The legal system in America, does it work? I don't think so

it's happening all over the country. Different states and counties are adopting legislator to get away with some of these awful things they are doing!!.
Texas is a very crooked state.
Virginia
I would say about 13 states are taking on situations that don't belong in government. They are using they're power in the law enforcement agencies to do their dirty work!!.. More powerful employees are told to keep their mouth's shut! It's appalling!

I don't like what I see, and I fear a civil war coming on within the USA....if people don't start acting "more civil" and "great full" for what they already have, this world will turn into callous sore.
Stun Guns, Shooting Puppies, Stunning Old People, Killing People ;with LAZAR STUN GUNS.!!!! Come ON
Our people, starving on the street, living in tents, looking like a "3rd World Country"
We have animal control to control animals first of all,
and if someone is over a certain age, proceed with understanding and caution. Lazar Stun Guns by the way, what if that person happens to wear a "pacemaker"!!! then what do you do?? HUH????
We are supposed to be Americans. And stand for what our fathers signed on a document. Its called "The Deceleration of Independence" Also, there is also very good writing and truth within "The Book" Yes, you read correctly. There was a very gentle, kind man whom traveled long and far to teach good for all man kind. His father, "GOD" is the all powerful and merciful. There are lessons there, and he gave us very important lessons. TO BE FOLLOWED, with Love and Understanding. that's all it takes. Spread it around, you kindness pays off. It "RUBS" off. From one person to the next. It's "contagious" and it's "good" and it's "laughter".

God Bless. Think about it and spread it around... You'll feel better for it.

Nite to all.
bbobcat63

The justice system has been infected with a casino capitalist mentality.

It just keeps getting deeper doesn't it. Roderick Baca related to Lee Baca of the LA County Sheriff's Department? That would explain a lot wouldn't it?

The case rests on whether or not the car was a "motor vehicle" covered by the ARA or an off-road vehicle covered by the B&P (codes).

As a "motor vehicle" I was in violation of the law, as an off-road vehicle I was not since the transaction wasn't within the jurisdiction of the ARA. I worked on the car as an "off-road vehicle" as there was no emission equipment and the engine and significant engine parts were strictly race only / off-road use only.

Bohannon's Sept. 23, 2003 statement entered into evidence then withdrawn clearly identifies the engine and at least one significant engine part that was not legal for use in a "motor vehicle", but race only or off-road use only.

Why is this significant? Because if the car previously had an engine and engine parts which precluded requisite emissions equipment for the year, make and model of the car, the car could not have received smog certification necessary to obtain registration as a "motor vehicle" - legally.

If John Bohannon had falsely obtained smog certification for an illegal car, Bohannon violated Federal and state laws, felonies. If John Bohannon legally obtained smog certification for an unmodified car, then altered the car with non-emission compliant engine and engine parts, Bohannon violated Federal and state laws, felonies.

Either way, with Bohannon's Sept. 23, 2003 statement entered into evidence then withdrawn by DCA Patrick Shibuya, and in my opinion and to my knowledge having spoken to Bohannon, Bohannon knew the car did not previously have valid registration but represented it as valid when he stated in a declaration to the BAR and under oath at trial the car was registered and stock, not modified, is a felony.

Either way, the car was not registered for some time before it came to me, DMV records show Bohannon abandon the (personalized) license plates - necessary for use as a "motor vehicle". Additionally, Bohannon had told me the car did not have insurance, another requisite item for a "motor vehicle" to obtain registration.

A case based upon the registration status of a vehicle defining it as a "motor vehicle" can not be proffered if that registration is invalid, not legal. The court would be saying illegally obtained registration is valid in other words. Dare they say that???????

Also, Bohannon testified under penalty of perjury the other cars he owned / owns were stock, unmodified. The reality is, based upon conversations I had with Bohannon he owned other modified vehicles, one a Vega which originally came equipped with a 4 cylinder engine but now had a modified 350 V-8 engine with a license plate number VEGA350 indicating the engine, another he had extensive work performed to increase the horsepower the engine would make - or so he told me.

This is what I know and believe.

BAR guys Roderick Baca and John Nelson would have known of the VEGA350 license plate's meaning which would have thrown up a red flag as to Bohannon's credibility and honesty.

