Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Fraud on the court, obstruction of justice

An "officer of the court" is any person who has an obligation to promote  justice and the efficient operation of the judicial system. Medical experts, hired by a party or appointed by a court, are officers of the court because their testimony and expertise is supposed to guide the court's decision-making with technical knowledge, skills or experience unavailable to lay fact finders.

"Fraud upon the court" has been defined by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals as that species of fraud which defiles or attempts to defile the court itself, or which is perpetrated by officers of the court so that the judicial machinery can not perform its task of impartially adjudicating cases.

Fraud upon the court voids the orders and judgments of that court. It is clear and well settled Illinois law that any attempt to commit fraud upon the court vitiates the entire proceeding. Any decision produced by fraud upon the court is in essence not a decision at all. The orders and judgment of that court are void, of no legal force or effect.

So consider proceedings on petitions for court-ordered privileges or conditional release, when a state psychiatrist has convinced a "patient" to take a sub-therapeutic dose of medication entirely to create the impression the patient is "complying with treatment".

I heard one high-level state psychiatrist, Dr. James P. Corcoran, M.D., (annual state salary almost  a quarter-million $) suggest precisely this fraud just the other day, and I have heard of it many times in the past from various patients and doctors at Elgin Mental Health Center and other state institutions throughout Illinois. "Just a very small amount" of a drug is frequently pushed on a patient with the explicit encouragement, "It'll look good to the judge!" In fact, I am pretty sure I have several species of similar fraudulent statements to a patient by EMHC staff recorded (e.g., see the transcript in an earlier post).

When a doctor who knows better (or should) pretends that an ineffective dose of a drug is active medical "treatment" of a real illness, or when he claims that it is a preventative or prophylactic measure when no such use has ever been validated by the FDA or any scientific research, and when that doctor inserts such nonsense into records that he knows will be in evidence in court proceedings, he certainly commits fraud upon the court. And anyone else who goes along with it, who signs court reports and fails to point out that an ineffective dose of a drug, "...just to look good to the judge" is not valid treatment, becomes an accessory to this fraud.

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Obstruction of justice is a serious criminal offense under Illinois state law. The conduct that constitutes obstruction may sometimes seem trivial, but the consequences can be prison time.

720 ILCS 5/31-4 states, in relevant part:

"(a) A person obstructs justice when, with intent to prevent the apprehension or obstruct the prosecution or defense of any person, he or she knowingly commits any of the following acts:

     "(1) Destroys, alters, conceals or disguises physical evidence, plants false evidence, furnishes false  information; or
     "(2) Induces a witness having knowledge material to the subject at issue to leave the state or conceal himself or herself; or
     "(3) Possessing knowledge material to the subject at issue, he or she leaves the state or conceals himself; or...."

An experienced social worker at Elgin Mental Health Center instantly admitted under oath yesterday, that she was aware criminal charges could be brought against a female staff member who has sexual contact with a male patient.

I have no direct knowledge or evidence, myself, regarding any story of staff-patient sexual relationships. I have been assured however, that there is such evidence (a video, in fact!). Anyone who knows anything about that sure better be talking to law enforcement.

And anyone who is tired of being part of the Illinois "forensic mental health" mafia sure better start thinking like a whistleblower.