03262010 - Attorney John Rhame - Filing Lazy Judge Rule against Johnson not in best interest - Johnson's failure to issue property settlement order - Magistrate James Johnson judicial investigation -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

03262010 - Attorney John Rhame's refusal to file Lazy Judge Rule - Magistrate Johnson's failure to issue property settlement order - Magistrate James Johnson judicial investigation -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

03262010 - Indiana Judiciary Commission notified - Magistrate Johnson's failure to issue final divorce settlement rulings - Magistrate James Johnson judicial investigation -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

From: sur5er1998 <sur5er1998@aol.com>
To: ameiring <ameiring@courts.state.in.us>
Subject: How long does a Judge have to issue a final ruling?
Date: Fri, Mar 26, 2010 8:47 am
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Is there a time limit in which a Judge must issue a ruling on a divorce property settlement? My divorce was finalized in September 2008. The property settlement hearing was not held until January 2010. And now I am being told that Magistrate Johnson may take up to a year to make a final ruling on my property settlement. How long can the court drag out my divorce? Can they drag it out indefinately, in the hopes that I will just go away without a penny?
Thank you,
Renee' Harrington

03142010 - Email to Judge Julia Jent - Magistrate James Johnson jeopardizing safety of DV victims -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

From: sur5er1998 <sur5er1998@aol.com>
To: d03 <d03@porterco.org>
Subject: PPO EXTENSION REQUEST
Date: Sun, Mar 14, 2010 1:24 pm
Attachments:
RICE1.jpg (1209K), RICE2.jpg (622K), SEPT_18A.jpg (1674K), SEPT_18B.jpg (1320K)

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Judge Julia Jent,

Since you issued me my first PPO against my ex husband [James Thomas] in August 2007, I thought you might want to know what happened with my case. I remember you stating how afraid you were for me.

Attached is a letter to Judge Thode, requesting that the PPO against my ex [from his criminal case] be extended. Yes, three years after my first escape from my abuser I am still stuck in Indiana.

Margie from the Prosecutor's Office Crime Victim Unit, informed me that there is a judiciary board, that reviews dv divorce cases, in an effort to improve the system in Porter County. How would I go about getting my divorce case reviewed by the board? The mistakes in my case illustrate the issues that need to be addressed by courts if they are going to insure the safety of victims.

For instance, were you aware that Attorney Donald Rice informs his dv victims that they cannot relocate during a divorce? How dangerous is that? But don't take my word for it. I've enclosed a letter from Rice informing me I could not relocate.

And the reason I'm still here in Indiana, within grasp of the abusing ex? I blew the whistle on attorneys not adhering to Local Court Rule 2100. But don't take my word for it. I've enclosed the court order vacating my property settlement due to Attorneys Rice and Shaw not adhering to Rule 2100.

