[tdmackey]

By representing herself and appearing largely ignorant to the law she not only lost the case but essentially made it so that the judge could rule no other way. Ignoring the sensationalist article and looking closer at the actual trial documents as linked http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/obsidian-finance-group-v-... You can see that in many of her responses instead of trying to make a legal argument she just rants about how much she hates the plaintiffs and thinks they are idiots and states things like "This connection is further reason as to why Defendant [sic] Crystal L. Cox Feels [sic] that Kevin Padrick of Obsidian Finance is involved in a plot to kill her."

In addition, she replies to the platiniff "So I want to Let you know and Obsidian Finance that I am now offering PR Services and Search Engine Management Services starting at $2500 a month to promote Law Firms... Finance Companies.. and to protect online reputations and promote businesses.." Which the legal firm didn't take kindly to, "It could hardly be clearer that Ms. Cox is attempting to use her outrageous and utterly false payments about plantiffs as leverage to extort a payment from them."

Also, she ignored a deposition in Montana for which the plaintiffs are requesting the court place sanctions on her which if she didn't would also have made it trivial to move the case to another district court where some weird wording in the Oregon shield law wouldn't have mattered.

The Judge probably wanted to hang himself after reading her motions.

[bestes]

Is it illegal for a judge to think? If one side presents a really bad case, do they have to lose even if they are right?

I've experienced this myself, so maybe my comments should be thrown out as biased.

[tdmackey]

When you essentially don't try to defend yourself but instead insult and berate the court and opposing council in the legal documents you submit to the court you open up a very large window for the judge to side against you when there is any sort of leeway...

[lywald]

From a programmer point of view it makes as much sense as deleting a file if it fails to load. Not sure why poor argumentation skills should be the cause to a 2.4M fine. They are unrelated. The woman is not to blame, the system is for not managing situations like this. Like I am to blame if I don't manage exceptions in my code.

[cafard]

Trials are to be judged on the evidence presented in court. This is notoriously not always the case, but it is the way the law is supposed to be.

[lywald]

That's what I was saying. It is not justice. It doesn't matter if this is the definition of a trial. Invent a word for something better... And invent that something too. Until then, law is flawed.

[scott_s]

If one side presents a really bad case, do they have to lose even if they are right?

In most cases, the only indication the judge has as to who is right or wrong are what is presented to him.