Tamara Holder Talk: Tamara Holder, Esquire
General Information

Tamara N. Holder is an Illinois defense attorney and TV/radio legal analyst. She has no shortage of opinions, many of which she shares with you here.

Criminal Defense * Criminal Record Clearing * Governor's Pardons * Discrimination * Police Brutality * Public Policy

www.xpunged.com

 



Friday
06Nov2009

GOVERNMENT FAILED TO INVESTIGATE WARNING SIGNS OF FT. HOOD SHOOTER

The Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, will face death penalty charges after killing 13 people when he opened fire at the military base. 

But could Mr. Hasan's behavior been predicted? It's baffling that a man that was capable of such violence was inside of the core of our military.

Hasan reportedly drew the attention of federal law enforcement six months ago for online posts about suicide bombings and other threats including "a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing
himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades."

In a time of war, the protection of our soldiers should be a priority, whether it be from the "enemy" or from peers and others on "our side."

The government should have known that this man was disturbed. Even though the military and the federal government has immunity from basically everything, expect to see the wounded and the estates of the killed to sue the United States for their failure to investigate this sick and dangerous man when the writing was on the walls.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

Wednesday
04Nov2009

MY PLEA TO GOVERNOR QUINN: PARDON THOSE CONVICTED BY "OPERATION GREYLORD" JUDGES

Dear Governor Quinn:

I am requesting you pardon and expunge the records of hundreds, if not thousands, of people who were convicted and sentenced by "Operation Greylord" judges. Several Greylord Judges (Courtesty of FBI)The FBI was successful at rooting out the evils of 17 Cook County judges; however, those who were the victims of the judges' convictions and sentencings were completely ignored.

Operation Greylord is the name of an FBI investigation in the 80's that spanned over the course of 3 1/2 years. As you know, Operation Greylord is still recognized to this day as one of the FBI's most successful undercover investigations. The first listening device ever placed in a judge's chambers occurred in the undercover phase, when the narcotics court chambers of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Wayne Olson were bugged. Over 100 people were indicted. The last conviction was that of Judge Thomas Maloney, who was convicted of fixing three murder cases. Maloney was released from federal prison in 2008. A total of 92 people were indicted, including 17 judges, 48 lawyers, ten deputy sheriffs, eight policemen, eight court officials, and a member of the Illinois Legislature. (See Wikipedia for further information.)

As a result of the corruption within Cook County, many people were wrongly convicted and sentenced to crimes they did not commit or they were not given a fair trial because of their attorney and/or judge's involvement in their case.

Judge Ciavarella Your pardoning and expunging the records of these individuals would follow suit of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On October 29, 2009, the Court ruled that almost all juvenile cases heard by Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 must be thrown out. Judge Ciavearella has been indicted for "taking millions of dollars in kickbacks from owners of private detention centers in exchange for placing juvenile defendants at their facilities, often for minor crimes." Article here.

Over 6500 juveniles will have their records expunged. Many states automatically expunge a juvenile's criminal record; however, Pennsylvania does not. (Here, in Illinois, juvenile records are also not automatically expunged; instead, a petition must be filed and the judge must enter an order to expunge the juvenile record.)

Greylord judges were not juvenile judges but the issue is still the same: like Judge Ciavearella, Greylord judges did not act impartially but instead had a vested interest in cases by getting paid by defense attorneys in exchange for favorable sentence.

For example, one man pleaded guilty to a crime he did not commit because his attorney (whom he met when the attorney approached him in the hallway the first day of court) told him that if he signed over his bond money, the attorney would "make the case go away." Little did the man know that he was pleading guilty to felony probation and would be a convicted felon for the rest of his life.

Each person's story is different, of course, but in the fairness of justice, I believe it is only appropriate to remove the crimes of those convicted by the 17 Greylord judges. Too many lives have been permanently ruined by corrupt judges. The incarceration of the Greylord judges is only one piece of righting their wrongs. The victims in these cases should also be rehabilitated by an pardon and or expungement of any case heard before the Greylord judges.

