Are Some Lives Worth More Than Others?: Only Your Prosecutor Knows

Today, two people will be sentenced for killing innocent others. One person will have made a series of very bad decisions while intoxicated ending in her killing a young girl age 11. The other will have made a conscious decision to kill 11 people. The former will receive a sentence of 12 years in jail. The latter will be released after only doing 8 years while he awaited sentence. The former is a young mother of a pre-teen girl, the latter was a mob hitman. The former, the mom who killed an 11 year old by driving recklessly while intoxicated, spawned a law that makes it a felony to drive intoxicated with a child in the car. The latter Mob hit-man will reinforce the idea that you can kill at will as long as you are willing to give up others, even if you lie to do it.

The young mother is Carmen Huertas. She made a decision to get into a car with 6 children (one was her own) and drive them home from a slumber party after she had embibed enough alcohol to blow a .13 BAC. (Not that I think BAC's are the least bit accurate but given her other behaviors that night I would think there was enough other evidence of intoxication to prove she was guilty. You can read the story here and decide for yourself. She was sentenced to a indeterminate sentence of 4-12 years in jail. She could theoretically be eligible to get out on parole in three years and five months
but given just the fact that this was a DWI and the fact that it was the type of death that brings out everyone against the defendant, she will likely do the whole sentence before she is released less any "good-time" she may accrue (about 1.8 years off the top number or 10.4 years in prison so far.)

The mob hit man is Sal (Good Looking Sal) Vitale, former underboss of the Bonanno crime family. Sal was an early follower of another neighbor Joe (Big Joe) Massino, the boss of the Bonnano crime family. Both men grew up in my old neighborhood in NY. Sal was always noted for how good his hair looked. I should know, he used to go to get his hair cut in the same barbershop as I did. He was a big deal there among the Italian barbers. They all knew who he was. I blissfully did not. I did notice he seemed like any other guy who went there. Slightly pampered and otherwise kind of nice. He always went with friends.

About 10 years ago, Sal and his Brother-in-law childhood hero Joe Massino got indicted. Joe was pretty jealous of Sal's popularity among the other under bosses in "the family". He was afraid that Sal may be so much better liked than he, that he ordered someone kill him. The feds moved in to save Sal's life. Sal was infuriated and so he turned on Joe and everyone in the old life. He had enough information to identify over 500 men as either members of or affiliates to the five families of NY. He also had enough information to put 50 of these men behind bars for a long time, some even for life.

Sal Vitale was a cold blooded killer. He didn't have to be. He had smarts. He was a former corrections officer, and he owned a series of small businesses that would have made money for him with or without patronage from Joe Massino and company. Instead, he helped end the lives of at least 11 men and maybe more. He made it possible for others to kill without being punished. He ran loan-sharking and illegal gambling operations. He provided protection for drug dealers and houses of Prostitution. He also however danced to the Governments tune. He turned and he will be rewarded. Is he sorry he was a creep, a killer, a monster? Only he knows. He knew however he created that man. If he could, would he turn down the life he led? Would he walk away from the jaunts to Vegas and Atlantic City? Would he give up his house in Dix Hills for all those years. Would he not have had the fancy haircuts and manicures he got that earned him the nickname "Good looking Sal"? If he knew he would never get caught would he? Or would he have preserved that life even if it meant killing eleven more people. Eleven more fathers brothers sons?

Carmen Huertas, a 31 year old mother who would like to take back about 2 hours of her life. Whether she was found guilty or not, the taking of that child's life would have stayed with her forever. Her chance of ever getting behind the wheel of a car drunk again, would be less than zero.

Jail is supposed to be for punishment and corrections. I fail to see the sense in this today. Carmen Huertas should have been sentenced to 1-3 years and should have been ordered to a program to address her drinking issues. Sal Vitale should have been sentenced to at least a long long period in jail. He could have gotten Death had he not cooperated. His getting a free pass calls into question every detail to which he testified. His testimony was bought and paid for by the government. He knew if he danced to their tune he would walk away, a free man, new identity, new home, new business.

