Kamala Harris & Mike Ramos - futures linked?

Is San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos really going to be considered by Jerry Brown (for appointment to the State AG) should Kamala Harris get elected to the US Senate?  I suppose other that the better smile and hair, we won't lose much. Neither prosecute cops for bad shootings it seems, which is a big issue these days. Both are relatively insular (e.g. if you are not politically important or can make a press release out of something they do with or against you), they don't seem to care and both seem to enjoy their mutual hugs. For example, next week Harris meets with an African American media group (which will undoubtedly lead to a photo op and some free political coverage), but in the time leading up to this confab has ignored pleas to prosecute some bad shootings where local DAs (like Ramos) are looking it seems for ways not to prosecute (and in one of the cases, a dying shooting victim is kicked by a Caucasian ride-along (riding along in civilian clothes with a County Sheriff Deputy-- even his name is being withheld from disclosure --must be a contributor!). Power ....unchecked...ain't it wonderful.

Hesperia Council has determined to consider an ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 34886 to change to by-district elections

PRESS RELEASE by the FRIENDS of the CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT [FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dateline 2/24/2016 Apple Valley]:
The Hesperia Council has determined to consider an ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 34886 to change to by-district elections, since the City’s population is under 100,000. The City's attorney is preparing a staff report and draft ordinance for the Council’s consideration on March 15. The City will need to retain a consultant to assist in drawing the district boundaries, the Council must decide how many districts there should be, and hold at least two public hearings pursuant to Elections Code Section 10010 prior to introducing the ordinance.
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Comment: This is something that is long overdue.  It is a start.  Diligent follow-up is needed. Other jurisdictions needing attention include the school district in Hesperia, Highland, Adelanto, Victorville, Apple Valley and Barstow.

Why Mike Ramos Should Not Only Not be the State AG, he should probably resign from the DA's Office

The latest recap: http://sbcsentinel.com/2015/09/5788/ -- its a good read and shows what an embarrassment he would be to the State of California as an appointed State Attorney General should the current Californis State Attorney General for the State of California be elected to replace Barbara Boxer. Since Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris backed Mike Ramos (a lifelong Republican) in his San Bernardino County District Attorney re-election run (where a Democrat had announced his intention to run after only missing a runoff with Ramos four years before by a mere 4% points), stranger things have happened.  I still want to know when anyone is going to ask and get an answer to what Ramos promised to deliver to Brown's & Harris' campaigns

Grits for Breakfast: A reluctant scoop: Changing intepretations of DNA ...

Grits for Breakfast: A reluctant scoop: Changing intepretations of DNA ...: DNA has often been referred to as the gold standard of forensic evidence. And when comparing a single sample to a suspect, that's true. ...

The Long Green Mile Revisited: Florida Police Concealed DNA Evidence That Could Exonerate Man Accused In Quadruple Homicide--Does Our Law Enforcement Team Do the Same Just Once in a While to "Win"?

Article reporting the withholding of exculpatory evidence is @ http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2015/06/12/attorney-fdle-concealed-dna-evidence-quadruple-homicide/71150044/
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Florida's Department of Law Enforcement sat on DNA evidence for 2 plus years on exculpatory DNA evidence. Motions have been filed to dismiss arguing FDLE’s “conscious, willful and deliberate attempt” to conceal the DNA information [the defendant faces the death penalty].
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Until the Supreme Court requires ALL evidence and reports as generated to be simultaneously available for viewing to criminal defendants, this will not stop.

If We Can't Completely Trust Your DA to Toss Meritless Cases, Maybe Some Balance Can be Found in Developing Arrest Integrity Units??

What about developing arrest integrity units in police departments to check, double check, triple check the evidence before forwarding the case to the prosecutors office? If the integrity unit determines there is not enough evidence to bring charges, then the suspect could be released without being indicted. That way the number of false arrests and convictions will drop. Any interest in this locally??
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In North Carolina , two innocent men were released on DNA evidence[ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/us/2-convicted-in-1983-north-carolina-murder-freed-after-dna-tests.html?_r=0] considered by the court over 30 years later. Image a DA's office that would have embraced seeking that justice be done by testing decades sooner?

What Does $650,000 Police Violence Settlement Teach Us About the Local Culture of Official Violence?

