Another Perv Lawyer Busted Trying to Arrange Sex with a 14-Yr Old Boy

Last year we were all witnesses to the disaster that was the career of BigLaw and Super Lawyer Perv, Aaron Biber.   Biber ended up getting 18 years for raping a neighbor boy.  Today, the Orlando Sentinel brings us news of the Baltimore attorney and business man, Howard Scott Kalin who traveled to Florida planning to get sexy with a 14-year old boy who turned out to be an undercover cop.  Good one, Howard.

Here's the link to the Sentinel story.

By the way, Kalin owned a child entertainment company called Funhouse Entertainment which provided magicians.  Want to guess how many other victims will come forward? 

Man High On Bath Salts Does Something With a Pygmy Goat?!!!

The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia) reports this morning on the Alum Creek area-man, who while "high on bath salts" killed his neighbor's pygmy goat.  That's when the story gets really strange.  This is reporter Gary Harki's account:

Police say an Alum Creek man high on bath salts killed his neighbor's pygmy goat and that neighbors found him in his bedroom, dressed in a bra and panties, next to the dead animal, said Lt. Bryan Stover of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department.  Mark Thompson, 19, (pic) of Greenview Road, is charged with animal cruelty after police got a call from a woman who said he stole her goat at about 3:15 a.m. Monday, Stover said.

Lisa Powers said she bought the goat on Friday as a gift to her 4-year-old grandson. They named the male goat Bailey after a female character on the Disney Channel television show 'The Suite Life on Deck.' 'The baby just loved him,' she said.

Powers' nephew, Joshua Pollis, got a call from a neighbor early Monday morning, she said.

'They told him that my goat was wandering around in Mark's house and he'd better come and get it,' she said. 'They called my nephew because he'd been there before.'

Pollis and two women walked into Thompson's house looking for the goat, according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.  The three entered the house and made their way to Thompson's bedroom door when Thompson spoke to them, Powers said.

'He told them, 'Don't come in, I'm naked,''Powers said. 'But they opened the door and he was standing there with his pants down. He had on women's clothing and the goat was dead and there was blood everywhere. It was just a scene.' 

[Thompson fled the scene]
Police got a search warrant for the house, and searched the woods for Thompson. They found him several hours later.  Thompson allegedly told police he was on bath salts for about three days.

When police entered the house they found fresh blood near the front door of the bedroom and in Thompson's bedroom to the right of the front door. Inside the bedroom police found the small gray and white goat wearing a pink collar lying dead on the floor, blood coming from its neck, according to the complaint. There was a pornographic magazine photo laying a few feet from the goat, the complaint states.'We know the animal had at least one stab wound,' said Cpl. Sean Snuffer, a detective with the Sheriff's Department. 'They are also searching for signs of sexual trauma.'

Police took the dead animal to a veterinarian for a necropsy, he said.  Police are continuing their investigation. Thompson was arraigned Monday afternoon and taken into custody by Adult Protective Services.

Snuffer said the people in the community where Thompson lives told police they have been concerned about his mental health [.]"
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I did not know until yesterday that folks "do" bath salts.  Must be a pretty strange "high" if this story is any indication.  What's remarkable to me was that this dude was doing all these things but when they broke in on him he was so modest he was concerned that he was going to be caught with his pants down. 

Years ago when I first began to work with victims of child sex abuse I'd occasionally come across stories as bizarre and almost unbelievable as this one.  My reaction was frankly disbelief.  And yet, in some situations victims would provide tantalizing evidence--letters mainly, although in one occasion a recorded confrontation between the victims and the adult perpetrators that astonished me.  In several occasions photos of absolutely disgusting and perverse acts surfaced, although nothing on this scale. 

I sympathize with the social workers, law enforcement and others who deal with these things.  I got pretty crazy representing victims arising out of these bizarre and perverse childhoods--oh, and I didn't help myself very much.  You need a lot of support to keep normal, normal.  In fact, I think "normal" is an underrated value.

Blessed Pope John Paul II



Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass, You-Know-Who looks on.

 Yeah, this one gets me. 

How is it that the Vatican rationalizes Beatifying Pope John Paul II?  

Oh, I understand why it's politically correct and popular to move him towards sainthood, but is it appropriate? This is the Pope that reigned from 1978 through 2005, the second longest serving pope.  This is the Pope that presided over the Church's policy of willful blindness to clerical sex abuse and worse vilification of the victims.  This charismatic world figure, capable of so much good and positive, even world-changing presided over the Church that covered up sex crimes against children.

The satirical website, the Onion suggest that Pope John Paul II become the Patron Saint of Ignoring a Problem Until You Die.  Yep.

White Trash Horror Story

The patriarch of the West Charleston, West Virgina Mallo family was sentenced to prison as one of the "responsible" adults overseeing what a Kanawah Circuit Judge deemed the filthiest and most degrading living situation, he, the Judge, has encountered. This is Cheryl Caswell's account for the Daily Mail:

"A Kanawha Circuit judge has sentenced the oldest of the Mallo family to one to three years in prison for ignoring the filthy and abusive environment of his home, saying he hopes he serves the maximum time.

Alexander Mallo, 68, who also uses the last name Doran, already has been incarcerated for 404 days and could come before a parole board to consider his release soon.  Judge Charles King denied a request by Mallo's public defender Shawn Bayliss for probation, saying the public good demanded a prison sentence.

'Anything less than a prison sentence is out of order given the facts and circumstances of this case,' King said. "I don't know if I've ever seen a home like this, ever. 'These conditions and the conduct that was going on ... there's no excuse. None. None. None,' said King.

The man lived in a house on Frame Street with several family members including grandchildren. One of them, 14-year-old Thomas Mallo, stabbed 82-year-old neighbor Phyllis Phares to death a year ago. Police called it one of the most disturbing crimes they'd ever investigated.

The juvenile, prosecuted as an adult, will be sentenced for that murder Wednesday by Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.  The investigation of Phares' death revealed the Mallo home as a nightmarish place of extreme unsanitary conditions and child neglect that included sexual crimes. Five adults and the juvenile were prosecuted.

Bayliss said, 'The home has been documented as a filthy, vile place'  that revealed 'a life out of control not only for a grandfather but for an entire family. .. torn apart, separated, isolated, incarcerated.' He asked for mercy for Mallo.  King declined, saying he didn't want the county probation department to handle him.

'They've already put enough time in on this family,' the judge said. 'Let the parole department supervise him. But I hope he serves every day of his three-year sentence.'

Prosecutor Mark Plants said he was satisfied with King's sentence. 'We wanted a prison sentence and I think it's justified in this case,' Plants said. 'Yes, the house was deplorable, but the real problem was the kids in the home being abused.  One of the main moral obligations we have on this planet is taking care of our children,' Plants said. 'And if you don't do it, you should be prosecuted and you should be in jail.'

Mallo told King he was sorry for overlooking what was happening in his house.

'I'd like to get back to my wife, to get our life back together,' the elder Mallo told King. 'I should be more in touch with what's going on in my house.'  He and his wife, Carolyn Mallo, were charged with child neglect. She was sentenced to ten months in jail and was released in April having served most of that time already. She attended the hearing Tuesday along with other Mallo family members.

One of them expressed outrage that reporters were writing about the hearing and taking pictures of her in the courtroom. As Mallo was led out by a bailiff, she strode over to a television cameraman and called him 'rude' because he filmed her crying. She also told a newspaper reporter she didn't want anything written about the sentencing."
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There's YouTube video footage of what the investigators found in this house of horrors.  I don't recommend watching it.  I've seen this sort of horror with my own eyes in my own lifetime within my own extended family. I am deeply disturbed by the long term consequences for the children and grandchildren raised in this feral setting.

Children deserve to be loved and cared for, this is the antithesis.  It's not lost on me that the adults convicted in these horrors were themselves products of not much better, cycle upon cycle, degradation upon degradation.  By the grace of God may the circle of crime against this family's children end in this generation.  The thing is--who is to know.  What system to we have to follow these children into their adult lives, and then the lives of their children?

Long Term Harm

The South Carolina Post and Courier reports  on the sentencing of Jessica L. Bradley (pic) a 20 year old area woman who as a teen had a sexual relationship with a boy 4 years her junior and subsequently became pregnant with the young man's child.  She is gong to prison.This is Schulyer Kropf's account;

"A woman who became involved in a sexual relationship with a teenage boy and gave birth to their baby was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for possessing child pornography.

Jessica L. Bradley, formerly of the Hanahan area, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is the state's law dealing with pornographic material and minors.   The pornographic images were not of the boy, who was about 15 when the sexual relationship started last year. She was 19.   Jessica L. Bradley pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Circuit Judge Roger Young sentenced Bradley to 10 years in prison, suspended to four years behind bars followed by five years of probation. The judge said he was troubled by her extensive involvement in pornography and apparent lack of remorse. He did note that she had been sexually abused as a youth.

Bradley, now 20, said little in court, other than to acknowledge the judge's questions. She has been in the Charleston County Detention Center for more than a year.

Jail time is warranted in the case, Young said during her guilty plea in the Charleston County Judicial Center, 'to help you recognize the wrong of what you were doing.'

Ninth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Debbie Herring-Lash, who prosecutes child sex crimes, said it is difficult to track how often incidents of women getting involved with teenagers occurs locally, largely because boys are much less likely to report the conduct.

Bradley was described as a neighborhood friend of the boy's family. According to courtroom statements, she sneaked the boy into her residence, where she exposed him to a variety of sexual materials, including videos.  The relationship began in the spring of 2009. Authorities later seized computers containing pornographic images.  In court Friday, the teenage victim told Young he is trying to overcome lingering emotional problems from his association with Bradley, including withdrawal and anguish.

'She actually made me withdraw from my friends,' he said.

The case was investigated across several jurisdictions, including the North Charleston and Hanahan police departments, and the state attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant Attorney General Priscilla Jones said the office made a legal decision not to pursue the case beyond Friday's five-count guilty plea.  Separately, the teen also is trying to gain custody of his 13-month-old daughter. She is in foster care through the Department of Social Services, his family said.  When Bradley is released from prison she will have to register as a sexual offender. Her prison sentence begins immediately."
___________________________________
I handled several matters that were in my opinion far more egregious than this case.  Something about the relative ages of the defendant and victim give me pause. 

When you think about child sex abuse, it's pretty easy to understand the long term harm.  This is a case about the long term harm.

Prominent Kansas Lawyer, Faces Child Enticement Charges

Well, we've been here before, but the Kansas City Star is reporting (let me acknowledge the ABAJournal for the first catch on this story) on the "prominent" Oveland Park Law Partner who was sending video of himself masturbating in his law office in an effort to entice a 14 year old into meeting him for sex.  Thi is Joe Lambe's account:

A partner in an Overland Park law firm is charged with attempting to entice a minor and with sending and receiving child pornography.  Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Samuel P. Logan, 45, of Kansas City, in federal court in Kansas. Federal judges in that state quickly recused themselves, and the case is now in federal court in Kansas City.  Logan’s father, James K. Logan, is a former federal appellate judge who heard Kansas cases and before that was dean of the KU law school from 1961 to 1968.

Samuel Logan is a partner in Foulston Siefkin, the largest law firm based in Kansas with offices in Overland Park, Wichita and Topeka. Jim Oliver, another partner in the firm, said it cooperated with FBI agents who were there Thursday. He declined further comment.

According to federal charging documents, Logan used a web camera to send images of himself masturbating in what appears to be a law office.

From June 1 through July 22, he sent them to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl and also engaged in sexual conversations with the officer and sent images of adult and child pornography, prosecutors say. During conversations with undercover agents, Logan told them he was Sam, that he was 45 years old and that he was an Overland Park lawyer who worked on the fourth floor and drove a Toyota Camry, according to court records.
______________________________
Another Maritndale-Hubell "AV-rated" attorneyand past Johnson County, Kansas Bar Association president.

Doctor-Rapist Gets 25 Years

A Grady, Georgia emergency room doctor,  Adam Wayne Lebowitz, 50, was sentenced to 25 year, 8 month in prison for sex with two minor boys which Lebowitz  videotaped.  The videos were located on the doctor's computer by investigators.  Further evidence recovered in the investigation--which began when authorities picked up sexually suggestive text messages sent to a 15 year old boy, included condoms and lubricants.  This guy was planning further sexual assaults.

Lebowitz was HIV positive and instead of cooperating with federal investigators by providing them as promised with the names of others who were exposed to HIV, the doctor attempted to flee according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

A number of years ago, the son of a law professor that I know was receiving text messages from a local high school teacher. Although not explicit, the text messages suggested meeting with the teacher and touched on adolescent development issues that sent red flags to the father and to me.   At my suggestion the professor and I met with the FBI. 

While it may seem like social networking has created these crimes, I'm convinced that social networking: texting, Facebook, Twitter, and wi-fi technologies created forensic fingerprints that did not exist previously.  These technologies reveal crimes and criminals that in prior years would not have been detected.

Incest

The Oakland (Michigan) Press reports on the sentencing of Aimee Sword (pic), the biological mother who tracked down the teenage son she placed for adoption two days after birth, and had sex with him.  This is Ann Zaniewski's story: 

"[The Defendant said] she was remorseful for having sex with the teenage son she gave up for adoption as a baby before being sentenced Monday to at least nine years in prison. 'I don’t understand it,' Aimee Louise Sword said, referring to her actions.

Sword, a 36-year-old Waterford Township resident, was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. In early June, she pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Sword’s son was 16 when he testified at the preliminary exam in January that Sword contacted him in May 2008 while he was living in an adoptive home in Grand Rapids. He said they met at a Grand Rapids hotel and had sex. They later had sex at the home of Sword’s brother in Waterford Township.

Sword’s son, who has a different last name than her, was 14 at the time. Sword had given her son up for adoption when he was two days old and had an open adoption arrangement in which she would receive information about him every year, said defense attorney Mitchell Ribitwer.  He said Sword initially got in contact with him through the social networking site Facebook after not receiving one of the annual updates.

Assistant Prosecutor Nicki Weisberger called what Sword did a 'selfish, cowardly, despicable act' that will have a longlasting impact on the teen. She said he was going through a tough time in his life at the time the crimes occurred. 'This is going to follow him and affect him for the rest of his life,' Weisberger said.

Ribitwer told Oakland Circuit Judge Daniel O’Brien that Sword fully accepts responsibility for her behavior. He asked for a sentence that would start at the low end of her sentencing guidelines, which were 81 months to 135 months in prison. Wearing a black dress and pearls, Sword apologized to the court and her family members for what happened.

She has five other children.

After O’Brien doled out the sentence of nine years to 30 years in prison, some of Sword’s supporters left the hearing in tears. Sword was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and to comply with sex offender registration. She will have to wear a tether when she’s released from prison."
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I hate this story.  I hate writing about this story.  It is one of many repulsive stories of the like you can read every day at local news websites around the country usually involving biological a biological male parent with their children.  Sick and disgusting and inexcusable.  The only thing remarkable about this story is the oddity of a young woman placing a child for adoption then stalking the child after he was an adolescent and committing this heinous act. 

Sword claims not to understand "what happened."  Try,  seeking for the self alone, in other words extreme narcissism. Ghastly. 

Florida Lifts Statute of Limitations for Arising Out of Child Abuse

Florida's Govenor, Charlie Crist has signed into law a bill (HB 525) lifting all limitations on civil and criminal actions arising out child sex abuse.  The organized opposition came from the Florida Catholic Conference.  The stated reason, the removal of the statute of limitations would create uncertainty for organizations like the Roman Catholic Church, according the reports in the Flordia press.  Here's a novel idea, don't abuse childrern, don't tolerate abuse of children, report all abuse of children.  Uncertainty vanishes, like the stain on the Church's clerical robes. 

Texas Lawmen

The Dallas Morning News website has this absolutely baroque tale of two small town lawmen who have been carrying on a feud over many years that has devolved, into charges of child porn, sex parties, and accusations that one of the lawmen was promoting prostitution with kids.  There have been arrests, and unexplained dismissals of criminal charges.  The two officers:   Michael Meissner and John Hoskins are characterized as "nomadic officers" since both have long careers with short stintss in multiple small towns and agencies. 

I am going to quote the well-written article by John Nielsen of the Dallas Morning News to give you a flavor of what's going on--but, I urge you to read the entire piece, it's puts me in mind of some Texas noir novels I've read in the past: 

"The lengthy arrest warrant for former small-town police chief Michael Meissner included a string of graphic text messages he was accused of sending to teenage boys, trying to lure them to sex parties. Television news crews flocked to the jailhouse to catch a glimpse of Meissner in handcuffs.

Yet a week after his September arrest, Meissner, 39, then the police chief of Little River-Academy, a small community south of Waco, walked out of the Dallas County Jail a free man.

The seven charges against him were erased, and his $1.5 million bail was dismissed.

Prosecutors in Dallas and Tarrant counties won't say why Meissner won't be tried on charges of promotion of prostitution, possession and promotion of child pornography and sexual performance of a child.

The dismissals baffled the investigating officer, John Hoskins, who said he uncovered the seedy texts during another investigation while working as an unpaid reserve officer for the city of Combine in Kaufman County, near the Dallas County line.

Meissner, who lives in Dallas, denies the charges and denies sending the text messages. He said the allegations are trumped up by Hoskins, an officer Meissner says has been out to get him for years. "I think ... [authorities] knew the charges were bogus; they knew about this guy and this vendetta," Meissner said.

While it remains unclear why prosecutors won't pursue a case against Meissner, documents reveal a bitterness between the two officers that began four years ago.

The rivalry is a convoluted tale of salacious allegations mixed with small-town politics. It pits Meissner, a peace officer who has worked for 18 agencies in 20 years, against Hoskins, an equally nomadic officer.

The two worked side by side in 2006 when Meissner was police chief and Hoskins was his officer in the East Texas town of Caney City. While there, Hoskins investigated a charge that his boss viewed pornography with a minor at the police station on a city-owned computer, according to a police report. The charge, like others against Meissner, was dropped.

Hoskins said his latest investigation isn't about settling a feud"

The article goes on to say, that another former police chief, Steve Allen of Combine, Texas supports Hoskins allegations against Meissner saying in the article that the charges aren't made up because they consist of text messages that actually came from Meissner and he, Chief Allen inspected the evidence. 

----------------------------------------------------
You might ask yourself why does the Bad Lawyer finds this story remarkable, apart from the fact that it is strange in and of itself? 

When I began to go after the Catholic church, I dealt with a tremendous amount of disbelief and an outright incredulity by friends, family, and colleagues.  The church, its attorneys, and judges with agendas preyed on this incredulity to do injustice to victims fo clergy sex abuse. This morning, in fact we talked about the notion and danger of "false allegations," (so rare as to be remarkable and noteworthy when false allegations are demonstrated) which I've explored at some length here at Bad Lawyer, but something is very wrong in East Texas.  Either a serial predator with a badge is walking around, or a harasser with a badge is running wild.  Which is it?  We will keep our Bad Lawyer eyes trained on developments.

Wrongful Imprisonment-False Claims of Sexual Abuse

Here, at Bad Lawyer Blawg I have often commented on the claims of false allegations of child sexual abuse and one might conclude from my comments that I don't believe that false allegations happen.  Wrong.  Based on my experience, false allegations of any crime, are not uncommon, including rape and child molestation.

Years ago I had someone I respect connected with social services tell me that a certain agency's experience was that most allegations of child sex abuse arising in divorce disputes were unreliable, while, most allegations, not involving domestic relations proceedings were reliable.  The statistics seem to support this general rule, I've never been comfortable throwing around statistical data for rhetorical purposes--but, I think the overall observation by my friend, the social science expert is true.

Experientially, I can attest to representing many children of child sex molesters/monsters in which there was overwhelming evidence of the crimes committed by the parent.  Likewise, there are many situations that I reviewed that I was declined to pursue because the only evidence of the molestation was the estranged spouse's suspicion that something occurred.   There are situations that I reviewed where I suspected that something did happen but the custodial parent was herself, so "borderline" that proceeding with the Mom as the adult guardian representative of the child-victim would be certain disaster--in which case the only step was to refer the matter to children protective services agencies.

When I think about the monsters that my colleagues and I did go after and did catch, I still get chills.  I don't think it is too strong a word to describe the childhood of these children as individual holocausts.  Horror shows of terror and physical injury that go on for years and in many cases that I encountered, generations.

So when you read about someone genuinely falsely accused, prosecuted, and incarcerated I feel a similar outrage.  Other than death, is there anything worse than to be a victim of this rape?  Certainly being falsely accused of being the perpetrator of a sex crime against children, being prosecuted and jailed for years--is a horror in itself.  So we have the story from Alabama Online, this morning of the surviving spouse's lawsuit seeking compensation following the wrongful imprisonment of her late husband, Robert Doyle.  Let me quote Alabama Online:  "Robert Doyle was making about $49,000 a year as a salesman for an insurance company in Montgomery before his ex-wife accused him of sexually abusing the two girls. In 1992, a Montgomery jury convicted him of abusing the two, ages 7 and 9, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison."  

Get this, the prosecutor in the case resulting in the wrongful imprisonment of Robert Doyle--is now a Montgomery County, Alabama,  Judge.  Judge Graddick (who also served a term as Alabama's Attorney General) was the ex-wife's divorce attorney in a bitterly contested divorce action.  So here we have an attorney who represented a woman in a case against her husband, then he becomes the prosecutor and prosecutes the ex-husband on false allegations stemming from the divorce and resulting in the wrongful imprisonment of the ex-husband.  Conflicts of interest, appearance of impropriety?  Your turn, Judge Graddick!

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/12/wrongful_imprisonment_leads_to.html

and;

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20091207/NEWS/912079993/1007?Title=Wrongful-imprisonment-in-Ala-leads-to-2M-claim

What Don't Teachers Get?

Okay, you're 53 years old, you're in academia, albeit MIDDLE school, what makes you think it is appropriate to type and give your students sex letters describing how "hard" you get?  Minnesota School music/Band teacher gave two female students just such lovely sentiments, and was caught typing a third when caught by school administrators.  Details at the Smoking Gun website:  http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/1204092notes1.html


Then there's the Swim Coach who was trying to teach a student the art of "muff diving," Sarah E. Jessing was fired from Bishop George Ahr High School in Edison, NJ.  Miss Blessing also worked as a 5th grade teacher in New Jersey Public Schools.  More about this prize eductor can be found at the Record Courier:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20091202/NEWS01/91202050/High-school-girls-swim-coach-accused-of-having-sex-with-female-student-


What don't teachers get?

In Australia If You Name the Pedophile, You Can Go To Jail, Huh?!

It should come as no surprise to readers of this Blawg that I cruise the internets, looking into and through the tubes of various jurisdictions (in Bad Lawyer speak) to bring you the stories that I resonate with me and if I'm lucky, you.  So let me tell you about Derryn Hinch, an Australian radio personality, investigative reporter and and author.  He 's also a jail bird (like moi)--in his case because he defies court orders by intentionally broadcasting the names of child molesters.

Derryn comes to my attention, today, because the Australian Supreme Court has dismissed a separate laswsuit he filed against local judges who have ordered him not to reveal the names of other pedophiles.  Amazing!  In the States we enact laws demanding that sex offenders identify themselves, but in Australia you name names you go to jail.

The Derryn Hinch matter takes me back to the case of Linda Boyd (<--fakename, real person)  Linda was one of the most striking people I ever met.  The daughter of a a wealthy scrap metal dealer, Linda alleged that her brother Vito and her Uncle Giancarlo sexually abused her from the time she was a child and into her adult years.  Linda's parents knew about the abuse and were unsympathetic.  Linda had read about a case that I tried in a small town west of Our Town that resulted in a $5.5 million verdict for a victim of child sex abuse.

At the time Linda contacted me I was co-counseling matters with a very smart lawyer who had recently departed a "big defense firm."  Our approach to Linda's case was to send out a draft lawsuit and impose a deadline by which the matter would be filed unless otherwise resolved by settlement.  The proposed lawsuit included claims against Linda's wealthy parents for negligently failing to protect her from her predator brother and uncle.  Linda's parents hired a local attorney associated with the Scrap Metal business who I acknowledge to be one of the really brilliant guys in town.  Rocky Gee was a former public defender who made into the top ranks of Big Firm litigation.

Rocky called and proposed a meeting to discuss "negotiating Linda's claims."  We agreed believing we held all the cards; at our face-to-face Rocky asked us to make a "demand" which is customary in negotiations.  We did.  He informed us he would run our demand by his clients and get back to us.  Would we consider filing the lawsuit "under seal?"  No, of course we wouldn't.  Rocky wanted to know our drop dead date, which we provided, 4pm the next Monday a work week.

That Friday, Rocky filed a preemptive lawsuit, and obtained a court order from Judge Irishname ordering Linda Boyd not to file any lawsuit in state or federal court unless she did it "under seal."  Within days, Judge Irsihname was nominated to a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.  The local alternative newspaper published an article about this mystery lawsuit with the header "Silent Lawsuits" questioning how a Judge has the power to "seal" a lawsuit, Judge Irishname went wild.  He ordered the attorneys into his courtroom for the sole purpose of imposing a strict gag order on the civil case.  Next, Linda Boyd was featured on the front page of Our Town's big daily paper as the founder of an organization helping incest victims.  The reporter asked Linda about a lawsuit she had "against her father, brother, and uncle"--"I can't talk about that," she said, "Judge Irishname has gagged me."  You can probably guess, at Judge Irishname's reaction, let me just say, I've seen apoplexy firsthand.  Clearly, Judge Irishname was justly concerned that his flagrant violation of the first amendment was going to haunt him during his confirmation hearings.   In reality he really need not have been concerned, as you will recall President George H.W. Bush was not reelected and Judge Irishnames' appointment lapsed before he could be confirmed.

There is an expression lawyers use to describe claims like Linda's--career case.  Having a career case is not a good thing, it is a curse.  I have greatly digested the procedural fact of Linda's case, partly because Bleak House and the fictional case of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce more eloquently illustrates the nightmare of a "career case," and partly because I'm trying to repress the memories of it all.

After much warfare, Linda settled her claims and moved away.  All of her male relatives including her brother (prematurely), died.  Judge Irishname is a longtime Assoicate Justice of Our State Supremes where as we discussed a disciplinary action against me is pending.

More on Derryn Hinch:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/hinch-loses-fight-to-avoid-court-20091203-k8u5.html

and,

http://www.hinch.net/home.htm

She's Old Enough, She Said OK, It's Georgia, Go For It!

In June, the Georgia Supreme Court handed down a decision establishing the defense of "consent" to sexual  assault and battery prosecutions involving teachers and their students older than 16 years of age.  In most jurisdictions the fact of the student-teacher relationship is understood to be inherently coercive and subject to abuse by the teacher, regardless of what the student says or believes.  But not Georgia, by God!

In Chase v. State, the Chief Justice Sears wrote for the majority Georgia Supreme Court upholding the "consent" defense.  If sweet sixteen says yes, then yes is yes, Horndog!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article cited below explores the implications for two statutory rape cases working their way to trial.

http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/teacher-student-sex-cases-224914.html, See opinion of the court at: http://www.gasupreme.us/sc-op/pdf/s09g0139.pdf

It's Academic! Keep Your Hands Off the Student Body

Here we have two teachers from Hell; the first a teachers aide, Rebecca O'Malley-Tietz of River Falls, Wisconsin--who had sex with a 12 year old boy then stuck a gun in his face, threatening both him and his family if he were to mention the extra-curricular activity to anyone.

And let's not forget Melissa Koehn of Kenosha, Wisconsin who was all over the love that dare say its name, with a 17 year old student.  The jury went out---hmmmmm, ok, they're back!

http://www.twincities.com/ci_13830369?source=most_viewed  and,   http://www.twincities.com/ci_13836580?nclick_check=1

Stop Ignoring Evidence of Crimes Against Women and Children

Yesterday, I talked about several situations where the evidence suggested that something wasn't right, too often that evidence, the evidence of something wrong, something fishy--is ignored.   I was talking to my friend Charlie the other morning and he thinks it's because the evidence of something wrong, often very wrong is not understood and he recounts the apocryphal story of the aboriginal peoples who upon first encountering Christopher Columbus did not see the ships--because as Charlie says they had no neuro pathways for what their eyes were registering, or to put it another way, the native witnesses had no context for the ships that loomed on the horizon.  While this may have been true for the aboriginal islanders who first encountered Columbus--I think this is bullshit on a lot of levels.  We don't see the evidence in front of us because we are lazy--and, evidence of wrong doing means we have a duty to do something that takes us out of our comfort zone.

Once again a town learns that the trusted teacher, volunteer police officer, beloved soccer coach,  is a serial rapist see, http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/15/city-wrestles-its-silence/  The Las Vegas Sun reports that the suburban town of Boulder City Nevada is dealing with revelation that many, many of its children were molested, raped, and filmed in explicit sex acts with Charles "Rick" Rogers.  Rogers who was arrested last April may have been actively molesting boys for 15 years.  Some victims found on explicit films seized by police at the time of Roger's arrest were as young as 10 years of age.

Hundreds of victims?  Undoubtedly.

How does this happen?  Why?

Why?  Goddamnit, why?

I don't mean, Rick Rogers, he is one more pedophile that fell off the pervert tree--how is it that the parents, the aunts and uncles, the teachers, the doctors, the adults in this town ignored what had to have been overwhelming evidence of these crimes being committed against their children?  I want to know where the screw is loose.

I saw it with the priests, but with the priests you could say well, these parishioners were all in Father's thrall.   Or Father was inadvertent, or misunderstood, or the poor man.  And it was so much easier to cover up for Father, move him around when people began talking.

But this guy!  A single man, with a passion for being with young boys!  The physical evidence was in your children's clothing.  What aren't you getting, Boulder City?

Elsewhere there is a great deal of agony and outpouring of anger in Cleveland, Ohio right now with the discovery of the serial killing of, at last count, 11 women.    These women were lured from the streets, raped and strangled and left to rot, the stench filling the streets--no response from the adults, the building inspectors, the police.  See:  http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/cleveland_woman_says_police_fa.html

Are we not neighbors, are we not brothers and sisters?  Don't we owe something to one another, to our students, our families, to our children.  Are we all so selfish that we can't spare a moment to ask ourselves are my children safe?  Are my children in a safe place?

We need to stop ignoring the evidence of crimes against women and our children.  We need to get out of our comfort zone on so many levels--that abandoned house two doors down, why aren't we recognizing that it presents an obligation to be vigilant that it not be used for criminal activity.  Gee, what would it take to cut its grass, to pick up the circulars, the trash, to report the comings and goings of non-residents? There are so many little things that we can do in the compass of twenty-four hours to make a difference not only in our individual world, but in the larger community without doing a whole lot.

Hot for Teacher!

According to the Tennesseean Portland High School teacher Sandy Binkley has been sentenced to 12 years for jumping the bones of a 17 year old student working for her as a teacher's aide.  She used the school locker room for their love nest,  see, http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091114/NEWS03/911140340/Teacher+sex+case+nets+12-year+prison+sentence

Amazingly, the Judge, got it.  In sentencing her, he said "it doesn't matter if the student is 7 or 17, they deserve protection."  Bravo.

I follow these stories because from the time I was youth, I've known situations where teachers were sexually exploiting kids.  A former brother in law was molested by a choir director, that I knew, who was nothing short of a serial rapist.  The choir director, Armand Masten, got away with it for decades--and Our State laws immunized the school and the church where Masten worked. I know this because I wrote an amicus brief on behalf of victims, years later.

Over the years, I've represented hundreds of victims of rape, incest, and sexual abuse.  Our civil and criminal laws are not equipped to properly permit punitive action against abusers and those with a duty to protect children.  Often the laws that do exist are so narrowly applied as to work absurdities.  As I've said, here, before, the one- and two-year statutes of limitation are scandalous since what child, particularly one with a legacy of sexual exploitation has the emotional wherewithal to protect their legal rights in that narrow window?

A case out of Our Home Town that I handled involved a "special needs" student that was sexually exploited by his "special education" teacher a "real hot number."  Teacher-babe, who was married,  became pregnant and bore my client's baby.  The rape of my client, who despite his "special needs was the high school quaterback--began when Teacher-babe offered to to "date students who improved their grades."

Guess who got prosecuted over this educational-disaster?  Well, would you believe the parents of the student?  That's right, in gathering evidence of the crimes against their son Mom and Dad obtained a computer disk with images of the adult teacher having sex with her students--this constituted, child porn and the parents were indicted!  While the criminal charges against the parents were ultimately dismissed the parents paid a big price in terms of attorney fees, loss of reputation, etc.  The Babe-teacher who had the child with my client-the minor special ed student, well, let's just say Judge Irishname decided she suffered enough and she walked.   The civil case against the school and the teacher was barred by the statute of limitations, because my client who was "a child" for special education purposes, was 20 by time he came to my office to explore his rights.

A particularly galling aspect of this whole mess, was that discovery turned up a personnel file for the teacher that showed not just negligent hiring and retention of Teacher-babe, but outright fraud, academic and otherwise.  For instance all of Mrs. Teacher-babe's references letter were typed on the same typewriter and signed in the same hand, that unsurprisingly looked just like Mrs. Teacher-babe's handwriting.  Huh?  That these clowns at Our Hometown school board hired this woman should have been the scandal of the season, unfortunately this occurred when the first flurry of female teachers screwing male student stories began, and the jaw dropping nuances of official malfeasance did not make it into the news accounts.

By far most of these stories involve male teachers and female students, but it doesn't take a whole lot of web surfing to find examples of every sort of sexual proclivity and exploitation as it relates to adults in academic positions exploiting their students.   There is a revelatory scene in the movie Election that starred Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon;  Broderick plays a disgruntled teacher trying to thwart the overweening ambitions of Witherspoon an annoying over-achiever running for class president.   A teaching colleague of Broderick's tries to justify his affair with a student, "but, I LOVEEEEEE, HEEEEERRRRRRRR!" He whines when confronted by Broderick's character.

Yeah, it's all about what I want, what I feel, me, me, me.  Sexual exploitation of children and persons like your clients is all about narcissism.  That's why it's sometimes criminal, frequently malpractice and always wrong.

In other News, LA Cyclist Road Rage Trial, Continues. . .

I updated from the road, yesterday in the comments section of the earlier post about this case. The pic shows the back of the LA doctor's car.  The car that the doctor used as a weapon "to teach the [cyclists] a lesson," as described by the traffic accident scene investigator at the trial in Los Angeles, see http://www.velonews.com/article/99513/-i-want-to-teach-them-a-lesson---road-rage-trial-resumes.

Where do we get off, "teaching" others a lesson?

How is it that we lose what it means to be a good and decent person, neighbor, friend, parent, professional?  What process occurs in our individual and collective brains that tells us we have some sort of obligation to use a two ton automobile to "teach a lesson?"  How do we go from the Hippocratic Oath to a motorized monster?

Likewise, how does a parent forget to love and care for their precious child, so that the parent not only permits to the child to be raped by a relative, but in turned blamed by the adult/parent for the injury?

In my sordid career I encountered, again and again, victims of childhood sexual violence blamed by his or her parents; and, worse, blamed by the authorities, the Church for the crimes of others.  How in God's name does the child go from being the blessing in your, our arms, to the discard pile in favor of the rapist, the relative, the priest?  You see, I think, we all understand the outrage of the cycling community over an arrogant, narcissistic doctor in his luxury car intentionally driving in front of road cyclists and then brake -esting the cyclists in a way that one of the rider's loses his nose when thrown head first into the car's rear window--but, it's a harder case when we deal with the spiritual murder of children.

Attorney Fees-Greed Heads-Part One

A number of years ago a lawyer friend of mine told a another lawyer to consult me about a child sex abuse case, an area of law I pioneered in Our State. This young lawyer, who I will call K asked me to meet with her, I did and I shared my insights into representing victims of child sex abuse. I provided K with the names of expert witnesses and I made other suggestions. That was the end of my dealings with her.

Years later I was approached by a young man, John, who provided me with convincing evidence that his step father had raped him for a period of years throughout his childhood. John had turned 18, nine months earlier (this is significant because it meant time was running to take legal action)—John was represented in a civil claim against his step father by attorney K. K had informed John that if she could not work out a settlement with John’s step father on John’s claim she would not file a lawsuit on John’s behalf. K obtained an offer of $45,000 payable in installments over ten years. John rejected the proposed settlement which also contained other unacceptable terms and conditions. He discharged K, and hired me.

John’s rights were about to expire, as I’ve said before Our State has a highly restrictive statute of limitations. John had to bring his lawsuit within 1 year of his 18^th birthday. After John retained me I prepared a lawsuit and delivered it to step father's counsel with an indication that the lawsuit would be filed in two weeks. Within the two week period that I set out as a time frame I settled John’s lawsuit for $150,000 payable immediately.

After the case settled and the money received, John authorized me to pay K an attorney fee of $2,500; despite the fact that Our State law entitled her to nothing, since her contract with John was "contingent" on her reaching a settlement or other agreed outcome on his behalf.

Nearly two years to the date of this transaction, K sued me. K did not sue John, the former client that had a contract with K—no, K sued me.

Here’s the rub, K wanted to intimidate me, so instead of using traditional “service” of process methods like asking the court clerk to mail the lawsuit to me, she pulled shit like trying to serve me personally and multiple mailings none of which went to my actual mailing address—the result was that the Judge assigned to the case began to proceed against me under the impression that K’s complaint had actually been served on me as provided by law. Ultimately, the Judge entered a “default judgment” against me. Despite my efforts to file an answer, Judge B, refused to vacate the default judgment and over the course of six months held three separate “trials” on the question of damages. One of these trials was held on Christmas Eve of last year—Merry Christmas.

Judge B, is a menopausal nut—but, Judge B does respect the law. Despite Judge B’s enmity for me (Judge B and I have history going back to a pretty nasty dispute decades earlier involving neighbors who were trying to kill one another, when Judge B was a private practitioner), Judge B could not figure out how K was entitled to payment of anything . Judge B repeatedly demanded that K, or her associate produce one citation to authority (case law, statutory law, anything) entitling K to payment of attorney fees versus the lawyer who earned the fees in subsequent successful representation of a former client. Even for Judge B, this was a forehead slapper, D’oh! Judge B ultimately entered judgment for me.

Today, after delay and delay and delay, I received K’s appeal brief. Yes, K appealed. I just read K’s brief, it is pathetic. Since this is Year Two of K’s attempt to collect attorney fees from me I thought perhaps there was some change in the law (a pending court case that would have precedental import) coming down the pipe that would provide authority for the proposition that she was somehow entitled to payment of fees. Nah. K’s brief consists of the following arguments: “I got default judgment how come I didn’t get any money!”

Aaaarrrrrrggggghghhhhhhhhh!!