There is an astonishing front page story in the NYT today, addressing an issue we have been complaining about now for some time: Fraud, Perjury, and other known acts of illegality in foreclosure actions. The article, Judges Berate Bank Lawyers in Foreclosures, reveals that jurists are whining in their written opinions about the illegal actions of bankers, process servers and now lawyers.
Imagine: A judge went so far as to fine a firm for “swearing to false statements.” Why? Because it “reflects poorly on the profession as a whole.” One judge even called the filing of a lawyer “incredible, outrageous, ludicrous and disingenuous.”
Like the awful economists, the judges are circling the wagons around the profession — they are concerned that (horror!) the reputation of legal profession might be damaged.
“When the consequence of a lawyer plying his trade is the loss of someone’s home, and it turns out there are documents being given to the courts that have no basis in reality, the profession gets a very big black eye,” said Stephen Gillers, an expert in legal ethics at New York University.
With all due respect professor, that is the least of it.
No your Honors, this is more than a PR issue: Making sworn statements that are false is perjury, and needs to be prosecuted as such. Last I checked, there is not a different set of felony rules for Lawyers than for everyone else.
Apparently, Civil Law Judges are missing the bigger concern — that rampant criminality is taking place.
Judges, its time to Man Up! You Jurists need to reach under your robes, and feel around the space where your testicles used to be, and find a criminal law book. Submitting sworn documents to to a court, filing robo-signed documents, fabricating signatures, phony notarizations, claiming documents were reviewed when they never were — all of this is PERJURY.
Prosecute it as such; Stop whining about these lawyers, and refer the cases to the State Attorney General. Better yet, have the bailiffs take these Lawyers into custody.
Want to stop illegality? Make sure there is a real penalty that will deter the criminals –bankers, lawyers, et. al — from engaging in their illegal actions.
This means prosecuting known violators of the law . . .
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Source:
Judges Berate Bank Lawyers in Foreclosures
JOHN SCHWARTZ
NYT, January 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/business/11lawyers.html
Previously:
Man without Mortgage Loses Home in Foreclosure (September 23rd, 2010)
Foreclosure Fraud Reveals Structural & Legal Crisis (October 5th, 2010)
Why Foreclosure Fraud Is So Dangerous to Property Rights (October 12th, 2010)
Legal Impossibilities & Foreclosure Errors (October 14th, 2010)
The Impact of Error From Securitization to Foreclosure (October 15th, 2010)
Foreclosure Fraud: “Systemic, Industrywide, Pervasive” (October 16th, 2010)
The Big Lie on Fraudclosure (October 29th, 2010)
The Foreclosure Zoo (November 5th, 2010)
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