Monday, May 17, 2010

Wisconsin: the best justice money can buy

In 2007, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court disciplined Dane County (Madison) Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey for twice misleading the judge and withholding evidence from a defendant during a vehicular-homicide case against Adam Raisback that ended in acquittal. A list of cases in which Humphrey's conduct crossed the line into unethical can be found at http://truthinjustice.org/humphrey-cases.htm

Joseph Sommers, Raisback's defense attorney, filed the ethics complaint against Humphrey that led to the prosecutor's discipline. Unfortunately, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court's idea of fairness is to level equally serious charges against any attorney who complains about a fellow lawyer's conduct. As a result, Sommers was brought up on serious charges of unethical conduct as well. Sommers pushed back, which really riled the state's high court, and almost certainly led to Sommers' current predicament. We'll let Joe Sommers tell you what has happened in his own words. Keep in mind,Wisconsin has the best supreme court money can buy. The justices can't help what they do, since they do not understand what ethics are in the first place.

For those who have not heard, things have gotten significantly worse. First, last Friday the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an order that surpasses everything previously in my matter. The bottom line is, the record will be sanitized, and all transcripts from evidentiary hearings and depositions will be excluded from the record, but for the two days of evidentiary hearings which I did not attend. (The reason why I did not attend those two days was that the Supreme Court's appointed presiding official declared that the evidence from six prior days of evidentiary hearings would not count, and under the Supreme Court Rules, I would be responsible for the costs x 3 for the hearings themselves).

Basically, I proved everything I set out to prove, i.e. that the Supreme Court's in-house law firm orchestrated a cover-up of the Dane County District Attorney's Office orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to railroad innocent people. But even in my most cynical moments I never thought that transcripts from sworn testimony would be so easily and completely removed from the record. This is unprecedented, from my experience. It is critical to realize that the Supreme Court's actions go hand-in-hand with the Wisconsin State Journal's coverage. The paper ignored the testimony, and the Supreme Court now, for all practical purposes, covers up for that by removing the transcripts from the record.

For those who could not make the evidentiary hearings in the past, don't worry. You did not miss anything because those hearings, according to the Supreme Court, did not take place. And for those who did attend, what you thought you heard and saw was nothing more than an episode from the Twilight Zone.

Second, the way things are headed, there is more than a distinct possibility that I will be facing trumped up criminal charges in the near future. For those who say, 'they can't possibly do this. How could they ever get away with it,' I just refer you to the above.

The bottom line is, I just took on evils that were too big and too powerful, to which wipeout is the price. I suppose I was recklessly irresponsible (as I have been told) to think that one should try to do something about criminal prosecutions manufactured against innocent people for the sake of insiders making a buck. If only I would have directed my energies toward meaningful things such as my children's sporting events, etc., rather than thinking in terms of active discipleship and citizenship. How crazy can a guy get?

If I sound embittered, I am. I do appreciate those who did what they could. Unfortunately, when it came to those who could make a difference, they never could work up the courage, imagination or inclination to do anything. If there is one response to this email I request I do not receive it is people telling me how I am in their prayers, etc. While I am not against prayers on my behalf, It is amazing to me how those who harp the most about prayer are so often incapable of lifting a finger beyond that. If only the Good Samaritan would have realized that he merely needed to say a prayer and move on.

About three weeks ago, in a fit of anger, someone tied up in my matter told me that I was a "goner" and that I was "quicksand" for anyone standing nearby. It is often said that truer things are said in jest, and this is likewise true about things said in anger. And the evidence overwhelmingly suggests I am a "goner" and that things are only going to get far worse. And hopefully I will finally internalize that I am "quicksand," and therefore will realize that very few wish to hear from me anymore.

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