UNJUSTICE
A Sydney Sullivan Story
“Although inspired in part by a true incident, the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.” Photos throughout the fiction are to assist with your own imagination.
Ole signaled Erik to come over to the Shappell. “Say nothing Howard, but let’s ride over and see what the judges want.” Erik and Howard climbed on their snow mobiles and rode over to the judges’ camp.
“We’re about ready to call it a day,” Ole smiled. “How about we go back to the Lodge for some dinner and you two join us for some cards about 9 pm?”
Erik knew he was up for it just in case there was any more foreclosure conversation. Erik looked at Howard who grinned, because he loved poker. “Yeah, we’re up for it – think you can afford us?” Erik boasted.
“Oh, we’ll try to squeeze our wallets,” Carl laughed.
After a shower and an hour to relax, dinner at the Lodge was, as always, superb or after being out in the fresh air all day it seemed like the best meal ever prepared.
The chef really was excellent. It didn’t matter if it was fish, chicken, pasta or steak – the meal was incredible and it certainly made the afternoon conversation seem less stressful.
John G. ordered a Minnesota red wine with dinner since the judges had all ordered rib-eye steaks. It was the best bottle on the menu. Ole commented that this was an expensive wine and John G. countered that life was short and “nothing was too good” for the threesome.
The judges knew better than to talk shop in a crowded restaurant even though it was 200 miles from Minneapolis. “That last walleye nearly pulled you into the lake Ole,” Carl smirked. “I thought we were going to be fishing you out of ol’ Stoney.”
“Yeah, it was a sizeable catch. I hope Erik’s dad packs that fillet on the top – I can’t wait to show my wife. She always teases me about our fishing stories,” Ole smiled. The rest of the conversation was light although both Carl and Ole could see that John G. would like to have continued the foreclosure conversation and obtain an agreement among the judges.
The card table was set up in Ole’s suite right in front of the fireplace. To the left of the fireplace in front of the picture window overlooking the lake there was a well-stocked bar with crystal glassware, full ice bucket and to the left, a complimentary tray of snacks and desserts.
Carl came in with the poker chips and pulled out two brand new decks of cards he had purchased for the trip. Carl looked at Ole and said, “I understand how you feel. This is beyond politics and I don’t like Washington dictating to us how we should run our courts, they certainly don’t seem to be able to legislate a correction. But you have to know John won’t rest until we have a consensus.”
“I can’t guarantee him I can live with that. The more I read and research the more convinced I become that our entire country has been duped and foreclosures are just the tip of the iceberg. John wants us to write bad law that will live beyond us until maybe, just maybe, some appeals or Supreme Court overturns the bad decisions. Louis Harding is a damn good attorney – this is just plain wrong and I don’t think this is a sin I want on my conscience for confession,” Ole was biting his lip because there was so much more he wanted to say.
“Well, we can’t talk about it tonight or anywhere we can be heard. I don’t even think our chambers are safe. What John is asking us to do is illegal. We’ll let it go tonight and pick it up on the way home tomorrow in the car,” Carl patted him on the back sensing Ole was really stressing over this issue.
Erik and Howard arrived a bit early to gather the judges for the card game downstairs and just as Erik was about to knock on the door, he could hear the judges in a muffled tone discussing the earlier conversation he had heard on the lake. Erik signaled Howard to wait and put his ear to the door.
Just as Carl patted Ole on the back, Erik and Howard knocked promptly at 9 pm with Howard wearing his lucky green visor cap. Last to arrive was John G. who met the group downstairs and walked directly over to the set up bar and poured himself a bourbon neat, no ice.
Everyone fixed a drink, Erik and Howard popped a couple of beers and they all took their seats around the poker table. In the state of Minnesota, home poker games are an accepted form of gambling. Minnesota state law specifies that “Social bets are allowed only if they are done in a private social setting”. This was a private room and qualified as a private social setting – not open to the public. The judges played for nickels just to make the game interesting and the chips were cashed in at the end of the night. Carl considered poker a game of skill that helped polish his intuitive ability to determine who was bluffing since he had to face that every day as he sat on the bench.
