Also: An entry in the Bad Lawyer Collection.
Source, Lowering the Bar: Criminal-Defense Attorney May Be Criminal Defense Attorney
When I first started working for lawyers, the guys I worked for were what other people called “criminal lawyers.”
“No,” one of them told me, “we’re not criminals. We’re criminal defense lawyers.”
Now here comes Kevin Underhill (I’m not sure of his specialty) on Lowering the Bar to report–while trying to keep a straight face–on an actual major muddle over the term(s):
Criminal-Defense Attorney May Be Criminal Defense Attorney
You barbarians out there who aren’t hyphenating compound adjectives should take note: sometimes it makes a difference.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week on what it called an “unusual twist” in the trial of a man charged with fraud: his defense attorney was arrested for fraud. The Chronicle says that the unusual twist brought the trial to “an abrupt halt,” but it sounds like the trial itself was not underway yet. According to the report, prosecutors were trying to contact the attorney and looked him up on the state bar’s website. They did find his contact info, but also learned that his law license is not currently active. Since he was currently actively practicing law, this was a problem.
The bigger problem was that they noticed there was also a warrant out for his arrest.
A judge had issued a bench warrant on May 11 for the arrest of Deron Kartoon (who at the moment is guilty only of not changing his last name), after he failed to appear in court to answer charges of commercial burglary, attempted grand theft, possession of a meth pipe, and fraudulent use of a credit card. Is an attorney facing charges for fraudulent use of a credit card the ideal selection to represent you on charges for fraudulent use of a credit card? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is no.
You’ll want to continue the story via the link I gave you (top of the page). It’s worth it, if you can keep the (alleged) criminal and his (alleged) lawyer straight.
Or maybe this is an IQ test?
P.S. The (alleged) lawyer’s name is Deron Kartoon.