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Paris, Benoit, Nifong and Spector A Few Thoughts on Current Events
Over the last couple of months, there have been a number of interesting bits of legal news around the country. This would be a good opportunity to depart from my usual one-topic format and offer an attorney's perspective on some of these stories.
First, will we ever stop hearing about Paris Hilton's stay in jail? As everybody knows, she violated her probation for a reckless driving charge (reduced down from a DUI) by driving with a suspended license. Defendants who violate their misdemeanor probation getting jail time is not unheard of, but I think Ms. Hilton could have easily avoided jail time. Say what you want about the judge singling Ms. Hilton out because of who she is, but just look at her behavior.
Aside from flagrantly violating her probation by being caught driving with a suspended license twice, Ms. Hilton's behavior in court was exactly what I advise my clients not to do. Ms. Hilton did everything but show respect for the court and act remorseful. I'm sure her attorney tried to advise her about proper behavior in court and not violating the conditions of her probation. My guess is she probably didn't care about the conditions of her probation. Typically, probationers have to sign a document listing the conditions of their probation. I assume Ms. Hilton can read.
And speaking of people who can't take a hint, was anybody surprised to see Michael Nifong disbarred? He has managed to ruin his career and now possibly his family because of his idiotic actions in the Duke rape case. At least Duke University wised up and settled with the lacrosse players they suspended from school. You would think that a so-called intellectual institution like that would know better than to rush to judgment. I think this can be a wake-up call to all schools about the dangers of rushing to judgment in these kinds of situations.
And now on to the tragic murder-suicide involving pro wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife and son. As most of you know, there has been a lot of talk about drugs and toxicilogy testing. There has been speculation that Mr. Benoit may have had GHB in his system as well as steroids. Whatever the toxicilogy tests find, had Mr. Benoit not killed himself he would still be guilty of murder. This is because voluntary intoxication is not a legal defense. It would seem that Mr. Benoit saved the state of Georgia the expense of trying to send him to death row.
I'll end with a brief comment about the Phil Spector trial. The is an interesting question about the prosecutor being allowed to introduce testimony about some prior incidents from years ago that Mr. Spector was never charged for. If Mr. Spector gets convicted this could be one basis for an appeal. Aside from that, it appears that the crime scene expert for the defense may have removed some evidence. It also appears that there was some sloppy crime scene processing. Quite a mess for both sides. I don't care to go too much into depth about this trial because of how long it has dragged on. Around here a trial like this would usually take no longer than 2-3 weeks, 4 weeks tops.
Its always fun to examine cases like these form a professional perspective. The press often misses what is really relevant. There can usually be a simple explanations for aspects of these cases that are belabored to death by the press.
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James Bogen is an attorney in solo practice in Cincinnati . Any questions or comments can be directed to Mr. Bogen at attorneybogen@yahoo.com.