Main article re settlement:  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-settlement-san-bernardino-deputy-beating-20150421-story.html
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Moral of the story #1--if you are white and have video showing the San Bernardino Sheriffs nailing you, you get a settlement when sheriffs beat the crap out of you? This guy should thank the Channel 4 chopper pilot big time. 
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Moral of the story #2 -- A white guy needed to get beaten up to get the FBI's attention?
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Moral of the story #3 -- It is ok to ignore the underlying problem. San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon leads this crew and despite suspensions and disciplinary actions, it has happened over and over again (many other cases of excessive force out there)--while stepping down at this point is premature (like the last 3 appointed-then-elected San Bernardino County Sheriffs have done) maybe he should consider getting some real help for his crew which seems to suffer from some need to inflict needless bodily harm as this blogger suggested to him nearly a year ago in a face-to-face conversation and more recently to the County's outside lead defense lawyer. It is sad the underlying disturbance is not being addressed. Is it PTSD from seeing so much violence? Is it people carrying to work pent up frustrations and venting it? Is it inadequate screening for violent propensities (the bully that grew up and now has a badge)? Suspending or firing the few that get caught, does not solve the underlying problems--it simply teaches them to control themselves when the scene might be monitored. 
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Moral of the story #4-- The department has a tolerated policy of dropping the "protect and serve" when it comes to suspects. When a suspect comes under control, that is not the time to inflict a whooping or teach em.
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Thoughts to ponder:
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Let's see if any prosecutions follow, not just suspensions. My bet is San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos (who ran on a joint ticket with John McMahon for re-election) will find every way not to--Mike Ramos does not want the rep of prosecuting cops in his run (or pitch for appointment to the State Attorney General if Kamala Harris wins her bid for US Senate (and neither does current State AG Kamala Harris want to pick this up--who does not want that cop prosecutor handle on the eve of her election run for US Senate).....so don't ya think the Sheriff in this County has figured that out?
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The feds--well, let's see if they broaden the inquiry to include other senseless acts of violence and the policies that not just tolerate it, but deny its existence, then claim it's isolated and when confronted with the specifics, they then slant their investigation to criminalize the victim and finally, defend the senseless and unjustified violence as a warranted use of force.
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Something needs to be said about domestic peace being put at risk. If people know that they will be shot or beaten up when they surrender, and no one gets prosecuted, what incentive do they have to stop and submit to authority? 
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Another thought....don't you think the various people of color have note that it took a white man getting beaten up to spring a settlement for a civil rights violation. Is also the message that white guys need to get beaten up to get the FBI's attention?

Stingrays....What Law Enforcement Can Do!

Interesting use of surveillance technology--warrantless taps!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk_SJDAqGEE#t=675; here's some 'Stingray' detector apps:
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SnoopSnitch Stingray Detector App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

Twitter Stingray Detector App:
https://twitter.com/aimsicd
Android IMSI-Catcher Detector :
https://secupwn.github.io/Android-IMSI-Catcher-Detector/
Spidey App Stingray Detector:
http://signup.spideyapp.com/
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Comment: With the hunger for information and avoiding due process, its little wonder the ease with which privacy veils are pierced. With the fewer number of people with landlines, the "close" of the home is being invaded with reckless disregard of our traditions. 

Susan Page: USA TODAY - How your cell phone spies on you.....with your consent!

A Prison Culture | School of Arts & Sciences

A Prison Culture | School of Arts & Sciences 

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A good read. "Civil death" concept. The numbers are staggering from more than a fiscal standpoint.

Postmus Still Politically Active & Arrogant -- Wasn't he Awaiting a Sentencing?? Colonies II Coming?

