Two Judges Get It Right

When I first came across the story of the Suffolk County, NY judge who completely canceled the mortgage debt of a financially troubled homeowner, my initial instinct was to back up the bank. After all, my wife and I have made our own mortgage payments, and are wondering where our own free ride is in that regard. Where is the purchaser's responsibility here?

But now that I have read the actual judicial opinion, I'm with Judge Spinner all the way on this one. If the mortgageholder had only been hardnosed, then I would not feel so bad about the delinquent homeowner's feet being held to the fire. But here, the bank couldn't even give the Judge a straight answer as to just how much was outstanding, due and owing on the debt. This is abuse of the judicial process at its worst.

And so, the Judge has reduced that elusive figure to an even, round and definite figure: Zero!



And, westward a few miles in New York County, Judge York (no relation to the city or county) has put a whining loser in his place. It seems that Timothy Keefe, who couldn't stick it out with the first law school he attended (Hofstra), transferred to New York Law School, and then, after receiving a grade of "C" in a legal writing course, sued NYLS, demanding that NYLS change its grading system from letter grade to Pass/Fail.

It is oft stated that the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Keefe's foolish client was sent back to the showers.

And, having been involved in professional matters that also involve New York Law School, I would, all else being equal, tend to defer to the school's faculty in determining a grade for any student.



[A number of years ago, I went to court pro se, and I won the case for my foolish client. He has yet to pay me for it, though.].