Wednesday Writs for 4/17

Em Carpenter

Em was one of those argumentative children who was sarcastically encouraged to become a lawyer, so she did. She is a proud life-long West Virginian, and, paradoxically, a liberal. In addition to writing about society, politics and culture, she enjoys cooking, podcasts, reading, and pretending to be a runner. She will correct your grammar. You can find her on Twitter.

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10 Responses

  1. PD Shaw says:

    [L1] Good piece. The portion of this that I was discussing last week at another blog was the point made in one of the links: “Justice White pointed out in a concurring opinion that the Court’s action did not mean that the
    newspapers and their reporters would be immune from criminal prosecution if they elected to publish the papers.”

    Doing a head count, the three dissenting justices saw the existence of criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act as supporting the need to restrain publication of the papers, it would be better to prevent a crime from being committed in the first place. Two justices (White, w/ Stewart) found criminal prosecution to evidence Congressional intent for these issues to be addressed criminally, not through prior restraint. IOW, five justices were green-lighting prosecution of the NY Times. It’s one of the odder decisions to get treated as a victory for a free press.

    I think prosecutions were not brought because they became politically untenable once the materials were released and because of complications bought by the plumbers.Report

  2. Oscar Gordon says:

    L6, L9: Lawyers can be their own worst enemies. Reminds me of the guy who sued the dry cleaner over pants.Report

  3. Jaybird says:

    L2: It begins! (More seriously, I wonder how many people outside of the scope of the investigation will suddenly find themselves within the scope of the investigation.)

    I like how you picked “L7” for Avenatti.

    L8: I wonder if this will work. The smart move is moving through the byzantine legal system instead of the court of public opinion… but I question their ability to keep it out of there. (Can they get an injunction (or whatever the hell it’s called) to keep the opposition from social media-ing about it?)Report

  4. Doctor Jay says:

    [L10] I am impressed with Lisa Smith’s ability to kick out a patrol car window. That isn’t easy. Those things are safety glass at the least, and usually have reinforcement.Report

  5. CJColucci says:

    I used to follow the sleeping lawyer cases, and became convinced that what was really going on was that if the sleeping lawyer had been awake and, while awake, did as little as the sleeper, courts would not have found ineffective assistance, so why should it be any different if the lawyer slept? But this was too harsh a truth to state baldly.Report

    • Em Carpenter in reply to CJColucci says:

      You know, you’re not wrong.

      But this brings to mind the old guy lawyer I worked for for years. (Amazing lawyer, the type other lawyers roll their eyes at and everyone “hates” but calls when they need a bulldog who is not afraid to go to war.) Anyway, he had a habit, in trial, of leaning back and closing his eyes, appearing to be asleep. He most assuredly was not- he was listening and thinking. It was my job to explain that to our worried clients- the judges already knew.Report

  6. dragonfrog says:

    [L5] Good heavens. If you need a short nap in the afternoon, arrange for a short recess in the afternoon, or hire a second attorney to cover for you while you nap, and review the transcripts of what happened in .

    [L9] If ever there was a context where suing a school over a failing grade was appropriate, that’s the one. Even if the exam does turn out to have been fairly graded, they could give extra credit for the annoying project work.Report

  7. Burt Likko says:

    In what court did L10 take place?

    The judge has an interesting accent and the young lady is pretty clearly lying when she says she has not taken any drugs.

    Aside from the actual finding of contempt, though, the judge’s general demeanor and conduct is… pretty typical. Wouldn’t you agree, sister and brother Guildmates?Report

    • PD Shaw in reply to Burt Likko says:

      I thought his demeanor was causal and unbothered by her goofiness, and I was surprised when he doubled her bond for saying “adios” (in response to him saying “bye-bye”).

      Added: The video links to a hearing in which the contempt charges are lifted. I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but it appears that judge lectured her on the importance of criminal charges, the language you use, and encouraged drug counseling. The Judge was a Cuban-American from Miami.Report