As she addressed the court she said ""I am not a monster," "I am a loving mother who made a terrible decision that caused the death of a wonderful child."

She is right, her behavior was monstrous, but she herself is not a monster she just in fact made a horrendous decision that will forever effect the world of Leandra's family and her own.

Does anyone wonder if Sal Vitale could make the same statement? Is it fair that the prosecution can make these decisions based on how much they were helped? Is it fair that Vitale's victims should get nothing in the way of satisfaction for the loss they suffered?

Huertas is in jail, mostly because of who her victim was, and what that victims family wanted. Vitale is free despite what his victims want and despite what fairness dictates. She is sorry. Given the chance she would not be likely to repeat her poor judgment. He, well you decide: is he sorry or sorry he got caught? Given the chance, would he have turned down all the things his life gave to him and his family or would he have killed again and again, knowing he would never get caught?

The lives of poor people and the lives of rich have different values in a court of law. The lives of people who die at the hands of those that can give the prosecution what it wants, and the lives of those killed by someone who has nothing but remorse to give, have different values. Neither of these are fair, they just are.

If you ever serve on a jury however, when one of these rich powerful guys testifies, and he says he is not getting anything for his testimony, remember, that is just not true. Never was, never will be. They are just monsters who the government is paying to be tell they government's story, whether it be true, or not. Whether they be monsters... or what?

Here is the NY Post's coverage of the sentencing hot off the presses.

The Battered Woman Syndrome Defense Scores a Big Win in Butterknife Stabbing Case: Some SOBs Just Need Killin."

When the Prosecution opens the trial with:"Kevin Cobb may not have been a husband or father any of us would want to have..." That ought to be the first clue there is going to be a problem with the prosecution.

When the next thing the prosecutor says is: the husband (Kevin Cobb) was out using coke, returning home around 3 a.m.

And when the alleged victim has done upstate time for drug and violent crimes, well then that would be a trifecta for a good reason not to bring a charge of Murder (or even assault First degree.

But when the defendant has suffered from "...bruises and (a) black eye and (a) punctured ear drum" all at the hands of the alleged victim...then you know you probably should have offered a plea bargain.

Note to prosecutors: "Some SOBs just need killin." It is not necessarily a valid defense but jury's do understand it. It is one thing for a defense attorney to stand before a jury and protect an accused who is also a miserable person, it is far different for a prosecutor to use the state to prosecute someone who is basically a good person ( Ms. Cobb is a nurse and the mother of six kids) and take the side of the miserable SOB who has been abusing them for years. Sounds like the jury understood that Kevin Cobb was one of those SOBs who got far less than he deserved.

Man a butter knife... OUCH!

HAT TIP:ABA Journal
and for some of the quoted material above the NY Daily News

By the way, gotta love the NY Daily News Headline in this case"I killed my coke-fiend husband in self-defense." Kind of says it all n'est-ce pas?

San Diego Gestapo...uhhh police...Arrest Innocent Jet Fan

People ask sometimes ask me "what can be worse than the murder of an innocent person by a violent criminal?
For me that is an easy answer: Members of the government allegedly acting on my behalf,and at my expense, who abuse their authority and arrest an innocent person. I am not going to get into the whole thing about allowing 100 guilty men to go free so that one innocent man is not imprisoned, but watching this tape enrages me just as much as the acts of these two idiots in Connecticut.

Thank goodness, a thoughtful fan from San Diego used his camera to record what can only be described as a totalitarian behavior from San Diego's men in blue.

These cops shamed their city, their taxpayers and their badges/uniforms. If I were Mayor of NY I'd be calling for an investigation, and if I were Mayor of San Diego there would be one ongoing right now. A bunch of cops would be on desk duty and a few would be looking at demotions and other discipline! Here is the story in the NY POST

Just Some Interesting Links

A court found a 91 year old man who hallucinates due to dementia legally able to stand trial on a murder. He killed a nursing home attendant who happened to come into his room. He thought the guy was an intruder. God Bless the Criminal Defense Lawyer in that one.

