On Filing an Appeal. Why is Our Judicial System Not Electronic? Must Court Employees Identify Themselves?

So, I’ve already blogged about how I almost got thrown in jail for effectively attempting to get an explanation.  Now am preparing an appeal.  Again, confusing.  Should have really appealed the initial ruling, but kept hoping to see our justice system in action…  so am doing this with more motions in the process…  Still, it’s good for me to learn how this process works.  Knowledge-dump on appeals here.

Observation: from what I see and hear – everyone seems to know everyone in lower courts resulting in all sorts of politics, “favors”, and bad judgments.  Hard to explain Judge Curran’s and Judge Budd’s judgments otherwise.  That said, I heard that things get better as one moves up the appeals process…

However, it seems that public accountability is a pretty important element, which brings me to the next question:

Why is our legal system not electronic?

Snail mail/court ate some important notices they claim to have sent me.  Some of the pleadings were “lost” from the docket.  Case in point, I still don’t have a full order that I need to appeal.  First the court sent me an order that was missing at least one page.  When I asked them to resend, they claimed it to be missing.  Andrew Johnson from the Civil Dept. told me he would locate – after a week, still nothing.  So I went into the courthouse in person and you know you are not in the graces of “Debbie from the Civil Department” when Debbie claims to be doing you a favor in trying to locate the paper that Mr. Johnson has failed to locate.  After she gives you an ever-escalating attitude, you have to ask her several times to identify herself – you try to be as nice as possible throughout the whole thing, but it’s progressively difficult not to take a firm tone.  And this is not just for accountability’s sake, but an appeal must be taken within 30 days from the entry of the decision – “Debbie from the Civil Department” might need to confirm that I am not just trying to delay things.

Question: I heard that court employees must identify themselves according to law.  Can anyone confirm?  I can’t find anything to this end.

Anyway, now I am pulling together documents into a package to be delivered to the appeals court…  And it’s an absolutely idiotic endeavor.  All of this information has already been filed and should be online, available to all parties so that everyone is on the same page.  An appeal should be available with a click of a button – click and an appeals judge reviews the the case.  Then things wouldn’t get lost, filing would be quick and simple, media could easily keep track of the judicial process possibly preclude the abuse that Judge Curran and Judge Budd have engaged in… and you could probably fire Debbie.

Feels like I am in the judicial stone age of sorts…  but, the good thing is that it does seem to be an ever-evolving system.