Due to ambiguity of the this story, it would appear that the judge's ruling is being challenged. If this is the case then why wasn't the crucial evidence presented? It it was known by both sides, at time of the initial preceding I doubt this would be grounds for the ruling to be over-turned.

The trouble with the Judicial system is that a trial civil or criminal is conducted like a game rather than a serious procedure with serious consequences for people and society.

Prosecutors use convicted felons who would say anything to get a reduced sentence as key witnesses because the prosecutor decided a person was guilty or was motivated by political pressure, or corruption or political gain. When this happens, the prosecutor filters the evidence available, withholding evidence destructive to his or her case.

Case in point, DCA Patrick Shibuya withdrawing Bohannon's statement where he implicates himself for tampering with emission's equipment, obtaining false emission certification and / or misrepresenting the registration status of his car and committing felony perjury and making false accusations - all because he decided to. Not because it was right, not because it was legal, not because he was an honest man with integrity. He did it because he does not respect the law, civil rights or the constitution.

Despite what DCA Shibuya thinks he understands about me, which is nothing, he has conspired to protect John Bohannon of serious violations of the law having nothing to do with me.

I think that people get the idea that the system is corrupt from the idea that corporations get away with things that poor individuals cannot . For instance 8 people died because of poison peanut butter . Those on charge knew about the conditions . If we are lucky they might do time . If an individuaL Did THAT , they would surely get life , if not the death penalty , depending if it was Texas . Between equals , I do not think it is too bad . I am in a court case now , and I too have been frustrated about how hard it is to prove something . I put myself in their place , then look at what there is to see . So far , they have done pretty well , considering .

Los Angeles under City Attorney Rocky "under FBI Investigation" Delgadillo.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, “A rule declaring ‘prosecutor may hide, defendant must seek,’ is not tenable in a system constitutionally bound to accord defendants due process.” Ginsburg also writing for the high courts majority “When police or prosecutors conceal significant exculpatory or impeaching material, it is ordinarily incumbent on the state to set the record straight.”

Holly crap Batman!

Where did this happen? The city attorney is supposed to uphold the law, not aid and abet those who violate it

I understand what you are saying, but had it been a search for the truth of the matter, then only the right conclusion could have been arrived at.

Having people lie for the prosecution for DCA Shibuya to make a case is a travesty of justice, a violation of my civil rights and my right to due process.

I'll point out that the prosecution's witnesses, Bohannon and two BAR employees Roderick Baca and John Nelson committed perjury, not once, not twice but many many times contradicting themselves from one page to another within their BAR reports.

What is the purpose of taking an oath and pretending a courtroom is a sacred place if the LAW itself doesn't respect it.

What I've copied over a couple posts back is a statement given "under penalty of perjury" and a written statement the LAW, a seasoned city attorney accepted as factual, as a declaration worthy to be entered into evidence.

Withholding evidence is also a travesty of justice. What I didn't say was that both the Los Angeles County Council and the Department of Motor Vehicles withheld documents pertaining to the situation which would have impeached the prosecution's witnesses. The withhold of public records is another violation of my civil rights and right to due process.

Yeah? So? That first bit is oral testimony from your trial that has been typed onto a document. I gather the rest consists of a couple of letters. The point I was making was that the fact that you were citing the existence of "documented evidence" as though the fact that it was documented PROVED anything. Evidence can take the form of oral testimony, documents, things (murder weapons, hair samples, tire pattern moulds, etc), pictures, videotapes, diagrams, and so forth. Just because evidence is DOCUMENTED doesn't make it any more or less persuasive...

Does the evidence you just presented prove your case? There is no way to determine that based on what you just copied here. I don't even know the nature of your claim(s) or cause(s) of action. Then there is the matter of any defenses asserted by the other side.

During the 20 years I have been practicing there has been a noticeable shift in the way most people respond to winning or losing their cases. My recollection is that people in general used to be much more willing to accept the fact that their case may just not have been strong enough to win or that perhaps they had overestimated the amount of their damages.

THESE days people just cannot seem to accept the possibility that they might have been wrong or even not completely right. Any adverse ruling just HAD to be the result of a crooked judge or a corrupt system. And perhaps such things WERE present in your case...just like any other attorney, I would have to review the record to date to even state an opinion.