Governor Quinn, thousands of Illinois residents were affected by the Greylord corruption. The FBI did an incredible job at rooting out the evils within the justice system but rehabilitating the victims somehow was dismissed.

I know you are incredibly busy dealing with other serious matters; however, the power to pardon is an enumerated power given soley to you, our Governor.  Political backlash often follows after a pardon is granted but, in this case, your actions are would be clearly reasonable and justified. I look forward to hearing your response to my request.

Sincerely,

Tamara N. Holder - Attorney for and on behalf of Greylord victims

www.xpunged.com

Monday
02Nov2009

PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE - SCOTT LOPER'S STORY OF TORTURE BY CANADA

Scott Loper - American Citizen, Canadian Torture Victim, Father of Missing Please read the story of Scott Loper. http://scottloperstory.com/index.html

In a nutshell: Mr. Loper, an American citizen and Sheriff in NJ, moved to Canada with his Canadian wife. They had one son together. Mr. Loper uncovered drug dealing within the local police department. One day, he was taken to a mental institution, then incarceration of a violation of a "court order." His wife and 3-year old son (at the time) are nowhere to be found. Mr. Loper was released from prison and dumped back on American soil.

His website gives all the information one could possibly want. Most interesting is the Notice of Deportation Hearing in Canada; however, Canada says they have no record of his presence in the country. Then why the deportation hearing?

I know this story sounds so bizarre that it could not be true. But, he has the documents and many politicians to support his case.

I look forward to helping Scott Loper find his wife and son.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

Thursday
29Oct2009

RAPE VICTIM'S FRIEND WRONGLY MAKES THE INCIDENT AN ISSUE OF RACE

Police officer outside of Richmond HighA Richmond, California high school girl was to be picked up by her dad outside of the Homecoming dance; instead, she and a friend behind the school property to drink. Little did she know, a group of barbarians were lurking in a nearby dimly-lit parking lot, about to commit the most heinous act against her: a 10-person gang rape over the course of 2 1/2 hours.

There is no dispute that the rapists - if convicted - must serve the ultimate time behind bars. One friend said to me, "This is where lethal injection comes in handy...anyone who would ruin an innocent girl's life in this manner, deserves nothing less than the ultimate penalty." Another friend suggested castration of these disgusting rapists. Clearly the punishment of a violent rapist invokes the most extreme emotions of those who have morals.

But, there is more to discuss here than just, "Off with their heads, but cut their balls off first!" It is time to expand our discussion - let's talk about WHY people are committing crimes; let's talk about how we stop the violence - whether it's rape or murder - against the most innocent of our society: our children.

I am sick and tired of having the same old discussion about punishment. Our society is all about punish, punish, punish. We must realize that the majority of prisoners are eventually released, back into the streets and the back alleys of our schools. Punishing the worst scum of our society is a given.

FRIEND OF VICTIM WRONGLY PULLED RACE CARD - CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN IS COLOR-BLIND

At the end of the day, there is no difference between the young black student at Fenger High School in Chicago, who was beaten to a bloody pulp while dozens of people watched and did nothing, the black college student, whose funeral I attended, who died instantly after a bullet ripped through her car, and the young (apparently white) Richmond High student who was gang-raped by at least ten men while at least ten more looked on.

Last night, the girl's friend, Kami Baker, a white student, spoke to school officials about the school's failure to provide adequate security. She even said the high school's vice-principal recognized a group of 12-15 men lingering around the school without proper ID and yet the official did nothing about at.

She goes on to say, "Here at this school, me and my sister are the minorities; when in reality, the minorities are what is around me." She then goes back to discuss school security, that she felt extremely unsafe when she started at Richmond High. Then she says, "RHS has been ostracized by the district because of our race and minorities; there are Mexicans and blacks around me every where and at De Anza (High School) there are more Asians and whites and when you said 'Ivy League Connections' earlier, you only included the Asian names...I am white and I am an Ivy League Connection and for you to disclude all the minorities at this school is wrong."