Hattip: ABA Journal News Now.

Haven't blogged about the sale of the Obama Senate seat. Why? Cause everyone else has. I did wonder why I hadn't seen a high profile NY Washington or Chicago White Collar lawyer on the matter. This post From the Online Wall Street Journal tells us. The Governor of Illinois can't pay his legal bills.

Finally I found this interesting piece on adult entertainment and law. It deals with how feminists can impove the Porn biz. What I find interesting in it is that here is another pro-sex Feminist. Like Camille Paglia, Tatiana Von Tauber is saying that feminists that rage against women in porn are not any more interested in women making decisions about their body than Phyllis Schlafly. They just want to control them in their own way. If Feminism is to mean anything, it means that women have the same rights to use their bodies any way they want the same way as men can. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Hattip: The Legal Satyricon.

Around The Blogosphere The Week of November 11, 2008 Part III of III* : Of Women, Music and All That Jazz.

*I know I previously said four. I reserve the right to consolidate because I am tired.

Here is my last installment from the Week of November 11, 2008.

1.Two Sex-Workers Talk About the Sex Trade.(Links are NSFW).

I spend a lot of time representing men and women who are involved in the Business of Sex. Some of their pursuits are legal, some not legal, some straddle the boarder. Occasionally I write about the experience. I also however keep up with what some of the people in the provider and "hobbyist" side of the field are saying.

This week the New York City Sex Bloggers rolled out their 2009 "pinup"calendar to benefit the Sex Workers Awareness (an education and outreach program)which I am told is a non-profit organization I have seen the way people treat Sex workers. I have seen the way that police discount them and how they have been marginalized though many are smart and hard working mothers, caretakers, students, and just regular folk. I would not treat a dog the way our criminal justice system treats these people. Hence I am giving their calendar a shout out here. I would have been at the rollout party last night but for a pressing and late breaking personal issue.

Meanwhile I thought I would highlight two posts from Sex Workers blogs.

A. This one at "The Real Princess Diaries" is about the way most sex-workers view their clientele. It doesn't apply to all and it doesn't apply to the entire strata anymore than any opinion piece can sum up the position of all workers in any field. It is indicative of how most of the clients I have see the scene.

B. Renegade Evolution is a blog, and from what I can gather a person too. She is a sex blogger and worker. She is opinionated, blunt and usually succinct. In this post she talks about a fact in the sex field that makes it hard to help sex workers (providers) and stops them from uniting. It is the Sex Worker Caste System and I see it everyday.

Stop a topless dancer and tell her she is a sex worker, she will tell you she is involved in a legal business and she is a good girl but that escorts are whores. She will tell you all she does is expose her body and people give her money for the privilege of seeing the Hand of God in her beauty.

The High end Escort will tell you that the stripper is the real whore, selling her body and teasing her clients for a buck here or there. She on the other hand does not expose herself before countless others. She only "dates" nice wealthy men who she would likely sleep with anyway if they met under other circumstances. In addition unlike the Porn star or stripper, her work is done in private and is "confidential".

The Porn Star thinks they are both insane. She will tell you she sleeps with men she knows and many whom she loves, she makes a lot of money far more than the others and she is engaged in a safe and legal field where the women call a lot of the shots.

Renegade Evolution thinks they should put away the Bull and unite to help each other. I have to say I agree with her. It is about time workers in the field get out of each others way, acknowledge the business they are all in and try to improve conditions for all. The fight is like criminal lawyers not acknowledging the work of litigators or transactional lawyers. It is all law just different...

2..The Music Scene

A. Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) have been celebrating Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk. Two of my all time favs. Here is a link to the post about the Armstrong speech and this one on e nights of Thelonious Monk tribute concerts.

