Expert: Michael Troy - 4/19/2004

Question
Hello Mr.Troy,
  I have a ADA/Retaliation Civil Action pending against my former employer,a municipality.I was employed since 3/77.This isn't the first time they tried to fire me,and I have"beaten"them in the past,I also brought my original Union to Public Employee's Relations Commision,for "non-representation"in 92,and won-back all union dues,...then they tried "fabricating"cause for termination in 1995,and the Labor-Attorney,I hired,"dropped-the-ball"during the trial,needless to say,the Judge found me guilty of various charges,I refused to give-in to these corrupt political-hacks,so I wrote an exception to Merit System Board,and they reversed the Judge's decision,but since I didn't exactly appeal,all fraudulent charges against me,still stood,and was given a suspension,instead (due to a 1997 reversal of an OAL Judge's opinion,not only got carreer back,but was awarded ALL medical expensives,pension,and back-pay,from 1/96 to 4/99,and returned to my position)Due to the fact that I work for a Township,certain "politically-appointed"individuals,have a had an "on-going"vendetta against me.They and their "politically-connected"law-firm,gave me a hard time,when I tried returning to work,but,because I was taking prescribed medication,I declined to return to my Driver position,..was transferred to a differant department(forced to work more hours,for less pay)After "pestering"the NEW union,concerning my situation,and the Hostility from the workers in the New department I was in.(they were afraid,because of my senority,that I might/could start"bumping"them)Filed with the EEOC in May 1999,and finally the New union,put enough pressure on the "Elected-Officials"(the Union didn't want to"inherit"all unresolved issues,still out-standing,such as back-pay)I was returned to my original department in June 99,and was constantly "under-the-microscope",forced to sign obscure papers,was assigned with an active drinker,or alcoholic(I have been in Recovery,since Sept.97 after "self-medicating"with alcohol,because of the inital"Kangaroo Court"OAL proceedings,1995 to beginning of 97,...I was under a constant state of extreme anxiety/pressure,due to in-work conditions,and personal issues(walked out of my ex,after 12 years,because of her continued"drug-usage")On July 1 1999,after work,I went out and "relapsed",...this wasn't"planned",but the pressures were too over-coming,unfortunitly I arrived for work on July 2,with a"hang-over",and a Union official detected it,and went to management,...I was brought up on charges,but since my last"run-in"with them,I learned to make sure anything and everything was "taken-down"for the record,I constantly reminded them about the Drug & Alcohol test results,and proceedures,or "discovery",but to no avail,I was terminated AFTER the EEOC issued a Right-to-Suit Letter(the EEOC DID NO INVESTIGATION)then I found an attorney that agreed that I had a valid case(under 109 N.J.575(1988)Clowes vs.Terminix)(which states that Alcoholism is a disability,under NJ state law),but,could only write-up a Federal Complaint,and could NOT represent me due to"conflicts".I tried NJ Protection & Advocacey,NJ-ACLU,and numerious advocate organizations,...but was allways told that"I",didn't meet their criteria(such as I'm not a minority,I'm not gay,I don't have HIV,or AIDS,I'm not an intervenus drug-user,I'm not a female,or I'm not a single parent)I was"re-introduced"to a lawyer that was supposed to settle the back-pay issue,back in 1999,and since he promised to keep me informed of every bit of info,I relented,and aggreed to let him represent me on my Federal Matter,but due to my limited access to funds,I would persue an Appeal from the State OAL proceedings by myself,at the same time,I never stopped going to counseling,even though it was only a 16-week program,and continued to partisapate on a weekly basis,up to July 2003(counseler is in the National Guard,and he stopped showing-up,so I figured he was called to active-duty)I have went through schooling to get a CADC certification,but had to stop school,due to the Lawyer's actions,or should I say,"in-actions"regarding "discovery"in my Federal Case.I have been asking for Discovery since 1999,and whenever the "discovery"has a potential negative-light,against my adversary,it is either magically"lost"or they say it's irrelivant,My attorney never made a Motion on my behalf(especially regarding the defendant's non-compliance,with Discovery)so I wrote to the