But I KNOW that very, very few judges are corrupt. When one of them does pop up, it is a terrible thing to watch -- it may SEEM commonplace from the number of stories in the newspapers, but when you consider the enormous number of state district court judges, appellate judges, justices of the peace, city court judges, federal judges and state and federal supreme court justices, the corrupt ones are a tiny percentage of that large number.

In simple terms, the question was the car in question a "motor vehicle" or an off-road vehicle. As an unregistered "motor vehicle" the car was not within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Auto Repair (or BAR), as an off-road vehicle according the various other Bureau of Auto Repair employees I've talked to, is not within the jurisdiction of the BAR and the Automotive Repair Act or ARA.

The car was unlicensed, unregistered but for PNO or "Permenent Non-Operation", had no insurance and was then and had been previously modified to contain racing only engine and engine components, further more Bohannon provided additional race only engine parts consistent with the work he requested from me.

I owned a business in LA building carburetors and various products for high performance and race cars and performed work on high performance and race cars for numerous shops in the area,

"Dear Pat" is Los Angeles deputy City Attorney Patrick Shibuya.

DCA Shibuya entered into evidence Bohannon's statement dated September 23, 2003 for the purpose of justifying an additional $1,300.00 or so in restitution to be paid to Bohannon.

I pointed out the significance of the engine and parts Bohannon identified very specifically for what they were, race only and non-emission compliant for the vehicle involved.

Documented evidence, yes. Is there more? Yes.

Bohannon stated under oath it was stock, then provided a statement indicating it was not. The case hinged on whether or not the car was an off-road vehicle, not legal or registered for use on the highway or a "motor vehicle".

It was an off-road vehicle, but with DCA Shibuya, Roderick Baca and John Nelson of the BAR together they changed the appearance of the context of the situation after the fact unlawfully placing me in violation. Want more?

Documented evidence: Statement from the "certified" transcript from my trial in which on page 164, lines 12-14, John Bohannon of Northridge, CA states “yes, it was street legal before the engine was torn apart. I intended to restore it back to that condition again.”

On page 171, lines 10-17, DCA Shibuya asks Bohannon ”was it a race car engine?” Bohannon responds “no.” DCA Shibya asks, “you said it was like the engine that was in the car originally?” Bohannon responds “yes.” DCA Shibuya asks, “A stock sort of engine?” Bohannon responds “Yes, stock.”

On page 227, lines 4-8, DPD Milosevic asks Bohannon “now, you also testified on direct that the initial agreement between you and Mr. Patterson involved a rebuilding of the engine that was already in the Monza, correct?” Bohannon responds “yes.”

Following my conviction Bohannon provided DCA Shibuya the following statement dated September 23, 2003 for the purpose of being compensated for the engine referenced above that he left in my business for several years:

“Dear Pat,

As we discussed, enclosed, please find and estimate from B&B, a reputable auto repair shop. I am sorry it took so long to get it but the items I requested are not common –over the shelve items the engine block is a 4-bolt main ’70 Chevrolet LT-1-----and the heads are “camel” heads for same---with 2.02 valves and even the intake manifold is a single plane Edelbrock 4bbl aluminum manifold. The B&B Automotive had to find a source of these to get a real estimate without guessing. I hope that the Judge will admit them, as John Nelson’s estimate was just a guess that was way off.

Sincerely,

John Bohannon”

......

Also kind of amusing that you both focus on the 10% of my post devoted to comparing legal systems but manage to skip completely over the 90% devoted to calling you out on your misuse of terms like "documented evidence."

Stopthenoise, gee I hate to foo foo all over your birthday cake, but I didn't post my comment in order to get your approval. "Get off the comparison?" Did somebody die and make you the King of Current? If my comparison of the American legal system and the legal systems of other countries offends you...get over it.

You are judging an entire legal system based on your personal frustration. Attorney after attorney declined to pursue your case? Oh yeah, CLEARLY it is because the legal system is corrupt. You couldn't POSSIBLY just have a weak (or nonexistent) case. Just like the patient who goes from doctor to doctor until one of them gives them the diagnosis (or the pills) they want. Your comments here demonstrate that you know next to nothing about ANY legal system let alone ours...but that certainly doesn't stop you from posing as an expert now does it?...

stopnoise, good point. We must make changes to improve OUR judicial system. The victim of corrupt system will not feel any better knowing that judicial corruption in other countries is worse.

