The day after receiving Arquette’s OPEN LETTER sent to all Judges in the State of Florida by PBIAB, the response to the PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST for the “secret Perry human resource folder” created by Court Administration (the cover-their-ass) folder was DENIED by Court Administration executives.
Having Court Administration leaders willing to perjur themselves over the request for this folder was surprisingly expected.
After all, as read in Arquette’s book "THE NINTH CIRCUS COURT" they only have two choices.
Lie or lose their job.
And losing their job comes with a huge financial hit to them and their families. Most of these longtime Court Admin execs are in a Florida State program called DROP. If they can last 5 more years without Chief Judge Munyon firing them, each will get a fat check for a quarter-million bucks.
Would you lie your ass off to get a $250,000 check? Most would. After all, the alternative, which might take the form of claiming Whistle-Blower status, still means they’ll lose their DROP money.
If Court Admin execs merely admit to the existence of this secret folder, let alone if they actually produced it, Chief Judge Munyon (long term personal friend of Perry) will fire them. So again, you have a fox guarding the hen house type of thing. This is a situation that begs for the Attorney General to get involved. You simply can’t have scared Court Admin execs shedding documents to save their jobs and retirement in order to protect seedy Judges.
The Ninth Circuit Court’s response to the public records request used language that was so vague it could be interpreted in many ways, which was the intent of the denial. Arquette contends that this type of legal-language bullshit is commonly used for any public records request that might embarrass the Ninth’s Judiciary. At the Ninth Circuit, Court Administration has perfected this process of legal obfuscation.
You can see the official response here.
Let’s break this down.
There are two lines that are the most meaningful.
There is no "super-secret HR folder. This is alarming because it might mean that they shredded the folder mere minutes before sending this denial. Arquette worked on creating the folder and it had been compiled for more than twenty years of Perry’s rule. However, if they simply shredded it before sending this denial, then technically it is correct. There is NO folder. Not now. Not anymore. No longer in existence unless you can intercept the bag from the shredder and have a shitload of glue and unlimited time.
The second line that is more legal cup-and-ball trickery is the line “they have no secret file that matches your request”
"THEY" might not have the file. It’s locked away in a cabinet in some human resource office or possible in a safe. Again, this would be an accurate answer, however divisive.
The take-a-way from this disappointing rejection of producing the Perry file is this.
Arquette knows 15 retired or resigned employees that have knowledge of the folder and the relationship between Perry and Jizabell. They shared this information on a day to day basis with their spouses. So if this request were to be decided in court, then 30 people would likely testify against the existing Admin employees who have no choice but to lie and perjur themselves. Unlike those existing Court Admin execs, those who have left the court have no reason to lie and no pressure to protect the Judiciary.
The three Court Admin execs listed in the denial do have a choice, however.
They should contact the Florida Attorney General and claim Whistle-Blower status as Brett Arquette did. After all, the frying pan ain't going to get any cooler anytime soon.
Arquette encourages them to end their time with the court with respect instead of that of an abused dog that huddles in a corner and shits every time its owner kicks them.
In other words, have some integrity and do the right thing.
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