Nothing more about foreclosure was discussed that evening. There were a few good jokes told during the game that helped lighten the tension in the atmosphere. At the end Erik and Howard managed a few more nickels than when they started. Judge Carl seemed to be the big winner of the night mainly because Ole was intently studying John G. rather than his own cards.
It was a restless night for Ole as he poured over a fictional conversation in his mind that would take place in the car during the ride home after breakfast. John G. was just as edgy sensing that Ole was going to be the hold out making it impossible to report a consensus back to Washington.
Law had changed in the years just preceding the judges’ entrée to the bench. What used to be a more civil approach to determining right from wrong was now controlled and manipulated by the “fraternity” of lawyers from which judges, politicians, and political puppeteers that have entered and pledged their loyalty. The fraternal order stems all the way to the Supreme Court and has changed the operation of law into a money-making machine based more on billing that truth. Over the last 70 years the fraternity has been able to suppress and even exclude evidence, minimize the use and value of the jury system and create a very profitable billing system with an abundance of law concerning attorneys’ fees and costs. Rules have made the operation of law and the court process extremely complex. The fraternal order has become so powerful that only skilled members of its organization can participate. The average pro se is thrown to the wolves and devoured by procedure.
The fraternal order has made it difficult for a judge to assert his conscience. Money, whether it be fees, salaries, costs, investments and/or pension and retirement funds, was now the root of the legal profession which suppressed morality. And due to the aspect of money and power, the equitable balance between the branches of government has diminished allowing the fraternal order to move the equality around as it sees fit. Woven into this fabric of injustice is the vacuum of Wall Street and manipulated investments that found their way into the states’ mutual and retirement funds. Ole knew this and it made it harder for him to balance the scales of justice in foreclosure cases. He pushed and gave time for homeowners and banks to make settlements wherever possible.
The alarm clock sounded at 7 am – a hour and a half later than the usual workday routine. However, Ole felt like he never actually slept. Luckily, Carl was driving his roomy Lexus ES 350 on this trip and John G. would be the front seat passenger. After his shower and the complimentary coffee provided by the Lodge, Ole walked down to the restaurant to meet the others for breakfast.
He arrived at the same time John G. entered the room and they picked out a table at the window overlooking the icy lake and next to the fireplace. The lake was even fuller today with ice fishermen. Ole wondered how many of them were counting on their catches in order for their families to have food for dinner this week.
Carl, having gotten up at his normal time, had been out for a brisk walk before breakfast. Light snow now had powdered the trees just enough to be beautiful, but not treacherous. However, more snow was predicted for late afternoon. “Wow! – That was exhilarating! Let me tell you it is cold outside. I doubt it’s even 2 degrees this morning with the wind chill factor,” he said as he stood by the roaring fireplace to shake off the chill. “What is everybody having for breakfast?” pouring a cup of the special dark roast Lodge coffee.
The Lodge was known for its pancake breakfast. Large, very large pancakes that covered the plates with lots of butter and a selection of syrups. The pancakes were light and fluffy and rumored to have a bit of 7-Up in the batter. “Pancakes sound good, yeah?” Ole answered. The threesome ordered the pancakes with Canadian bacon so there would be no food envy.
After breakfast the judges loaded up the car and stopped over at Erik’s house to pick up the filleted fish. Ole tried to give Erik’s father a tip for cleaning the fish, but he wouldn’t take it. “Just stay with us this summer when you come,” said Erik’s dad and tailored off quietly almost to himself, “…if we’re still here.” Ole caught it but was busy adding the tip into Erik’s portion for setting up the Shappell.
Carl had been thinking about what he could say or interject to change the dynamics of John G.’s push and stave off a possible eruption between the friends. The intention was to smoothly divert the issue to a completely different focus. Little did Carl know that he was going to ruffle feathers when he started telling his story about “honeypots”…
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UNJUSTICE is a new series on DeadlyClear that will upload as chapters are completed. Please subscribe so you don’t miss as the story progresses. Inspiration and research in part with Vermont Trotter and our foreclosure defense network.
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