Archive for the ‘Pam Bondi’ Category

Don’t Tread On My Turf; Politicians Need To Butt Out of the Courtoom

Friday, October 12th, 2012

The rule of law is the rule of law is the rule of law.

I am repeating this because the message is just not getting through. This country was built on a system which held the rule of law in the highest regard and protected our judicial system.

That is what I learned in 8th grade civics class, anyway.

Whatever issues I might have with our political process and the ways influence can be garnered, with a few exceptions judges have been allowed to focus on the law and nothing else.

Yet again and again the judicial branch is being brought down into the muck, by both politicians and big business, without any hint of shame or contempt. It is seen now as another commodity which can be used to exert power by the brokers who seek to impose their will.

Cases of partisan ideology being brought into legal issues are popping up with alarming frequency. It happened in Illinois, it is happening in Iowa, and now it is the case here in Florida as well.

In this case it is the Republican Party of Florida which is trying to have its way in the courtroom. If it was the Democrats who were meddling, I would be just as opposed.

The RPOF voted to oppose the merit retention of three Florida Supreme Court Justices. Why? Their statement is brief and and extremely vague, and claims there is extensive ‘evidence of judicial activism’, yet cites just one case where these judges voted to set aside a death penalty case.
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How Some States Are Spending Foreclosure Settlement Money Is Far From Settling

Friday, May 18th, 2012


States are taking settlement money right from under us!

It’s pretty hard to find a single housing advocate or foreclosure defense attorney, myself included, who didn’t find the national mortgage settlement to be, at the very least, flawed.

It may have been a necessary step to getting the housing market back on track, but we know that it didn’t come close to compensating homeowners who had been illegally kicked out of their homes, and in the end, the banks are getting off remarkably light for their robosigning crimes.

Which is why what a multitude of states are doing with some of the banks money is downright revolting.

At least a dozen states are taking tens of millions of dollars in direct payments from the settlement and treating them like a slush fund.

Let me explain.

Part of the settlement included $2.5 billion that was given outright to the states. Florida took in just over $334 million.

The settlement calls for these dollars to be used to “to avoid preventable foreclosures, to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute financial fraud, or unfair or deceptive acts or practices and to compensate the States for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants.”

But much like much of the settlement overall, there is nothing in this language that has any real measure of enforcement. Some states are flat out ignoring these instructions and doing whatever they want with the money they are getting off the backs of good honest homeowners.
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An Open Letter to Pam Bondi

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Florida Attorney General Pam BondiFlorida Attorney General Pam Bondi is now asking for the public’s input on what she should do with the $300 million the state will be receiving directly from the national mortgage settlement.

She is openly soliciting your suggestions through her website from now until May 14th. As a foreclosure defense attorney and one of the people on the front lines of the housing crisis, I have more than a few ideas.

So Pam, please consider this my open letter to you and your office.

First and foremost, here is what you should NOT do with the money. Don’t throw it at principal reduction. It will have virtually no impact on Florida’s communities, it would be like throwing the money into quicksand.

So far, Florida’s efforts to offer financial relief to homeowners have just fallen flat.

Florida’s Hardest Hit program just hasn’t worked, and even recent changes to the program’s requirements will not help it reach enough people.

Move The Banks Out of Your Cities

What you need to do Ms. Bondi, is use the money to make systemic changes to Florida’s housing market.

First, give the money to your towns and cities to clear out Florida’s foreclosure blight. Blight caused by the abundance of abandoned homes the banks own, but refuse to take care of.

I’ve long told my readers that banks are bad neighbors, and the Sun-Sentinel now has the numbers that make my case.

Ms. Bondi, despite what your boss says, banks are the problem and you need to get them out of your cities and towns. Give your local governments the ammo to do it.
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