Ms. Baker, a child herself, clearly shared her feelings about race with the school. Just because she is feels she is a minority at the school, even though she is white, that does not mean she should have more protection from the blacks and Mexicans than anyone else. That does not mean she is more of a target than a black person, just because she is white. Blair Holt, a Chicago student athlete and honor-roll student, was shot to death in Chicago two years ago. His life is just as important as any other victim of violence, regardless of race.

America must stop looking at the victim's race. We must begin to look at the perpetrators - whether they are white, black, Asian or Hispanic - and determine HOW we are going to stop the violence against our children.  How do we educate? How do we provide care to kids who do not get love and attention at home? How do we teach our children that reporting a crime is a good thing and that you are not a "snitch" if you help bring a person to justice? How do we keep our kids from getting assault weapons? How do we start from the bottom up? Blaming the parents is the wrong response. Teaching the kids is the right response.

Focus on fixing the problem, not on finding someone to blame.

Video of High School Student's speech:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/california.rape.victim.friend/index.html

 

www.xpunged.com

Monday
26Oct2009

5 REASONS ESPN SHOULD NOT HAVE FIRED STEVE PHILLIPS

I cannot believe, in these troubling times of war and a failing economy, we are putting Steve Phillips' affair with Humpty Dumpy on the covers of our national newspapers. This latest sex scandal cost Mr. Phillips his job because "his ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways," ESPN said in a statement. Hilarious! Since when has an athlete - or coach's - extramarital affairs damaged his reputation or that of his employer? Puuleeeze.Steve Phillips with ESPN Assistant and Mistress Brooke Hundley

1) Athletes and affairs are the perfect "marriage" - they go hand in hand. Fired over an affair? C'mon! Tell me when you want the list of names of athletes and their affairs...it goes on and on and on...why do we continue to act so shocked when a new affair emerges?

2) ESPN knew what they were getting themselves into...Phillips had problems before with affairs, long before they hired him. In 1998, when he was GM of the Mets, he took a leave of absence because of a "series of affairs and an accusation of sexual harassment by a Mets employee," according to the NY Times.

3) The only reason why he should be fired is that his mistress is ass-ugly. Brutal! Brooke Hundley (NY Daily News)No wonder why he called it off with her.

4) In all seriousness, clearly Mr. Phillips has a problem since he's entered in-patient rehab. ESPN shouldn't be so quick to fire him if he's sick. Give the guy the chance to get some help, then make a decision.

5) America needs to get over the cheating scandals. Many people cheat, especially the rich and powerful. Why are we so consumed with where a man sticks his winky? That's a man's issue with his wife and nobody else. This year alone we've heard of three Senators affairs: John Ensign, Mark Sanford and John Edwards. We've also heard of Letterman's affair, Madonna/"Stray-Rod", and the list goes on.

www.xpunged.com

Saturday
24Oct2009

Interview #2: Tamara in the Polish News: Chcemy Polanskiego (The Roman Polanski Case)

Article link here:

USA: chcemy Polańskiego

Jacek Przybylski 23-10-2009, ostatnia aktualizacja 24-10-2009 01:34

Ameryka oficjalnie zażądała od Szwajcarii wydania reżysera. Czy Polański dobrowolnie podda się ekstradycji?

Roman Polański
autor zdjęcia: Rafał Guz
źródło: Fotorzepa
Roman Polański
Roman Polański przed rozprawą  w sądzie  w Santa Monica (październik 1977 roku)
źródło: Reuters
Roman Polański przed rozprawą w sądzie w Santa Monica (październik 1977 roku)

Liczący kilkadziesiąt stron wniosek ekstradycyjny Amerykanie przekazali Szwajcarom w czwartek późnym wieczorem.

Według szwajcarskich władz Polańskiemu grozi w Stanach Zjednoczonych wyrok do dwóch lat więzienia. Jego prawnicy mogą jednak się odwołać od ewentualnej decyzji o wydaniu reżysera do Federalnego Trybunału Karnego, a następnie do Federalnego Sądu Najwyższego.

