Here is a letter and email chain reflecting how a Kangaroo Court works. A tragedy in four parts:
ACT I: An Invitation to an Execution:
On Jun 15, 2012, at 4:23 PM, "W, Diane" <Diane.W@po.state.ct.us> wrote:
> Dear Attorney Pattis: > > Attached please find a copy of the summary suspension packet that the Department of Public Health will present before the Connecticut Medical Examining Board (the "Board") for the Board's consideration at their next meeting, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 1:30 p.m., at the Legislative Office Building, 300...
June 19, 2012
My wife took me to breakfast with our two surrogate children, Odysseus and Penelope, bright and early this morning. She found a dog friendly restaurant in Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, where we are hiding out for a long weekend. She said breakfast out was the dogs’ idea, a father’s day treat. Penny and Ody lay by my side, one to my left, the other to my right, as I ate a king’s breakfast on a bright sunny patio.
Our three two-legged children are spread far and wide. Two are on the west coast; the third is in New York City. I suspect during the course of the day each will...
June 17, 2012
A lawyer’s role as counselor is often quiet, uncelebrated work. A dramatic verdict and high-fives on the courthouse steps catch all the attention. But soft words spoken in secret are often far more influential. Being a lawyer is a lot like being a parent.
All parents of adult children know the following: You can advise, but you can’t command. There are times in which you watch what you are certain will be a train wreck and all you can do is wish the conductor a safe trip. Humility teaches that your children will be no wiser, no better, than the you were. I get that....
June 16, 2012
Call me an idealist, a dreamer, even a fool: I believe in the presumption of innocence. When a client stands presented to the world as a criminal, his reputation in tatters, his livelihood at risk, the presumption of innocence is all he has left. I wish the courts took it more seriously.
I stood next to a physician at his first court appearance the other day. I was handed a package of sealed warrants, and quickly whisked in front of a judge to argue bond. He was accused by three patients of sexual assault. The bond was high. Press gathered on the courthouse stairs to get a glimpse of the...
June 14, 2012
June 10, 2012
An accusation is much like lipstick on your collar: it cries out for an explanation; silence is deemed a confession; explanations are worse. You are...
June 10, 2012
I posted a video on Facebook of Anthony Sanchez, a 34-year-old California man, using a belt on his stepson in a senseless display of rage. The two...
June 6, 2012
The conventional wisdom holds that you do a client a great deal of good if you spare him a term behind bars. Prison and the loss of liberty is the...
June 6, 2012
I was encouraged the other day to see a phalanx of protesters outside the New Haven courthouse on Elm Street. There looked to be 30 or so people,...
June 4, 2012
George Zimmerman is now behind bars, to the delight of those who believe he killed Trayvon Martin with neither justification nor excuse. But the...
May 31, 2012
I have a confession: Kurt Vonnegut has been a dead key to me ever since I started to read both for pleasure and spiritual succor. I’d pick up a...