Chicago Courtroom Becomes Stage for Donald Trump’s Theatrics

Billionaire Donald Trump is used to running the show, whether it be in business or on television, and his penchant for full control made for an interesting few days in Judge Amy St. Eve’s Chicago courtroom last week.

Trump is a key witness in a lawsuit brought by 87-year-old real estate investor Jacqueline Goldberg, who is suing him, alleging that after she bought two million-dollar hotel rooms in Trump’s Chicago hotel and condo complex in 2006, he unilaterally changed the terms of the contract, thus depriving her of revenue she expected to receive from the ballroom business and valet parking receipts.

Judge St. Eve, who also presided over the trial of Lord Conrad Black, chastised Mr. Trump and Ms. Goldberg’s lawyer, Shelly Kulwin, for their incessant sparring, noting they had turned her courtroom into a boxing ring.

Lawyer Kulwin objected to Trump’s filibustering which he described as egotistical infomercials for Trump’s real estate empire. Kulwin’s impatience with Trump was marked by eye-rolling and heightened vocal volume on his part.

Mr. Trump’s testimony was vague on the details of Ms. Goldberg’s purchase, however, he confirmed that his executives managed all sales transactions and that he looked after the “big picture”, saying “I don’t run hotels, I build them”.

As for Ms. Goldberg’s bait-and-switch allegation, Trump testified that the contract clearly contemplated the possibility of a change in the profit-sharing scheme and noted that Ms. Goldberg had unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate the deletion of this clause from the contract. When Trump exclaimed “This is a disgrace. She’s trying to rip me off”, the judge admonished the jury to ignore Mr. Trump’s outburst.

Outside the courtroom Mr. Trump was even sassier, suggesting that Goldberg had “buyer’s remorse” and was using the “age-card” against the younger Trump.

The irrepressible Trump left the courthouse after a long day of cross-examination, only stopping to charm a throng of reporters by calling out, “I love Chicago!”

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Texas Judge Arrested for Hiding Evidence as a Lawyer

Michael Morton was convicted of murdering his wife, Christine Morton, in 1987 and served 25 years in a Texas prison. But justice was not served because prosecutor, now Judge Ken Anderson, purposefully withheld evidence that would have led to Michael Morton’s acquittal.

Instead Mr. Morton, an innocent man, languished in prison until DNA evidence exculpated him because the State of Texas, in the person of Ken Anderson, believed he was guilty, despite evidence that suggested otherwise. Morton was then 30-years old, worked at Safeway and had no police history

Anderson, a judge in Austin Texas for 11 years, was a celebrated “law and order” district attorney for 16 years before that. He prided himself in requesting and receiving the harshest sentences possible for criminals and argued vigorously to prevent inmates from being paroled, even when their prison terms had been served.

In Mr. Morton’s case he buried a bloodied bandana found near the family home, failed to reveal evidence relating to a mysterious green van near the home, from which a man emerged, and hid a statement from Morton’s three-year old son who said that it was a “monster”, not his dad that bludgeoned his mother to death.

To add to Mr. Anderson’s outrageous behavior, when asked during Morton’s trial whether all evidence had been delivered to defence counsel and the court, Anderson lied and said it had.

As is typical in these cases of wrongful conviction, the State erected roadblocks preventing Innocence Project lawyers from obtaining timely DNA testing on the bandana found near the scene. The forensics on this evidence proved that Mark Norwood was the killer, a man who had also murdered another woman near Austin. Last month Norwood was sentenced to life in prison for Christin Morton’s murder.

Judge Anderson’s apology to Mr. Morton was brief. He said “the system screwed up”. Obviously, a man in denial and all because he wanted another “conviction” notch on his belt.

He not only robbed Michael Morton of his life but also Morton’s son, who grew up without a mother or a father.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Trial Debacle Leads to Freedom for Nova Scotia Sex Offender

Despite what you hear or read, you can’t blame Ernest MacIntosh for today’s Supreme Court of Canada decision to quash his convictions for sex charges involving young boys in the 1970′s.