Herve Temime, jeden z adwokatów twórcy „Pianisty”, podkreślił, że jego klient zamierza walczyć o odrzucenie wniosku o ekstradycję. – Jeśli Roman Polański zdecyduje się na walkę, to może spędzić w szwajcarskim areszcie jeszcze mniej więcej rok. Na apelacje potrzeba bowiem czasu – przekonuje „Rz” Douglas McNabb, prezes McNabb Associates, czołowej amerykańskiej firmy prawniczej specjalizującej się w ekstradycjach.

– Od dziewięciu miesięcy do roku. Taki czas potrzebny jest na próbę obalenia wniosku ekstradycyjnego – szacuje z kolei Tamara Holder, szefowa firmy prawniczej z Chicago.

Niewykluczone więc, że adwokaci 76-letniego reżysera wkrótce zmienią strategię. Na taką decyzję może mieć wpływ choćby odrzucenie złożonego przez nich wniosku, by Polański oczekiwał na decyzję sądu w swoim szwajcarskim domu. Sędzia uznał bowiem, że ryzyko ucieczki jest zbyt duże.

– Jeśli procedury będą się przeciągać, to nie jest wykluczone, że Roman Polański dobrowolnie zdecyduje się na wyjazd do Stanów Zjednoczonych, gdzie wiele faktów przemawia na jego korzyść – powiedział Georges Kiejman, francuski adwokat reżysera, w wywiadzie dla Radia Europe 1. Podkreślił przy tym, że czas na emocje już minął i trzeba wreszcie doprowadzić do „uczciwego zakończenia tej sprawy”.

Według szwajcarskich władz Polańskiemu grozi w Stanach Zjednoczonych wyrok do dwóch lat więzienia

Później Kiejman łagodził swoją wypowiedź, podkreślając, że reżyser zamierza nadal stanowczo bronić się przed ekstradycją do USA. Ale media spekulują, że może to być sygnał zmiany strategii. – Zgoda na ekstradycję byłaby najszybszą drogą do załatwienia tej sprawy. Potencjalnie mogłaby również sprawić, że sędzia spojrzałby na Polańskiego łagodniej, niż gdyby do końca walczył o oddalenie wniosku o ekstradycję, przegrał i dopiero wtedy został przekazany Stanom Zjednoczonym – dodaje Douglas McNabb.

– Najpierw uciekł, potem się ukrywał. Jeśli teraz będzie uparcie walczył w Szwajcarii, to tylko rozwścieczy amerykańskiego sędziego, który może mu wówczas wymierzyć maksymalny wymiar kary. Polański niepotrzebnie traci czas i pieniądze – mówi „Rz” Tamara Holder. I podkreśla, że dla 76-latka nawet kilka lat więzienia może okazać się wyrokiem dożywocia, a sędzia w USA nie będzie wcale musiał wliczyć do wyroku miesięcy, które reżyser spędzi w szwajcarskim areszcie.

Polański, który został aresztowany w Zurychu 26 września, źle znosi rozłąkę z żoną Emmanuelle Seigner i dwójką dzieci (11 i 16 lat). Jedno z więziennych widzeń z najbliższymi Polański przeżył tak bardzo, że został przewieziony do szpitala w Zurychu.

Słynny reżyser przez ponad 30 lat był poszukiwany przez amerykański wymiar sprawiedliwości za gwałt na 13-letniej Samancie Gailey, którego dopuścił się w rezydencji Jacka Nicholsona.

Jacek Przybylski z Waszyngtonu

Masz pytanie, wyślij e-mail do autora:

j.przybylski@rp.pl

www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com

 

Tuesday
20Oct2009

SEE, THERE IS ALWAYS A CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE AROUND - THIS MAN'S STORY MAKES MY WORK WORTHWHILE

I had the honor and the privilege to sit beside Richard Kane, author of "The Bronx Street Kid" on the Strategy Room (Fox's online show). He tells an incredible story: sexually abused at age 7, physically abused by his father for years, a Hells Angel and a long history of crime...but now he's been sober for many years and has written a book.

He is an inspiration to all. Even when times are rough, even when you have made mistakes, there is always the opportunity to turn your life around.

Thank you for your contribution, Mr. Kane. I wish you the best in the years to come.

www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com