I was in restaurant today with my wife after church and happened to overhear a former San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor and Assessor (Bill Postmus, Jr) plan fund raisers (one fund raiser was to retire someone's campaign debt)--some of the names heard-- "Josie" and "Robert" (the first names of two of our county supervisors--but neither as I recall had a campaign debt). I even heard about someone being moved into a house to be in an area to run (for what was not clear except that the "Gus" voice -- the person identified himself as "Gus" and spoke of Hesperia being a well run City) said that "he and his wife wanted to look at the house first" (does the Republican party pay for moves--wow, some perk--wonder if it shows up on the FPPC??). Postmus, "Gus" and "Jeremiah" obviously didn't see me sitting across a divider trying to enjoy a late breakfast lunch with my wife--with my visibility over the past 2 decades in political races, council meetings, etc, I am sure they would have been a little less loud. I also heard how supervisors were anxious to meet someone ["Gus"?]--could this have anything to do with the "Tapestry" Project coming up with the Hesperia City Council on Thursday? [which could lead to 10,000 to 20,000 homes being built onto top of an already over pumped aquifers]. What makes this crazy is that Postmus is awaiting sentencing on political corruption related charges of CONSPIRACY to COMMIT CRIME, LEGISLATOR RECEIVE, BRIBE PUBLIC OFFICIAL, CONFLICT OF INTEREST : CONTRACTS/SALES/PURCHASES & EMBEZZLE/FALSIFY BY PUBLIC OFFICER (by the way ALL felonies)--obviously the DA thinks in this County it's ok to let convicted felons continue to influence electeds and or the process. This is the same DA that wants to replace Kamala Harris as State AG. When Postmus sees me he says "you and your wife should retire from politics"--wow, a crook telling an honest man to quit.  Something to think about--if the Hesperia City Council and the County Board of Supervisors approve the "Tapestry" project (which will draw enormous amounts of water from the Mojave system before it drains into Victorville, Apple Valley and out to Barstow) and by that further overdraft, lead to violations of the Mojave Adjudication, won't that create Colonies II type litigation--where the City and County get sued for taking water resources from a thirsty High Desert? Is the County being set up for another piece of litigation?

Decent Piece on Prosecutorial Misconduct

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/prosecutorial-misconduct-new-orleans-louisiana_n_3529891.html

An excerpt from the article of local note:
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"A CULTURE OF CONVICTION

....In fact, there's a growing body of empirical data showing that the legal profession isn't really addressing prosecutorial misconduct at all.

• In 2003, the Center for Public Integrity looked at more than 11,000 cases involving misconduct since 1970. Among those, the center found a little over 2,012 instances in which an appeals court found the misconduct material to the conviction and overturned it. Less than 50 cases resulted in any professional sanction for the prosecutor.
• In 2010, USA Today published a six-month investigation of 201 cases involving misconduct by federal prosecutors. Of those, only one prosecutor "was barred even temporarily from practicing law for misconduct." The Justice Department wouldn't even tell the paper which case it was, citing concern for the prosecutor's privacy.
• A 2006 review in the Yale Law Journal concluded that "[a] prosecutor's violation of the obligation to disclose favorable evidence accounts for more miscarriages of justice than any other type of malpractice, but is rarely sanctioned by courts, and almost never by disciplinary bodies."
• An Innocence Project study of 75 DNA exonerations -- that is, cases where the defendant was later found to be unquestionably innocent -- found that prosecutorial misconduct factored into just under half of those wrongful convictions. According to a spokesman for the organization, none of the prosecutors in those cases faced any serious professional sanction.
• A 2009 study (PDF) by the Northern California Innocence Project found 707 cases in which appeals courts had found prosecutor misconduct in the state between 1997 and 2009. But of the 4,741 attorneys the state bar disciplined over that period, just 10 were prosecutors. The study also found 67 prosecutors whom appeals courts had cited for multiple infractions. Only six were ever disciplined.
• Most recently, in April, ProPublica published an investigation of 30 cases in New York City in which prosecutor misconduct had caused a conviction to be overturned. Only one prosecutor was significantly disciplined.

The 2011 Yale Law Journal survey of state disciplinary systems also found a host of problems with the way misconduct complaints against prosecutors are handled. In many states, for example, the entire disciplinary process occurs in secret, ostensibly to protect the reputation of the accused attorneys. (Nevermind that the people who were harmed by the misconduct weren't afforded the same courtesy.)
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In 2007, a California Court of Appeals found that a Tulare County deputy district attorney, Phil Cline, had improperly withheld an exculpatory audiotape of a witness interview in the murder trial of Mark Soderston. The tape was so damning to the prosecution's case, the court wrote, that "[t]his case raises the one issue that is the most feared aspect of our system -- that an innocent man might be convicted.” Unfortunately, Sodersten had had already died in prison. The court was so troubled by the case that it took the unusual step of evaluating his claim even though he was dead.
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Not only was Cline never disciplined by the state bar, he was elected district attorney in 1992 and continued to win reelection, even after the court opinion chastising him. The other prosecutor in the case, Ronald Couillard, went on to become a judge. ..."
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FBI catches their mistakes eventually......wish we did in San Bernardino County.....

