Public Defenders
Dogged Argument Lands PD in Jail
Posted Sep 5, 2007 6:48 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Washington, D.C., lawyer with the public defender's office ended up in a holding cell last week after a heated argument with a judge.
Judge John Bayly Jr. said he acted because the PD, Liyah Brown, argued over with him over whether her client was homeless—and kept on arguing even when he told her to stop, Legal Times reports. Bayly ordered Brown jailed, but later released her without filing contempt charges.
Bayly explained himself to Julia Leighton, the general counsel of the public defender service, saying Brown was like a terrier who wouldn’t let go of a bone.
"She was oppositional and defiant,” he told Leighton. “Not in an unpleasant way, you understand, you know, but she just defiantly refused what I said to do, which was to stop talking."
Leighton says Brown’s imprisonment was unwarranted and contends Bayly abused his power.
- How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind
- Schools Ranked by 'Super Lawyers' Produced
- Law Firm Price Wars Break Out as Some Try ‘Loss Leader’ Bids for Work
- Five Questions for Law Firms Abandoning Lockstep Compensation
- Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days
- Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay
- Court Deputy Ordered to Apologize or Face Jail After Taking Lawyer's Paperwork
- Skadden Jumps on the Bonus Bandwagon
- ABA Executive Director Resigns
- Nasty Attitude to Co-Worker, Naughty Word in E-Mail Cost 2 Their Jobs
Should Supreme Court Justices Be Able to Review News Accounts Before Publication?
Comments
Monroe Freedman
Sep 7, 2007 6:30 AM CST
The following is from John Lord Campbell, Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England, Vols.. VIII, p. 277 (1857).
Lord Erskine (later Lord Chancellor of England) represented the Dean of St. Asaph, Sir William Jones, in a trial for seditious libel for having written a tract on general principles of government and recommending parliamentary reform. After a series of contentious exchanges between Erskine and Justice Buller over how the language of the jury’s verdict should be recorded, the following occurred:
Buller, J.: “Sir, I will not be interrupted.”
Erskine: “I stand here as an advocate for a brother citizen, and I desire that the [record be complete].”
Buller, J.: “Sit down, Sir; remember your duty or I shall be obliged to proceed in another manner [i.e., with imprisonment for contempt of court].
Erskine: “Your Lordship may proceed in what manner you think fit; I know my duty as well as your Lordship knows yours. I shall not alter my conduct.”
[Lord Campbell continued]: The learned judge took no notice of this reply, and, quailing under the rebuke of his pupil, did not repeat the menace of commitment. This noble stand for the independence of the Bar would of itself have entitled Erskine to the statue which the profession affectionately erected to his memory in Lincoln’s Inn Hall…. The example has had a salutary effect in illustrating and establishing the relative duties of Judge and Advocate in England.
Flag this comment
Rich Cheng
Sep 15, 2007 12:53 AM CST
I am a 1L and my knowledge limited. But I wonder if there was False Imprisonment? Also, isn’t it any counsel’s job to defiantly advocate for their client? Decorum is important, but where in our Constitution does it state that a judges is a greater jurist than a practicing attorney and can order her to shut up when she’s just doing her job? This judge’s actions put an authoritarian stench to our judicial process.
Flag this comment
Add a Comment
We welcome your comments, but please adhere to our comment policy.
Commenting has expired on this post.