Integrity in the Courts

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." (Thomas Jefferson)

"If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy." (Louis Brandeis 1856-1941 Supreme Court Justice)

"There is no greater corruption than that advanced under the color of law" (Anonymous)

The Integrity in the Courts stories continue to thrill readers with tales from the underbelly of the legal system and the boundless efforts to provide an equal system of justice for all.

Integrity in the Courts
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release


Court Group Challenges Presidential Candidates to Close the IRS, and realign Resources from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department to fight Corruption

___________________________


Integrity in the Courts Asks All Federal Candidates To Protect Individual Liberties by Abolishing the Tax Code and IRS

Integrity in the Courts, a New York based public interest group, has joined with several other organizations to found a non-partisan Coalition to Abolish the Tax Code and the IRS. The purpose of the new coalition is to support various proposals put forth by such groups as the National Federation of Independent Businesses (seeking wide scale tax reform), Freedom Works (favoring flat tax), Americans for Fair Taxation, Fair Tax Blog, and the CATO Institute (favoring national sales tax).

These policy groups and others have as a common goal eliminating the current tax code and the Internal Revenue Service. They seek to replace the code with an entirely new tax system that would be uncomplicated, just and fair. Also, any substitute system would use as its cornerstone a consumer friendly monitoring agency, in place of one that strikes fear in the hearts of most Americans.

Under the plan, the nationwide IRS structure, and most of the 90,000-plus well-trained personnel, would be reassigned from duties under the Treasury Department to functions within the understaffed Department of Justice to specifically address issues of public corruption.

Every Citizen’s Plea is Clear: “Restore our faith in our government!”

The Coalition to Abolish the IRS is seeking to impact the presidential elections, as well as all races for Federal office. It is asking Democratic, Republican and third party candidates to sign
a pledge to vote to abolish the tax court and the IRS in the event they are elected to office.

The Coalition has issued the following statement in support of its pledge drive: “The Coalition believes that it is imperative that this tax reform effort become an essential element in the 2008 Federal elections. Without question, the outright abolishment of the current unfair, unworkable, overly complex tax system is long overdue. Most importantly, as citizens are freed from government intruding in their personal lives, the abolishment of the present tax system will restore individual creativity, drive and initiative that will be major factors in reviving the economic engine of the United States.


The Pledge


The Coalition to Abolish the IRS has requested all candidates for Federal office to execute the following pledge. The pledge below has been drawn up for the two major party presidential candidates:

I, Barack Obama/John McCain, hereby pledge to propose as a first order of business legislation to the U.S. Congress to abolish the present Tax Code and the Internal Revenue Service during my first term in office. I further pledge to support legislation to replace the present code with a system that is simple, honest, and fair. Under the new system to be proposed, the IRS will be eliminated and replaced with a mere bookkeeping agency with strictly limited powers. I am committed to fighting public corruption and will lead the nation in the restoration of the people’s faith in their government.

In addition, I hereby call on all candidates for election to the House and Senate to pledge to vote for the legislation I will propose to abolish the tax code and IRS.

For further information contact the coalition at: abolish.irs@gmail.com

For More Information, Contact:

Frank Brady at Integrity in the Courts
www.IntegrityInTheCourts.com
206-426-3558 (tel and fax)
BLOG: www.CoalitionToAbolishTheIRS.wordpress.com


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Here's the Letter sent to the Presidential Candidates and All U.S. Senators:

Integrity in the Courts
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


October 30, 2008

Senator Barack Obama
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Via facsimile 202-228-4260

Senator John McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. Via facsimile 202-228-2862

RE: Your Signed Pledge to Restore Our Faith in Our Government

Dear Senators Obama and McCain,

Integrity in the Courts, a New York based public interest group, has joined with several other organizations to found a non-partisan Coalition to Abolish the Tax Code and the IRS. The purpose of the new coalition is to support various proposals put forth by such groups as the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Freedom Works, Americans for Fair Taxation, Fair Tax Blog, and the CATO Institute.

Under the plan, the nationwide IRS structure, and most of the 90,000-plus well-trained personnel, would be reassigned from duties under the Treasury Department to functions within the understaffed Department of Justice to specifically address issues of public corruption.

It is respectfully requested that you review the attached, and sign the following pledge:

I, __________________________, hereby pledge to propose as a first order of business legislation to the U.S. Congress to abolish the present Tax Code and the Internal Revenue Service during my first term in office. I further pledge to support legislation to replace the present code with a system that is simple, honest, and fair. Under the new system to be proposed, the IRS will be eliminated and replaced with a mere bookkeeping agency with strictly limited powers. I also pledge my commitment to fighting public corruption and will lead the nation in the restoration of the people’s faith in their government.

In addition, I hereby call on all candidates for election to the House and Senate to pledge to vote for the legislation I will propose to abolish the tax code and IRS.

Date: _________________ __________________________________


Good Luck. To all of us!

