Lowering the Bar

UPDATE: Driver Drops Lawsuit Against Family of Cyclist He Killed

As I (and many, many others) reported last week, Tomas Delgado sued the family of a teenage boy he killed in a traffic accident in 2004, on the grounds that the boy and his bicycle had negligently damaged the front of Delgado's Audi.  Due apparently in large part to the public outcry, Delgado dropped the case this morning.

The prior report suggested that the boy had at least contributed to the accident by riding his bike at night with no reflective gear.  And Delgado was not charged with any criminal wrongdoing, despite the fact that he was speeding on a rural highway.  The traffic report stated that Delgado was traveling at 70 mph in a 55 mph zone, though an expert hired by the boy's family estimated Delgado's speed at 107 mph.  (It was even faster in metric units, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.)  Still, the public seemed to feel that Delgado was lucky to have escaped jail, and that to sue the dead boy's family for the cost of the damaged car was just a bit over the line.

I infer this public feeling from the fact, reported today, that "hundreds of people descended on [the] courthouse" in Spain where a hearing on the case was to be held, and "broke into applause" when they learned Delgado was dismissing the case.  Now, I firmly believe that cases should be decided on their merits and not by public reaction.  But I also firmly believe that if the citizens who are likely to be in your jury pool have stormed the courthouse before you even get there, it might be time to dismiss or at least think about a change of venue.  Just as a practical matter.

Delgado himself, wisely, did not show up, having sent his attorney to be torn apart by the mob instead.  (Attorneys do represent their clients, but just FYI, at least at my firm we charge time-and-a-half for being torn apart by mobs.)  Delgado's attorney told the court that his client felt that the bad publicity about the case amounted to a "public lynching," but that isn't true.  The public lynching would have amounted to a public lynching.  The bad publicity was just a sign of a bad case.

The boy's father said he was content with the dismissal, but also said he would pursue criminal charges, suggesting he was not content with the dismissal.  A local prosecutor said that authorities would be revisiting the case in the near future.

Link: CNN.com

Attorney Held in Contempt for Reading Maxim in Court

The WSJ's Law Blog reports today that a judge in North Carolina held an attorney in contempt last week after he saw the attorney reading Maxim magazine in court.

For those of you not familiar with Maxim, it is (reportedly) a men's magazine something like Playboy but with slightly more clothing involved.

Todd Paris was allegedly reading the magazine while waiting for his cases to be called (it sounds like he was there to ask for continuances, but that's not clear).  Judge Kevin Eddinger was hearing other cases but noticed the cover of the magazine, which Paris was reading in the front row.  He demanded that Paris come forward and bring the magazine.  According to the court, Paris apologized, "stated [that] in his view the magazine was not pornography, was available at local stores and that he did not intend contempt."  He also offered to discard it, but the judge declined that offer.  After what the WSJ described as some "banter," the judge held Paris in contempt, fined him $300, and put him on probation with a 15-day suspended sentence.

I suspected the "banter" was the real problem here, and the local paper's story confirms that.  Rather than just sticking with an apology, Paris insisted on defending the magazine and his decision to bring it to court.  He "repeatedly" told the judge that the magazine does not include nudity or pornography -- it doesn't, but that wasn't exactly  the point -- and also claimed that he had folded the cover over, which the judge said was not true.  At some point this banter escalated to the judge threatening Paris with contempt, but he did not seem to take this seriously, instead proceeding to ask Eddinger to continue his clients' cases.

A ten-minute timeout was called.

Despite having some time to think about it, Paris stuck to his guns after the break.  He asked the judge to look at the mailing label, which he said would confirm that it was his girlfriend's subscription.  He said he had taken "similar magazines" into other courtrooms and never had a problem, and then proceeded to read the judge some of the picture captions.  None of this improved the judge's mood.

The magazine was seized and identified as "Exhibit A" for Paris's contempt case.  Which, presumably, will require the judge to review it in some detail.

Link: Law Blog - WSJ.com
Link: Salisbury Post (North Carolina)

Mug Offered as Evidence to Prove Defendant Was "World's Greatest Dad"

On January 22, defense attorneys representing Cesar Rodriguez conducted a remarkable cross-examination of a detective who had been called to testify against their client.  Rodriguez is on trial for the murder of his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Nixzmary Brown.

But, defense attorneys asked, could the "World's Greatest Dad" have done such a thing?

As evidence that Rodriguez is (or was) in fact the World's Greatest Dad, defense attorneys introduced a photograph of a mug their client may have been given by the girl.  Emblazoned with the words, "World's Greatest Dad," the mug offered indisputable proof of Rodriguez's parenting skills and virtually guaranteeing his exoneration.  Given the undisputed existence of millions of fathers and stepfathers who have not murdered a child (or anyone, for that matter), and since Rodriguez is a better father than any of them, as he is the world's greatest father, it follows that Rodriguez could not have been the killer.  Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have nothing further.

Defense attorneys may not have been aware, however, that other such trophies exist, which could cast at least some doubt on Rodriguez's claim.  The words "World's Greatest Dad" have reportedly been found on t-shirts, name tags, belt buckles, trophies, keychains, greeting cards, baseballs, magnets, grilling aprons, grilling hats, grilling tools, and the flag of Turkmenistan (although my Turkmen is a little rusty).  Examples of many such items, in fact, can be found at the "World's Greatest Dad Store," which bills itself as the "one stop shop for all of your 'World's Greatest Dad' needs."

It's not clear whether this came out during the testimony of Detective Joseph Bello (but it probably did).  Bello conceded that he took the picture of Rodriguez's award and thought it was "weird," but said he did not know who bought it.  Lead prosecutor Ama Dwimoh said there did not appear to be any evidence as to who bought the mug, but seemed to suggest that she didn't give a rat's ass.  "As evidence comes out," she claimed, "it becomes clear that the last thing he was was 'World's Greatest Dad.'"

Oh, really?  Let's see:

• On the one hand, there's the evidence that the defendant killed his 7-year-old stepdaughter with a blow to the head he delivered to punish her for stealing some yogurt.
• On the other hand, the mug says "World's Greatest Dad" right on it.

I think the jury will be out for a while on this one.

Link: WCBS-TV.com