Jailin Judge: toll bridge company request for secret reports is "designed to annoy, harass and intimidate"

The Jailin Judge of Wayne County Michigan says that a request by the Ambassador Bridge company to see reports used to jail two of its top people January 12 is "designed to annoy, harass, and intimidate" the author of the report Charles Scales, who the judge titles Monitor with a capital 'M.' Piling on, the county judge, Prentis Edwards says the company's request is "overly broad, confusing and unduly burdensome" and in a one-page order issued today he "quashes" the request motion.

Outside the Jailin Judge's Wayne County Michigan court due process of law requires those accused of wrongdoing to be provided access to reports that are the basis for charges of wrongdoing so they have an opportunity to respond. 

But the Jailin Judge has his own rules!

As we've previously reported the rogue judge in Detroit took no testimony, called no witnesses but relied on secret reports of a Monitor as the factual basis on which to send bridge company officers to jail (they got released next day by the state appeals court.)

And to rub salt in their wounds the Judge has the bills - $71k so far - for the secret reports sent to the bridge company. They won't be allowed to see the reports, but they sure can pay for them!

Usually someone wants them kept secret

Craig L John attorney for the bridge company points out also that normally a judge quashes an order when some parties to a case ask for it to be quashed.

Not the Jailin Judge.

The Monitor himself Charles Scales has not asked for his reports to be kept secret. Nor has Michigan DOT, nor insurance companies involved.

No one has argued they should be kept secret except the Judge himself.

John says reasonably enough that the Judge's unusual step of rushing to quash the motion to release the reports begs the question, 'What is Judge Edwards trying to hide?'

"If the written and verbal reports issued by and provided to Judge Edwards by Monitor Scales support the conclusion that DIBC is not complying with the Court’s orders and it has the ability to do so, one would think that Judge Edwards would be happy to make public something like that he relied upon in reaching his decisions."

Publicity hound

We speculate however that these reports will turn out to be an anti-climax when, as they must, they are eventually released.

It is unlikely, we think, they'll reveal anything new.

Playing cute with court documents, like trashing all the rules of court procedure, plus throwing bridge company media-villains arbitrarily in jail for the night, are all ways of 'Judge' Edwards keeping himself in the local news.

Most of all the Jailin Judge is a publicity hound.

copy of Jailin Judge's quash order:

http://tollroadsnews.com/sites/default/files/Denial.pdf

copy of motion to release secret reports:

http://tollroadsnews.com/sites/default/files/SecretReports.pdf

TOLLROADSnews 2012-01-25