Missouri Judicial System
Problems with Missouri Judges

Five Years of Constant Legal Abuse

I, Marc Perkel, have had problems with the Greene County Court since the beginning. I became unpopular with the court in 1992 when Greene County put a 1/4 cent sales tax on the ballot for the purpose of building a new courthouse.

People before Lawyers I am a fiscal conservative, opposed this sales tax publicly and effectively challenging the wisdom of having a permanent tax for the purpose of building a single building. I was persuasive and the sales tax was defeated. Several county officials were angry with me. County Commissioner Dave Coonrod wouldn't even speak to the me for about a year. However, a new courthouse was built without a 1/4 cent sales tax increase but I believe ill feeling still lingered. From what I understand the new courthouse cost 8 million dollars instead of 24 million dollars. I'm rather proud of the fact that I saved the citizens of this county about 6 million dollars a year in what I think would have been wasted taxes. The judges in Greene County go to work every day in a courthouse that cost less that it would have cost if not me stopping that tax.

Is this why I got burned in court? At first I thought so. I'm sure it was a factor because I've heard that the judges had discussed my case and word got back to me that Winston Davis and Scott Tinsley didn't like me. But this isn't unique to my case. Since I put up my People before Lawyers web site and learned the law, I've found the abuse is both widespread and pervasive. These judges don't know what the law is and don't care. They don't have to because they are self regulating, which in reality amounts to no regulation. These judges do whatever they want and there's nothing you can do about it.

I was represented by counsel at my first hearing on my divorce on 12-15-94 for separate maintenance. At that hearing, attended by only the lawyers, Commissioner Davis ruled, in addition to maintenance and attorney's fees, that my ex-wife should have access to my corporation to use the computer network and printing equipment in order to produce literature for an event where her lawyer, Mr. Wear, was to be the featured speaker.

I was ordered by Commissioner Winston Davis to pay the personal expenses of my ex-wife's lawyer, Bill Wear Jr., so that he could speak at a hippie event called the Meditation for World Peace.

I found that I could not comply with an order to give my ex-wife access to my corporation for the purposes of benefiting her lawyer's personal interests and informed my lawyer, Mr. Greene, that I wanted an hearing where I could appear in person. Mr. Greene cautioned against it saying that it would "piss off the judge" to get this hearing. I found it to be very disturbing that asking for a fair hearing would piss of the judge.

I then fired the lawyer and took over the case pro se. My next hearing was in front of Commissioner Scott Tinsley on 01-12-95. Mr. Wear and Mr. Sharp claimed they scheduled a deposition which I supposedly failed to attend. This deposition was a fraud. It never occurred. These lawyers set me up so as to be able to claim I failed to show up for the deposition so that they could sanction me. I believe the fix was in.

Commissioner Tinsley sanctioned me for representing myself in court. I was sanctioned supposedly for failing to attend a nonexistent deposition.

I had a number of motions before the court. Tinsley sanctioned me and admonished me for representing himself. Tinsley made it clear that if I represented myself that he would rule against me. Mr. Tinsley ruled against me on several of my motions without even reading them. Mr. Tinsley's sanctions were improper and probably illegal, and I believe he knew it, but he did it anyway.

Getting Tinsley's message I hired a new lawyer, Mr. Harpool. Mr. Harpool on 02-04-95 appeared before Mr. Davis for the new separate maintenance hearing. Even though my ex-wife testified at the hearing that she is capable of earning a living, I was ordered to pay $1200/month plus health and car insurance for my ex-wife and her daughter who was not my daughter. Mr. Davis actually awarded the wife more than she was asking for, and twice what he awarded the first time. Seems Mr. Greene was right about pissing off the judge. However, I still feel strongly that it was very improper for Mr. Davis to order me to give my ex-wife access to my corporations computers for the personal benefit of her lawyers.

Because I asked for a hearing for maintenance, Commissioner Davis more than doubled what I had to pay, giving my ex-wife more than half my income.