The FBI's front and center problems:

Washington Post piece on FBI evidence handling: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/us/politics/fbi-evidence-keeping-criticized.html?_r=0
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Washington Post piece on unwound convictions from agent mishandling of evidence: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-agent-in-misconduct-case-may-have-tampered-with-drugs-guns-documents-say/2014/11/05/b77fd50e-6440-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html
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60 minutes did a Report on this very topic some years ago. http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/crime_labs_under_the_microscope_after_a_string_of_shoddy_suspect_and_fraudu/
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IG Report on Crime Lab Abuse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwBaEvXpTw0
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Sentinel software [a Lockheed Martin company]problems at the FBI: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/us/19fbi.html
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Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Standards and Guidelines: Recommendations & Guidelines for the Use of Digital Image Processing in the Criminal Justice System [Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technologies (SWGIT) Version 1.2, June 2002 http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/jan2003/index.htm/swgitdigital.htm]
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Windows(c) XP still used by law enforcement, despite:
                                       
PoliticoPro article “Microsoft XP’s Massive Cybersecurity Problem”by Shaun Waterman http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/microsoft-xp-cybersecurity-problem-105451.html]  
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Microsoft Support Document for Windows XP [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324720]
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Microsoft’s Support Document MS03-024 entitled “Buffer Overrun in Windows could
lead to data corruption” [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817606] 
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Data Integrity Problems being researched:                
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Authentication of Digital Video Evidence” by Nicholas, et al [internet posted study] alwww.jhuapl.edu/ott/technologies/featuredtech/DVA/DVA.pdf]                     
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“Evaluating Software Degradation through Entropy” by Alessandro Bianchi,
at al [Dipartimento di Informatica – Università di Bari Via Orabona, 4, 70126
Bari – Italy [http://www.di.uniba.it/~lanubile/papers/metrics2001b.pdf]
{Bianchi, Caivano, Lanubile, Visaggio}@di.uniba.it 

“Digital Tape Preservation Strategy: Preserving Data or Video?” by David Rice etal
(Dec 2, 2009)[http://www.avpreserve.com/dvanalyzer/dv-preservation-data-or-video]                       

Groundbreaking Study Documents How Courts Are Impeding Fair Disclosure in Criminal Cases [like this is a big surprise in San Beat&Hangem County]

From a press release from nacdl.org via mailmanager.net



On November 17, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, NACDL officially released its latest report, Material Indifference: How Courts Are Impeding Fair Disclosure in Criminal Cases, a major study produced jointly with the VERITAS Initiative at Santa Clara Law School. The event featured comments by NACDL President Theodore Simon, NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer (who also moderated the event), and special guests David W. Ogden, former Deputy Attorney General who is now a partner at the WilmerHale firm, and the Hon. Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The report's co-authors – VERITAS Initiative Director and Professor Kathleen "Cookie" Ridolfi, NACDL White Collar Crime Policy Counsel Tiffany M. Joslyn, and VERITAS Initiative Pro Bono Research Attorney Todd H. Fries – also discussed their findings and recommendations. The event was broadcast live by C-SPAN and video is now available on demand.
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In courtrooms across the nation, accused persons are convicted without ever having seen information that was favorable to their defense. The frequency with which this occurs and the role it plays in wrongful convictions prompted NACDL and the VERITAS Initiative to undertake an unprecedented study of Brady claims litigated in federal courts over a five-year period. The study asked: What role does judicial review play in the disclosure of favorable information to accused? The results revealed a troubling answer – the judiciary is impeding fair disclosure in criminal cases and, in doing so, encouraging prosecutors to disclose as little favorable information as possible. The report exposes in stark detail the depth and breadth of the problem and offers three reform proposals that would serve as mechanisms for increasing fair disclosure in criminal cases.
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Following the report’s release, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced plans to re-introduce the bipartisan Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act and affirmed the need for reform: “We can no longer allow the government to have a finger on the scales of justice, tipping it in its favor.”
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Complete copies of the report, executive summary, and fact sheet are available at www.nacdl.org/discoveryreform/materialindifference. Learn more about NACDL's work in the area of discovery reform, including links to model legislation and more, at www.nacdl.org/discoveryreform.\.
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Who is policing this?
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www.nacdl.org/discoveryreform/materialindifference.

