New York Courts Squeeze Judicial Whistleblower

Deborah Goodman, the beleaguered stay-at-home mom turned Rockland County judicial whistleblower, says she is at her wits end, unable to get help from persistent court abuse.

In the spring, she faced two major surgeries but her ex-husband’s attorney, Ellen Holtzman, continued filing in their divorce even while Goodman recuperated.

Starting in June, Goodman said Holtzman had the court freeze her accounts, and she’s running out of money.

Goodman’s divorce has dragged on since 2010; she first told her story in a first-person letter in The Rockland County Times in 2015.

At the time, the presiding judge, the now retired Victor Alfieri, had started and stopped her case numerous times and it was dragging on with no resolution in sight.

Alfieri recused himself from the case shortly thereafter and replaced by Judge Robert Berliner.

Berliner finally held a trial in March 2016 but didn’t issue a ruling until March 2017.

Berliner did not put final numbers into his ruling, instead splitting the assets he recognized based on their value at the beginning of the divorce.

The protracted divorce drained Goodman’s resources, and Goodman believes that her ex-husband failed to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets; as a result, she now owes her ex-husband $263,445.21, according to a calculation by Holtzman.

Holtzman made this claim even though Goodman has largely represented herself during the case while Holtzman has represented Goodman’s ex, Andreas Lempa, throughout.

Lempa is an executive with Phillip Morris. 

“I will not discuss a case that is active, and this case is very active,” Holtzman said in a voicemail of the eight-year-old case, “While a case is active and ongoing, it should not be in the press.”

Holtzman would also not make her client available to answer questions.

But Goodman disagrees: “It’s sick,” she said, describing a process biased against her because her ex-husband can pay for the protracted proceedings.

In April 2018, Goodman had surgery which was supposed to keep her in the hospital for up to a week, but a complication forced a second surgery and she was not released until May 16.

Though Goodman said her boyfriend informed Holtzman she was recuperating, Holtzman still filed a motion- called a motion to show cause- with the court demanding the money on June 1, 2018.

In court documents, Holtzman even acknowledged hiring a private investigator to follow her during this period.

Goodman said due to the surgery she could no longer handle the stress of court: “Everything they do to me; it goes to my gut.” Goodman said.

She hired Patrick Carle to fight the motion; Goodman had filed her own filing- called an undertaking- which would stay any payments while the case was being appealed.

With an undertaking, a bonding company guarantees the payment while the case is adjudicated. In this case, because Berliner did not produce final numbers, Goodman could not use a bonding company but instead had to use surety- or a person who holds the money on deposit. 

But Berliner denied all her requests, and instead, on August 13, Berliner signed an order keeping  

Goodman’s bank accounts frozen, even though she has three children. 

To make matters worse, her new attorney has asked off the case, since she can’t pay him while her accounts were frozen.

Goodman said she felt trapped and wrote a letter to the court asking to grant her attorney’s request off the case, arguing in the letter that the court’s actions caused this.

“My attorney Patrick Carle would like to be removed from my case because I can no longer pay him since the Court froze all my bank accounts. By doing so, I have been left without access to money to live on and most importantly child support for my children. I am understanding to Mr. Carle’s position and I am relieving him effective immediately.” Goodman said in her September 4, 2018, letter to Berliner.

In her motion to show cause, Holtzman asks that Goodman pay for Holtzman’s legal fees and the court to sanction Goodman, which, if granted, would completely wipe Goodman out.

“I have to come to grips with the fact, they (the court) are going to take everything,” Goodman said.

Carle did not respond to a voicemail for comment.

Meanwhile, the New York State Court of Appeals has not yet ruled and declined to grant Goodman a stay while they consider.

Goodman said part of what makes her case so outrageous is that even as she is harassed for this money, her ex-husband has not been held to account for numerous violations of court orders.

 “To date, Mr. Lempa has not paid anything, nor, as ordered in the Decision of April 9, 2018, provided Life Insurance in the amount of $700,000.” Goodman also stated in the letter.

Goodman also said in the same letter that her ex-husband has refused to sign documents and turn over required information, all while Goodman is compelled to hold up her end.

Goodman has also reached out to chairs of the judiciary committees in the state House and Senate, State Representative Jeff Dinowitz and State Senator John Boncic, but both offices said they had no oversight over bad judges, directing her instead to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (NYSCJC), which sanctions judicial misconduct.

“The NYS Assembly Committee on Judiciary does not handle investigations into the conduct of judges. This committee handles legislation around a variety of legislative amendments dealing with stateand local courts.” Said Frederic B. Klein Community Liaison Office of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, in response to Goodman’s query.

But according to the NYSCJC annual report, that body rarely takes action; of 2,135 complaints filed in 2017, the NYSCJC only took action publicly in sixteen cases while another thirty-one resulted in private letters of reprimand.

It’s noteworthy that one-hundred fifty-five investigations remained open and another fifteen judges resigned or retired while the investigations were ongoing, according to the same report.