A successful Cape Breton businessman, MacIntosh was transferred by his employer to Singapore and then to India in 1994 where he remained until his extradition back to Canada in 2007 to face numerous counts of indecent assault and gross indecency charges stemming from allegations made by six young men in 1995.

When MacIntosh left Canada in 1994 there were no charges against him and he had no idea that charges may be laid. Over the years he travelled between India and Canada, renewing his Canadian passport from time to time as required by Canadian law.

He was not hiding from the law. Canadian authorities knew where he lived in New Delhi and had his phone number. Coincidentally, one of his neighbours was an RCMP officer who worked as a liaison in India.

MacIntosh finally became aware of two criminal charges in 1997 but was led to believe by Canada Passport authorities that the charges were not proceeding. He heard nothing more until nine years later, despite the fact that in 2001 fifteen more charges were brought against him and he renewed his passport in 2002. The Crown acknowledged their decision to extradite Mr. MacIntosh in 1997 but as you will read, did nothing about it for nine years.

In 2006 the Crown filed extradition proceedings in India, some 11 years after the first charges were laid and five years after the second group of charges were filed against him.

Mr. MacIntosh was brought back to Canada in June 2007 but did not receive complete mandatory disclosure from the Crown until eleven months later, an astonishing delay considering that the Crown had readied their cases years before.

He finally went to trial in July 2010 and was convicted on several of the charges. However, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the convictions based on the 14 year delay of the Crown in proceeding against MacIntosh. But that wasn’t the only problem with the convictions.

The trial judge had so badly confused the evidence, even mixing up the witnesses and attributing evidence to one witness that was derived from another, that the Appeal Court determined that even absent the extraordinary delay, the judge’s errors would be cause for a new trial.

A key issue at the trial was centred on statements made by an alleged victim in 1995 and again in 2000 concerning details of the abuse he suffered, that simply could not be reconciled.

The trial judge acknowledged the discrepancies and based on the victim’s evidence and the testimony of another witness, determined that the assault did not take place at all. Yet despite this finding, the judge did not turn his attention to the issue of the victim’s overall credibility.

The finding that the alleged abuse did not occur as described, or at all, points to a flaw in the Crown’s preparation of their witness. In cases where a witness signs a comprehensive statement which he radically amends five years later, it is incumbent upon the Crown to test the evidence of the witness to ensure its reliability. Under cross-examination, this witness agreed that the event did not occur.

That the Supreme Court of Canada denied the Crown’s appeal in an oral judgment from the bench speaks to the Crown’s flimsy case. After all, an accused is not obliged to turn himself into the police or give a statement. It is the Crown’s job to bring an accused to trial.

Most notably, the Crown was unable to provide any rationale for their delay in prosecuting this case and cries for a public inquiry may well be revived now that our highest court has spoken.

Has an injustice occurred? Perhaps, but the fault lies with those paid to bring criminals to trial.

Divorce Becomes “Forensic Point Scoring”

Americans Mark and Jenifer Evans started their marriage with nothing, but after 25 years were worth millions of dollars as a result of their successful internet technology company. They lived primarily in the United Kingdom, but had homes in the United States and in the Turks and Caicos.

When Ms. Evans learned her husband was having an affair the marriage ended in trauma, but the drama had just begun.

In a three-year court battle, referred to by the judge as a “forensic point scoring”, the Evans’ ran up legal bills of over $3 million dollars in their collective efforts to make the other spouse pay…I mean really pay!

Lord Justice Thorpe divided their assets, valued at $60 million dollars, equally between them. Ms. Evans kept their London home and would receive the balance of her cash upon the sale of shares in their company. But the judge was not amused by what he had observed. He described their dispute as “puerile”, telling them “Somebody has to come into the nursery to make some rules”.

But nursery school was not over. Ms. Evans was nervous and fearful that her husband would dispose of the shares, leaving her with nothing, so she asked the Court for a rehearing and a new order.

By this time, Mark Evans had sold 65% of the business to a venture capitalist firm for $30 million. Jenifer Evans got her rehearing, but now the assets were worth $10 million dollars less and Judge Moylan reduced her share of the pot to 45%.

