Injustice From Beginning to End: April 7 Final Court Hearing (Part 2)

  It was another very bizarre and surreal scene in the court…like being trapped in yet another inescapable episode of The Twilight Zone. Listening to the whining and childish debating of the plaintiffs’ attorney and his cohort from the nursing university while the judge listened intently without questioning his unsubstantiated and vague statements; meanwhile, I was being impatiently herded through the facts of my testimony with barely a trace of any attention on the judge’s part to what I was saying and little indication that she really cared about my testimony.

  Then, in one final half-hearted and fake effort to appear as if the court was allowing me a chance to present my new evidence and explain its relevance, the judge asked me if I have anything else to tell the court before she closed the case. Since I had already asked the judge’s clerk and my departed attorney some days earlier what was the purpose of the hearing and the answer from both was only “it’s the final hearing and the judge will close the case”, I had not brought the complete package of new evidence that I had prepared 8 months earlier and was not allowed to present at the 3 previous hearings. When I explained this to the judge, with a look of utter disdain and scorn, the judge told me I should have been prepared for oral debate and I was at fault for not being prepared. Case over.

   I protested that neither her clerk nor my former attorney told me I had to prepare for oral debate, to which the judge replied that I "should always be prepared for oral debate”. WTF!   

  Even the translator shook her head in disbelief and told me she was shocked that the lawyer had not told me to prepare for oral debate. While this was going on, the other side were gloating over my unfortunate finale – looking ever the devils incarnate they are with their evil smiles. Seeing them basking in self-congratulatory adulation for themselves and each other only served to further incense me…and to get me thinking about how to make one final stand before leaving Taiwan.

Injustice From Beginning to End: April 7 Final Court Hearing (Part I)

   It’s been one week since I landed in the ultimate destination of this chapter of my life – Indonesia – and it’s been a busy, but happy and smooth, start getting settled and learning my way around a brand-new place…far, far away from the nightmare of the Devil’s Dregs and the ineptitude, injustice, indifference and prejudice of Taiwan’s human rights-deficient “dinosaur” judiciary. I’ve got internet access again, although much less reliable, considerably slower and more expensive than in Taiwan.

  In keeping with the tradition of most of the earlier court hearings, the final one of April 7 was just as farcical as – if not a bit more than – the others.

  After confirming that I had no attorney, just a few minutes into the hearing the new judge asked me to explain why I sued the plaintiffs. Seems patience and good listening skills are severely lacking (especially when foreigners are speaking) as evidenced by all three judges conduct during the extremely limited chances I’ve had to speak in court. Just a few minutes into my testimony – which was translated into Chinese by the court-appointed translator – the translator interrupted me to say that I’d better hurry up my explanation because of the judge’s impatience. When the nursing university attorney and/or representative speak they go on for 10, 15 minutes at a time with little or no interruption. I can’t even speak for 5 minutes without being interrupted and rushed to finish! This has been the “modus operandi” of Taiwan’s court throughout the nearly three years of court hearings.

  The rushes through my testimony about how the nursing university (國立臺北護理健康大學) collaborated with the accuser in falsely accusing me of sexual harassment and violated my legal and human rights in the school’s investigation and decision were broken periodically by the judge asking the plaintiffs’ lawyer to respond to what I had said. Two of the more incredible responses he made were:

1)    The gender equity committee which “investigated” the accuser’s complaint and the larger committee which made the decision were completely independent (although all the members were chosen by at least the school president) and it was not possible for the school president, the nursing department chairperson, or anyone else at the school to have influenced or directed anyone on the committees to a particular decision;

2)    Three different times during his long-winded “speech”, the plaintiffs’ lawyer said to the judge that I was “avoiding telling all the details about what really happened at the activity” and “leaving out what I really did”. I kept asking the translator to ask the other side to say clearly what they meant by this vague reference, but their lawyer just kept repeating the same thing and the judge didn’t even ask him to clarify what he was talking about. Yet, when I testified that I had a witness who told me exactly what and who was behind the false accusation against me, the judge insisted I tell her who the witness was.

To be continued…

Of Lawyers, Legal Aid Farce & Getting A New Court Date

   Of course, this tangled web of legal matters is not the only thing going in my life. As I wrote earlier, I've been in the process of distancing myself from this nearly 4-year nightmare and moving on to happier and better things. In-between visits to the Taipei district court building to deal with my former attorney's mess and to reschedule the final court hearing, I was preparing to leave Taiwan for a new job and winding up the previous one. No time during this hectic, and sometimes frantic, period to keep up with my blog.

