Lawyer blasted for T-shirt reading: 'You say domestic violence, I say spousal discipline'
A lawyer in Flint, Michigan, agrees that a controversial comment he had printed on a T-shirt more than seven years ago was shocking, perverse and offensive, and says he never had the “mock draft” printed for wider distribution.
The T-shirt read: “You say domestic violence, I say spousal discipline.” MLive, WXYZ, WNEM and FOX13 have stories.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell displayed a photo of the T-shirt and criticized lawyer Jay Clothier for making it. The T-shirt, Pickell said, is “a deliberate attack on women” and the message is “sickening.”
On his personal Facebook page, Clothier posted that the T-shirt was made seven to 10 years ago, and it displayed a comment made to him by a domestic violence client. “It was a perverse offensive comment made to me, which offended me,” Clothier wrote.
“It was shocking n dialogue inspiring, and also kinda hit on many cases I have, where there’s no evidentiary proof n was basically a He Said She Said. I had my printer create it to be shocking dialogue inspiring. I considered making it, but figured it was offensive n over the top. These were a mock draft that I thought was offensive to actual real victims.”
Clothier represents former Genesee County Sheriff Deputy Gerald Parks, who is accused of assaulting a jail inmate. Parks contends the charge is retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against the department claiming he was forced to retire because of testimony he gave in a union arbitration hearing.
It’s not the first T-shirt Clothier has printed, according to Fox13. He also printed T-shirts reading:
• “Take the fifth and we’ll bring the tonic.”
• “I went to court with Clothier and it was a riot” (printed after a courtroom brawl in Flint).