Yes, she should have stuck with what she had, as she lost millions in the new order. I somehow have the feeling that this case is not over.

Ms. Evans remains in London with one of her teenage daughters, while Mr. Evans has married the woman who distracted him from his marriage and lives in California with his eldest daughter. His wife is pregnant with their first child.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Toddler’s Death During Access Leads to Lawsuit Against Psychologist

Prince McLeod Rams was 15 months old and on his fourth unsupervised access visit with his father, Joaquin Rams. It would be the last day of Prince’s short life, as during the three-hour visit, he drowned in his father’s bathtub.

Hospital staff became immediately suspicious when they noticed a bruise on Princes’ forehead and dried blood in his nostrils. They contacted child protective services.

It would later be discovered that Prince’s father had purchased over a half a million dollars in life insurance on his son’s life, and that he was under investigation for the murder of his former girlfriend, Shawna Mason, who was shot to death in 2003.

Prince’s mother, Hera McLeod, who had sole custody of her son, had implored the Court to grant only supervised access to Mr. Rams. However, the Court determined that allegations that he ran an on-line pornography site, was a suspect in the death of his former girlfriend, and was also accused of raping a 19-year-old girl were unproven and speculative. Judge Michael Algeo called the allegations “smoke that’s been blowing that I can see through”.

Since being charged with Prince’s murder, the investigation into the death of Rams’ former girlfriend has gained traction and officials are also looking into the circumstances of his mother’s 2008 suicide, a death that some members of the Rams family believe was murder, not suicide. Mr. Rams received his mother’s life insurance, a benefit that rescued him from his dire financial circumstances.

Recently, Prince’s mother filed a lawsuit against psychologist Margaret Wong, who prepared a custody and access report that recommended Mr. Rams be allowed unsupervised access to Prince, expert evidence that was instrumental in the Court’s access decision.

While Ms. McLeod acknowledged that her son’s father was highly manipulative during their 18-month relationship, she suggested that a skilled psychologist, like Margaret Wong, should have detected his true character and focused on her son’s best interests, not her ex’s needs and desires.

Ms. McLeod tells the tragic story on her blog “cappucinoqueen”, while Mr. Rams writes his counterpoint at “KingLatte”. He insists he his innocent and that his son died of a seizure, however, the county medical examiner’s findings negate Mr. Rams’ allegations.

Hopefully, the truth will emerge at Mr. Rams’ trial later this year.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Judge Disciplined for Telling Pedophile to “Rot in Prison”

Oregon Judge Timothy Barnack and the jury hearing the case of Richard Lee Taylor were disturbed and disgusted after sitting through hours of video tape evidence that showed the accused sexually abusing two twelve-year-old boys.

Taylor was a repeat offender on trial for 21 sex crimes. The jury found him guilty and Judge Barnack sentenced him to 21 life terms in prison with no possibility of parole.

To say the video evidence was shocking was an understatement. During the viewing, Judge Barnack stopped the video after some jurors began crying, while others later asked the Judge if the State would provide counselling to them to deal with the trauma of the evidence.

Judge Barnack was also visibly shaken. At the sentencing hearing Judge Barnack ask Mr. Taylor if he wished to say something. Taylor declined, whereafter the Judge told Taylor he was a “piece of shit” and asked him repeatedly if he wanted to salvage his soul.

Taylor did not reply and showed no remorse. One of Taylor’s young victims was in the courtroom. Then the Judge told Taylor that members of the public may wish to see him “hanging from a tree” and that he hoped he would “rot in prison”.

These emotional, intemperate words landed Judge Barnack in front of a Supreme Court Discipline Commission where the recently elected Judge agreed that his behavior violated ethics guidelines and consented to an order of censure against him.

As for me, I admire the spunkiness of this Judge who told Taylor what everyone in the courtroom wanted to say, but could not. Yes, I appreciate that the Judge’s words may have clashed with the usual decorum of a courtroom, however, Judges are human, they are not robots and in horrific cases they must be allowed some leeway.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Judge Makes Impromptu Home Visit

A Family Court Judge in England decided to “see for herself” in a court case that involved two young children. (AMV v. RM (2012) EWHC 3629) The proceedings commenced in the usual fashion, but early in the hearing the children’s father disputed the mother’s claim that she and the two children lived in a three-bedroom flat in London. He asserted that mother and children spent most of their time at her parent’s home in council housing, the term used in Britain and Ireland for public or social housing.