Those numbers are consistent with judicial oversight bodies in the nation; an audit done of the Florida Judicial Qualification Commission (JQC), Florida’s equivalent of the NYSCJC, found that from 2011-2015, that body received 621, 659, 618, 684, and 779, complaints each year while acting in 

4,4,2,4, and 9 cases during the same period.

In some case, the oversight board lack the transparency to even provide an audit.

Taylor Henderson is the Director of the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints (COJC), that state’s version of the NYSCJC, she said that not only does the COJC not produce an annual report like the NYSCJC but the COJC is even exempt from that state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws.

In California, widespread complaints by litigants that thestate’s Commission on Judicial Performance was protecting bad judges, caused California’s state legislature to order a sweeping audit of the organization in 2016.

Lempa currently lives in Europe where he’s employed as a Manager for Marketing Intelligence Latin America and Canada for Philip Morris, according to his Linkedin profile; an email to Phillip Morris department of public affairs was left unreturned.

Conservative Law & Politics: Child Support Abuse

Check me out talking child support.




The three stories covered are:

1) Cedomir Zuric from Chicago: here's my article about him. 

2) Stephen Thompson from Tulsa, Oklahoma: here's my article about him. Also, find Stephen on TnT Tanya TalkS with Tanya Hathaway below. 




3) Carlos Rivera from New York City: an interview about his case below. 

Nancy Pelosi Wants an Investigation into the Ground Zero Mosque

No, it's not about the funding for the Mosque. Instead, Speaker Pelosi wants to investigate those that are funding the opposition to the Mosque.

The house speaker is calling for an investigation into groups protesting the building of the Ground Zero mosque.

"There is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some," she told San Francisco's KCBS radio on Tuesday.

Pelosi added that she joins "those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded."

Many Republicans have said they are against the building of the mosque, and have demanded Democratic candidates and incumbents to publicly choose a side.

Just think, some are concerned about who's behind the funding of the Mosque. That's not what Nancy Pelosi is concerned about. Instead, she's concerned about who's funding the opposition.

Here, I thought the opposition was spontaneous and organic. Pelosi must think that 64% of the population is being driven and funded by a secret group all behind the scenes. Talk about a conspiracy theory. Somehow, a secret group of wealthy bankers was able to fund an opposition that has turned into a grass roots opposition. I'd like to know their marketing guru.

Obama Backtracks Leaves Supporters in Lurch

How must Glenn Greenwald be feeling today? After all, here's what he wrote immediately following Obama's pronouncement on Friday.

This is one of the most impressive and commendable things Obama has done since being inaugurated:

President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country" . . .

...

What makes this particularly commendable is there is virtually no political gain to be had from doing it, and substantial political risk. Polls shows overwhelming opposition to the mosque nationwide (close to 70% opposed), and that's true even in New York, where an extraordinary "50% of Democrats, 74% of Republicans, and 52% of 'non-enrolled' voters, don't want to see the mosque built."

Greenwald wasn't the only one. Here's a sample of the comments on the Huffington Post following a story about this on Friday.

Once again Obama does the right thing. Conservatives only care about the constitution when it aligns with their ideology/goals. As usual.

....

America cannot let the demagogues win this one. Sarah's "win" will be the terrorists' win. It is sickening and disheartening that part of this great country will let this woman lead them. However, we must persevere. America is infinitely greater and better than her.

...

The headlines should state, President defends the Constitution. Come on HP!! stop trying to compete with Faux News headlines, it is below you. Well, I used to think it was below you, but I am beginning to wonder.

Of course, not a day after taking what some liberals called a principled stance, Obama backtracked.

I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," he said. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding.

So, now, most of those same liberals have egg on their face. It turns out that Obama's "principled stance" lasted all of one day. Now, liberals are taking Obama on for blinking.

A mere 24 hours after he threw his presidential weight behind the proposed mosque near New York’s ground zero—in a display of statesmanship that was delicious as much for its rarity as for its apparent cojones—Obama recalibrated his position in a frightened, mealy mouthed attempt to placate the anti-mosque opposition (which, depressingly, appears to comprise almost the entire Republican Party).

On Friday, Obama said, in words that were plainly at war with the conventional wisdom that holds that the mosque is offensive to popular American sentiment: “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America.”

All those that reflexively defended him are stuck licking their wounds. No word yet from Glenn Greenwald.

Obama Clarifies?

President Obama seeked to clarify his comments from Friday vis a vis to controversy over the Ground Zero Mosque.

Speaking Friday night at a White House dinner to honor the holy month of Ramadan, the president said, "Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," an apparent show of support for the mosque.

On Saturday, while spending the day in the Gulf, the president clarified, "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."

Later in the day, spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement saying "the president is not backing off in any way from the comments he made last night.

"It is not his role as president to pass judgment on every local project. But it is his responsibility to stand up for the constitutional principle of religious freedom and equal treatment for all Americans," Burton said.

This morning former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said it best

if you're explaining you're losing.

The president will be doing an awful lot of explaining over this issue because it's very confusing exactly what his position is.

