Sankovitz: The Wrong Solution in Foreclosure Case

To make a long story short, a Milwaukee resident will lose his (paid-for) home to foreclosure, and the City of Milwaukee will own it.

Seems he didn't pay a parking ticket. He claims to have physical and psychological disabilities.

The judge who heard the case and granted the foreclosure, Richard Sankovitz:

...called the case a shame and said it demonstrates the need for judges to have authority to appoint attorneys for people involved in civil litigation.

"If you were a criminal, we'd take care of the whole problem for you, get you an attorney," he said. "But if you're involved in civil litigation - in jeopardy of losing your house or your family . . . what we do is make you go out and find your own attorney.

"If we gave people the help they needed near the beginning of their problem, their problems wouldn't snowball the way they do."

Well, no, your honor.

If the City of Milwaukee had trained its inspectors and bureaucrats properly, this might not have happened.

The City spinners will say that 'this is a process gone wrong.' In fact, the "process" includes people. "People" actually can make judgments based on facts and circumstances; the judge should know that.

The City's "people" shoulda, woulda, coulda--but did not.

What the judge proposes is taxpayer-paid employment for attorneys, which is a very expensive substitute for common sense. Good for attorneys, bad for taxpayers, and completely unnecessary.

(By the way, this foreclosee had the smarts to put up an escrow account with the disputed amount in it--so exactly, again, how 'disabled' is he?)