Susan L. Hubbard: Coward, Fraud, Judge.

What do you call a person who tells lies to lure a small child into a back room with the intent of taking her away from her home and family and sending her across state lines with a stranger and a convicted child abuser?
In Detroit, they call her a Judge, and she sits on the bench in the Family Division of the Third Judicial Circuit Court.

In fact, on November 12, 2012, with the help of a small gang of Wayne County Deputies, Judge Susan L. Hubbard did just that.
Diann and I had cared for our granddaughter Lia since she moved from Utah to stay with us, when she was seven weeks old. We were appointed temporary guardians for her when she was just five months old,


We were awarded full custody of her in April, 2010.
Although Lia had two biological parents out there somewhere, they had virtually no contact with her and provided nothing for her in the way of support, love or parenting.
We were the only parents Lia had ever known. We cared for her, raised her, fed her, clothed her, taught her and loved her.
We took her to dance class and karate class. We enrolled her in preschool and took her to church. We celebrated holidays with her, hugged her when she was sad, laughed with her when she was happy, involved her in our family business, and did everything that parents naturally do when they are raising a child.

In February of 2012, Amber, Lia’s biological mother filed a motion in The Third Judicial Circuit Court, to  give her full custody of Lia. Arguing that she now had a good job and another daughter, Amber had decided she was now ready to be a parent.

Judge Susan Hubbard held a hearing on October 10, 2012, to hear evidence as to what would be in the best interest of Lia.  We provided an abundance of evidence showing that Lias best interests would not be served if she were to be taken away from the safety and security that she knew and sent to live with someone who had not cared for her for most of her life.
During this hearing Ray, Amber’s husband, took the witness stand and testified that he had been compelled to give a previous child from a prior relationship up for adoption after he was convicted of  physically abusing her. Amber and Ray testified that Amber worked nights and Ray was home alone with their child.
Hubbard announced that she would issue a written order in a few weeks.

We had asked Hubbard to interview the Lia via camera but she declined to do so, stating that Lia was too young. However, on November 1, 2012 Hubbard issued an order that appeared to reverse that decision. Her order stated that she had decided that an interview and a continuation of the hearing was warranted. She ordered us to bring Lia to the court on November 12, at 2:00 pm so that the interview could be conducted.
We explained to Lia that it was very important to tell the truth when speaking with the judge, as courtrooms were a place to be serious and tell the truth. “Just tell the truth,” we told her “and everything will be all right.”
But in fact, nothing could have been further from the truth.
When we arrived for the hearing on the 15th floor of the Coleman A. Young Building, we were instructed to send Lia with a Wayne County Deputy, who would take her back to the judge. Once Hubbard had Lia in her chambers, she called Amber back into her chambers, and sent a deputy out to tell us  that Amber would be taking Lia with her. This was not an interview. This was not a continuation of a hearing. this was simply a ploy, a cheap trick to lure Lia into her office, where she could turn her over to Amber.
Hubbard then instructed a group of uniformed deputies to escort Amber and Lia from the building, giving them specific instructions not to allow us any contact with her.

Where was Hubbard during all of this? 
Where any coward would be. Hiding in her chambers, refusing to come out and face us.  Refusing to go on record to explain her behavior. Refusing to allow our attorney to go on record with an objection to her actions.  Refusing to come out of her chambers and hold the hearing that she had scheduled.
It is bad enough to be a bully, and to commit fraud, but she compounded that by being a coward too.  She didn’t even have the courage to admit in open court what she had done.


Well, Shame on You Susan Hubbard!
Shame on you for committing Fraud Upon the Court.  Shame on you for hiding in your chambers like a sniveling coward, and shame on you for orchestrating your little dog and pony show with malice aforethought, in such a way as to provide the greatest possible amount of emotional trauma to a young innocent child.
Shame on you!
I know that Fraud Upon the Court is a serious charge, so let me take a minute to explain, lest anyone think I am just ranting here.
I’m going to try to keep this basic here for those who don’t enjoy sorting through a bunch of legaleze…
The United States District Court, ruled in 1980, (People V Zajic)

“A judge is an officer of the court, as well as are all attorneys. A state judge is a state judicial officer, paid by the State to act impartially and lawfully. A federal judge is a federal judicial officer, paid by the federal government to act impartially and lawfully. State and federal attorneys fall into the same general category and must meet the same requirements. A judge is not the court.”

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled, in 1985: (Bulloch v. United States)

“Whenever any officer of the court commits fraud during a proceeding in the court, he/she is engaged in fraud upon the court. Fraud upon the court is fraud which is directed to the judicial machinery itself and is not fraud between the parties…  It is where the court or a member is corrupted or influenced or influence is attempted or where the judge has not performed his judicial function --- thus where the impartial functions of the court have been directly corrupted."

