afraid to no longer be here. I wait for the day a judge or a cop screws up. I have never been arrested or even had a traffic ticket in 45 years, a lawsuit is the only way I will be off the street. Nothing personal, it’s just a screwy system just to survive.
@@BlackJesus8463 south in winter north in summer. That is my only address. And I pay for Medicare and can’t use it. Only 80% coverage. So I lose that every month. Believe me I know how it all works and I am just over the limits to get any housing or healthcare. Unless I develop a heroin addiction then they have a room all waiting for me and a path to independence and self sufficiency. How crazy is that? Not complaining really. I understand and accept this is the way it is. I was hoping for better but It’s ok. It’s not for eternity. Just the rest of my life. The next place could be no worse.
My wife was living in the same PA town where they jailed all those kids when it was still actively happening. As a African-American teen she was very lucky she didn't get locked up too but she was home schooled which helped save her in my opinion.
@@nickowen7406 Home schoolers have a support network as well. There's also Boy and Girl scouts, Church, sports, and other organizations. It's important to get the kids out with other kids. The worst thing is to keep them away from everyone else. They won't have the skills to communicate properly. They're often taken advantage of. Here's someone we can fool easily.
I believe there’s a way to do so via the state attorney generals office…checks and balances…they have to be made to keep authority in line…but it’s trying to get that done that’s the problem
I asked a question about a bad judge in my hometown. I was told it was an unwritten rule for lawyers in town to NOT run against any sitting judge! The system can NEVER improve with rules like that?!
As someone who has lived in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, for most of the last 45 years AND having seen / heard about ALL the back room dealing around here ( Judges involved in closing the county juvenile detention, judges involved in getting government funding to build the private for profit detention center, AND judges getting kickbacks for every day they sentenced kids to be locked up there. ) All while the county was trying to get grants to build a new adult jail twice the size of the old one without closing the old jail, so they could 'rent space' to other PA counties and Government agencies, (ATF, DEA, INS) and turn a profit like many other PA counties have ... When 'kids for cash' hit the jail population dropped by 50% because they stopped trying to keep it at/above capacity to justify the new build.
Thanks for doing this video on how many horrible judges are on the bench. These little despots rule over us and there's virtually nothing that can be done to unseat a bad judge. In fact, the system is set up so that even when a formal complaint is filed against a judge, there's no way to follow up or track the process...all further actions are secret. Another major problem with judges is that they never inform jurors about "jury nullification". Every potential jury pool should be fully informed on jury nullification.
Most of the time when I hear about terrible judges, they tend to be in areas that elect judges instead of appointing them, and it makes me wonder if there's a measurable difference in the amount of misconduct between elected and appointed choices.
Here in South Africa, the bar suggests candidates that have proved to be of high standing, knowledge of the law, years of experience and usually have been stand-in judges on temporary assignments to the court. It is not perfect as the piloticians always manage to stuff it up in certain circumstances. However, how can you expect a lay person decide if a lawyer will be a good judge to elect to a court? Doesn't seem to be the logical thing to do. You are just asking for trouble in my opinion.
I think that you have a good point. Where I live, in a red rural county, I suspect that most voters are never subject to a scumbag judge, of which we have several. Instead, they have enough money to hire a real attorney, as opposed to a public defender, and also, it depends on who you are. A few years back, a teenage kid was arrested in the middle of the night for reckless and drunken driving. After he called his daddy, who happened to be one of the richest land owners in the county, a district court judge was awakened at about 3:00 AM to post bail for him. Another time, a district court judge side swiped someone's car with alcohol involved, left the scene, and was barely, if at all, punished like you or I would surely be. I really could go on much more but I'm not sure how long comments can be. What angers me the most about this is the fact that they still think they deserve respect.