Thank you for your time,

Renee' Harrington

219-734-6796


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Judge Thode,
RE: Criminal case #64D06-0808-CM-8254 [James Clarence Thomas].
Could you please extend my PPO, as my ex will be released from probation on March 21, 2010.
I will not have the funds to relocate home to Michigan [and be safe from my ex / James Thomas] until Magistrate Johnson issues the property settlement in our divorce case. However, I have been informed that Magistrate Johnson may take from 6-12 months to issue my property settlement. Thus I will be ‘stuck’ in Indiana until the end of 2010, and I am terrified that my ex will kill me, during that time.
An audio tape of one of my ex’s violent attacks against me is enclosed in the criminal case file for this case. It will demonstrate to you why I am terrified of my ex, and have every reason to believe he will kill me. Also, the audio from my original PPO ex-parte hearing, [Judge Julia Jent. August 03, 2007], will give you more insight into how dangerous my ex is, and my need for the PPO to be extended.
Right now, I am so terrified of my ex, that I am doing everything possible to get away from him / return home to Michigan. However, since my ex is not paying his maintenance [Attorney Shaw stated after court in January 2010 that he had advised my ex not to pay the maintenance / my ex was approximately $20,000 in arrears at that time]; I am unemployed; I have no vehicle; and I have no property settlement, fleeing to safety is very difficult for me. My hands are tied here.
Desperate to escape my ex, I will be in Michigan this week. An attorney friend of mine is reviewing my divorce case, to see what other legal action I can take, so I can have the marital funds to escape my abuser ASAP [instead of waiting 6-12 months on Magistrate Johnson].
My divorce case is riddled with both court and attorney mistakes. In September 2008, I exposed that attorneys were not adhering to Porter County Local Court Rule 2100. Magistrate Johnson vacated my property settlement on the grounds the attorneys did not adhere to Rule 2100, and on points concerning their dishonesty. However, Magistrate Johnson failed to report either attorney to the proper authorities, or report their possible violation of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct [Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct RULE 2.15: Responding to Judicial and Lawyer Misconduct ].
Attorney Shaw continued to represent my ex in the divorce case, and he used the divorce to retaliate against me for blowing the whistle on the loophole attorneys were using to get around Rule 2100. Attorney Shaw’s questionable retaliatory actions left me with no funds to escape my ex and greatly increased my danger.
My hands are tied. The things that my ex and Attorney Shaw have been able to get away with in this divorce case are mind boggling. I have never felt so hopeless in my life. I have never felt so terrified. I have never felt so frustrated that I know my life is in danger and no one cares.  Here I am fighting to get out of Indiana and away from my ex, and I am trapped by an attorney and a court system.
There is no one here in Indiana that will help me. I am convinced, after what I have endured in the Porter County divorce court system, that there is no escape from an abuser. If anything, the divorce has only endangered my life more, instead of assisting me in escaping safely. That is why I have to turn to an attorney in Michigan to get me out of here alive.
In May 2007, my ex abused me for the last time. In June 2007 I escaped my abuser and returned home to Michigan. I was working on Michigan officer involved domestic violence legislation; I had job offers. In August 2007, Attorney Donald Rice informed me that I did not have a right to move home to Michigan / escape my abuser during an Indiana divorce.  This is how unsafe it is for victims of dv in Porter County. Were you aware that attorneys in your county were preventing victims of domestic violence from escaping their abusers?
Because of this, I need the PPO against my ex [James Clarence Thomas] extended until a Michigan attorney can figure out how to get  me out of here safely.
Thank you for your time,
Renee’ Harrington

03042010 - Indiana Judiciary Commission - Magistrate Johnson not adhering to Porter County Court Rule 2100 / Disclosure of martial assets / Financial Declaration Forms - Magistrate James Johnson judicial investigation -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

From: sur5er1998 <sur5er1998@aol.com>
To: ameiring <ameiring@courts.state.in.us>
Subject: PORTER COUNTY COURT NOT ADHERING TO LOCAL RULE 2100
Date: Thu, Mar 4, 2010 1:12 pm
Attachments:
PORTER_COUNTY_LOCAL_COURT_RULE_2100.PDF (6209K), ATTORNEY_RICE_LETTER=_SEPT_2007.PDF (5965K)
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FROM: RENEE’ HARRINGTON
-ATTACHMENTS:
-PORTER COUNTY LOCAL COURT RULE 2100
-ATTORNEY DONALD RICE'S LETTER [9/2007] INSTRUCTING ME I COULD NOT RE-LOCATE TO / OBTAIN JOB IN MICHIGAN DURING DIVORCE.
RE: PORTER COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT [VALPARIASO, IN] NOT ADHERING TO PORTER COUNTY LOCAL COURT RULE 2100.
To who do I report the Porter County Court not adhering to its own local court rules, and how would I go about filing this?