The term 'fraud' is generally defined in the law as an intentional misrepresentation of  material or fact made by one person to another with knowledge of its’ falsity and for the purpose of inducing the other person to act, and upon which the other person relies with resulting injury or damage.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2009 (Herring V. USA) that  the elements of fraud upon the Court consists of conduct:

• “On the part of an officer of the Court;
• That is directed to the judicial machinery itself;
• That is intentionally false, willfully blind to the truth, or is in reckless disregard for the truth;
• That is a positive averment or is concealment when one is under a duty to disclose;
• That deceives the court.”

The Sixth Circuit clarified in 2012, (General Medicine P.P v Horizon/CMS Healthcare,) the extremely high standard for showing fraud on the court, which encompasses only:

“the most egregious conduct involving a corruption of the judicial process itself.”

Is there any doubt in the mind of any reasonable person that a judge who issues an order under false pretense, which she has no intention of honoring, and which is in fact nothing more than a ploy to kidnap a child and transport her across state lines has in fact committed fraud?  Intentional misrepresentation of the fact for the purpose of inducing a party to act in a particular way?


So what does this mean?
Well, to us it means a long and expensive trip through the appeals court.
But for the court system of Wayne County Michigan, it means something entirely different.
A person is currently on the bench in Wayne County who knowingly and deliberately committed fraud.  She did so in the performance of her duties as judge, and in doing so compromised the integrity of her courtroom and the honor of the court.
As long as Susan Hubbard remains on the bench in Wayne County Court System, the integrity and honor of the court will continue to be compromised.
Here is why:
Every person who appears in Susan Hubbard’s courtroom and raises their arm and swears to tell the truth is now faced with a choice.  Do they tell the truth the way their parents taught them the meaning of truth? Or do they tell the truth according to Susan Hubbard’s definition of the truth?
Susan Hubbard seems to define the truth rather loosely as “Whatever you have to say to get what you want.”
So as long as she sits on the bench, her threshold of truth is the new standard for her courtroom, and testimony given in her courtroom, under her standard of truth is, by default, automatically suspect.
Every order that comes out of her courtroom is equally suspect.  Anyone who receives such an order must ask themselves.  “Does this order truly mean what it says, or is it simply a scam, to trick me into doing what the judge wants me to do, so she can pull a fast one at the last minute and hide in her chambers and laugh about how she fooled me?”
So any order issued from her bench is, by default automatically suspect.
Furthermore, anyone involved in a case in front of Susan Hubbard that involves a child, has to ask themselves: “At what point is the judge in this case going to deviate from the law and take matters into her own hands to accomplish her own personal agenda rather than what the law says should happen?”
So, any matter before Susan Hubbard involving a child is by default suspect.
And finally, as a Judge in the Third Judicial Circuit, Susan Hubbard represents the Circuit Court, The County of Wayne and the State of Michigan.  As long as her fraudulent behavior is allowed to go unchecked, and unpunished, it can be assumed that those who oversee the conduct and behavior of judges are comfortable with fraud upon the court being committed from the bench, and thus, all other courts in the Third Judicial Court, the County of Wayne and the State of Michigan must, be default be suspect.

Although Fraud is among the worst aspect of her behavior, during our hearing Susan Hubbard blatantly violated many of the rules set forth in the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct.
I don’t want to overwhelm everyone with those details today, but watch for an upcoming post where we discuss those rules and how they were ignored.


***UPDATE
We filed a Motion to Stay Judgment Pending Appeal. This would have kept Lia in a safe place until the Appeals Court has a chance to review the case and decide if there is any merit to anything Hubbard did.
That Motion came before Hubbard on December 21, 2012. There was an amazing outpouring of support from readers of our blogs, from friends and from family members who wrote to Hubbard, imploring her to consider the safety and well being of a small child, and to consider the honor and integrity of her own court.
Again, showing herself to be a coward, afraid to face us in open court, unwilling to explain herself, unable to offer any defense for her action, Hubbard dismissed oral arguments and issued her decision in writing.
On that same day, December 21, 2012, she denied that motion, from behind the closed doors of her chambers, where she didn’t have to look anyone in the eye, and she could wallow in her own deceitful shame.


***NOTE***

I am not an attorney or law enforcement officer.  Opinions expressed in this post regarding any criminal acts alleged to have been committed by any person are my opinion.  Everyone is deemed, by the US constitution, to be innocent until proven guilty.