MLK said: "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"

End Corruption in the Courts!

Court employee, judge or citizen - Report Corruption in any Court Today !! As of June 15, 2016, we've received over 142,500 tips...KEEP THEM COMING !! Email: CorruptCourts@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Judge Confiscates Transcripts: Funny Business as Usual (MORE, CLICK HERE)

Unsealed, Uncontested Court Records “Confiscated” by Judge Herman Cahn and withheld by Judge Bernard Fried With the Apparent Collusion of Administrative Judge Jacqueline Silbermann. So Says William Galison. And Mr. Galison has a lot more to say on what appears to be just another miscarriage of justice:

This matter regards the wanton violation of 14th amendment rights and section 216.01 of the Unified Rules for NYS trial courts by Judges Herman Cahn and Bernard Fried, with the apparent collusion of Judge Jacqueline Silbermann, all of the New York Civil Supreme Court, First Department. Specifically, this matter involves the illegal confiscation of public record transcripts from the public record and from one litigant with no due process of law.

The underlying case is a libel lawsuit by William Galison, a professional musician, brought against Jeffrey Greenberg, a lawyer from the firm of Beldock, Levine and Hoffman.

In the course of pre-trial hearings, Judge Cahn held an ex parte conference with Greenberg’s lawyers, and on the basis of that meeting, issued a protective order against Galison. Cahn gave no explanation to Galison as to the reason for the protective order, and despite Galison’s numerous requests has refused to furnish the transcripts of the ex parte meeting to Galison for over two years.

THE CONFISCATION OF UNSEALED PUBLIC RECORD COURT DOCUMENTS FROM ONE PARTY IN A COURT PROCEEDING IS A VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATE LAW BY JUDGES IN THE NEW YORK SUPREME COURT UNPRECEDENTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE COURT.

The motivation of Greenberg’s lawyers in defaming Galison is as transparent as it is reprehensible. Galison sued Greenberg because Greenberg wrote and published the false allegation that Galison had “physically abused” Greenberg’s client. Greenberg made this allegation despite his client’s sworn testimony that Galison never harmed her in any way, and that she had never told Greenberg or anyone else that he had done so. In the ex parte meeting, Greenberg’s lawyers falsely told Judge Cahn that Galison posed a threat to THEM in order to prejudice Cahn against Galison and his libel claim.

Of course, the right to obtain court transcripts in one’s own case is a fundamental pillar of the justice system, especially when those transcripts contain ex parte allegations and evidence that have lead to sanctions. In essence, Mr. Galison was accused, tried, sentenced and punished without knowledge of the charges, the evidence or the argument against him, and with no opportunity whatsoever to defend himself..

THERE ARE NO CONTESTED FACTS IN THIS MATTER

Judge Cahn does not contest the fact that he had an ex parte meeting, that he placed a restraining order on Galison, or that he confiscated the transcripts without due process. In fact, there are NO contested FACTS at issue in this matter. The ONLY question at issue is whether or not New York Supreme Court judges are beholden to the rules of the Uniform Court System and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States. Galison contends that they are. Cahn, Fried and Silbermann contend that they are not.

It must be emphasized that the transcripts in question were NEVER SEALED by Judge Cahn against Galison or anyone else. NOT ONE of the rules regarding sealing of court documents was obeyed. Furthermore, the defense lawyers DO NOT CONTEST the release of the transcripts to Galison. In a letter to judge Silbermann they wrote: “If a transcript of the December 7, 2005 conference with Justice Cahn exists, [we] of course have no objection its being released to the parties”.

The fact that the transcripts exist was made clear by a short portion of the transcripts that Mr. Galison was able to obtain from the court reporter, Myron Calderon. Mr. Calderon told Galison that the entire ex parte meeting was recorded, and that Judge Cahn had “confiscated” most of the record from Calderon before he had a chance to transcribe it.

When Mr. Galison complained to Administrative Judge Silbermann about the confiscation of the transcripts, Judge Cahn immediately recused himself from the case without explanation, against Mr. Galison’s expressed wishes. Even after his recusal however, he has continued to prohibit Mr. Galison from obtaining the transcripts for over two years. When Galison appealed to Judge Silbermann, Silbermann refused to direct Judge Cahn to furnish the transcripts and advised Mr. Galison that his only recourse was to file a formal motion before the judge who replaced Cahn: Bernard Fried, whom Silbermann also personally chose to take over the case. Never in the history of the New York Supreme Court, has a litigant been required to file a motion to obtain an unsealed transcript from the court.

