Defense Attorneys Panel
As expected, Mark Geragos is in CA trying to keep Brent Wilkes out of jail. And perhaps to subpoena a bunch of corrupt Congressmen.
Laurie Levenson
Makes a joke about Geragos being in trial or on TV or both.
Talks about loading up your pleadings–"they’re more likely to get it right." You can comment on public records, so put stuff in your pleadings so you can refer back to it.
Discussion of cameras in the court room. May be courts saying cameras are alright in near future.
Should there be ethical codes on those who appear on the press? (Victoria Toensing, I’m looking at you!!) Suggestion of voluntary guidelines. Should lawyers have to disclose biases (she raises Geragos commenting on Scott Peterson case after having representing him (or do I have it reversed or the wrong damn pop culture case)?
Michael Tigar
Makes a case for the importance of First Amendment protections in cases.
Notes that on Nichols case, people would talk to NYT but not the defense team themselves.
"If you’re not restrained it harms the client. I don’t think jurors like it." Quotes a juror saying, "I think it makes a piss poor impression," appearing on TV.
Sound bite journalism is bad for the client, because we are not in charge of how it’s used.
Harold Haddon
Talks about the JonBenet Ramsey case–the leaks from the FBI and Boulder authorities in an attempt to get one of the parents to flip on the other.
Defense lawyers without as much information as the police early in the case–prevents defense lawyers from speaking publicly when the narrative on the trial is being set.
The person I have the biggest problem with, and she is CONSTANTLY involved in a new piece of crap, is Gloria Allred. I swear to god I am convinced she tracks down idiotic pathetic witnesses to salacious crimes and situations and offers to represent them just to get on TV and make a stir. Take for instance her latest â€clientâ€, Britney Spears’ former bodyguard. He doesn’t need a lawyer, he just needs to tell the truth and crawl back in the hole he came from. Allred latched onto him and parades the two of them around to every pissant show like Larry King, Nancy Grace, TMZ whatever. Allred is, along with Nancy Grace, the scummiest, most unethical lowlifes I have ever seen as â€legal experts†on TV.
bmaz
I don’t know about you, but when I hear Allred’s involved, I wonder who’s trying to cash in on the publicity. She does seem to be a chaser of some kind. (IANAL – and I really object to lawyers who are publicity-hunters.)
PJ – I am a lawyer and I violently object to it. I have been involved in quite a few high profile cases, most just media intensive locally, couple nationally, one that even had some international notoriety. My belief is that 90% of the time there is nothing good you can accomplish for your client, and much that you can potentially harm, by speaking with the press. The other 10% is a crapshoot as to whether the potential gain is likely to exceed the potential harm. There are some situations, like the current Jena 6, that I think it was necessary to build public outrage since nothing else was working. Gloria Allred is a glorified media whore if you ask me; very ethically questionable.
bmaz, I like your last sentence. It fits what I think very well. (I’m wondering why she’s still a member of the bar, but maybe she hasn’t stepped far enough over the line for official notice to be taken. Yet.)
TMZ, ha ha!
Heh heh indeed; the TMZ clucks have a TV show now; caught my wife watching it the other night. Sometimes, hara-kiri seems like the best solution……
Allred took the case of the teacher, Mary Kay Letourneau who was involved with her 12 year old student. She was the daughter of rancid, rabid, right-wing-before-it-was-popular California Republican John Schmidt. Letourneau was an absolute pariah but Allred stuck by her. I think it was that case that got her hooked on the spotlight.
That was intriguing mommybrain so I checked it out. There was a female lawyer with Le Tourneau, but the name was Anne Bremner; I now remember seeing her on some TV interview some time ago, she seemed rational despite her closeness to leTourneau. Boy Letourneu’s father John Schmitz is a piece of work; his hero was Joe McCarthy and he was a BIG time John Bircher. The Allred link is that she sued Schmitz after after he effectively called her and other women testifying at some femnist congressional committee hearing â€hard, Jewish, Bulldykesâ€.
But hey, this is wild. Mary Kay LeTourneau’s two brothers are John Schmitz and Joseph Schmitz. John Schmitz served as counsel to G.H.W. Bush while he was VP, and later president, and helped cover G.H.W.’s involvement in Iran-Contra. Mary Kay Letournau is Jeb Bush’s sister-in-law, through her brother John Schmitz’s marriage to Lucila Garnica Gallo, Colomba Bush’s sister. Joseph served as Pentagon inspector general until earlier this year, when he resigned after being accused by Grassley of covering up possible illegal deals in the rebuilding of Iraq’s telecommunications infrastructure. Joseph now the General Counsel for the PRINCE GROUP and BLACKWATER INTERNATIONAL.
Allred took the case of the teacher, Mary Kay Letourneau who was involved with her 12 year old student
And in Blackwater no degrees of separation, MKLs brother was a DOD IG involved in questionable stuff and getting nasty letters from Chuck Grassley, before he left to go to work for Blackwater’s parent company. Schmitz.
Where he no doubt has worked with Buzzy, ex-CIA brother to Cookie – current State Dep IG who is causing Waxman to write stern letters.
All while State is investigating Blackwater for …
…it just gets too incestuous.
Probably why I never read those flowers books, just the description makes me gag.