Demanding Accountability

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Unfit JoCo Judges

By Kelly Stone
Investigative Reporter

Josephine Co., OR - As readers may recall, a few years ago the Observer launched an all out campaign against the judicial system in Josephine County. That campaign eventually subsided as slowly the judges came to realize the very public consequences of their actions. However, since then all four judges retired and over the past 3 years all of the original judges are gone. This is an article about the corrupt and/or incompetent judges that have taken their place with the possible exception of Judge Thomas Hull. This all began with the appointment of Michael Newman as judge. Some time back this former Deputy District Attorney was specifically assigned to be Josephine County's Family Court Judge. Serious and extreme consequences have resulted to the citizens and families of Josephine County during his short tenure.

A good example of his corruption and incompetence is the Deer Creek Ranch case which has now been in the system for over 7 years. Our regular readers should be familiar with that case so we will not repeat the history (others can find the articles at usobserver.com on the world-wide web). Suffice it to say that case involves a clear cut separation of "good guys" versus "swindling criminals." Guess who Judge Newman has consistently sided with? That's right, the criminals! In doing this he has ignored the most basic principles of law. First, this was a lawsuit between 2 trusts regarding the rightful ownership of the Deer Creek Ranch, a multi-million dollar asset. The sole Trustee of Fountainhead Global Trust (FGT) who filed the suit was Rick Prescott. The Defendant was the Fiduciary Educational Society (FES), with Ivan Cermak and Peter B. Thompson as Trustees. When Defendants arrived at that hearing with their Attorney Duane Schultz Plaintiff Prescott was not present. Instead his wife Karla Prescott was there pretending to be a Trustee of FGT which she was not at the time. She also announced that she had a Power of Attorney from her husband which she could not produce. At that time Attorney Schultz strongly objected to her representing the Trust and genius Newman overruled after drooling on the bench over Karla Prescott's outward attractiveness. At this point it is important to note that one spouse can not represent the other spouse unless the spouse intending to represent is an active Attorney, which neither of the Prescotts are.

Next, Karla Prescott produced the forged document that eventually broke the camel's back and lost the case for FES. That document was a copy of a document entitled "Promissory Note." In reality that document was a one sided agreement stating FES would give the ranch to FGT under certain circumstances. The only Trustee of FES who supposedly signed that document was Rick Prescott. He was later fired on August 3, 2002. The other two people signing were allegedly Roy Fritts and William Joe Little Jr. who were both Trustees of FGT. Rick Prescott was a Trustee of FES also at the time the document was supposedly signed. What a conflict of interest! The Observer, after extensive efforts, revealed that this document was a forgery. When this reporter located Joe Little Jr. in California and presented the document to him he immediately stated that the signature was not his and that he had never seen the document or any other even remotely resembling it. Moreover, it was not notarized nor recorded in the county records.

Attorney Schultz objected strenuously to this document being admitted into evidence on three grounds. First, that the document was a copy rather than the original which the Oregon rules of evidence prohibit when objected to. ORS 40.560 states that; "A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless: (l) A genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original; or (2) in the circumstances it would be unfair to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original". Second, the document was phony on its face because no person in their right mind would create a document purporting to transfer a multi-million dollar piece of property without notarizing and recording it. Third, because Thompson and Cermak testified that they had never seen the document before.

That document eventually led to a Summary Judgment in favor of FGT, taking the ranch from FES and ruining Thompson's and Cermak's lives. They strongly believe that Judge Newman's preoccupation with Karla Prescott's appearance and possibly a lot more, led to this absolutely ignoramus decision. The US~Observer has received frequent and numerous complaints about the validity of Newman's decisions from the bench – decisions that have ruined many people's lives.

