More Will Be Revealed . . .Prosecutor Jennifer Troiano

The other day, the Bad Lawyer was in a slight froth over the tabloid slamming of the Bronx ADA (assistant district attorney) charged, but not convicted of drunken driving.  I speculated that Jennifer Troiano (pic) had alienated someone with the Cops--turns out this was a good guess.

The New York Post published a follow up, the other day, reporting that prosecutor Troiano had ticked-off cops when she "boasted" that her connections would "take care of [the charges.]"  Separately, NYC cops are dealing with a scandal over alleged ticket fixing including wire-taps of at least one officer involved in making drunk driving allegation go-away.  Putting two and two together, you can see the motivation for dropping the dime on Ms. Troiano.

Part of the reason that this story caught my eye was that a young, fairly attractive lawyer was being pissed on by the Cops who in my experience would be falling all over themselves to cover-up for her.  Of course, the other part of it is that charges are not convictions--and,  this young professional is trashed on the front pages of a huge American newspaper over allegations of misconduct, well, it seems a wee bit over the top.  On the  otherhand, Ms. Troiano needs to get help, professional and otherwise if she wants a law career, nad the kind of help that she doesn't get by having a higher up "take care of it" for her.

Professional Courtesy--Update

When last we discussed North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Christine Phinney (pic) she had been pulled over by the Dorchester County, South Carolina Sheriff's department for speeding and essentially given a pass for drunk driving and disorderly conduct.  The update at the Post and Courier informs us that she has lost her job.  At the link you will find the "missing video" that her lawyer tried to prevent disclosure of, since as you will see it pretty well demonstrates why Officer Phinney is now a former-police officer. 

More importantly for this blawg, is the peek behind the "curtain" of law enforcement taking care of their own--or trying to.  Phinney didn't help them. 

Nonetheless, Phinney wasn't charged with a serious traffic offenses or disorderly conduct, even though it is obvious she's drunk, Phinney did not spend the night in jail.  It is only Phinney's failure to "play ball" at the scene of the traffic stop--her getting out of the car and her being "non-compliant" that causes her to be arrested.   The video tape seals her fate.

The Post and Courier and the other media rightly wanted to know how it is that this officer gets a pass and when they obtain the first video--which as you will recall was shot from a patrol car sitting behind the sheriff patrol vehicle; and, when the press are denied access to the second video, the Sheriff's car that is ubobstructed,  well I think, we all knew what the video was going to show--Christine Phinney had to go.

 Had Officer Phinney stayed in the car, had there been no video, she is back on the road--you know it, and I know it.  Let's now do a little "thought experiment"--if this had been me, mmmmm how many times would would thye have tased me?

Professional Courtesy: Part 2--Give Me a Break!

Disclaimer:  there are many fine and intelligent people working in law enforcement;  and, I'd be the first to acknowledge that all patrol law enforcement are routinely confronted with challenges I would not wish on you or me.  Some law enforcement acquit themselves with honor, most . . . with competence;  and, there are places on the web where you can read the heartwarming tales of these men and women;  but, as a rule, not here.  This blawg is interested in the fundamental problem of corruption:  the corruption of lawyers (including me), corrupt judges and corrupt law makers. 
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The cops are a species onto themselves. Different rules apply to the cops, and we all have different expectations. On Bad Lawyer it is one of my missions to explore and expose Bad Cops--as we have done and will continue to do with the series of posts like :  Why I Hate the Cops!, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and Boys and Their Toys.  Recently, I had occasion to post on the subject of Professional Courtesy  which deals with what we all know and suspect--law enforcement has a bifurcated set of rules:  the rules that apply to you and me;  and, the rules they enforce or should I say, don't enforce against one another.

Which leads to this morning's post about the cops of New York's Lower Hudson valley  who admit to covering up DWI arrests of one another, here's the report from LoHud.com.  The LoHud.com article is part of a larger look by their reporting staff following the arrests of White Plains patrolman Joe Zepeda, Westchester Officer Joseph Kraus, Dobbs Ferry policeman Michael Huffman and  acounty Correction Officer Patricia Yancy-Johnson on misdemeanor DWI charges following accidents within a three-week period. The four officers were off duty, and each refused blood-alcohol testing.

It is cliche` among criminal defense attorneys that the cops reflexively lie on the stand;-- having handled on average one criminal case a year, I've not arrived at that impression.  I do suspect that law enforcement testimony is pretty "pat," which means officers tend to have canned impressions that come out in little packages of testimony that may or may not be credible.  The police contour their impressions in an outcome-based approach to offering testimony and evidence.  This sort of thing is expected by lawyers and judges, and, I think, to a lesser extent by juries.  In the extreme case, cops contouring their testimony perjure themselves, although I don't think it rises to that level all that often, at least I hope not, at least outside of Maricopa County, Arizona.

The point is: the wholesale practice of allowing Brother and Sister law enforcement to drive drunk drunk,  that my friends is scary, dangerous, and an abandonment by the cops of their sworn responsibility.  It is corrupt.