The problem is accountability, it's always been accountability. Our current judicial system is not only incapable of dealing with Cops, judges, and attorneys it is in actuality a good old boys' system that protects anyone who breaks the law. The only way to fix this is to create a joint state and federal task force with its own police, prosecutors, and judges who are not affiliated with the state and federal judicial system. It would operate outside of this completely independent. This agency would monitor, investigate, and prosecute accused cops judges, and attorneys. That is the only way to fix it. As long as judges, cops, and prosecutors benefit from protecting each other and turning a blind eye for each other those people will never hold themselves or each other accountable.
Great analysis Steve! Very warming to hear an individual that operates "in the system" calling out the injustices occurring within the system. If more folks operating within the justice system had your morals and intestinal fortitude, we would all be better off. Thank you.
"Professional Courtesy" is rampant in the judicial and LE communities. It has been my personal experience that lawyers are far more ethically ambivalent or flexible than should be tolerated. Therefore, how can we expect judges to be any different when most are lawyers? Reform the entire system and enforce the law in an ethical and even handed manner. The entire system is nearly useless if you do not have a large surplus of cash and this should change.
I'm in Virginia. And I lived in West Virginia for eleven years, to escape a twisted, evil judge KNOWN as that. I have never seen one single honest, competent or "professional" except for one. One! In traffic court! Grossly incompetent or openly criminal! This is Virginia. West Virginia was made from Virginia back in June 1863. Their criminal lives and total corruption only goes back to 1607. Before that it was perfection. I was on both sides of the badge. I'm observant. I was given a chance to join the "good old boys" club or marry into it. That would have helped. I have no respect for the American judicial system. And I was born, raised and lived in and around dictators and totalitarian governments overseas. As Lenny Bruce was reputed to quip: "In the halls of justice the only justice is in the halls".
Thanks for your great, strong, powerful, meaningful internal sense of justice AND compassion and reason! Even as a lawyer! I think that is a miracle! God bless you!
Corrupt judges believe they are "gods" ruling from Mt. Olympus and have created a system that treats them as such, as in mythology who are you a mere mortal to question me? And in the event of any wrong doing they are dealt with in a manner similar to what occurred on Mt. Olympus. Wrath to any mortal who would "rock the boat".
This sounds exactly like filing a police complaint , they " investigate " themselves and find all issues "unfounded" and so on and so on and ... professional courtesy in full effect
This is what you get when you grant judges absolute immunity. You get so much rot in the judicial system that it has to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.
If a judge is found guilty of breaking the law , then they need to be a hung judge . That will stop it permanently , they will never do it again . They what to be a higher power , then give them the highest punishment .
@@dvdadaudits7500 That should be changed, they should have stricter ethical rules and if they break them they should lose their license the first instance and if it is gross negligence they should face jail time. And the higher the position the graver the consequences should be.
I’m from Indiana and while I had never heard of the judges getting into the fight, but I probably know at which White Castle it was at, there are two in downtown Indy that I’m sure that sort of thing happening there
Just a comment for the people who have a problem with pointing out bad law enforcers including the judicial branch. Contemplate the following: "They came for the people down the street and I said nothing, they came for my neighbor next door and yet I still said nothing, then they came for me and woe is me there were no people left to speak for me".
There’s a song that says this…by parkway drive…writings on the wall…I thought it was a new song written about the c o v I d take over but turns out they wrote it in 2018
As someone who just served on Jury duty, I would highly suggest that they summons the citizens of the said district and decide the verdict of the complaint filed against the Judge. NOW that would be a twist of fate.
I've brought several small claims cases where the judge didn't even understand the fundamentals of jurisprudence. You can't get justice in a system like that, and they never allow you to get your own.
Judges have immunity even more protection than the police. It’s funny that those that enforce the law are exempt from the law. Sweet deal. Laws for thee but not for me.
Disregarding anonymous complaints is pretty dumb, especially if the complaint is not subjective. For example, if the judge went above and beyond when they berated a witness on a specified date and time. It literally takes a few minutes to read the transcript and verify it.
In my area many judges are elected, what annoys me is that even in the electoral booklets there is practically zero information about the judges I am being asked to vote for.