Mother admitted that she and the children spent time at her parent’s home, an admission that raised the issue of the standard of the living accommodation of the children. Suddenly, the Judge suggested to mother’s counsel that the court hearing be adjourned so that she could personally inspect both homes.

With only fifteen minutes to ponder the Judge’s request, mother’s lawyer consented to the Judge’s suggestion, but advised that her client had not been able to reach her parents to arrange a visit to their home.

So off they went, the Judge was driven to the homes, both of them, by the father’s lawyer with the mother accompanying him. The mother’s lawyer drove her car with her passenger, the father.

First the Judge inspected the mother’s home, opening cupboards, looking through the refrigerator and scanning the garbage in the waste paper basket. Then they drove to her parent’s home, surprising them as they entered the premises to look about the home, even opening drawers to examine their contents.

At the conclusion of the inspections, the Judge noted that the parent’s home was “cramped, dirty and untidy”.

Not surprisingly, the Court of Appeal was not impressed with the impromptu inspections calling them “litigation by ambush”. The Appeal Court noted that the Judge’s request to view the homes was unfair because if mother’s lawyer had not agreed, it is likely the Judge would have drawn an adverse inference against the mother. The unexpected request on short notice was also a breach of the mother’s right to a fair trial.

The Court’s imposition on the maternal grandparents was also wholly inappropriate as they had no time to consider their position or obtain independent legal advice. Finally, the Appeal Court said that if there were issues about the children’s accommodation, it was a matter for social services, not for a Judge of the Court.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Euthanasia: Are Children Next?

When British Columbia Justice Lynn Smith declared that the Criminal Code’s provision against assisted suicide was unconstitutional, she reasoned that Parliament could create a system of assisted suicide that would protect the vulnerable and the mentally ill. She gave the federal government twelve months to enact new law.

It seems Belgium enacted such a law in 2002, but its “protective” features have failed miserably, a fact that has been exposed with the recent, legal, assisted suicides of 45-year-old Belgian twins, Mark and Eddy Verbessem.

Belgium’s legislation, The Belgium Act on Euthanasia, stipulates that a person seeking assisted suicide must be in a “medically futile condition of constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that can not be alleviated, resulting from an incurable disorder caused by illness or accident.”

Based on the media coverage of the Verbessems’ suicide, it seems doubtful that the twins actually qualified under the legislation. It was reported that the twins feared institutionalization when they became blind.

Yes, they were deaf and conversed in sign language and yes, they had been told to expect to lose their sight, but there is no indication their condition was “medically futile” or their mental suffering at the prospects of becoming blind, could not be alleviated with appropriate medical treatment.

The Belgium law also compels a potential candidate for assisted suicide to obtain a second opinion from a psychiatrist or medical specialist, if the condition of the patient does not indicate imminent death as a result of their disorder. It is unknown whether this further layer of “protection” was provided to the Verbessem twins.

That the twin’s efforts to end it all was viewed with dubiety is apparent by the fact that after they recruited a local doctor, it took them two years to find a medical facility that would allow the lethal injection.

A few days after the twins died, the Socialist government of Belgium tabled a legal amendment which would permit children and Alzheimer’s patients to be euthanized as well.

If our Supreme Court agrees that the current Canadian law is unconstitutional, as they are predicted to rule, let’s hope that our federal government does a better job than the Belgians of applying the law.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Don’t Mess with Florida Judge Chet Tharpe

Florida Judge Chet Tharpe, elected to the bench in 1990, with a recent mandate that will see him preside until at least 2015 is a no-nonsense, straight-talking, in-your-face kind of judge. Just the kind of judge that freely distributes “wake-up calls” to sex offenders and other miscreants in Tampa Florida.

Considered firm but fair, Judge Tharpe is not afraid to say what needs to be said, often times providing a reality check for offenders, victims, family members and others touched by criminal behavior in Florida.