  Now I'm halfway to my new destination with some much-needed time off to recover from the grinding pace of my final few weeks in Taiwan. In another few days I'll be in my new home-away-from-home, a brand-new place for me to set down for a while and gain some fresh cultural, lifestyle and work experiences.

  To continue where I left off in the previous installment of the "Lawyer Who Quit - NOT..." saga, here is the correspondence between the attorney and I starting with my email asking him why he is still meddling in my case and changing the court dates without notifying me of his intentions first:

date   Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 4:33 PM subject   Next Court Hearing & Your Status

Attny Tu,

  This afternoon I got a notice from the Taipei District Court. I took it to the court building to ask what it was about and I was informed by the staff that the original hearing date of March 31, 10:50 a.m., was changed by you to April 21 because you submitted a pleading to the court stating you would be away on March 31.
  I would like to know what is going on? You told me you quit my case, you told the LAF you quit, the LAF told me you quit, but the court clerk and other staff, and me, are very confused because you did not submit a pleading to the court stating you quit my case and your pleading for a change in court date has led everyone to believe you are still representing me. Would you please clarify what is your status?
  Another important matter, I have gotten a job reassignment to Thailand and I will be leaving Taiwan by the morning of April 8. I have already cleared my schedule, and my friend, to attend the court hearing on the morning of March 31. The court clerk informed me the judge intends to conclude the case at this next hearing and I should be there to know what is going on. I was not informed by you or the LAF that you are still involved in my case and I did not request the date to be changed, especially I will not be here after April 7.

Regards,

C 

date  Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 4:54 PM subject  Fwd: Next Court Hearing & Your Status

思寧妳好：

上次向妳提到：
由於我27日要出國發表論文，
31日Mr. D的庭沒辦法出庭。
妳告訴我由於Mr. D覆議變更律師審查決定的期限未到，
建議我先遞陳報狀請假。

我遞陳報狀請假了，
法院也改訂期日到4月21日上午了，
結果Mr. D發以下這封信來。
他說他4月8日要離開臺灣去泰國，
問我為何要改變庭期。

我會撥空回覆Mr. D，
（並密件副本給妳）
但妳這邊可能也要有心理準備，
他不高興起來可是很不講道理的，
先提醒妳一聲。
謝謝！

涂予尹律師 

date  Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 4:58 PM subject  Re: Next Court Hearing & Your Status

Mr. D,

LAF asked me not to quit immediately when I got the notice of 3/31 hearing. Because you had the opportunity to appeal to the LAF's changing lawyer decision and they were not sure whether you would appeal or not.
Since I had a business trip to NY on Sunday, I notified the court to change the hearing date. If this made yo convenient, I apologize.

regards and good luck,
Attorney Tu

  

date  Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 5:17 PM subject  Re: Next Court Hearing & Your Status

Attny Tu,

  Thank you for your response and explanation. I would like to further clarify then, you will contact the court next Monday and confirm that the next hearing will be before I leave - on either March 31 or another date before April 8 - or if neither of these is possible then you will be at the hearing on April 21 and what is the judge's intention for this hearing since this will be her first time hearing this case.

Regards,

C

date  Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 5:24 PM subject  Re: Next Court Hearing & Your Status

Mr. D,

I'll do this for you. I believe that the court would inform you the date of your next hearing directly to you.

best regards 

date  Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 12:54 PM subject  About the date of hearing

Mr. D,

I had my assistant called the court yesterday. The court could not change the date back to 3/31. I am asking the LAF representative to assign another lawyer to you and have the lawyer to meet with you before your leaving for Thailand. Your new lawyer will represent you to the next hearing on 4/21.

regards,

Attorney Tu 

date  Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 1:55 AM subject   Re: About the date of hearing

Attny Tu,

  Thank you for the updated information. I have some update for you. The court called me today and said the court hearing has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 7, at 9:10 a.m. (I will be leaving Taiwan the same evening).
  Please advise the LAF of this new court date and either the LAF or new lawyer can contact me to arrange a meeting before the hearing.

Regards,
C 

date  Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 1:07 PM subject  Re: About the date of hearing

Mr. D,

I've contacted LAF representative, Ms. Tung. She said under the LAF prescriptions, currently the LAF would not assign a new lawyer to you. Shall you have any further questions from this case, you may contact Ms, Tung directly at 2322-5151.

regards,

Attorney Tu