B. Probation in Plea Deal for Blogger Who Leaked Guns N’ Roses Songs. Blogger streamed 9 G'n R songs on his blog, busted for the Copyright Infringement. Getting Probation, hasn't told where he got the songs from... still may however. I wonder if he had streamed only snippets of each song if that would have been protected speech??? IP Genius' any ideas?

C. "Tuba Man" Murdered by Teens, Seattle Mourns

Every city has a person or two who are as big if not bigger than that city itself. He is half village idiot, half sage, but he is beloved and the city adopts him. In NY it is the "Naked Cowboy", In San Francisco it's Frank Chu, In Washington DC it is President Bush, but in Seattle Washington it was Edward Scott McMichael aka "Tuba Man". He was a "busker" a man who made his living making his music on the streets. He was a guy who seemed to pop up everywhere, asking "DO YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF IT?? Who didn't want to be a part of it. He could take your worst day and make you smile with the "Um pa pa" of the Tuba.

"Tuba Man" was murdered allegedly by a group of teens who didn't recognize him. He didn't have his Tuba with him that day.
Story from the NY Times

Money Quote: “Ed would ask in his unmistakable baritone, ‘John, do you want to be a part of it tonight?’ ” Mr. Tangeman recalled. “This statement was part of the genius of Ed, as if contributing to Ed’s efforts, one was not only being a part of Ed’s life but being a part of something much larger, something almost unobtainable.”

That's it for now. I may or may not post another part later. If I do, consider this III of IV. Otherwise, who knows.

Wow What a Summer, (And It Is Not Even Half Over)

When I last left you, I was sad that Debra Jean Paltrow decided to end her life. I think it was a permanent solution to what was a temporary problem. I also thought her prosecution (not to mention her conviction) was a monumental waste of taxpayers time and money not to mention personnel resources.

So then what happened?? All hell broke loose That is what happened.

In chronological order:
1. I became involved to represent the driver in this very sad case. (The Griffin Case)
2. I was a judge at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand Championships in The Fox Cities area of Wisconsin.
3. The Nassau County DWI Wall of Shame went up.
4. I started representing Rabbi Morris Talansky, who is a really nice guy getting slammed unfairly in the foreign press (and by the NY Tabloids too but what else is new.)
5. I started the Murder Trial of Ronald "Shorts" Rodriguez.
6. The District Attorney of Nassau decided that I might beat her in the aforementioned Griffin case so she began "Poisoning the Jury Pool" with outrageous remarks that show her lack of maturity and her lack of fitness for the office she holds.
7. A nut job in the gallery of the courtroom during the Rodriguez trial, jumped up and attacked Shorty and me (he was aiming for Shorty, I was just collateral damage) which caused a 2.5 day break in the trial, and pointed out to all of us in Nassau County that we need to take more precautions to safeguard our trial courts (Hint Hint, it is time to build a new and safer annex to the county court.)
8. After one of the toughest trials I have ever been involved with, Ronald "Shorts" Rodriguez was ACQUITTED of Murder in the second degree (Intentional Murder) Manslaughter in the 1st degree (Intentionally causing injury that results in death through the use of Deadly Physical Force) and was convicted of the non-violent crime of Manslaughter in the 2d degree (recklessly causing the death of another) and possession of a weapon 3rd degree. (Sentencing is scheduled for September.)

9. In addition, the economy tanked, you can no longer afford to fill a gas tank without a loan, and it is Obama v. McCain but look out for BARR to play a spoiler unless McCain starts to comeback to his roots.

AND

10. I was cited as a blogging lawyer in an article at Get LEGAL.COM

11. I am building a new website (the old one is down and I have a static place holder there right now but wait until) NEXT month.



I will be posting on these topics and a few other things too over the next few weeks. Sorry for being away too long, but I just can't seem to write when I am in trial.

Corrections: Spell checked and links added.

