tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post7635013552849815918..comments2024-03-12T21:13:06.850-05:00Comments on Legal Schnauzer: Judge B. Avant Edenfield, who covered up hunting-club scheme in Alabama divorce cases, has diedlegalschnauzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-3529567154670654912015-05-27T18:07:36.734-05:002015-05-27T18:07:36.734-05:00I don't think it's curious at all. Lawyers...I don't think it's curious at all. Lawyers, at least the ones who do a lot of courtroom work, spend their careers kissing the fannies of judges who are alive. So it should be no surprise when they keep right on kissing up to judges who are dead. The good news, from the lawyer's perspective, is that quite a few of them make more money than do judges, so that helps them tolerate the "pucker up" process. Besides that, it's in the lawyer's best interest to give citizens the impression that publicly financed courtrooms are governed by judges of the highest character--even when the lawyer knows that isn't true. <br /><br />It's all part of the giant con game the legal tribe plays on the public. They use our taxpayer dollars and then turn around and cheat us with them. In this case, Edenfield even cheated children--and you get only one childhood. Is it any wonder many citizens find lawyers so loathsome?<br /><br />Here's the odd thing: A lot of polls show citizens holding judges in high regard, even though many of them are even more loathsome than the standard-issue lawyer. Judges, in my experience, tend to be the lowest of the low. But they come with snazzy robes and shiny gavels and the whole "Your Honor" business, which fools many citizens--until they have the experience of actually going in front of these judges. (For the record, I've come to know a number of lawyers--and I've written about some of them on this blog--who I consider to be fine, honorable people. I don't think I've come across a judge yet who has proven to be honorable. I hope to come across such a judge someday, but as of now, I'm not sure that I have.)<br /><br />A final note: This post is not about whether someone knew Judge Edenfield or not, whether he might have been a friendly, personable fellow, etc. It's about his actions on the bench, in at least one case, which were wildly outside the law and in favor of the legal tribe--of which he is a part.<br /><br />Essentially, he said, "Screw mothers, fathers, and children--and screw the law--I've got to protect my legal colleagues." He acted corruptly and selfishly. He took the easy way out, rather than confront the ugliness in his own profession.<br /><br />You don't have to actually know such a person to make the determination that his ethics were compromised.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-40154743097860670632015-05-27T17:49:42.753-05:002015-05-27T17:49:42.753-05:00I find it "curious," to use one of your ...I find it "curious," to use one of your favorite words, that the lawyers who actually knew Judge Edenfield thought highly of him. You, of course, didn't know him all, but felt it necessary to trash his memory anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-90497906275604086242015-05-27T14:51:18.730-05:002015-05-27T14:51:18.730-05:00Yes, @2:13, you are reading things correctly. Disc...Yes, @2:13, you are reading things correctly. Discovery is exactly what it sounds like: the phase in a lawsuit where you "discover"--via depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents etc.--the facts related to the case. In a sense, you "discover" whether the plaintiff has a legit case and whether the defendant has a legit defense.<br /><br />Sadly, you are more likely to get screwed on discovery (assuming you are the plaintiff) if you have a strong case. If you don't have much of a case, connected defendants with connected lawyers, probably will see discovery as a nuisance, but they are not going to be afraid of revealing anything damaging. But if you have a good case, they will do anything in their power (sometimes with the help of a corrupt judge) to hide the facts. <br /><br />That's why I'm convinced the hunting-club allegations are real. That why I'm convinced Joe Blackburn and the plaintiffs he represented were onto something serious. Angela Drees is another Alabama lawyer who filed a hunting-club lawsuit.<br /><br />Here's a big tip off, which you can read about near the end of Edenfield's opinion. When the judge had found in defendants' favor, they moved for the court to impose sanctions against Blackburn for bringing a "frivolous" case. Edenfield, in perhaps the only thing he got right in the case, said a motion for sanctions would require discovery, that he could not impose sanctions without proof that the case was frivolous. That shut the defendants up in a big hurry. They wanted no part of discovery, at any stage.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-31335150492078767482015-05-27T14:13:34.947-05:002015-05-27T14:13:34.947-05:00Mr. Schnauzer: I'm a pretty regular reader of ...Mr. Schnauzer: I'm a pretty regular reader of your blog, and I've had some interesting experiences in court myself. I've tried to educate myself as much as I can about legal issues, and have found your blog to be a good source of information. I notice that you write quite often about discovery, or lack of it, as one way litigants get the short end of the stick. Am I reading things correctly?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-63150026838257380332015-05-27T12:01:38.022-05:002015-05-27T12:01:38.022-05:00Oh yes, Dems can be corrupt, too, as we've rep...Oh yes, Dems can be corrupt, too, as we've reported a number of times on this blog (see Vance Jr., Robert). Republicans don't have the market cornered on corruption. BTW, I still admire and respect Jimmy Carter; not going to hold the Edenfield appointment against him.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-91870959278508654822015-05-27T11:59:44.807-05:002015-05-27T11:59:44.807-05:00I see where Judge Edenfield was appointed by the s...I see where Judge Edenfield was appointed by the saintly Jimmy Carter. So I guess Dems can be corrupt, too?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-47415321771018553402015-05-27T11:22:01.245-05:002015-05-27T11:22:01.245-05:00Just read the post; it explains exactly how his ac...Just read the post; it explains exactly how his actions were corrupt and contrary to black-letter law. BTW, I called Edenfield corrupt several years ago, while he was still alive to defend himself--if he had wanted to. <br /><br />You are welcome to defend him now if you can show me how he acted properly under the law. Give it a shot. I'm sure you can read simple declarative sentences, and that's all it takes in many cases to determine whether a judge followed the law or not. It's not hard to do.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-31242748438554746352015-05-27T11:17:55.560-05:002015-05-27T11:17:55.560-05:00How do you come off calling this judge corrupt, an...How do you come off calling this judge corrupt, and he's not even alive to defend himself? How in the hell do you know whether a judge is corrupt or not? Who died and made you the expert?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-36875060093430102112015-05-27T11:09:28.917-05:002015-05-27T11:09:28.917-05:00I'm pretty sure that law was overturned in 199...I'm pretty sure that law was overturned in 1997.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-42324422336148946132015-05-27T11:08:29.861-05:002015-05-27T11:08:29.861-05:00I thought we weren't supposed to speak ill of ...I thought we weren't supposed to speak ill of the dead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-5899466963561774282015-05-27T10:26:00.609-05:002015-05-27T10:26:00.609-05:00It wasn't a divorce case; it was a case about ...It wasn't a divorce case; it was a case about corruption in Alabama divorce courts, and it was a federal case because of alleged RICO violations (a federal statute). Federal judges in Alabama probably recused because the underlying case in the first lawsuit involved U.S. Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, of Birmingham.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-89986072643741163422015-05-27T10:23:07.097-05:002015-05-27T10:23:07.097-05:00Why would a judge from Georgia be appointed to hea...Why would a judge from Georgia be appointed to hear an Alabama divorce case?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-15360189633158764242015-05-27T09:50:16.998-05:002015-05-27T09:50:16.998-05:00Good riddance!Good riddance!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com