Will nobody stop the insanity?

Heard of Rule 60? It was made for exactly the situation that Venessa Mills is now in - except for one small problem. Can you guess?

Just wait until you read about the hatchet job being done on Rule 60. I'm sure you will be as shocked as me that Judge Ned Mangum is allowing this to happen ...

In Venessa Mills' divorce case, Judge Mangum wrote a final Temporary Order that included a substantial amount of material that was nowhere to be found in his original verbal comments. The additions were highly prejudicial against Venessa Mills, legally questionably, and - in my opinion - made a mockery of justice.

Well, thankfully, there's Rule 60 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. This rule is apparently intended to allow for some measure of accountability in such cases. A person can apply for "relief" from a judgment or order for certain reasons, including:

1. Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;

2. Newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);

3. Fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party;

4. The judgment is void;

5. The judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application; or

6. Any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.

Now, in my personal view, what Judge Mangum did falls squarely in category 3 - it's hard for me to imagine a more blatant misrepresentation of the facts, or a better example of misconduct in the handling of the whole case.

But, at the very least, #1 and #6 should allow a small crack in the thick wall of injustice, through which Venessa Mills can fight for the truth. Right?

No.

Guess what doesn't apply to temporary orders?

Yes, that's right. Apparently, Rule 60 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure doesn't apply to temporary orders. It's not just limited or modified - the whole thing is swept under the carpet as if it doesn't exist.

Take a second to think about that. Read over those numbered points above one more time. Then consider the implications if none of those objections can be applied - or even raised or argued - against a judge's temporary orders in a divorce case.

Make no mistake, this is absolutely insane. "Rules of Civil Procedure?" The State of North Carolina may want to look up those words in a dictionary, because they're making it a contradiction in terms. There's nothing "civil" about this, and apparently there are no rules or procedures either. When it comes to temporary orders, judges can seemingly do whatever they want - with no accountability, no recourse, no appeal, and no defense.

The sheer injustice of this is overwhelming. To suffer under an oppressive, destructive, disruptive temporary order for any length of time is bad enough, but some cases are dragged out by attorneys and judges so that the temporary orders last for years. Several people who have contacted me through this blog have shared this very experience.

A temporary order is a dark abyss that swallows up justice and doesn't even bother to spit it back out. By the time Venessa Mills get her permanent hearing and permanent divorce orders, her life and the lives of her three children will have suffered irreversible damage.

Will nobody stop this insanity? Governors? Senators? Legislators? Judges? Attorneys? Is there not one person who will stand up against this and say "this has to stop!" Is there no-one who will forget about their own selfish interests long enough to just do what is right?

Well, apparently, not Mr. Mills' attorney, Jaye Meyer. Guess who objected to Rule 60 being applied to Judge Mangum's temporary order? Guess who pointed out that Rule 60 couldn't be applied to temporary orders?

If there were any justice in this case, Ms. Meyer, and Judge Mangum himself, would be standing up and saying, "Forget the technicalities and legal games, we need to do the right thing."

But, sadly, hardly anyone says that anymore.

Deuteronomy 16:20 Follow justice and justice alone...