Galison made two formal motions before Fried to obtain the unsealed, uncontested transcripts from his own case. Fried denied the first motion without prejudice, and the second WITH prejudice because, as Judge Fried put it: “I did not give you permission to re-file”. (If a ruling without prejudice cannot be re-filed, how is it difference than a ruling WITH prejudice?)

And so, Mr. Galison has now exhausted all of the available recourses for obtaining the UNSEALED, UNCONTESTED transcripts from his own case. To this day, he does not know why a protective order was placed against him, what evidence was presented and what arguments were made.

Judge Fried then dismissed the entire case in favor of Defense, thereby leaving Galison with no further recourse for obtaining the transcripts. Galison, however is appealing the decision, and hopes that Appellate Court will uphold his fundamental constitutional right to a fair trial.

The ex-parte meeting and the unfair judgment are, unfortunately, commonplace events in the Civil Supreme. What is shocking in this case is the cover up, involving three veteran judges, and their coordinated efforts over two years to deprive a citizen of his basic constitutional rights to obtain the transcripts in his own case.

Mr. Galison has now filed complaints against Judges Cahn, Fried and Silbermann with the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

For more information please contact: William Galison at wgalison@aol.com

Click here to see our previous post on this story.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

this scam is not new - the judges do what they want - they are the new dictators - go fight them and spent your money if you have any and can find a lawyer that will represent you and not rip you off - they control the courts and they all protect one an other - they need to be put in jail for their violations of the rights of citizens and the Constitution - who will do this for us citizens?

Anonymous said...

If Mr. galison's story is accurate, this will be a test of the CJC. If they don't bust Cahn fir stealing transcripts, that will say it all.

Anonymous said...

I truly believe it all, because I am currently experiencing blatant Corruption in the Courts. They run you ragged until you're exhausted to fight back. You cannot find an honest lawyer to represent you,because they're too afraid to fight these bullies. My case is on for Silbermann soon, stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

I filed a complaint at the CJC against a Judge in NY Supreme Court and never heard back from them, and my case is still pending in front of that very same Judge I complained about.

Anonymous said...

Any transcript released now will definitely be altered by OCA...KNOWN FACT! I have proof that OCA has done that in a pending case I have against them. They truly underestimated my contacts and personal and extensive knowledge of how they had operated for years! It won't be long before this and other indicting information is going to be known to the public.

Anonymous said...

have a friend who works as a court reporter in White Plains, she tells me that the transcripts are changed routinely. She does what she is told because she needs the job. It is either their way or the highway

Anonymous said...

I HOPE THESE COURT REPORTERS ALTERING TRANSCRIPTS REALIZE THEY CAN BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANORS. OCA JUDGES DEMANDING THESE REPORTERS ALTER THEM CAN AND BE CHARGED CRIMINALLY AND REMOVED FROM OFFICE...THIS, THE JUD.COND. COMM WILL HANDLE....BECAUSE IT IS SO ILLEGAL AND THE JUDICIARY IS FORCING EMPLOYEES WITH JOBS BELOW THEIRS TO COMMIT THESE CRIMES OR LOSE THEIR JOBS....HOSTILE INVIRONMENT, ETC...TAKE FEDERAL COURT ACTION. I COULD NOT ALLOW OCA TO CONTINUE TO COMMIT ILLEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST ME AND I WAS TERMINATED BY THEM AFTER 30 YRS FOR GOING TO OCA'S CONTROLLED OIG'S OFFICE PER CSEA, AND I AM NOW IN FEDERAL COURT TO ADDRESS THEIR ACTIONS...CRIMINAL AND CIVIL! DON'T CONTINUE TO COMMIT CRIMES...JOB OR NOT...YOU CAN BE CHAREGD AND THEN BE FIRED..SO GET THEM FIRST...REPORT THIS, ASAP!

Anonymous said...