Predictions In The Sean Bell Manslaughter Case

Tomorrow Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman will announce his verdict in the Sean Bell Police Manslaughter case. You will remember Bell is the Queens (NY) man who was killed in a hail of police bullets the night before his wedding. He was unarmed. The case is the latest in a number of police brutality/misconduct cases in New York City. It was well prosecuted and well defended. The issues came out better for the defense than people thought they would. It doesn't matter however, because the case is still one that is more or less a subjective issue. Did the police act recklessly or was their behavior reasonable in light of what they saw and what they knew at the time that they acted.

Justice Cooperman is irascible and sometimes unpredictable. He is pro law enforcement yet can get angry when they overstep the fine line between good police work and criminality. He is considered a harsh sentencing judge by most defense counsel. I tried a Criminal Possession of a Weapon/Assault 1* case before him and he was "difficult" at best. He yelled at me and on one occasion threatened me with sanctions. I was, in my opinion, doing my job. It was a case where I had a Perry Mason Moment too. That was exciting. I prevailed in that case and the jury felt the judge had been unkind and tried to bully me. It hurt the prosecution more than it ever hurt my case.

On the other hand, I could see the judge trying to be fair even though I thought he had decided that my client was guilty. Truth be told, I may not be the easiest defense attorney in Queens or Long Island to deal with either. All in all it was a positive experience.


I have also had a hearing before him. In that case (a SORA review) he quickly grasped the issues and allowed me room to develop my case and ultimately ruled in my favor. It was a few years after the original trial I had before him and I was surprised to learn he remembered me. He appeared happy to see me again which tells me he did not hold a grudge.

Tomorrow, Cooperman will make the biggest decision of his judicial life. He is Seventy Four (74) years and he cannot stand for re-election. Popularity is not going to be a part of his decision. I think his belief in law enforcement and his disdain for those who are disrespectful to the law may in fact bring his verdict in for the police officers in this case. I think he is going to think the people's witnesses to be dangerous and be underplaying their role in the case. He will find the police in an untenable position and that they could consider their lives in danger. For what a prediction is worth, I think that the verdict will be:

Manslaughter 2 for Officer Michael Oliver who fired 31 shots;

Reckless endangerment for Gescard Isnora (although I wouldn't be surprised by a not guilty verdict here;)

Not guilty for Detective Marc Cooper.

Either way, I also predict great gnashing of teeth.

Well I think we finally have a plan

Well I think I finally have a plan for this blog. I have wanted to mesh both blogs for a while. (Long Island (Criminal) Trial Law and That Lawyer Dude.) I also wanted to kind of start over for a bunch of reasons. I was trying to get the thing redesigned but my time for this is kind of limited. SOOOOO:

I have decided that I will be moving "That Lawyer Dude" to a new site (sorry blogger but this isn't working anymore)then I've decided that the new "That Lawyer Dude" will continue to be an amalgam of thought pieces and law combined. I will continue to write the blog alone for now, though I am still interested in a group blog.

Since the time table for the move is not set, and since I feel like writing, I am going to start blogging here again. If people start reading me again, great. If not, well at least my thoughts won't keep getting bottled up inside of me.

Now for the few of you who wonder what I have been up to. Well, I have been answering questions galore over at both Lawguru.com and AVVO.com I also occasionally take questions on at Linkedin.com I have also been more active on Solosez and the NYSACDL Listserves. So I have been writing but just not here.

On the office front, I have expanded our Lawfirm to include 2 new lawyers and I am hoping to add one of our "Of Counsels" as a partner.

I have tried a couple of cases and have expanded our practice areas. We now have an active Appellate Practice Group and a fledgling Catastrophic/Medical Malpractice Group. Our Qui Tam (False Claims Act Whistle blower) practice has also picked up substantially, as employees of Iraq-war contractors begin to report employers who cheat our Government and our taxpayers. There appears to be some favorable federal legislation pending on this area and I am hoping that if it passes, our Qui Tam/False Claims Act Practice Group will continue to grow. It is one of the most interesting areas of our practice and frankly very important. After all, anything that cheats our soldiers is abhorrent to me so I feel really good about going after these companies.