After my ex-wife refused to renew a business loan she was required to cosign and ran me out of money, I, broke and despondent, decided I could no longer afford legal counsel. It seemed that no matter what I did, lawyer or no lawyer, that the fix was in against me. I concluded that if I'm going to lose it all anyway, why pay a lawyer. I appeared several times before Judge McGuire for various motions with McGuire always ruling against me. Like Tinsley, McGuire didn't like pro se litigants and wouldn't take the time to even read my motions before making a ruling.

Judge McGuire was a drunk judge. But that didn't stop him from practicing in Missouri courts.

Judge McGuire retired that year after years of alcohol abuse and news reports of being drunk on the bench as well as getting drunk and shooting guns into his neighbors house. Davis and Tinsley recused themselves. So a special judge was appointed to hear the case. Judge Paul McGhee was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court.

I contacted Judge McGhee to reschedule a hearing. Judge McGhee advised me that I would be better off if I was represented by a lawyer. I then retained Mr. Imhof as counsel. I figured that with a new judge from outside the area that maybe I had a chance. And I had hoped that my willingness to be represented by counsel would show Judge McGhee that I was a reasonable person and would get me closer to getting a fair hearing. I wanted to show the Judge that I respected his preference for me to have a lawyer.

On 06-24-96 the divorce trial was held. At the trial the judge made a couple unusual decision with respect to witnesses. First he allowed my ex-wife's lawyers to disqualify a witness that they had called to the stand when the witness started testifying against her position. Then the judge allowed her to call an undisclosed expert witness to testify and allowed him to continue even after he admitted he wasn't an expert.

Five weeks later the judge made a ruling that was for more than 100% of my total assets. The ruling included giving her property that I had paid for, giving her maintenance after she admitted she could take care of herself, giving her $60,000 cash, and making me pay an additional $12,500 of her lawyers fees. There was no provisions for payment terms and neither side indicated that I had that much in cash.

Because Missouri judges allows lawyers to lie in court. I ended up with a judgement for more than 100% of everything I own.

I then asked the judge in post trial motions to grant me a payment schedule. He denied my motion. At this point it became obvious that the judge deliberately wanted to ruin me. This situation would have forced me into bankruptcy, yet the judgement was so poorly worded that a bankruptcy lawyer I contacted thought that a bankruptcy court would have a real problem trying to figure out what the judgement meant.

I made post trial motions that were all denied. I then fired my attorney figuring that I didn't need a lawyer to lose more that 100%. Another reason I fired my lawyer is because he refused to raise issues involving why I should not have to pay my ex-wife's attorney's fees. If I'm paying a lawyer I expect him to be loyal to me, not loyal to the opposing lawyer. I felt he could do that on his own. Since the trial the judge has granted my ex-wife hearings while refusing to grant me any hearings.

I made an inquiry to file a complaint against the judge with the Commission on Retirement Removal and Discipline. They ruled against me before I even got around to filing my complaint.

The Commission on Retirement Removal and Discipline is a joke. All they do is forward you complaint to the judge you are complaining about so that the judge can take revenge on you.

I have since filed the appeal and an independent action in equity attacking the judgement for fraud upon the court. That suit was filed 01-15-97. I am also suing for damages for fraud. Every judge in Greene County recused themselves in a very slow, one by one, process. Then Judge Sweeney took forever to get a special judge appointed. Judge William Syler of Cape Girardeau Mo. is hearing the case. The first hearing was on July 14th, six months after the suit was filed.

Although Judge McGhee refused to hear any of my motions, even those to correct obvious errors, he continues to grant my ex-wife and her lawyers every hearing they ask for. Even when this judge clearly doesn't have jurisdiction.

I also filed a bar complaint with the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Missouri Supreme Court against my ex-wife's lawyers, William A. Wear and James R. Sharp. The Counsel refuses to look into my complaint because they have a rule that they won't look into lawyer misconduct if litigation is pending.

The Chief Disciplinary Counsel is the Chief Coverup Counsel. Unless a lawyer is convicted of a felony, they will find any excuse possible to ignore your complaint.

