J R I

Citizens take on legal system

Sun May 4 16:54:07 2003
208.152.73.179

Citizens take on legal system
http://www.lawton-constitution.com/pages/lo4.htm

It’s a case that hasn’t had its day in court yet.

But if a local and statewide group of concerned citizens who are challenging the legal system prevail, that day may be coming soon.

In a nutshell, Carl Weston, Claremore, who founded the Judicial Reform Task Force, believes the legal system is broken and does not function "by the people, for the people" any longer. He believes the legal system is a man-made corporation, a "system by design," that serves itself.

This task force, along with Richard Cornforth’s "J-Accuse" group based in Oklahoma City, are pressing for an Oklahoma Judicial Accountability and Integrity Amendment to be added to the Oklahoma Constitution.

Weston and Cornforth will be in Lawton to conduct a judicial reform citizen’s meeting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Lawton Public Library.

Weston said the proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution would basically call for a group similar to a grand jury, which would be made up of citizens, to hear complaints concerning judges and lawyers. The system currently allows the judges and lawyers to hear their own complaints.

"This is history-making legislation to form a people(s) juris like a grand jury to hear all complaints on judges and lawyers. Wouldn’t this be great if we, the people, could control the system instead of the bar? The Oklahoma Bar is a corporation and is not under legislative control by who we, the people, vote in office," Weston wrote in an article promoting the Judicial Reform Task Force.

The idea of reforming the legal system isn’t limited to just the two Oklahoma task groups. Weston said the demands for reform is a grass-roots movement with groups springing up all over the nation.

"It’s growing. It’s not just Lawton or Oklahoma City or Tulsa. It’s Arkansas. It’s California. It’s across the nation," Weston said.

In fact, Weston quotes often from a Feb. 28 speech at Harvard Law School by Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

"The integrity of law, its religious roots, its transcendent quality are disappearing," she told the group. Jones stated that the American legal system has been corrupted almost beyond recognition.

"Our legal system is way out of kilter," she said. The judge also noted that the question of what is morally right is routinely sacrificed to what is politically expedient.

Weston said that part of the mission of the Judicial Reform Task Force is to visit different cities in the state and video tape testimonies from citizens who have had experiences with the legal system.

"The video testimonies are to produce a record. We take the videos and turn them into transcripts and we are planning to do a report to the full Oklahoma Senate and the full Oklahoma House of Representatives," Weston said.

"Also," he continued, "if our state officials don’t step up to the plate, we will file in federal court or whatever we need to do to fix this crisis in Oklahoma."

Weston and the Judicial Reform Task Force have met previously with Lawton citizens at the library last February. He said about 10 people attended the initial meeting, but that he had many phone calls from the Lawton area after the meeting.

He’s not the only one that feels a change in the legal system is needed in Southwest Oklahoma. A small business in Cache, Fox Auto, which is co-owned by Robert and Lorrie Fox and Marketa Ledford, has been forced into a crash course of representing themselves in court.

When the Foxes and Ledford, who opened the doors of Fox Auto in Cache on Feb. 28, 2001, began noticing what they felt were errors in their business bank statements, their judicial odyssey began.

"Within the first five car deals, I noticed $4,500 missing from the business account. This was money from a car sale that the bank was supposed to deposit into the account," Robert Fox said. He felt the money was misappropriated and the bank couldn’t account for it.

Along with Ledford’s help, who is a professional bookkeeper, the Foxes began to review transaction codes among several of their accounts. When they tried to review their accounts with the bank, they felt they hit a brick wall.

"When the bank gives you an answer, whether it is right or wrong, you are supposed to accept it and live with it. That is what I initially did. I wrote it off to cost of operations," Fox said.

The trio reached a point, however, when they needed to address what they felt was a growing problem. Fox claims that after relentlessly pursuing bank officials with a paper trail of documentation, that he and his wife ended up defendants in a replevin suit the bank filed against them.

"We’ve probably gone through over 20 attorneys," Fox said.

His wife, Lorrie, added, "We’ve had lawyers look at our case and say ‘Yes, we know there’s home cooking, but we’re too busy to take this one.’"

"They’ve tried to make us feel guilty and we didn’t do anything," Ledford said.

Due to necessity, the group is now considered "pro se." They are representing themselves.

"They’ve manufactured a cycle that makes you think you have to have an attorney to stay in their system," Fox said. "That’s not true."

The Foxes and Ledford will also attend the Saturday meeting at the Lawton Public Library with Weston and Cornforth. They are anxious to share their experience with others and offer assistance to those feeling frustrated with the legal system themselves.

"If you feel like you haven’t had due process of law or if you’ve had an attorney and they withdrew or just didn’t show up, then this meeting will probably be very beneficial," Lorrie Fox said.

The president of the Comanche County Bar Association, Attorney Dietmar Caudle, feels the legal system in Oklahoma is very strong.

"Our Oklahoma Bar Association is very thorough in investigating complaints against our lawyers or our judges," Caudle said.

The Lawton attorney, who has been in practice for more than 20 years, feels that communication between the client and his lawyer is the key to alleviating the majority of problems a citizen may have with the legal system.

"First, if you have a problem with a lawyer or judge, then confront that lawyer or judge," Caudle said. "Secondly, you can always get a second opinion." He went on to note that if those avenues don’t seem to clear the misunderstanding or situation, then call the Oklahoma Bar Association.

"A lawyer takes a bar complaint more serious than anything else," Caudle said. "You are judged by your own peers. There are checks and balances within our system. Without a license, we can’t practice."

Caudle is not ashamed to admit that he is very proud to be a lawyer and feels the profession demands a high level of ethics.

"As long as there have been legal problems, there have been complaints against lawyers," he said. "Unless that person prevails, they feel there is no justice."
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http://www.lawton-constitution.com/

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LUKE 11:52 "Woe unto you, lawyers!"
LET THE CONSTITUTION SPEAK

Judicial Reform Investigations
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