Are judges above the law? by Claudia Green (claudia@eaglesettlements.com)

Early June this year, a Brevard County judge in Florida entered into a

verbal and physical altercation with an assistant public defender

outside his courtroom. The entire incident just happened to be

captured on video!! The judge in question, whom I will not name in

this blog, took a paid leave of absence, during which time he received

anger management counseling. He has recently resumed his duties in

Brevard County, albeit apparently now presiding over civil cases

rather than criminal ones!

The judge has proffered a public apology to Brevard County residents

for his actions, stating that he regrets what took place and seems to

fully understand and accept his own wrongdoings that in his own

words, "may have tarnished the reputation of the entire judiciary".

Can you believe it?! A judge having a physical scuffle with an

attorney, it completely defies belief. Quite what was going on in the

judge's head that day is completely beyond me. This sort of behavior

is completely unacceptable from anyone, let alone a judge. A judge is

someone that others should be able to look up to, a person with the

highest level of integrity and one that commands respect. How can

this particular judge command respect from people now?

Part of the message (you can use this link to see the full

message, http://www.flcourts18.org/page.php?2) from the Chief

Judge of the court he presides in reads on their website as: -

"The judiciary is an independent and coequal branch of government,

designed to protect rights and liberties, uphold and interpret the law,

and provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes. All of our judges are

committed to upholding the tremendous trust you have placed in us".

How then can the court have allowed the judge back to work?

Seriously, is this not the most disturbing aspect about the situation?

How, you might ask does this have anything to do with the business

that Eagle Settlements is in? Well, Brevard County is close to

the Eagle Settlements office in Altamonte Springs, Florida. You could

probably drive there in an hour or so, depending on time of day and

traffic.

As you may already know, when an annuitant wishes to sell some or

all of their annuity payments, court approval must be granted. In the

majority of states across the USA, when an annuitant wants to

sell structured settlement annuity payments, the stipulation is usually

that the case must be filed in the county in which the annuitant lives.

Florida does not have this stipulation. In fact, when an annuitant who

resides in Florida wishes to sell their structured settlement payments,

the case can actually be filed in any county across the state. Why

would we, therefore, choose to file any cases in Brevard County now?!

When you think about it, the way in which the judge I have referred

to conducted himself is incomprehensible. Why then would a

company willingly choose to file a case where he works if there is no

need to?