“Lady, in the glasses, can I help you?” Judge Perlman, presiding Judge in Courtroom 518 asked. “I’m with Occupy Broward Foreclosure Courts, Your Honor and I’m here to observe, write and report what I see happening in foreclosure
courtrooms in Broward County.” At this point Judge Perlman instructed her Bailiff to come and get
my phone to see if I was recording. The
Bailiff informed her that I was not recording.
“Come, come, come…” she said as she waived me
towards the Bench. “I visited Zuccotti
Park during the occupation, it was like a tent city,” she continued as she
proceeded to show me photos of the hand-made signs, the Police, etc., she had taken
with her phone while there. “I remember
when you were at City Hall, what do you do now?” she asked.
I explained to her that our mission is to observe
what takes place in the foreclosure courtrooms and to text, tweet and blog
about it. I asked why the PA system does
not work but she glided over that. Then I asked about retired judges hearing
foreclosure cases and she told me that we would have to take that up with the
Chief Judge.
The take-away from all of this… Judge Perlman, attorneys
and pro se homeowners who were present at the time of the exchange in open
court know that they are being watched and reported on. I do not know if it will make a difference
but I certainly hope so.