Very truly yours,


Frank Brady for Integrity in the Courts
www.IntegrityInTheCourts.com
abolish.irs@gmail.com
206-426-3558 (tel and fax)





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LETTER REQUEST TO NEW YORK'S GOVERNOR
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Integrity in the Courts

September 22, 2008

The Honorable David Paterson,
Governor of The State of New York
The State Capital
Albany, New York 12224

via U.S. Mail & facsimile # 518-408-2549

RE:
1. The Establishment of The Commission on Court Oversight
2. The Appointment of Chief Judge Margarita Lopez Torres

Dear Governor Paterson:

Your gubernatorial presence has renewed the promise of hope to the great people of New York. We are encouraged by, and have long yearned for, your leadership in reforming the condition of avarice and corruption that exists within and about our state’s court system.

Our yearlong research has revealed a troubling state court “ethics” oversight structure that is itself corrupt. We have documented countless examples where the law, attorneys, litigants, state employees and, in fact, judges have been targeted for annihilation simply because of a political whim or from the vengeful, misguided desires of a few. Conversely, we have evidence of many outrageous and criminal acts by certain individuals within and about the state court system that have been substantively overlooked for no other reason than their favored position or political affiliation.

We believe that the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and the statewide attorney grievance committees are irreversibly corrupt. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you immediately establish a Commission on Court Oversight to investigate and hold public hearings so that formal findings and recommendations may be presented to your office and to state lawmakers.

Further, and in the interest of true court reform, we respectfully request that you immediately take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the name of Judge Margarita Lopez Torres be presented to the State Commission on Judicial Nomination for insertion on the list of candidates to be considered for Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.

We also respectfully request that you meet with us so that we may personally present you with the findings from our research. Each of our 40 founding members have a one-page overview, along with supporting documentation, to formally begin the work of your Commission on Court Oversight.

We are confident that future generations will echo our gratitude of your restoration of our faith in our government and in our system of law.

Very truly yours.

Integrity in the Courts
206-426-3558 (tel & fax)

In this installment, a grassroots public interest organization based in Manhattan, and calling themselves Integrity in the Courts, announces the formal movement to ensure that Brooklyn Surrogate Judge Margarita Lopez Torres becomes New York’s next Chief Judge. The mission to draft Lopez Torres was made public on September 2, 2008, but not too public as Judge Lopez Torres was unaware of her newfound supporters until September 15th. The year-old group, whose members include judges and attorneys, say the groundswell is enormous. They argue, strongly, that New York needs a change- away from the corrupt, political favor-type system- to an impartial process that citizens, judges and attorneys can trust.

But why Margarita Lopez Torres?

Margarita Lopez Torres is nationally known as the maverick judicial candidate who fought New York’s corrupt, make-believe election process. She took her cause to ‘take the political clubhouse out of the courthouse’ all the way the United States Supreme Court. The Nation’s highest court told New York State to clean up its own mess, and the group believes Judge Margarita Lopez Torres is the person to bring true reform to the Empire State's legal system. New York's Constitution requires that "Supreme Court" judges (state trial court judges) be elected, but that process is largely believed to a sham as the candidates for election are nominated by a byzantine convention system mandated by statute. The only way to become a Supreme Court judge is to gain the nomination at the convention, and the only way to gain the nomination at the convention is with the approval of the local leader of the dominant political party. If 'Boss Tweed' and the 'Tammany Hall' scandal come to mind, the question becomes whether history is repeating itself.

Tammany Hall II ?

Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Gleeson was quite clear in Lopez Torres' federal district court case, saying "[t]he labyrinthine, burdensome procedures ... ensure that the entrenched party leaders can install as delegates persons who will do their bidding.... Faced with an inability to get supportive delegates elected, it is cold comfort for a challenger candidate to be told not to worry, she can try to convince the delegates selected by the party leaders. The current system for selecting judges does not work that way and is not structured to work that way.” (Dist. Ct. Opin. p. 32. )

And the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed, "‘the uncontested evidence…is that across the state, the system for selecting candidates for the Supreme Court [in New York] vests almost total control in the hands of local political leaders.’ ... The Commission is hardly the only entity to reach this conclusion—it merely is the latest. Since 1944, New York’s judicial nominating system has been described as exclusionary and boss-dominated; reports and newspaper editorials from that time forward have decried an electoral practice ‘that mocks choice,’ and criticized a system in which ‘voters can never know the candidates and have to accept party slates,’ while the ‘real choice is ... left to political bosses ... who control nominations.’”

The group points out that attorneys appearing for Judge Lopez Torres before the United States Supreme Court called the New York Courts the “worst of all worlds.” Apparently, no one opposed that notion.

By law, New York State Governor Paterson must pick a Chief Judge from a list of seven candidates presented by the state’s 12-member Commission on Judicial Nomination. The group has called on New York State Governor David Paterson, the legal profession, all statewide elected officials and the public to become actively involved in the Chief Judge Lopez Torres movement. They say no one is more qualified.

How the "Chief Judge Lopez Torres" movement began.... And we'll chronicle Integrity in the Courts' short history, the stories of those who have inspired the Lopez Torres mission, and its success, or failure.