Ralph Petty worked as an assistant district attorney in Midland County, Texas, for 20 years.  Like any prosecutor, he aggressively advocated for the government.  But he wasn't just any advocate, because he wasn't just a prosecutor.  Each night, Petty took off his proverbial DA hat and re-entered the courthouse as a law clerk for the same judges he was trying to convince to side with him by day.

As we wrote approximately a year ago, The People’s Republic of Massachusetts along with Ohio and Washington were then in a near three-way tie for the blue ribbon for most corrupt state in the nation.  Sadly for the last two, a recent matter has helped The People’s Republic pull ahead in the race and stake a singular claim on the prize.  In mid-April, federal prosecutors charged a Massachusetts judge with obstruction of justice, saying she prevented immigration agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant after a state court hearing by allowing him to leave the courthouse through a back door.

I’ve been a lawyer for some time now, and while nothing the legal system does surprises me anymore, it never ceases to amaze me.  This story is about a client of mine.  Since the case is ongoing, I will call her "Michelle Smith" to maintain anonymity.

Corruption is rampant in the U.S. legal system. As we mention in our book, Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor: Understand America's Corrupt Judicial System—Protect Yourself Now and Boost Chances of Winning Cases Later, it would take at least a multi-volume series of tomes to cover all cases in U.S. history.  Last month, the Orange County Register brought to light one instance of the widespread corruption by publishing an article about an Orange County Superior Court clerk who ran an illegal network that collected bribes to fix more than 1,000 traffic cases over a five-year period. Federal prosecutors say Jose Lopez Jr. turned ticket-fixing into a profitable side business during an otherwise unblemished career as an Orange County Superior Court clerk. Sadly, stories such as this one are just the tip of the iceberg with respect to exposing unbelievable tales of corruption that span the entire system from local courts to the United States Supreme Court.