Our White Collar Criminal Practice Group is also booming. We have been doing a lot of work in the area of Criminal Trademark Infringement and Counterfeiting. These cases prosecute (mostly in federal court) the alleged illegal theft, retention, and sale of trademarked, patented, and copywritten material. They also usually include conspiracy, money laundering, RICO, and a myriad of other charges. The prosecution can be large or of a small group. The Federal Sentencing guidelines make these crimes much different from other White Collar Crimes.

Because many of these crimes cross international boundries, we have had to add a number of people on the staff who speak other languages. At this time our employees speak Chinese(Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese), Japanese, Italian, French and French Creole,German,Hindi,Tagalog (Philippines)Erdu & Arabic. We may not all be fluent in all of these languages but I am proud of my colleagues for their efforts

For example we are working on a case which alleges a syndicated was bringing in over 20 million dollars in trademarked NIKE and ADDIDAS clothing; another where a group was illegally obtaining credit card numbers and embossing them on purloined AMEX and VISA cards; a third case where the accused is accused of obtaining and selling first run movies on DVD as they come out and even BEFORE they come out in theaters.

It seems that the federal government is cracking down on these crimes as in part because of greater security at ports a direct result of the changes in prosecution initiatives in the wake of 9-11.

Finally we continue to try cases of the more "traditional" criminal kind. I will be starting hearings on a Murder 2 case (America's Most Wanted highlighted the case here)and I have a Burglary case scheduled for trial in two weeks, following a very interesting assault case.

So, while I will be posting here more regularly until the big MOVE, don't plan on seeing too much too soon. On the other hand, you never know what could happen. Maybe a Governor of a big eastern state will be caught patronizing prostitutes...

I want to keep up with the Q & A posts at LawGuru and Avvo, but I need a place to rant too. Hence I am returning.

Of HOPE and Charity: Some Interesting Stories & A Few Thoughts

,A few stories "ripped from the headlines." if you will:

I. Newsday Reports on Suffolk County New York Drug Dealers as Murderers Initiative
Yesterday's edition of Newsday had this story on a new policing initiative. Seems a lot of kids are dying of drug overdosing. Their stories do not get reported because the Cause of Death is normally reported as accidental. Parents and other family members do not want the publicity. Suffolk County NY however has decided to try to treat these cases as murders or manslaughter and seek to find the drug dealers who help these young people become corpses.
I have often wondered over the years why this wasn't done already. After all giving a kid "Smack" or "Dust" seems no different than handing a suicidal person a gun. In fact it is probably worse. At least the suicide wants to die, usually not the intent in the latter case.
On the other hand I am reminded of the John Belushi case where fellow user was accused of helping Belushi die by providing the drugs to him. The trick here is to use this charge against pushers. People who live their lives primarily in the sale of drugs. I am not talking about a fellow "hype" or user, I mean the prosecutions ought to be pointed at big dealers. The other positive of this is to get the serious nature of these drugs and of being involved in these drugs out in the open so maybe the deaths of these naive kids will not be in vain.

II. The Children of Hope Need YOU!!

Two abandoned infants are buried next to each other in Holy Rood Catholic Cemetery. Both carry the last name "HOPE."

My friend Tim Jaccard had the grim task of burying each infant. Tim is a hero in my book. He fought and obtained state approval for the safe haven program where young mothers can drop kids off at a site that will take the kids no questions asked. They can give up the kids and leave. It is saving lives. Getting the word out is still tough especially among minority and immigrant kids. Tim is in charge of the Children of Hope Foundation. He works with these young mothers and mothers to be and talks them down from the fear and into the world of adoption. He and his foundation have saved numerous kids, both Moms and infants. I hope this Christmas, Tim can focus on those he saved rather than the two he lost in the last month. Click here to send a donation.