The first mistake you can do it is to start to compare our system with other systems in the World. What do you expect with your comparison? To justify that our Judicial flaws are not so bad so we don't have to change anything and let the wrong doings and the corruption lobbyists rule! Get off of comparison and analyze the issue as it is. We are trying to catch a bad group of people that uses money to PR their way to social chaos.
There are more bad people out there than you think it is.

As people who work in our justice system every day say, "it is the worst legal system in the world, except for all the rest." And there IS a grain of truth to that expression. I am sure you can all imagine casting your fates upon the waters of, for example, the Mexican, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Afghan, Mayalaysian or Venezuelan legal systems?

Documented evidence? I deal with "documented evidence" every day. All that phrase means is evidence that is typed on a piece of paper. That evidence may be strong or it may be weak or it may be completely irrelevant to the issues in the case. Early in this thread, people start confusing the terms "evidence" and "proof." They are completely different things. My son can hand me a handwritten note telling me the sky is orange. That would be documented evidence of the color of the sky...and it would be completely worthless.

As to the 10 year sentence for marijuana possession? That LAW isn't corrupt. The legislators who drafted it and voted into law MIGHT be corrupt, but I doubt the majority of them are or were. Passing such laws was a poor decision - a mistake. Legislators are fallible human beings. They make mistakes. ..and of course, they are in the legislature to represent THEIR district first and the public at large second. They get elected with a mandate to "get tough on crime." Well, it is easy to double a prison sentence. It is very, very difficult to gather together the necessary expertise to create an anti-recidivism program. Guess which bill gets drafted (especially during this past couple of decades when so many legislatures were controlled by the Party-that-must-not-be-named)...

The cases mentioned on this thread may very well represent failures of the legal system. There is nowhere NEAR enough information provided to make that determination.

realistically...to be the wet blanket here...we're still doing a helluva lot better than the majority of the world and the system still functions mildly well. the problem is the laws in place are corrupt. 10 year for crack, 10 for marijuana? simple examples.

we don't need to redo the entire system, it's probably the most fair on the planet, but we do need to go through and scrub it out as it still has many holdovers from our racist heritage and many new corrupt laws (such as drug laws)

To begin with it our Judicial system it is not accessible to the honest and disfranchised poor. In case of Government wrong doings it is almost impossible to respond and dismantle their machine of oppression. Since we are a copy of the Roman/Greek Empire, going back in history, Aristotle knew that the Law would be corrupted by the lobbying parties and thus become "uneffective" to stop crime and corruption. So he create and developed "Ethics" that was supposed to expose and stop with the Corruption. Our Government has got hold of the word and principals of "ethics" and corrupted it. However, Ethics cannot be corrupted. Many people knows what is right and wrong and what are the Universal Principals of doing things in such a way that does not hurt or destroy human life. You cannot invade other people living environment and at the same time say you are not doing anything wrong. We know you are wrong San Francisco! We need a better system of accountability and not a system of cover ups.

http://current.com/topics/88878511_youwebradio/
http://current.com/topics/88880337_ywr/

The checks and balances are pretty much all gone, there is very little accountability and public officials get away with just all kinds of stuff because of connections and the money that helped get them there

Is it any wonder we have so much corruption

While we are sleeping, working, raising our children our justice system is getting more and more unjust and corrupt, new laws that benefit corruption minded and self pronounced victims will lobby for laws benefiting their cause. The decent, honest, trusting, hardworking people will continue to fall victims of the judicial system and politically correct interpretation of the law.

Here's what Carmen Trutanich said while campaigning:

"I'm not going to let you down...We're going to prosecute misdemeanor ethics law violations by politicians...We're going to change the way politics is played in the City of Los Angeles..."

I hope that includes all public servants entrusted to uphold and defend the law!

Thanks pjacobs51, Dave Demerjian of the Public Integrity Unit (of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office) refused to look at the evidence when I presented it to him in 2004.

I also presented it to Bill Lockyer's Attorney General's Office's Public Inquiry Office in 2004 to no avail.