Judge Syler covers for Wear and Sharp

I sued my ex-wife and her lawyers for fraud. Even though she and her lawyers were both defendants, her lawyer still tried to represent her. Defendants representing defendants. I objected and at a hearing Judge William Syler tried everything he could think of to allow the improper representation. I was well prepared, and when he failed to out reason me, he just decided to allow it anyway. I objected, pointing out that defendants representing defendants is the very definition of conflict of interest. I demanded and got an immediate appeal to let the Missouri Court of Appeals rule on the issue. They refused to rule. I took the issue to the Missouri Supreme Court and they refused to rule. I then took it to the United States Supreme Court and they refused to rule.

In the meantime I started discovery. I sent an interrogatory to Wear and Sharp. In the divorce I had been sanctioned for failing to attend a deposition that never occurred. In the interrogatories I asked for the name of the court reporter who was present to take the deposition. The answered that there was no court reporter present. I immediately moved for summary judgement contending that having me sanctioned for failing to attend a deposition and admitting there was no court reporter amounted to a confession of fraud upon the court.

They responded to my motion citing two faxes I had sent them back in 1994. The order of the faxes was critical to their argument and they altered one of the faxes by obliterating the date and then representing that it was faxed on a different date. They failed to notice that there was two dates on the fax and they only obliterated one of them. I caught them tampering with evidence. I then filed a second motion for summary judgement stating that their criminal behavior constituted an admission by conduct that they can't win on the merits.

In response, they filed an affidavit swearing that they had, in fact, not obliterated the date. They claim that they highlighted the date with a highlighting pen, that it photocopied to solid black, that they lost the original, and that the wrong date was a typo. Highlighting pens can not possibly photocopy to solid black, and they had just sworn to a fact that was scientifically impossible.

Judge Syler and Judge Clark helped cover up the criminal activity of the law firm of Wear and Sharp.

I pointed this out to Judge Syler and asked him to do something about these lawyers' criminal behavior. He refused. In fact, he shut down discovery so as to protect these lawyers. I filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against these lawyers and the judge and tried to get the judge recused. He refused. Federal Judge Russel Clark refused to recuse him.

I then filed a Writ of Prohibition in the Missouri Supreme Crt pointing out that I had sued Judge Syler in Federal Court on the basis that he conspired to conceal the criminal activity of the Law Firm of Wear and Sharp, and that a reasonable person would therefore question the judges impartiality. The Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear my Writ.

I then filed a third motion to recuse Judge Syler. I indicated that I would call Judge Syler to the stand as a witness. His local newspaper covered my case on the front page. The rules required a second judge rule on the motion to recuse. The Missouri Supreme Court called in Judge Cobb Hannah.

Judge Syler hid in the courthouse to avoid being called to the stand to testify.

A hearing was held. I called Judge Syler to the stand only to find out that he was hiding in the courthouse and would not appear. Judge Hannah refused to order him to the stand. Laura Vogel of the Attorney General's Office, who represented Judge Syler in the Federal Case, appeared to argue that Judge Syler should not have to appear. In the end, my motion to recuse Judge Syler was denied.

I had to dismiss my case to prevent Judge Syler from abusing his judicial power and using it to persecute me.

Judge Hannah called for a recess and announced that Judge Syler would [come out of hiding and] handle the rest of the hearing. I speculated that Judge Syler would take this hearing as an opportunity to get even with me. Having had a lot of bad experience already, I had learned that I could count on judicial corruption and had already had with me a dismissal of the case. During the recess I filed my dismissal so as to deny Judge Syler jurisdiction to screw me over. It worked. I got Judge Syler out of the picture.

Judges permit lawyers to commit Fraud upon the Court

Although the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit lawyers from lying to the judge in court, these rules are little more than a placebo to create a false illusion of an ethical framework in the mind of the public. I filed several complaints against the law firm of Wear and Sharp with the Chief Disciplinary Counsel alleging everything from Fraud on the Court to criminal activity including Perjury, Filing a False Affidavit, and Tampering with Physical Evidence. The Disciplinary Counsel has a rule that under no circumstances will they start an investigation while litigation is still pending. Even though I recognize the possibility that a litigant might use the Disciplinary Counsel to hassle opposing counsel, the lawyers of Missouri, as a result of this policy have constructive immunity from criminal activity while a case is pending.

