Went to court this week on one of the most difficult cases I've ever had. It's taken nine years to get to trial, partly due to my own incompetence in the field, partly due to the Byzantine complexities of the forms and code sections in this area of the law.
Came to court that morning not knowing if I'd finally managed to successfully maneuver through the paper maze into the clear. Met my opponent in the corridor outside of the court. Hadn't seen her for a long time, but she seemed to be bearing up well under the stress. We were friendly enough - had come to an agreement about the case long ago - were both anxious to get it settled and done with.
We waited in line to check in with the clerk, who took most of the drama out of the day by saying that this time he and the judge were satisfied with our forms. Whether that meant the number of them, the content or the appearance, I was not about to ask. One of the first lessons I learned in court was when you are going to win the point, stop swinging. Since I didn't expect to ever have another case in this particular area of the law there was no further need to educate myself for the future, as I always have done.
Amazing luck continued when we were told that we were first on what was a three page calender of trials and other matters. When the judge finally emerged of course, he took another case first, an off calendar matter that seemed to relate to a controversy about a trial that was to start the next day. Understandable.
When called forward, we took our places and were sworn in, questioned, and in a few more minutes, were told that I had won. My opponent was just as happy as I was. She laughed when I whispered, "Mazel Tov" and asked whether it was customary to put the glass together again.
Outside we wished each other well, exchanged best wishes to our families. It is unlikely that we will ever oppose each other again. She asked me if I was going to begin another such case. I was emphatic in denial. She claimed a similar disinterest in repeating the error.
It was a melancholy feeling to finish this case, but a win is a win.
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
There is [no] justice in this world ...
LONDON: (N.Y. Times, The World, July 27, 2008, p.4) A columnist recounts a case in which an English court awarded damages to a man whose privacy was invaded by a British tabloid.
The Brit rag had printed a story about a famous Formula One racing official frequenting prostitutes who wore German style military jackets, spanking him while counting off the strikes in "guttural" German (presumably "Eins, Tsvei, Drei..."). The subject was the son of an English "nobleman" (my quotes) who was described as Britain’s prewar Fascist leader, whose wedding had been attended by Hitler. Though warned that his private life was under surveillance, our "hero" nonetheless entered an apartment for his regular spanking "therapy" session. One of the women who had been promised money to video the encounter, had a camera hidden in her bra.
The judge’s controversial (in England) ruling was that exposure of private sexual conduct doesn’t involve significant crimes was none of the media’s business even if it is of "prurient interest" or part of a "moral crusade." "In a sentence, titillation just won’t do," the judge pronounced.
BANGKOK: (L.A. Times, August 20, 2008, A6) reports that terrorists convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people at a resort want to be executed by beheading [the traditional Islamic method] rather than the court ordered firing squad, while their lawyers asked for lethal injection, which is more humane and negates "torture" resulting from poor aim.
SEATTLE: (L.A. Times, The Nation, July 27, 2008, A16) The U.S. Army apologized for the erroneous courts-martial of 28 African American U.S. soldiers and execution of 2 of them for lynching of Italian P.O.W.’s during World War II.
Investigative reporting many years later revealed "flaws" in the Government’s case, including the fact that only 2 defense lawyers had been appointed to represent the 43 defendants and were given 10 days to prepare for the trial. More seriously, The Army prosecutor assigned to the case had denied discovery to the defense of a lengthy investigative report by the Army Inspector General. The report, it was revealed many years later, pointed to white men as the true culprits who had killed the prisoners.
The Army now admits that its prosecutor’s conduct was "disingenuous," "illegal" and "unethical", and resulted in this "fatal flaw". The prosecutor in question was Col. Leon Jaworski, who later became a power in the Democratic Party and was appointed special prosecutor in the Nixon / Watergate scandal. He died in 1982.
Congress is now considering a Bill to grant "reparations" to the wrongly convicted, imprisoned, and in 2 instances, executed soldiers and their descendents.
LOS ANGELES: (L.A. Times, California Section, August 19, 2008, p.1) reports yet another case in which an LAPD detective was caught allegedly "testilying" (as one of my old clients would have called it).
At the urging of the D.A., a judge dismissed a pending attempted murder case after the D.A. listened to a communications tape that contradicted the detective’s testimony that identified the two defendants. On the tape, he is heard to question the identities and to describe actions that directly contradicted his incriminatory testimony. The D.A. attributed the mistaken testimony to "faulty recollection," though the defense characterized it less charitably.
The Brit rag had printed a story about a famous Formula One racing official frequenting prostitutes who wore German style military jackets, spanking him while counting off the strikes in "guttural" German (presumably "Eins, Tsvei, Drei..."). The subject was the son of an English "nobleman" (my quotes) who was described as Britain’s prewar Fascist leader, whose wedding had been attended by Hitler. Though warned that his private life was under surveillance, our "hero" nonetheless entered an apartment for his regular spanking "therapy" session. One of the women who had been promised money to video the encounter, had a camera hidden in her bra.
The judge’s controversial (in England) ruling was that exposure of private sexual conduct doesn’t involve significant crimes was none of the media’s business even if it is of "prurient interest" or part of a "moral crusade." "In a sentence, titillation just won’t do," the judge pronounced.
BANGKOK: (L.A. Times, August 20, 2008, A6) reports that terrorists convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people at a resort want to be executed by beheading [the traditional Islamic method] rather than the court ordered firing squad, while their lawyers asked for lethal injection, which is more humane and negates "torture" resulting from poor aim.
SEATTLE: (L.A. Times, The Nation, July 27, 2008, A16) The U.S. Army apologized for the erroneous courts-martial of 28 African American U.S. soldiers and execution of 2 of them for lynching of Italian P.O.W.’s during World War II.
Investigative reporting many years later revealed "flaws" in the Government’s case, including the fact that only 2 defense lawyers had been appointed to represent the 43 defendants and were given 10 days to prepare for the trial. More seriously, The Army prosecutor assigned to the case had denied discovery to the defense of a lengthy investigative report by the Army Inspector General. The report, it was revealed many years later, pointed to white men as the true culprits who had killed the prisoners.
The Army now admits that its prosecutor’s conduct was "disingenuous," "illegal" and "unethical", and resulted in this "fatal flaw". The prosecutor in question was Col. Leon Jaworski, who later became a power in the Democratic Party and was appointed special prosecutor in the Nixon / Watergate scandal. He died in 1982.
Congress is now considering a Bill to grant "reparations" to the wrongly convicted, imprisoned, and in 2 instances, executed soldiers and their descendents.
LOS ANGELES: (L.A. Times, California Section, August 19, 2008, p.1) reports yet another case in which an LAPD detective was caught allegedly "testilying" (as one of my old clients would have called it).
At the urging of the D.A., a judge dismissed a pending attempted murder case after the D.A. listened to a communications tape that contradicted the detective’s testimony that identified the two defendants. On the tape, he is heard to question the identities and to describe actions that directly contradicted his incriminatory testimony. The D.A. attributed the mistaken testimony to "faulty recollection," though the defense characterized it less charitably.
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