District Attorney Mike Ramos is trying to create a 3rd Assistant DA slot for his girlfriend- time for some more whistle blowing and maybe a discriminatory promotion complaint??

See for breaking story: http://sbsentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Sentinel-11-14-141.pdf-
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Bob's 2 cents worth?
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The total culture of fear and domination created by this DA has been emboldened by support from the recently re-elected Kamala Harris to State Attorney General, despite Ramo's record of retaliatory firings & prosecutions, sexually-influenced promotional decision-making, harassment and over-reaching. Kamala Harris will either wake up and realize that Ramos is someone she should be looking professionally at or go down with him in the public eye.
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The real crime is not in the selection of a pillow talk buddy for a newer and better paying job, but in victims' failure to file appropriate charges with governmental agencies for the preferential hired BASED upon sex and or age. How many qualified men and women have to be offended  and economically damaged by this before someone takes the step to make formal complaints.
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Heh, living in unsubsidized world of private practice ain't so bad. At least you will be doing something that is righteous (for yourselves).
 

HIGHLAND: Family of teen shot by deputy disputes Sheriff’s Department account (UPDATE)

HIGHLAND: Family of teen shot by deputy disputes Sheriff’s Department account (UPDATE).   

This is a Sheriff's Department in need of some new leadership and focus not so much because of this one incident, but because of so many others. If this is another example of the cowboy mentality of shoot first and ask questions later, this is tragic for sure.  What is fairly well known but not talked about, is the stress level of uniforms is far too high and may be a contributing factor to use of lethal force where there are alternatives. While internal affairs will do their thing to make the call on the shooting, the real need is to find ways to reach out to stressed out officers and give them the help they need without condemnation or being marked as weak.

A Change in Direction, but not oversight

As a long time activist for the democratic party, I was asked by numerous local leaders to run for Congress in an effort to make it into the Prop 14 created (top two primary) runoff election in November and win the seat.
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Current 8th District Congressman Cook has been a disappointment for working families, seniors and vets, but with that said, Cook might not be one of the top two in November due to many conservatives being unhappy with him as well.
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Cook's obstructive votes have done little to seek and build the consensus needed to find government waste and roll that money into real domestic economic stimulus, job development programs & policies, job retraining & placement and needed transitional assistance. We need to work at healing our country's wounds. Cook and his backers aren't hurting because they have the rest of us to pay for their comfortable salaries & benefits. The people in this district need to remind Cook and his backers that we elect people to find solutions that help all of us and not just Cook & his special interest masters.
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My prior announcement of my intention to run for San Bernardino County District Attorney has been tabled due to not only the request of local leaders that I try and add to the voices for rational & productive leadership in Congress, but due to my realization that the systemic problems in the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office may well require federal intervention to address, which regrettably may or may not come (and which Bob can with the rest of San Bernardino county only hope and pray for).
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With that said, a lot of work to do.

Does the Colonies Case Decision Recognize Key Players like DA Mike Ramos might be if not a Material Witness, a potential Co-conspirator??

One of the many articles written by the local press [See: http://www.highdesert.com/articles/return-44292-vvdailypress-san-bribery.html -- article on the Colonies case], shows how the watchdog role of the press [See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lionel-rolfe/whats-wrong-with-todays-j_b_4516013.html?utm_hp_ref=los-angeles&ir=Los+Angeles for recent discussion] is a dead concept in this County and part of the reason we have local government in San Bernardino County running out of control--no one is asking the tough questions.
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With federal racketeering charges timely added to the complaint (which is not the first time I have referenced that additional approach), the appeal would have likely been unnecessary in the Colonies corruption case and golly gee, had "conspiracy" after the bribe been pled by the DA's office (re alleged cover up efforts), the Supreme Court would likely not have had to step in.
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What the Court in People v Biane, et al (the Colonies corruption case) said [and the following appears to be the trigger analysis]:  "[h]ere, as in Calhoun,supra, 46 Cal.2d at page 30,the indictment alleges that Burum and Erwin participated in a conspiracy that was more elaborate than the mere agreement that a particular bribe be accepted, but involved and depended on the conduct of numerous parties to ensure that at least three supervisors be influenced to approve the $102 million litigation settlement".