The Missouri Rules of Court and Rules of Professional Conduct serve only to create the illusion of justice and ethics in the mind of the public.

In fact, at a meeting of Parents United as One, former Greene County Prosecutor, Ronald Carrier, made it clear that he would not prosecute a lawyer accused of a crime in relation to his behavior in court, thus giving Greene County lawyers criminal immunity as well. Mr. Carrier now works for the Attorney General. His replacement, Darrel Moore, says he wouldn't give lawyers immunity. But that was, of course, before the election. I look forward to seeing if he was sincere.

Under the wild idea that "nobody is above the law", I tested the Disciplinary Counsel's policy in the Missouri Supreme Court. I filed a Writ of Mandamus asking the Court to order an investigation, or to do an investigation themselves. My Mandamus was denied. It appears that the Missouri Supreme Court considers lawyer discipline to be under the jurisdiction of the trial judge.

However, on my appeal of my divorce judgement, where I still owe more than 100% of my assets to my ex-wife and her crooked lawyers, I stressed in my appellate brief the fraud upon the court used by Wear and Sharp to confuse the judge and trick him into a judgement. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, was unimpressed with my arguments stating in their decision that "this court is not an agency charged with responsibility for investigating alleged misconduct by lawyers. Marc can present his complaints about Vicki's lawyers to the officials charged with that responsibility." Thus the Court of Appeals passed the buck back to the Disciplinary Counsel.

Justice in Missouri is a race to the bottom, where the law firm with the lowest ethical standards wins.

I then appealed that decision to the Missouri Supreme Court and pointed out the conflicting decisions as to who is responsible for dealing with attorney misconduct during a trial. I pointed out that the Disciplinary Counsel thinks it's the trial judge, the Court of Appeals thinks it's the Disciplinary Counsel. Again, the Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear me and make a ruling. In the mean time, law firms like Wear and Sharp go uninvestigated, winning cases against ethical lawyers who play by the rules and creating an environment where we now have a "race to the bottom" on ethical standards where the law firm who gets the lowest wins. Is that what the State of Missouri considers justice? I hope not.

Judicial stupidity and corruption beyond belief

After the Slay v. Slay decision in 1998, the decision ruling the commissioners do not have the power to sign orders of the court, I looked up my maintenance order to see if it was signed by a judge or a commissioner. To my surprise, it was a hand written order the WASN'T SIGNED AT ALL.

The order, which cost me about $30,000, was made before the legislature gave commissioners limited powers to issue orders. It was at a time where there wasn't any confusion about commissioners signing orders of the court. A commissioner, at that time was clearly prohibited from doing so.

The rule was that judges shall sign orders of the court. Here I had an order that wasn't signed at all, the presumed author wasn't a judge. This looks to me like a order that is void on its face. I filed a suit for declaratory judgement to have the order declared void. Seemed fairly obvious to me. After all the Greene County judges recused themselves, the Missouri Supreme Court appointed Judge Gerold McBeth from Vernon County to hear this case and a second case which was an independent action in equity attacking the divorce judgement for fraud upon the court.

Judge McBeth scheduled both cases for trial at the same time without ruling on the motions to dismiss. I wrote the judge a letter indicating that I wasn't ready for trial and wanted him to only rule on the motion to dismiss so that I could begin discovery. The judge ignored my letter. It was pretty easy to figure out that the judge was going to screw me, which he did.

A Missouri Judge should be required that he knows how to write and sign an order before he presides over a Missouri courtroom.

At the hearing the judge dismissed both cases, then he decided to punish me by awarding attorneys fees calling the suit frivolous. In open court he told Jim Sharp, of the law firm of Wear and Sharp that he should falsify his legal fees and charge $5000. The judge then wrote the order on the docket sheet, and HE FAILED TO SIGN THE ORDER. Mr. Sharp, catching the judges mistake, and apparently sensing that the judge was too stupid to know how to write an order, wrote an order for him and mailed it to the judge. The judge then signed the new order.