In September 2008, I had my divorce property settlement [Cause # 64D01-0708-DR-7804. Valparaiso IN Porter County Superior Court. Judge Bradford / Magistrate Johnson], vacated on the grounds that my first divorce attorney [Donald Rice, Portage] and my ex’s divorce attorney [Jeffrey Shaw, Valparaiso], had not adhered to Local Court Rule 210: Mandatory exchange of financial declaration forms / mandatory discovery of marital assets.

Neither Attorney Rice nor Attorney Shaw were reprimanded by the court for failure to adhere to a local court rule. Instead, Attorney Shaw was allowed to retaliate against me [for blowing the whistle on the loophole in Rule 2100, that attorneys are using to avoid  adhering to the Rule], by dragging the divorce case out as long as possible, in the hopes of wearing me out so I would just walk away from my interest in the marital assets [valued at over $200,000].

It is now almost  two years later. Although the divorce was finalized, the property settlement has not been ordered. The final divorce hearing was on January 12, 2010. I have been told to expect Magistrate Johnson to take another 6-12 months to make a final decision on my divorce [instead of 30 days]. Magistrate Johnson is aware [through court testimony that my ex has threatened to kill me for pursuing a roperty settlement and that my ex is currently on probation]. Magistrate Johnson has also heard other testimony regarding my ex's abuse of me and violations of the PPO. He knows my ex is a danger to me. I have cried often on the stand about wanting to return home to Michigan / escape my abusive ex. My ex has even admitted on the stand, his abuse of me. And yet, instead of finalizing the property settlement so I can return home to Michigan safetly before my ex assaults or kills me, Magistrate Johnson is expecting me to sit here in danger, for another year?

If you pull the case file on my divorce: my ex intentionally violated provisional orders; I have been without medical care for my Graves Disease; my ex refuses to pay his maintenance; my ex lied and claimed he was unemployed and $20,000 in back maintenance owed to me was forgiven; I am thousands of dollars in debt with attorney fees; I am thousands of dollars in debt to friends and family for household bills I paid, because my ex didn’t pay the utilities and my maintenance; etc.

I am unemployed. I do not have a job. I do not have any means of transportation. I am not receiving court ordered maintenance. I am financially broke. 100% of the marital assets are in my ex’s name. I was court ordered to put the marital home [where I reside] on the market. If the house sells before the property settlement is issued, I will be put out on the street / homeless, and all proceeds from the marital home will be put in trust with the divorce attorneys.

Meanwhile, my ex is grossing $100,000 a year and can afford his maintenance and provisional order obligations. But his attorney stated after the last hearing, that he has instructed my ex not to pay the maintenance.

Should I pursue a complaint? Or should I just walk away from everything? From what I have endured due to court mistakes and Attorney Shaw’s retaliation in this divorce, I have come to the realization that Magistrate Johnson  may very well never issue a property settlement in my case.

A major concern of mine, is returning back home to Michigan before my ex is released from probation. I am terrified that he will come after me / kill me. However, with Magistrate Johnson forgiving my ex $20,000 in back maintenance; Magistrate Johnson taking only my ex’s word that he was unemployed and lowering my maintenance; Attorney Shaw instructing my ex to violate the maintenance order; and now Magistrate Johnson refusing to issue a property settlement decision within 30 days of the January 12, 2010 final hearing, I do not have the funds to relocate. When my ex is released from probation on March 21, 2010, I am going to be a sitting duck here in Portage IN, due to all court errors and Attorney Shaw’s retaliation against me.

What should I do about this? Am I supposed to just walk out the door of my home with nothing but the clothes on my back? Is this the lesson that the court wants to teach me and others who dare to disclose attorneys and the court not adhering to Local Court Rules? If so, what is the purpose of Local Court Rules, if the courts and the attorneys don’t adhere to them, and citizens get retaliated against for blowing the whistle / demanding they be adhered to. It’s almost as if I was a lesson to others to not question the attorneys and court in Porter County.

Thank you for your time,
Renee' Harrington
3050 Eleanor Street
Portage, IN 46368
219-734-6796