Judge Pat Wolke

On August 24, 2006 and no doubt on prior occasions, Wolke heard three of his own brother's cases! His brother is Dan Wolke, a local Attorney who specializes in being a Public Pretender (Defender if you must.). That action is so unethical it should be obvious to the most casual observer. A complaint regarding this incident was filed with the Judicial Fitness and Disability Commission, which has, at least up to this point, treated the matter seriously. Like Newman, we have had many complaints against Wolke ruling against what was right and the destructive affects his decisions have had on people's lives. A few years ago we published articles on the Steve Andrews case. Steve was falsely charges with sex abuse and Observer investigative journalists came up with the solid evidence to vindicate him. Wolke was his public defender at the time and when Andrews presented the evidence to him he told Andrews he wouldn't use any evidence coming from the Observer. Andrews immediately fired Wolke, the Observer found a competent attorney for him, he had a short jury trial and was found not guilty by his Josephine County jury. The jury listened intently to the conclusive evidence and deliberated for less than one hour before returning their verdict. Andrews would most likely have spent years in prison had he remained with Wolke – just as countless others have who trusted this incompetent person to represent them. Wolke was not a competent attorney and he is worse as a judge.

Corrupt Judge Victory Walker

Like Wolke, Walker was a public pretender prior to her being appointed as a Judge Pro Tem. The reality of the situation is that law school graduates obtain jobs commensurate with their academic record and abilities. The top of the class obtains employment either from a prestigious law firm or goes into sole practice. The middle class members often obtain employment with the government such as the District Attorney's office. The bottom class members take almost all they are offered, i.e., the public pretender's (Defender's) office.

Three different people have contacted the Observer over the issue that Judge Walker has refused their request (motion) to disqualify (recuse) her. The statutory scheme does not suggest that she can refuse to do this. In fact it makes it mandatory on her part to allow the motion unless; (1) the same party has already disqualified 2 judges or (2) the judge drafts a written affidavit substantiating her belief that the motion is made in bad faith. Neither of these requirements were adhered to by Judge Walker. ORS 14.250 through 14.270 are the operative statutes.

On top of the above, Walker has acted in a totally vindictive manner towards the people who attempted to disqualify her. The shining example of this is when Defendant Ron Gibson moved to disqualify her on August 30, 2006 and she refused. Then on October 24, 2006, Walker decided that Gibson should be evicted from his own property. When Gibson filed an emergency ex-parte motion for her to hear on November 2, 2006, she recused herself at that time. In other words, she can hear your case as long as she wants to shaft you but when it comes to possibly helping you, she is gone. Through a great deal of trouble Gibson obtained two judgments that nullified Walker's eviction order. One judgment was obtained in Judge Orf's court in Jackson County and the other was obtained from the Oregon Court of Appeals. Is there a reason for Walkers incompetence. Yes indeed; we found that evidence while looking at Walker's Oregon State Bar (OSB) records. Walker was only admitted to the OSB in 2001. This has got to be record time for a person to go from totally wet behind the ears, to sitting in judgment of important legal cases. This completely explains the fact why her rulings are so far off base but it doesn't explain why she was appointed by Judge Lindi Baker in the first place.

In addition to the above, Judge Walker's general attitude in court is one of brashness, arrogance and ignorance. She has no consideration whatsoever for the litigants or the law.

Judge Lindi Baker

Last but certainly not least, is Presiding Judge Lindi Baker. She is the supervisor of the other judges who was informed by a detailed letter in October that her judges were out of control. To our knowledge she has done nothing to correct this serious problem since some of the incidents being reported in this article occurred well after she received the letter. In addition, the editor of this paper phoned Judge Baker and she has refused to return our calls. This is always the practice of someone who has something to hide or dodge and it is unacceptable for any public official to refuse to speak with the press.

It was a serious mistake for Judge Baker to allow Victory Walker anywhere near the "bench," it is unaccountable for Judge Wolke to hear his brothers cases and it is a complete perversion of the law for Judge Newman to award criminals property that they have absolutely no interest in whatsoever. Unfortunately for Judge Lindi Baker, she is ultimately the person responsible for what goes on at the Josephine County Courthouse. Judge Baker should act on these problems and others and she should not ignore the press as this is the only forum available for the tax-payers who employee her.

We strongly encourage that readers phone these judges, especially Baker, to complain about these illegal practices. You will probably only be able to speak with their judicial assistants but the messages will be relayed as the assistants seem to be more competent than the judges themselves. The court phone number is (541) 476-2309. Just ask the operator for a judge's particular extension number. Better yet, submit written complaints. The address of the courthouse is 500 N.W. 6th Street, Grants Pass 97526. Just as important, if you have had similar problems with the Josephine County Courts please phone the Observer at (541) 474-7885 and tell us your story. And stay tuned – we will have much more on Josephine County judges in the near future…

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