A MESSAGE FROM A FORMER STUDENT:

I was appointed to three DUI cases involving the same arresting officer earlier this year and noticed several alarming patterns. The officer tended to move the defendants just off camera for the allegedly damning bits and he tended to provoke the defendants into blind rages by the time they were arrested, which got them to refuse a blood draw. Anyways, I got together with some local attorneys and they checked their videos and saw the same issues. The local bar decided to fight all his stops. We lost the first two, but put the judge and the DA on notice about these patterns and we won the next four in a row. Last week, my remaining cases with this officer were all quietly dismissed. So were all his cases. I’ve been asking with attorneys in surrounding counties who are now noticing the same issues and setting all his cases for trial. Looks like we may have successfully blackballed him.

I’m counting that my good deed for the year.

Notwithstanding the jokes, lawyers do a lot of good. I mean, it’s not as if the police will police the police.