Some 'Rocket Docket' Judges Remain Unabashed In Their Cluelessness As They Continue To Bulldoze Home Foreclosure Cases Through System

From an op-ed column appearing in The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida):

• Local judges have made some disturbing comments recently regarding foreclosure cases and people fighting in court to save their homes. The comments appeared Sunday and Tuesday in stories in The News-Press about the case of Linda Bassett, who claims the bank trying to foreclose on her house has used fraudulent documents, and that her case has not been given due consideration by the courts.

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• Bassett's case went first to Senior Judge Hugh Starnes' courtroom Monday. Starnes said he would take all uncontested cases first. Those who wanted a jury trial would follow, and Starnes urged attorneys and clients to think hard before pressing for a trial: "When you get to the end of the day, I'll be frank with you, I tend to be more brusque." After working through dozens of cases with more trials to come, he warned, "You're not going to have a happy camper here on the bench."

• That is wrong. This gives the appearance that the judge's weariness and irritability will prejudice him against people seeking a trial for their case. If he's too tired or impatient to do the job, he should step aside for another judge.

• The case Monday was transferred to the court of Judge William McIver, another of the senior judges who have been recruited from retirement to hear the thousands of mortgage cases.

• "This senior judge is still learning how the process works for foreclosure," McIver told the courtroom. That's disturbing, too, if you are a party to a suit hoping for fair and informed treatment.

• We realize that the "rocket docket" requires judges to plow through a mind-numbing number of cases, in which the homeowner is well in arrears in payments. But these judges' comments raise questions about whether speed of disposition or due process takes precedence in foreclosure court. The rapid-fire disposition of foreclosure cases has probably contributed to abuses. The system appears to have been created to fail. And people become disappointed in the system, the banks and the rule of law.

• Problems have surfaced with bank documentation of their ownership of mortgages, forcing some foreclosure cases to be dropped. The attorney general's Economic Crimes Division is investigating whether certain law firms - "foreclosure mills" - created and filed improper documents to speed up foreclosure, without the knowledge of the homeowners involved. Whether Linda Bassett has a valid case remains to be seen. But she deserves a fair hearing.

Source: Editorial: Judges' words shake faith in local justice.