Magistrate Judge,myself on Dec.30,2001.I wasn't blaming my attorney of any malfesance,but instead of persuing the Discovery Issue,the attorney filed a Motion against me,his client,...and my numerious discovery requests fell on deaf-ears.After he submitted the Motion to withdraw as my attorney,I lost all,what little faith I had in his representation,concerning this case,...I didn't trust him anymore.He let an Order stand,that my adversary submitted to the Court,barring me from bringing up the issue of other workers,who committed the same infraction,but were treated in a less severe manner,...my lawyer acted surprized when the Judge signed the Order,...I'm not a lawyer,but I could read,and it is plainly written that he knew of this Order,in advance,...but he still persisted to deny it,...I had to resort to start recording our conversations,with a hidden  microphone,...by June of 2002 I wanted to fire him,but was terrified of the Federal Court system by myself,I'm not an educated man,..I started with the Township at 19,in 1977,and I'm now 46,with only a GED,and a few night courses to my credit,...but, I have no idea what's going on when it comes to the "legalese"involved.I tried reading the Federal rules and proceedures & Local Civil rules,but I might as well be reading chinese,cause I still have no ideas,concerning  my next-move,or the proper Court eticate...So now,my former attorney was releaved in Oct.2002,...but I'm trying my best to seek & retain counsel,and still keep my case from "sinking",but after 99% of prospective attorney consultations,resulting in advice to go after my former attorney,instead of willingness to represent me or to persue for my Civil action,...I have to wonder if the few honest attorney's advice,... to seek out-of-state counsel,...because of the facts that the former Mayor of the Municipality I worked for,happens to be the Present Governor(elected in 2000)and almost all dealings I have had with any Court,or State agencey,regarding my Civil Complaint,is continually "comprimised"(example:On March 1st 2001,while I showed-up at the OAL hearing,(without my documents)trying to get a continuance,I was denied,and was "forced"to proceed without any documents...Testimoney that was given by their expert,is "missing"from the Record,specifically when it was my turn to cross-examine him,...the Lawyer that was representing the Twp.was at the same time,heading the Governor's Transition Team for the NJ Dept,of Personnel(proving that I could of shown-up,with a stationwagon,full of nuns,willing to give testimoney on my behalf,and they all would of been deamed as "non-creditble"),...No employee from no State agencey,is going to put their carreer,on the line,in order to do the right-thing,...99%of all attorneys i spoke with, agreed that I have a good case,but because of the "politics-involved",don't want to get"black-balled"by the State Democratic party(We,up hear in Jersey have a "pay-to-play"system form of government,which is currently under multiple Federal investigations)Or,no law-firm is willing to committ"Carreer-a-cide"from ever getting some State contract"farmed-out"to them,...I have allready been forced to proceed pro se,since 2002,..and unsuccessfully been trying to get all original paperwork from my former attorney,by trying to submit Motions to Compel,...the Masistrate Judge set a date,but the former attorney sent-in a "Certification"(no-affidavitt) which was,basically lying,to the facts, that he did give me all of my case file,...now my Motion was denied,without any legally fair rulling,to the reasons,except that the Magistrate Judge,apparently,conciders a lawyer's "certification"bears more weight that all the valid documentation,I put into the Motion,...An Arbitration was scheduled for May 6,2003,...a week earlier,still going on consultations,I fell-asleep riding the train back,and woke-up after my stop,...I ran off the train,at the same time,I left all of the Court paperwork behind,...After calling the Train's Lost&Found Dept,I imediately contacted the Court,asking if I could be supplied with copies,...my adverasry,came foreward,offering to supply me with copies,...I showed-up on May 6,waiting for these copies,but,now the opposing attorney explained that he was going to send them to me,at a later date!,...I was stunned,but not surprized,...they have been pulling-off ridiculious antics since the early 1980's...I didn't know how to proceed for an Arbitration,...heck,I didn't know exactly what an "Arbitration"was...and afterwards I looked it-up, Arbitration is supposed to be a fair,and balanced oppertunity for both sides to get-out their versions,...it was anything but that,..I found the arbitrator rude,arrogant,and that I was under a more inquisition-type setting,and wrote to the Magistrate Judge with my concerns,3 days later,...But the Judge responded,saying that if I'm not happy with the Arbitration,I could file a demand/request for a trial de novo,and that all future paperwork,should be sent directly to the District Court Judge,...the Magistrate judge didn't want anymore correspondance sent to him...except it was never sent to me,...all Court papers were still being sent to the former attorney!I didn't find-out about this until July 9 2003,when I called the Court asking for copies of prior rulings! alittle over a year has passed,and the Court still was sending documents to my former attorney(and he wasn't about to "change"his "stripes"/loyality now,so he never sent them allong to me),...On July 9 ,I was told that my case was CLOSED because I never responded to the Court's correspondence,and the District Judge's Clerk sent a fax of the paperwork,...Now I lost all hopes of retaining this specific, exellant,out-of-state attorney,whom I have been corresponding with since March...I was now told that I would have a better chance,at a lottery,...that have the Court rule against itself,(at the same time all of this is going-on,I'm"conversing"with some disgrunteled tax-payers,on a state conversation board,..I became friends with this peticular poster,and during a private(off-line)conversation..I reveiled info regarding the arbitration,and to my shock,I found out that the arbitrator was an elected Democratic Freeholder,from a County,where the former Twp.vindictive political-hack,was now the County Administrator,...Unbelievable?,...It's true,the Arbitrator has a direct working relationship with one of the Defendants,I deposed in 2002,with his deposition riddled with inconsistancies,...and the Arbitrators decision contained some info that was never brought-out in the arbitration,but some of the same "versions"from the 2002 deposition,have appeared in his official rulling!,...I imediately wrote to the District Judge,explaining this"coincidence"and submitted the Trial de novo demand with a Motion to "throw-out"the Arbitration award,...they re-opened my case,but declared my Motion against the Arbitration award,as "moot",because it was a non-binding arbitration,... in Febuary,of 2004 I submitted an application for pro bono counsel,because of my indigent status,I also submitted a new Motion to Compel the Defendants to produce the Discovery,that my former attorney never asked for(but I suspect that it'll be denied,because the specific requested Discovery,casts a negative-light against the Defendants,and will contradict most of their"manufactured"evidence...I have refrained from going to the press(most media is too influnced,by politics,in this state)But the Amount of Ethical Prejiduced"coincidences"has got to stop,...My Question to you,Mr.Troy,...is where can a non-political,financually"broke",but tenatious individual go, to get a fair,unbias hearing,with a large amount of unethical judicial,and professional DOCUMENTED behavior? I would just like an answer,or a  reliable resource to protect my (allready violated)Rights(forget the ACLU,I tried them twice,without any success),...I apoligize for what appears to be a "rambling-condensed-version"" of the facts,but would like to thank you, in advance,for reading through it,and for any help,or "pointing"me in the right direction,towards an antisipated resolve,...Thomas Rechko

Answer
Hi Thomas,

Sorry ot hear about your continuing difficulties with the legal system.  One unfortunate aspect of our system is that the costs of the legal process are often greater than the amount in dispute.  This is especially true if you need a very good lawyer, as opposed to the low-cost hacks who take marginal cases.

In addition, many attorneys will be concerned about entering a case where so much as already happend that make the legal issues even more complex.

I don't know if you have tried the Legal Services Corp. of New Jersey, but they frequently can help with such cases on behalf of indients.  Unlike the ACLU, they are more focused on specific cases rather than setting broader precedents or addressing larger issues.  You can check out their web site here:

http://www.lsnj.org/

I hope this helps!
- Mike