III. Speaking of Donations, Only You can save Meals on Wheels

If you were a shut in and had no way to get food, what would you do? Who would you turn to?
About 100 people sick infirm and needy turn to Meals on Wheels Huntington, Inc. They are there day after day meal after meal helping to make a difference in the lives of these people.
They are about to go out of business. They have less than 60 days before they lose their home. Seems their building is dilapidated and the Red Cross (owner of the building)can't keep it up anymore.
"Meals" present rent is Two Hundred Fifty Dollars a month, their new rent in a new place will be a minimum of One Thousand Dollars a month, Unless... They can find an angel. A Horace P. Bogardus. A landlord who has say 300 sq. Feet of space that he can give or rent to them so they can keep up their life giving work. ARE YOU THAT ANGEL???? If so call them at 631-271-5150. Remember what Father O'Malley said about good deeds helping to cure an bad heart...

IV. A New Blog From A New Arena

I do not usually write about a new blog unless I see it putting out a lot of posts. On the other hand, most new blawgs do not start off with a mention in the venerable Volokh Conspiracy on of American BLawg lands most popular blogs.
So what makes this one different. Well it is written by former US District Court Judge H Lee Sorokin of the Jersey Branch of the US District Court. It is written in a no nonsense style and it appears the judge is not happy with the way the American government and especially the Executive branch is treating the US Constitution. So far the Blog X JUDGE is getting a lot of hits and a lot of comments. Some of which a judge would not usually hear. Welcome to the Blogoshpere your honor. Keep your helmet on and keep on writing.

V. THEY'RE CONGRESSMEN NOT TRIAL LAWYERS

What a surprise, the Congressman named to chair the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE (now there is an oxymoron if ever there was one) doesn't know the difference between a Shiite and a Sunni Muslim. He also doesn't know which one supplies Al Queda (Sunnis) and which ones support Hamas (Shiites). We're already off to a rollicking start...
Hattip: Volokh Conspiracy

VI Facebook Follies Can Hurt Your Job Prospects

DUH????!!!! Need we say more?

VI. Is the Rabbi "The Grinch That Stole Christmas??" NOPE! It's His Lawyer!!

Constitutional law is probably the hardest subject to grasp, especially when it comes to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

This story tells why lawyers who are not well schooled in the area of First amendment protections should stay away from giving advice on it to laymen, especially those that think they are aggrieved.

Seems the good people who run the Seattle-Tacoma airport wanted to spread a little seasonal cheer. They put up a couple of Christmas Tree displays. A local rabbi, rather than write to them and ask them to come up with some other displays next year, ran to the press and said "They better put up a Menorah or I am going to Sue!!"

The people who run the airport not having time to figure out the establishment clause issues, decided that they would just be Skipping Christmas this year.

His Lawyer a personal injury and sometimes criminal lawyer says ""They've darkened the hall instead of turning the lights up," said Bogomilsky's lawyer, Harvey Grad (this is a bad link but I just couldn't give him anymore free publicity, you'll have to get it yourself). "There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch."

No Harve the Jewish community isn't the grinch, it is the person who told Rabbi Bogomilsky that he could demand a Menorah.

You see, A Christmas Tree, Reindeer, Santa Claus, and Frosty the Snowman, are not religious symbols. They are symbols of the season. A Nativity Scene are Religious symbols, just as is a Menorah.

A Dreidel is not however a Religious symbol and is what the Rabbi should have asked for. Moreover, you should have advised the Rabbi not to make a federal case of it this year, but to ask and see how it went next year. If things were unchanged THEN you should have advised him to sue... Then again you and your client wouldn't have gotten any publicity...

I bet it sure seemed like a good idea at the time though. Next time leave the heavy lifting to the First amendment guys and stick with the winter's slip and falls...

UPDATE:
The Christmas Trees are back up in Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The Rabbi has agreed to drop his potential lawsuit and suprise: the trees reappeared. Hmmm I didn't know Christmas Trees were afraid of lawsuits... you learn something everyday.
Of course, maybe they all just read this post and they learned something about the establishment clause...Nah.