Obama Supports the Ground Zero Mosque

Speaking at an outreach event to the Islamic community President Obama said this.

As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama told an intently listening crowd gathered at the White House Friday evening to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

The mosque is overwhelmingly, by 60% plus, not favored to be built at Ground Zero. It's especially opposed by most of the families of the victims of 9/11. High profile Republicans like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin oppose the mosque. The Anti Defamation League also opposes it issuing this statement.

We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.

We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.

However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.

The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.

This continues a pattern by Obama of taking the overwhelming minority's side on the issue of the day.

More coverage of the issue here, here and here.

Djou Wins in Hawaii

Charles Djou won the special election in Hawaii last night.

For the first time since, May, 2008, House Republicans have won a special election.

Republican Charles Djou topped Democrats Colleen Hanabusa and former Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) to succeed retired Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) in Congress. Before Djou’s victory, Democrats had won 11 consecutive special elections. The stretch included a win last Tuesday by Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA) to succeed the late-Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA). Many political handicappers expected Republican Tim Burns to win that contest and viewed the race as a barometer for how the political winds may blow this fall.

Djou secured 39.5 percent of the vote. Meantime, the two Democratic candidates, Hanabusa and Case combined to score nearly 60 percent of the vote. But that splintered the Democratic impact and allowed Djou to squeak through.

This was no surprise. The national Democrats had pulled out of this race at the beginning of the month. Furthermore, there were two Democrats running against one Republican and so the dynamic in this race was unique. The next special election will be in Eric Massa's old seat in New York state.

NY Governor's Race Heats Up

The New York Governor's race just heated up.

The campaign for the Republican nomination for governor was blown wide open on Thursday as the party’s presumptive frontrunner, Rick A. Lazio, lost key support after a last-minute entry into the race by a conservative Long Island Democrat.

he Democrat, Steve Levy, was quickly amassing Republican endorsements, just hours after he said he would switch parties and seek the Republican nomination.

Mr. Lazio, seeking to contain the damage and play down the growing number of defections from his campaign, hit back on Thursday, calling Mr. Levy, the Suffolk County executive, a “rank opportunist.”

Steve Levy is a moderate who had no chance in the Democratic primary. Lazio seemed to be a shoe in for the Republican nomination that appeared to be heading for being a sacrificial lamb against Anthony Cuomo in the general election.

Now, there's a reason to follow the race. Already, several county Republican heads have switched their support from Lazio to Levy. Lazio was the consensus choice but he didn't exactly get Republicans excited.

Now, we have a race. The first race is to the power brokers of the Republican party. The next race is to the delegates in their convention.

Ford Won't Run

Harold Ford has decided not to challenge Kirsten Gillenbrand in the Democratic Primary for the Senator from New York state.

Former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford Jr. says he's decided not to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for U.S. Senate in New York's Democratic primary because he
doesn't want to divide the party.

Ford says in a New York Times op-ed posted online Monday he refuses to do anything that would help a Republican win the seat. He says a primary would be "highly negative."

He wrote an Op Ed in the New York Times explaining his decision.

But as I traveled around New York, I began to understand why the party bosses felt the need to use such heavy-handed tactics: They’re nervous. New Yorkers are clamoring for change. Our political system — so bogged down in partisan fighting — is sapping the morale of New Yorkers and preventing government at every level from fulfilling its duty.

The cruel twist, of course, is that the party bosses who tried to intimidate me so that I wouldn’t even think about running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who had been appointed to the seat by Gov. David A. Paterson, are the same people responsible for putting Democratic control of the Senate at risk.

Kirsten Gillenbrand is likely to take on former Governor George Pataki in the general election.

First Shoe Drops in Paterson Affair

The first official has resigned in relation to the explosive story in yesterday's New York Times.

The cabinet official who supervises the State Police has resigned in the wake of the reports of the governor’s and State Police’s intervention in the abuse case.

The official, Denise E. O’Donnell, commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, issued a statement Thursday after inquiries from The New York Times.

“The fact that the governor and members of the State Police have acknowledged direct contact with a woman who had filed for an order of protection against a senior member of the governor’s staff is a very serious matter,” she wrote. “These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent.”

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that a Paterson aide, David Johnson, was involved in an alleged domestic dispute that turned violent. After Johnson was dropped, the New York State Police made contacts with the alleged victim in the case after the incident. The case was under the jurisdiction of the New York City police department. The State Police has no jurisdiction however they are in charge of protecting Governor Paterson. Paterson is also under extreme pressure to resign and give up his re election bid.

The Paterson Bombshell

The rumors have been swirling but the New York Times finally released their Governor Paterson bombshell.

Gov. David Paterson has suspended a close aide and is asking for an investigation by the attorney general after a published report linked the aide to a claim of domestic violence involving a former girlfriend.

Paterson on Wednesday said he was suspending David Johnson, who rose from volunteer to driver to confidant in more than a decade of working for the Democrat. Paterson also asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate a New York Times article's claims that state police may have pressured the woman to drop a
criminal case against Johnson.

The full New York Times article is here.