Judge Tharpe rolled out his style of justice in a 2010 case where the offender, a 43 year-old father of two teenagers, who sexually molested them over a period of years, starting when they were 12-years-old, enlisted his victimized daughters, his wife and his 13-year-old son to plead to the court for mercy.

The family members begged the court to drop the charges and when that was unsuccessful they implored the judge to reject the State’s offer of a plea deal for a term of five years imprisonment.

The victims’ mother advised the Court that if her husband was imprisoned she would lose the family home and their beloved pets and further, that her husband had been away from the home for a year since he was arrested and charged. She said “I love my husband. I love my kids. I’m stuck in the middle.”

Judge Tharpe listened to her entreaties with a sense of outrage and asked her how she could simply accept her husband’s outrageous, perverted behavior. He then turned to the accused asking for an explanation as to why a prison term was not appropriate. The victims’ father was annoyingly unhelpful, advising Judge Tharpe that he was “at a loss for words”.

Judge Tharpe reserved his more cutting barbs for the child molestor, telling him that despite his protests, he was a pedophile, a sex offender, who would forever be listed on a sex offender registry and see his photograph on the internet identifying him for what he was.

With that said, Judge Tharpe sentenced him to 25 years probation, a term that requires him to live an unblemished life, subject to intense scrutiny, until he is in his mid-sixties.

Florida is known as a haven for sex offenders, possibly because the State has turned its enforcement attention to sex crimes. In 2011 the number of registered sex offenders increased by 74%. In the Greater Tampa area, where Judge Tharpe sits, there are 1,122 registered sex offenders or one for every 306 citizens in the area.

Offenders who appear before Judge Tharpe will not be coddled. Applause for Judge Tharpe!

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang

Looking Back: The Law in 2012-Part 2

The last six months of 2012 did not disappoint as far as provocative legal stories, from Judge Lori Douglas to Warren Jeffs, with a smattering of Halle Berry and bad boy Dennis Rodman. Here are the highlights:

July 2012- The Lori Douglas story was at a full boil throughout the month of July as the Judicial Inquiry into her knowledge of her husband’s recruitment of his client as a sexual partner for her, provided the salacious details behind the judicial robes.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also took a heavy hit when a large group of female officers spoke out about sexual harassment and discrimination in their workplace. It was a body blow the force did not need, coming at the same time as the details of RCMP incompetency in the Pickton investigation came to light.

August 2012- Halle Berry’s personal life was on display as she battled for custody of her daughter in full press legal combat, while it was difficult to determine if Dennis Rodman deserved censure or pity when the details of his out-of-control life became apparent amid allegations that he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support.

September 2012- While America’s Election consumed the media and was the subject of a story on Lawdiva, closer to home the tragic situation befalling the children of Bountiful, British Columbia made the news, as six ex-communicated FLDS fathers of 42 children successfully obtained court orders to see their children.

October 2012- The guest post of Agnes Jimenez on “Cyberbullies” was prescient coming mere weeks before the tragedy of B.C. teen Amanda Todd’s suicide.

November 2012- Halle Berry resurfaced in November when the family court ruled that her application to move to France with her daughter, Nahla, was denied. A few weeks later her former partner and the father of Nahla, Gabriel Aubry and her boyfriend, Olivier Martinez engaged in fisticuffs during an access transfer of Nahla at Ms. Berry’s home. Lucky for both, no charges were laid.

December 2012- Only in California, you say? The issue of gay therapy for children who wish to overcome homosexuality hit the news when the California legislature enacted law that would prevent therapists from employing “gay aversion” therapy. A short time later, a California judge struck down the law. Undoubtedly, 2013 will see further court hearings on the issue of gay therapy.

Lindsay Lohan was a regular newsmaker throughout 2012, culminating in charges being laid in both California and New York for assault, reckless driving, and obstruction of justice. Her comeback role as Elizabeth Taylor in a television movie was not the success she hoped for as critics slashed her thespian efforts. More to come in 2013, to be sure.

Bye-bye to 2012…Welcome to 2013!

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang