Annals of Inexplicable Client Conduct--Running Away

Reporter Benjamin Alexander Bloch (great name!) at the Times-Picayune has this account of inexplicable client conduct:

"A 20-year-old Mississippi woman on Tuesday afternoon fled a St. Tammany Parish courtroom midway through her own trial but her trial continued without her and the St. Tammany jury only took about 10 minutes to find her guilty as charged.  Hannah Salsbury faced a possession of hydrocodone charge and apparently didn't like how things were going so she bolted with her boyfriend, authorities said. Her companion, Kerry Kennedy, 38, is also facing a drug charge for the same incident.

The duo did not return when the trial resumed about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday after the lunch break. Her trial continued, and the jury returned the guilty verdict about 4 p.m.

Salsbury and Kennedy were pulled over by St. Tammany sheriff's deputies at the Hwy. 90 and Hwy. 190 interchange in the Slidell area on June 10 and found in possession of several nonprescription pills.   Kennedy, who was driving, allegedly had 55 morphine pills, while Salsbury was found with five hydrocodone pills stuffed in her brassiere, according to St. Tammany Assistant District Attorney Nick Noriea Jr. who prosecuted the case. Kennedy is scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 15.

An arrest warrant was immediately issued for Salsbury and Noriea said another may be issued for Kennedy for aiding and abetting her escape.

According to state law, 'A defendant initially present for the commencement of trial . . . shall be considered to have waived his right to be present if his counsel is present.'  State Judge William J. 'Will' Crain is scheduled to sentence Salsbury on Friday and she faces a maximum of five years behind bars."
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Don't run away.  You do not improve your outcomes, by fleeing.

It's been the rare moment in my career where something close to this occurred; but, there is one memorable incident from the years when I began to actively represent victims of child sex abuse. 

My then partner Nancy, and I were deposing a brother who had violently and sexually abused his younger sister, now both adults.  The deposition was tough.  I asked hard questions and I challenged the denials of the brother with details that would be hard to fabricate, supplied by his sister.  We reached lunchtime and the attorneys asked for a break.  When returned at 1:30, I asked opposing counsel where the deponent was.  [Obviously, I'm reconstructing the conversation in the following quotes, but the exchange did occur.]

"You killed him."

"What?"

"You killed him, he had a massive heart attack shortly after we left for lunch and he could not be revived."

"Counselor, he may have had a massive heart attack and died, but I choose to believe that my questions did not 'kill him,' perhaps his conscience and coronary health had more to do with his death,"  I said. 

You can run away, you can get away, you can avoid a legal consequence, or a financial consequence; but, you can never get away from what you did.  It's in there, and unless you can get honest with yourself, you will never know a new freedom and a new happiness.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Seeds of Dishonesty

As I work my program of AA recovery, I've had some insight into the seeds of my defect of character relating to my slippery relationship with "honesty."  If you had asked me a year ago whether I was honest I doubt that I would have hesitated more than a second before claiming that I was.  You'll recall the howl of outrage I sounded at the end of December when I read the OurState Supreme Court opinion that said I "lied" when I testified about my business practices then suspended me from the profession I loved.  In truth my relationship to honesty, through out my adult life was pretty tenuous. I regret that I come to this realization in hindsight and this late in my life. 

Let me tell you a story. 

On weekends throughout my youth and adolescence, my father would take my brother and me to work with him on weekends, I suppose it gave my mother some freedom to run errands with my kid sister, maybe just to sleep.  My Dad worked at a propane company in a rural area that provided fuel via bulk delivery to farm houses and other areas where natural gas lines did not run, and more importantly to the large auto factories and other industrial operators who utilized tow motors.  On weekends my brother and I made 75 cents an hour doing yard work in and around this huge gravel yard, and later cutting the grass in and around the business office.  As we got older we cleaned and painted propane cylinders each summer, eventually driving out to residences in the region to paint the large propane tanks that looked like WWII bombs on concrete blocks next to farm houses. 

Frequently, customers would drive into the yard on these weekends to refill their 20 lb. propane tanks (I think these containers are called "bottles" in some places) for campers, or the early versions of the modern outdoor gas grills.  My Father who was by then a senior employee of this company would refill these tanks and pocket the proceeds: in those years $5 or $6 bucks.  I'm sure when my brother and I realized he was pocketing this money we looked quizzically at him.  I say this because I remember him making a point of explaining that he took this money that properly belonged to his employer because (1 the propane could not be metered and so much of it was discharged into the air during the transfer of it into consumer containment that "it didn't matter, if he took some of it," (2 the extra money paid for shoes and other necessities of our then growing family, (3 all the guys did it.

Think about what my Dad was saying to his young boys, by what he did?  My Dad was saying he stole money from his employer and was justified if you couldn't get caught, he was saying it was my brother and my fault and the fault of my brothers and sisters who needed shoes, and it's ok to steal if everyone does it.   Now here's the kicker, he insisted he was an honest man, I believed he was an honest man.  In fact until my sisters came forward to tell their siblings of his crimes against them, I'm not sure I ever gave it second thought.  There are such unfortunates!  Am I stupid?  Blind?  Corrupt?  Yep.  At least I was. 

It might sound like I'm blaming my Father for being dishonest.  I'm not.  I'm an adult, I made adult decisions that are playing out in the consequences of my life.  Alcoholism, depression, legal and career disasters in my life are directly attributable to dishonesty as it played out over my lifetime. You get away with nothing.  Absolutely nothing. 

I want to get off this carousel.  I don't want dishonesty to endlessly play out in the lives of my children and my grandchldren.  This "character defect" is one that I am entirely ready to have lifted from me. 

Defiant Tax Cheat Lawyer Disbarred By Florida Supreme Court

The Legal Profession Blawg had a link to an opinion in the disciplinary case of Charles Behm, a Florida attorney who from the moment he became an attorney refused to report his income to the Federal government and presumably all other authorities under the novel theory that his services were "human capital" which he exchanged for payment that he claimed did not constitute "income."  Here's a link to an Blog account of the underlying story, apparently this former attorney was part of a tax protest movement.

The Florida disciplinary panel that heard the case recommended a 6 month suspension, the Florida Supreme Court was astounded by the conduct, the defiant attitude of Mr. Behm who said at his hearing that he had no intention in the future to become compliant with the law, and permanently disbarred this clown.  Notably Behm was already suspended for a prior disciplinary conviction for--oh, things like incompetence. 

You would think that the Bad Lawyer would sympathize with Charles Behm in light of my disciplinary suspension and guilty plea to a tax felony.  I was telling dear old friends last night that I entered a guilty plea to a tax felony, because I am guilty.  When I became a lawyer I held my right hand up and swore that I would uphold the laws.  I did not.  I am ashamed and disgraced.   I do not empathize with lawyers who can not or will not honestly accept their obligations to obey the laws.  Our actions, even when effected by depression or illness, have consequences.  When a lawyer says--I swore to obey the laws, but I'm not going to follow this or that law because I have a novel theory, they disqualify themselves from the privilege that their license conveys.  Let me go further, they obtained their license fraudulently.

I feel terrible about my disciplinary suspension and tax felony.  I am responsible.  I did this to myself, I did this to my clients, my friends, and my family.  I hope to live each day, including this day trying to find away to pay my indebtedness and redeem myself.  I loved being a lawyer and I wanted to do the right things while admittedly ill-equipped as a business man and perhaps emotionally.  I pray for the  miracle to be restored, or acceptance of anything else my Creator has planned for me in my lifetime in or out of my chosen profession.  I pray for the other lawyers in my position, that they can have a willing heart and mind--to be restored, to find a path, to find a way back, to find the ability and to be willing to pay the price. 

Representing people as a lawyer was and is a great honor.

Honesty, Soul Level, Cellular Honesty!

The London TimesOnline reports the story of  British golfer Brian Davis who--in the middle of a PGA sudden death playoff--perceived that he had "illegally" brushed a reed with the head of his club.  No one else saw this "foul" nonetheless Davis approached an official and a video review by the referee confirmed the impression that he had "fouled," thereby costing Davis the tournament and a chance at a cool million dollar prize. 

I love this story!  This is from the TimesOnline account:

"For his part, Davis felt he had no choice but to call the foul on himself. ' It was one of those things,' he said. 'I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I thought we’d check on TV, and indeed there was movement. I want to win a PGA Tour event more than just about anything but I play by the rules and no victory would be worthwhile if it had a cloud hanging over it. I saw the grass move, called  [the referee] over and that’s it, end of story.'"