Please contact changecourtsnow@gmail.com as by coordinating efforts, perhap these practices can be changed. Altering transcripts, not providing transcripting, losing transcripts and more is a common phenomenon in at least one upstate county near the capitol of albany and thus far, complaints to the JCC and administrative judges have been dismissed routinely without investigation. there are hopes for a federal investigation to bring this out and many have spoken with agents but not sure where this is going. by coordinating we may be able to find common threads, witnesses, clerks who witnessed acts and more. in one case, when an attorney filed a JCC complaint alleging Transcript alteration and more, the JCC dismissed without investigating and the judge handled the case in such a way as to take all contact and visitation rights away for several months until a state supreme stepped in who has now left the bench by retirement. more to come and lets coordinate at changecourtsnow@gmail.com.

Anonymous said...

Judiciary Law

§ 2-a. Jurisdiction and powers of courts continued. Each court of the
state shall continue to exercise the jurisdiction and powers now vested
in it by law, according to the course and practice of the court, except
as otherwise prescribed by statute or rules adopted in conformance
thereto.

In other words.. follow the rules..

Anonymous said...

I know what the law is, I also know what the practice is. If I want to continue to practice law in West. Co. and have a relative equal chance to help my clients the last thing I want to do is annoy a Judge or their Clerks because I'll be dead meat and I will not make a living.

Anonymous said...

Drag this judge's hairy ass (male or female) off the bench. All of this is out of control!

Anonymous said...

Judge Jackie Silbermann butchered me with similar tactics. In my opinion she is venal to the extreme. In the end my lawyer told me there was nothing I could do the other side had the JUICE. Went to the trouble to look at her Ethicial Forms and learned that she went through a divorce too. Mr. Galison is a victim of the corrupt courts. My heart goes out to him and I wish him good luck.

Anonymous said...

fire all the judges and their clerks too, then take their pensions away and listen to the cry, they would still have all the money they stole that is in their lock boxes to live on.

Anonymous said...

seize the transcripts will you......cut off her hands, that'll stop this illegal practice

Anonymous said...

I was a reporter, but I only changed a transcript once. I went to my judge and asked, "Is this what you meant, or did you misspeak?" He thanked me profusely and said, "Fix it." I did: I added a "[sic]".

But I am aware of the practice of changing transcripts, only because of complaints I've heard from victims of judicial corruption. I used to explain that reporters were greedy and when relying on automatic computer transcription, they didn't proofread carefully, but I was wrong. Bad judges will intimidate reporters into "fixing up" a transcript!

Anonymous said...

To old gal....you don't say whether you agree reporters should alter transcipts from bully judges to save their jobs....while committing a crime, as well as altering TRUTH testimony taken under oath?! If all of us are expected to testify to the truth under oath, then we expect the truth to be and remain recorded. The witness in my case testifying on my behalf was altered by an ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGES, HER ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, A CHIEF CLERK AND DEPUTY CHEIF CLERK.....all while threatening the job of the witness! Is this is OK BEHAVIOR FOR COURT REPORTERS?

Anonymous said...

when I refused to be blackjacked into an unjust settlement by my lawyer, the Judge and his clerk et al., I was punished, all the records vanished like magic. There are no copies to be found! This is one way the THUGOCRACY works!

When I found this blog I knew for sure that I wasn't alone. Keep up the good work and inform the world, let everyone know the truth even if it hurts.

Anonymous said...

This is to old gal also. I was a 30 yr court clerk in WNY and when any judge asked me to write incarceration committments for defts that had no case or i believed it was illegal or unethical, i wrote exactly what that judge said and always noted , what was contained on the paperwork was at that judge's request only, dating it and mentioning THE judge by name! No way was OCA going to make me a criminal working for their SACRED AND SUPPOSED LAW ABIDING SYSTEM! To this day, they fired me for my ethics (after 30 yrs...what does that tell you about their arrogance) as they have in their plotting conversations, acknowledged that i am ethical and legal, and they need to find a way to have me arrested without it coming back to them. I have their butts in federal court defending their corruption without knowing what i have and who did what...and i know all of that. They have absolutely nothing on me, but the lies the female hack administrative judge et al, told them to write and speak about me, but she is in for a big ass surprise....very soon! I say that no one employed by OCA should ever compromise their ethics no matter what the consequence...the more you are respected in the system, the more behind the scenes people will come to your rescue! I am a single mother, so i am not speaking from privilege!

Anonymous said...

I worked in the court system for many years and never saw the type of misconduct that is being discussed herein. Judges and court staff do not make money based upon the results of cases and most are honorable people. Judges, like any individual, can get a decision wrong. Indeed, I happen to think very highly of Justice Cahn, who apparently exercised his discretion and disqualified himself from the case being discussed. That speaks well of him too.