That is a very good question! If you start to research more you will be amazed what have been happening in our reality because of this broken and non effective system. I have been reporting wrong doings in Public Transportation in San Francisco here at Current for One and 1/2 Year. I did plan some goals and so far I have not being able to abate or stop the Local Government to do their wrong doings neither have I gathered a substantial group of professionals willing to challenge a situation that it is wrong and unethical. Do we have lack of professionals in the Bay Area in the Law, Health and other professions? No! I do not think so! However we have a lack of Ethical professionals willing to challenge what is wrong, that's for sure! Everyone it is after money only! Very few are after volunteering themselves to fix those things that are wrong. So the problem keeps rolling and rolling like a cycle of madness. Needless to say, Yes! Our system is broke and have been corrupted to cycle things around but not abate or resolve it. Very few are watching what the Judiciary are doing. There are no accountabilities from the Judiciary on issues that affects the health, safety and security of those that have been oppressed. I do not want to generalize because I know that there are lots of good people everywhere. I just have not being able to find them. The bad people you do not need to find them, they find you! The true fact it is that there are a lots of people with money lobbying towards the development of a chaotic society. Yes! The system needs to be re-designed.

http://current.com/topics/88878511_youwebradio/
http://current.com/topics/88880337_ywr/

By the way, besides some of you - Where are all the other good people anyways?

Check this out, it's about corruption in the LA City Attorney's office http://www.scooterfightscityhall.com/

Lets buy an island.....I am in charge of the gardens......

Makes you wonder why we even have a judicial system. I mean who watches the watchers?

Have you tried internal affairs?

Now I'll provide the information to the new Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and see what he'll do about it.

send a letter to your state representative with certified mail and ensure you have duplicates of everything stored and then simply release them to a website that will publish everything and see what the response is.

Totally agree. I've heard of this same sort of thing happening. It's always easy when you are not personally involved to shrug things like this off, but it affects us negatively in ways we don't even know and leads to more and more corruption

If they have documented proof they better act on it! If they don't then it's almost as if they committed the crime themselves. Why, turn the other way and let other's be corrupt? I hate that, this is why we are in this state of lies now. Because nobody wanted to do anything and be the bad guy. Somebody's got to do the right thing. PLEASE I HOPE THEY DO THE RIGHT THING, IF THEY WILL MAYBE SOMETHING WILL CHANGE FINALLY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF BAD CORRUPTION AND LIES!

Continuation...

The "certified" transcript is incomplete.

Eventually, the appellate court dismissed Marino and Weinberg without them filing arguments on my behalf and appointed another appellate attorney, who armed with the same impeaching / exculpatory evidence also did not submit arguments on my behalf. A third court appointed appellate attorney did not provide communication with me nor did the appellate court inform me of the pending deadline for arguments. By keeping me out of the loop, the Los Angeles Appellate Court prevented me from providing the troublesome impeaching / exculpatory evidence to the latest appellate attorney - who filed arguments and the court rendering a decision without my knowledge. I learned some ten months later.

So what's it all about and why have so many ignored the documented evidence of felony offenses? Why was I deprived due process and my civil rights? That's the short version.

You'd think I was a real bad guy. In fact, I was a successful businessman with a young business in Los Angeles developing a national reputation and recognition and products and a young family.

Learning of the Appellate courts trick to deprive me of my rights, I am again contacting all those mentioned above. We will see what response comes from it.

continuation...

Is this right? Is it justice? Why would they do this? Where is accountability?

Los Angeles City Attorney Office under Rocky Delgadillo is complicit in concealing evidence and protecting from prosecution a person guilty of documented felony offense. Funny thing is, Steve Cooley's DA's office also choose to ignore the documented evidence, as did Bill Lockyer's Attorney General's Office and now to date, so has Edmund G. Brown.

I have asked Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Sam Farr, Senator Barbara Boxer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Governor Arnold Schwarezenegger and previously o two occasions the FBI to look into the information or forward / help me to reach any agency to take up the case.

Having filed an appeal and hiring Beverly HIlls Attorney Nina Marino and Allen Weinberg, Marino and Weinberg refused to make arguments on my behalf which exposed ANYONE of perjury or impeached them in any manner despite documented exculpatory evidence to overturn the conviction.

Continued...