The Story of Jeff Baron

As the "Occupy" movement started, and grew, and i heard from so many sources that the "Occupy" protesters simply wanted to soak the rich, i started to think about the story of Jeff Baron. Most people won't have heard of this man, but the reason I joined the "Occupy" protest locally was to point out the injustices of our current U.S. political system, and the fact that even millions of dollars won't save you, if the powers that be decide they don't want you to play with them. They will take your ball and send you packing.

As I was doing some other stuff, and thinking about Jeff Baron, the theme song from The Beverly Hillbillies began to play in my head, and the new lyrics practically wrote themselves:

Come and listen to the story of a man named Jeff,

You'll have to click the link for all the docs in pdf,

This dot-com millionaire hired a business partner dude,

And our self-made hero found himself now royally scr*wed.

Stole his business, sued him, Jeff settled.

Well the first thing you know, the lawyers wanted more,

And colluded with the judge their former contracts to ignore.

Said, "You owe us more millions in unpaid legal fees,"

And the judge they were friends with suddenly agrees.

Lost his stuff. Can't spend cash, hold a job.

Well now it's time to say goodbye to Jeff and all his rights,

He can't hire a lawyer so he can't win legal fights,

You're all invited to read all the details of his case,

And imagine what would happen if you're put into his place.

Corruption, that is. Occupy. Plan for long-term. Keep comin' back now, y'all hear?

A self-made dot-com millionaire, Jeff Baron started a business that began with writing a piece of software to ease the process of buying up domain names. While this may not be the most productive business, Jeff earned his money honestly through a technological innovation. Mr. Baron was approached by another individual, who phonied up a lot of documentation and references, convincing Jeff that he was on the verge of a breakthrough search program that would advance Jeff's business. Then the business partner claimed Jeff's business as his own, and began filing numerous lawsuits, forcing Jeff Baron to hire a lot of lawyers to defend him in court, as his former partner continued to file more and more lawsuits.

Eventually, a settlement was reached, the company (not Jeff) was put into bankruptcy, and all the creditors were paid off, or so Jeff thought. However, several of Jeff's lawyers decided they had not been paid enough, and so the next chapter begins . . . .

The lawyers involved in defending Jeff smelled blood in the metaphorical water, and went after him in a feeding frenzy. This began when one lawyer, who had already been paid over $600,000, demanded another $300,000 in legal fees that he claimed Jeff owed him. Within three business days in an ex parte proceeding, Jeff was stripped of every possession he owned, including his personal cell phone, car, keys, family photos, etc. The judge hearing the case threatened Jeff with the combined forces of the U.S. military, completely stripping him of all his assets, jail, and even death. Now Jeff is prohibited by court order from holding a job, earning money, engaging in any transaction, owning property of any kind, and more. Other lawyers were given a blanket invitation to submit more claims of underpayment, and did, even when the contracts that these lawyers had signed with Jeff showed that they were not entitled to any more fees.

There is only one purpose stated in all the documents for stripping Jeff of his assets: to prevent Jeff Baron from exercising his Constitutional right to be afforded legal representation. That's right, all this is to prevent Jeff from hiring a lawyer to defend him.

There are four reasons why this case is important to each and every United States citizen:

1. Jeff Baron had everything he owned confiscated without a trial or hearing and arbitrarily redistributed. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone!
2. Jeff Baron has been, and continues to be, denied his Constitutional right to be represented by a lawyer of his choice.
3. This violates the Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Amendments of the United States Constitution.
4. This case sets a very dangerous precedent.

Please see the site devoted to Mr. Baron's case. We must all get behind Jeff Baron or we will all be losers in the legal system!

Jeff Baron, for all his millions, is part of the 99%, because he did not have sufficient power or influence to combat the corruption in the court system. When the Occupy movement started, the main idea was one of social justice, and it is clear that when we occupy for people like Jeff Baron, it is not the poor versus the rich, or about getting stuff for free, but about making sure that everyone who encounters the financial, political and legal system in this country is treated fairly.