As for the transcript, three judges have said no, including the Administrative Judge and another Commercial Division Justice. The Commercial Division, along with the Southern District of New York and Delaware Chancellery Court, are considered to have the best jurists in the entire nation. When two Commercial Division Justices say no, then they may have a point. If the person still disagrees, then take an appeal. But when all of the appellate options are exhausted, one of two facts is true: (1) the person is not entitled to the transcript based upon an application of the applicable rules or (2) all the judges in the system are corrupt. While reading the comments, it appears some believe that to be the case (probably along with the notion that the crazy people are out here and the sane people are being locked up in the asylums). I, however, tend to believe that when properly litigated, the correct result is come out in the end. Therefore, I look forward to hearing the result of any further appeals on the subject.

Anonymous said...

To the above writer....the ny system does have some decent judges and maybe a few more than the corrupt ones. You must realistically view what all these people are writing about as a hint that there is lots and lots of trouble in the NY STATE JUDICIAL SYSTEM! You are either very lucky or not paying attention to things you don't want to acknowledge about this system! I came in wide-eyed and innocent and 30 yrs later...unbelievable what OCA has done to me and others... and that includes actions by the judiciary! OCA is discriminatory, slanderous, libelous, defamatory and criminal....AND I AM ABOUT TO PROVE IT ALL IN FEDERAL COURT! This is not just me, but several women, minorities...all non-political! So i can only assume you are just still enthralled with the black robe and not the massive politics, that 100% controls every move you make. I am just here to inform you, not to criticize you....someday you may blind sided by OCA and you will then understand others got it first!

Anonymous said...

I ran into a former Federal Court Reporter who quit, because she didn't want to commit perjury and fraud. She couldn't believe what was going on and what they wanted her to do after certain witnesses testified. She was told to remove their testimony and replace it with lies.

Anonymous said...

Wake up. Judges are allowed to change transcripts. They are the judges and they run their own courtroom.

Anonymous said...

Judges bring order to courtrooms, so that legal business can be conducted ethically and effectively. The courthouse and its business is owned and supervised by the taxpayers of NY STATE......PLEASE GET THAT STRAIGHT!

Anonymous said...

to the anonymous reader who has never seen corruption in the Supreme Court: I envy your bliss but not your ignorance. If you actually read my log you would see that what Cahn did is simply outside of the legal process . If Cahn SEALED the envelope as he said he did,then iwould have recourse to appeal that ruling. When inthe history of the court has litigant been required to file a motion to recieve unsealed transcripts? I believe this is unprecedented. Fried never considered the merits of my motion and dismissed it with prejudice because I dared to re file after he dismissed it without prejudice.

If I am lying then I beg Cahn anFried to sue me.

Meanwhile, you can be sure i will devote my time to bringing these people to justice.

Will Galison

Anonymous said...

Law is just interpretation...whatever the judge determines is based on what the CPL OR CPLR ETC states and the judge views and decides to be his determination. It can be faulty, esp if the judge desires to bend it according to what he wishes or someone else pressures him to do! Judges can and have twisted and turned the law to their benefit or that of their political party people....i have seen it a lot as a court clerk for many years! The LAW is not a science....a searching for the truth....it just pretends to be that!
If the US SUPREME COURT wanted to decide the case of political determinations of supreme court judicial appointments...they could have.... easily. But, they had an agenda.....one of them in my opinion is that it had an ethnic undertone, so SCALIA had to find a way out by bending the law to his interpretation!
So, to the above innocent writer, plus defender of the law in NY STATE.....get a real view of what happens in many courtrooms....two people can and usually do get different sentences for the same crime with the same criminal history! Defend that and the judges views on many subjects!

Anonymous said...

Transcripts are altered ALL the time!
no lawyer in NY dares to be honest.
Why is this the only democratic country where no recording is allowed in the courts? and if they have the electronic recording still they force you to buy a transcript they never allow you to hear the tape...what a scam!

Blog Archive

See Video of Senator John L. Sampson's 1st Hearing on Court 'Ethics' Corruption

The first hearing, held in Albany on June 8, 2009 hearing is on two videos:


               Video of 1st Hearing on Court 'Ethics' Corruption
               The June 8, 2009 hearing is on two videos:
         
               CLICK HERE TO SEE Part 1
               CLICK HERE TO SEE Part 2
Add to Technorati Favorites