In open court and on the record, Judge McBeth suggested that Jim Sharp falsify his legal fees, increasing them from $1500 to $5000, so that he could punish me for representing myself.

I'm just a pro se litigant. I never went to law school. But I walk into court and appear before a Missouri judge who doesn't know how to write orders and who feels totally confortable in open court to suggest that lawyers falsify their billing records. This judge thinks he can punish people for bringing lawsuits he doesn't like by just declaring it frivolous and ordering attorney's fees be paid. This judge doesn't have a clue as to what the law is and he doesn't care. Judges in Missouri do whatever they want because they can get away with it. There's no enforcement of any standards of either ethics or performance.

State of our Judicial System

I'm not the one who started this war with the Greene County Court. There was no justification for that sales tax and I had the right to oppose it and the citizens of Greene County agreed with me. And although I'm sure the judges would rather have had the sales tax increase I can see nothing in the law that gives them the right to use my divorce as an opportunity to get even with me. I used to consider myself an upstanding member of society, but now I feel like I've been made into a criminal and I believe that ultimately the court intends to see me in jail. I didn't go after them, they are coming after me. They keep hounding me. They are no more than common thieves who are stealing everything I own, and then some.

I contend that it is a fraud by the State of Missouri to use the word "Justice" as part of the name "Missouri Justice System".

What I see happening here is that although there are the "Rules of Professional Conduct", that these rules are not enforced. I see judges and lawyers breaking these rules with impunity, as if these rules don't exist. It is as if the word "Justice" is no more than a slogan and that the Rules of Professional Conduct serve only to create the illusion to the public that the judicial system is fair and honest. I see nothing in the rules that allows the court to punish a citizen for opposing a sales tax that the court wanted passed. However, there is no regulatory agency with the power to enforce the rules on the court and make them comply with the law. The court is above the law.

It also looks to me like the judicial system makes sure that pro se litigants don't win. Should someone like me succeed then word would spread that citizens can get justice. However, if they completely destroy people like me then they set an example that anyone who tries to represent themselves without a lawyer will have their lives ruined. It looks to me like judicial terrorism.

What I see here is a closed self serving system of lawyers and judges that take care of themselves at the expense of the people whom they are supposed to serve. Justice is a commodity that is bought and sold. And the system protects the income of lawyers at the expense of the citizens. Where does a citizen go to get justice when the court itself is the perpetrator of the crime?

What Wear and Sharp have cost the State of Missouri

What amazes me is the amount of effort and expense that the Missouri Judicial System has spent to coner up for the law firm of Wear and Sharp. I can't understand it. Why does all these courts go out of their way to protect these people? Considering the costs to the State in paying for all these judges, all these lawyers, the Attorney General, and the Missouri Bar to cover up for the misdeeds of this one law firm just amazes me to no end. This law firm provided the inspiration for the passage od SB-910 in 1998 with parts of that bill specifically to address abuses by law firms like Wear and Sharp.

It has already cost the State of Missouri, the Courts, and Missouri Lawyers millions of dollars to cover up for the law firm of Wear and Sharp. By the time this is all over, every lawyer in Missouri will have to pay The Bar Plan and extra $1000 in malpractice insurance to cover the losses due to this one firm. I find this amazing!

When people are abused by the government, the people will rise up against the government. The citizens of Missouri will not stand and will not allow the judicial system to be used by lawyers like Wear and Sharp to rip off the people. I know that even if they put me away that there are hundreds more like me and we are getting angry, more so every day. I have come to the point that I will not put up with it anymore.

Based on the behavior of the entire Missouri Justice system as a whole, I strongly recommend to the Missouri Legislature that all pay raises be delayed until the Judicial System cleans itself up. Maybe if we take their money away we can get their attention. As a tax payer, I refuse to pay taxes to support a government that oppresses me at every turn. I used to be an upstanding taxpaying citizen. I have no criminal record. I don't even have any points on my drivers license. In 1998 I was the Democratic Candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Now I consider myself to be an outlaw, and I expect to eventually be jailed. But before that happens, I'm going to fight, and I'm going to win.

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