What makes this realization so key, is that Mike Ramos has been accused of using his office's powers and or his influence to intimidate/coerce public figures in the County, which is what he is accusing Burum (a former ally of DA Mike Ramos) of doing [e.g. people thinking about running against Mike Ramos like former DA Dennis Stout backing out and stating on the record in 2010 that his clients were being threatened if he (Stout) ran and more recently, there are the allegations of Frank Guzman, who ran against Ramos in 2010 who had to face a frivolous lawsuit (filed by allegedly an ally of Mike Ramos) roughly a month before the June 2010 election (an action tossed out by the court "after" the election), going after Supervisor Neil Derry for a failure to disclose payments in a campaign report on the eve of an election challenge by a long time supporter and friend, San Manuel tribal leader James Ramos, while Mike Ramos skated on his failure to report payments to his ex-wife--just to name a few].
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Through all of the bribery acts, who is a constant figure throughout and is STILL in office?
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75% of SEBA's MEMBERSHIP DID NOT ENDORSE JOHN McMAHON for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF!! What's up with this unliked guy?

In a press release from SEBA [document says "PLACE ON BRIEFING BOARD - SEBA NEWS FLASH] dated December 3, 2013, it supposedly reports "SHERIFF ENDORSEMENT ELECTION RESULTS" that 95% of the membership voted to endorse McMahon..
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With 2,210 ballots mailed out and 29.6% returned (or 654 "voters"), that conclusion is a reach. It would be more consistent to say that McMahon got a no confidence vote of roughly 75% of the membership.
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Rumors are floating about how even Mike Ramos (the DA that endorsed him) think McMahon is dumb, so with Mike Ramos behind the scenes maybe not liking him and 75% of the eligible voters in SEBA NOT voting for McMahon, who is pushing this guy?

A GOOD EXAMPLE of WHY BOB CONAWAY AS DISTRICT ATTORNEY WOULD BE BETTER THAN SAME-OLE-RAMOS)

How?

Focus should be made on the FHA “Back to Work” Program

There is news being reported about warrants floating out there from the current DA's office in San Bernardino to get a law firm's records which may prove some type of fraud injurying persons with (or formerly with) home mortgages.
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Aside from the fact it is years after people have been impacted (and the banks, loan servicers, foreclosure people committing fraud and or unfair and or deceptive business practices have been untouched by the San Bernardino County DA), there is nothing being done for the victims today, now.
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As part of my administration as San Bernardino County District Attorney I would be remedy focused. To quote the incumbent Mike Ramos, "you can't prosecute yourself out of every problem". 

About the Program

Under the federal “Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances” program, if one had a foreclosure, short sale, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or bankruptcy, a homeowner may qualify for a new home loan if the former homeowner is back to work and can document the extenuating circumstances.

Do You Qualify?

FHA will consider former homeowners for eligibility if the former homeowner had a financial hardship in the past but can now document the follow circumstances :

1. The "Back-to-Work" applicant meets FHA loan requirements
2. The "Back-to-Work" applicant can document the mortgage or credit problems resulted from a financial hardship
3. The "Back-to-Work" applicant has re-established a responsible credit history
4. The "Back-to-Work" applicant has completed HUD-approved housing counseling

A lender will first have to determine if the "Back-to-Work" applicant meets FHA loan requirements before he/she can apply for a FHA loan under the Back to Work program. The "Back-to-Work" applicant will need to explain how the financial hardship was something beyond his/her control that reduced his/her income or caused him/her to lose employment. If the "Back-to-Work" applicant's household income dropped by 20% or more for at least six months, it may count for this type of financial hardship.
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To re-establish credit the "Back-to-Work" applicant must have a 12 month record of on-time rental housing payments with no delinquencies, and not have been 30 days late on more than one non-housing loan payment. If the "Back-to-Work" applicant still has any open collection or judgment accounts, then a “capacity analysis” will be done to see if  he/she can repay those creditors.
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It's time to change DA and really help folks! Press releases about delayed and remedy-less paper is not what victims need.