Yesterday, a brand new plot point was added to the May Day melee drama when Carol Sobel, president of the National Lawyers Guild, together with 18 or so Southern California civil rights lawyers calling themselves “The May Day Litigation Team,” filed a class action suit against the LAPD , the City of Los Angeles and the two commanding officers in charge that day, Deputy Chief Caylor Carter and Commander Louis Grey.
As for the list of plaintiffs—let’s just say it’s long.
The text of the 36-page complaint (which was emailed to me last night), lays out a step-by-step sequence of events and police transgressions that, if true, are likely to cost this city a whole lot of money
The complaint also details some of the specific experiences of the injured marches and, while no one’s injuries are terribly serious (a few fractures here and there), the mini-narratives make for disturbing reading—less for themselves, than what they infer about the mindset necessary for officers to consider this behavior to be reasonable and/or necessary, and what that, in turn, suggests about an underlying psychology running through some portions of the Los Angeles Police Department
.
Here are a couple that will at least give you an idea:
Plaintiff Luis Galvez (“GALVEZ”) was in or around MacArthur Park on
May 1, 2007. As he tried to help people escape from the park, he was hit on the head,
neck and back multiple times, and knocked unconscious by a baton strike from behind.
Plaintiff Romuardo Pedro (“PEDRO”) was in or around MacArthur Park
on May 1, 2007. He was there with his wife and three children, ages 12, 9 and 6. He
was taking photos of the rally when he saw police striking a man on the ground.
When he began to take photos of that, he was struck twice with a baton on the leg.
He began to run away from the officers and was hit multiple times with rubber
bullets, including on his upper back. He ran to collect his family and they all ran out
of the park. His children were terrified by the actions of the police and were crying
uncontrollably.
More news late this evening when I get back from harassing teaching my extremely smart UC Irvine students.
Well, I can tell this isn’t going to make for a recreational read. Not something guaranteed to soothe the senses before sleep.
Celeste, you may not know, and I am not asking you to find out (I don’t qualify as a stakeholder here), but if the data becomes available somewhere, I’m curious about the demographics of the 60 that were asked to stand down. Or, maybe someone checking in here knows? I recognize that 60 is a sample, of a sample, of a sample from which one can’t infer much. Just trying to humanize that group for myself.
Ninety-nine percent of trial lawyers give the rest of them a bad name. These few give that ninety-nine percent an even worse reputation. What a bunch of media and money whores.
Oh, I don’t know Woody. Maybe you saw that story of the Hamas children’s show that featured a Mickey Mouse lookalike urging the tykes to global Jihad and martyrdom. Well today the station announced it was removed the rodent from the show. My guess is someone told them that “You think the IDF is Tough? Believe me Achmed, you don’t want to tangle with Disney’s lawyers!”
Who are the other lawyers involved? Steven Yagman? (The Late) Johnny Cochrane’s Law Office? If its the ideologues of the National Lawyers Guild they’ll wish they had gone to Larry H. Parker! (Local Ref Woody)
Lawyers have two significant problems: they are generally unhappy and the public has a very low opinion of them.
Both these problems are related to ethical issues.
It seems that most lawyers have no other purpose but to make money for themselves and their clients. The low public opinion of lawyers is because they often behave unethically and are considered completely untrustworthy.
Statistical evidence indicates that law students start out happy and normal, but after they enter the profession, they become 300% more depressed, 900% more obsessive compulsive, 500% more anxious and 20% are considered clinically depressed in need of treatment.
Unhappiness of lawyers hinges on ethics in three ways:
1) Lawyers have become hired guns for their clients, a mere conduit for their wishes, independent or right or wrong.
2) There is a disconnection between how a human being should ethically behave and how a lawyer should ethically behave.
3) Money is at the root of virtually everything that lawyers do.
For example no normal human would try to impugn the honesty of an impartial witness trying to do their civic duty, but this is common practice for a lawyer.
The public feels that lawyers are unethical, dishonest, and only concerned with their own well-being. A recent guide for politicians advises that “it’s almost impossible to go too far when it comes to demonizing lawyers.” (DEBORAH L. RHODE, IN THE INTERESTS OF JUSTICE: REFORMING THE LEGAL PROFESSION)
Plato felt that justice has an independent existence, regardless of what the law actually says and that justice consisted of rendering each his due where everything was in its right place.
Lawyers today embody the opposite of this philosophy where justice comes from power and no moral principles exist independently.
Carol Sobel and here unhappy guild are merely exercising there power to intimidate the City of Los Angeles with a contracted lawsuit aimed at forwarding their political agenda as well as extracting millions of dollars from the other Los Angeles City needs and budgets.
— Does anyone really believe that another law suit will provide positive changes to the city and LAPD?
— Does anyone really think that we are going to stop police from making stupid decisions?
— What park or library should we close so the City can pay for this law suit?
1. No
2. Yes, but not completely
3. MacArthur Park
1. Yes, but it will take at least two more.
2. Front line? Not completely. Supervisory? Maybe.
3. Assuming any city funded service/facility could qualify; a jail.
Bashing lawyers is great fun but the next time someone does you wrong who ya gonna call? Sorry but if a Conservative is a liberal who’s just been mugged then a civil libertarian is a conservative who’s just been indicted!
“Frivolous Lawsuits” and “Ambulance Chasers” are the cries of the people who want to hold corporate power inviolate. Study after study (see RAND for example) has shown that “unaway Juries” are a myth. People are skeptical at best of most lawsuits. Are we litigious? Sure. Would you rather we settle disputes the way they do in Iraq? Somehow I prefer “Court TV” to “Deadwood”.
Yeah lawyers are unhappy. So are doctors, middle managers, and line workers. Think maybe society might have something to do with it? All I know is there no shortages of applicants to Law Schools. And BTW most lawyers never see the inside of a court room. Most are in volved greasing the way for a variety of commercial transactions, sales, M&As and other eyesight harming activities.
A past president of the Association of American Law Schools and senior counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Clinton’s impeachment proceedings says:
http://www.amazon.com/Interests-Justice-Reforming-Legal-Profession/dp/0195121880
No one could ever accuse me of championing the First Amendment, so if I had a blog, I’d turn off the comments. What I’m reading here is mostly inane chatter. Do you people believe there are ever any grounds to sue a police department or a government agency? No need to answer. Just wanted to give you something to think about. You’re just jealous of my fat salary!
Thanks everyone for keeping the conversation going while I was gone.
Hi, Corporate Attorney. Thanks for coming by.
Turn the comments off? Nah. Where’s the fun in that?
(And I for one am definitely jealous of your fat salary.)