Watch A Florida Judge Beat Up A Lawyer In The MIDDLE Of Trial

The headline is misleading, of course. You don't see the brawl, but you do see the judge invite the PD to step outside and hear some shouting off-stage, so to speak.

Watch A Florida Judge Beat Up A Lawyer In The MIDDLE Of Trial

I'm currently reading a book called "The Divide" by Matt Taibbi. One of the issues he covers is the recalcitrance shown by the courts to giving fair trials to poor people. The police, the judges, the prosecutors, and even the public defenders expect the poor defendants in minor cases to strike a plea bargain, pay a fine, and move things along. It doesn't matter to any of the court officers whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. That sounds like what the judge was pissed off about in this story.

Or, conversely, the PD could be a dick. Many of them are. PDing is the lowest form of lawyering.

Yes. I mentioned the PDs in my comment.

I'd like to amend my earlier statement.  I believe bankruptcy lawyers may be lower than public defenders, in standards if not in standing.

That would depend, in my opinion, on whether the bankruptcy lawyer was working for some poor bastard who was screwed over by the rich mother fuckers, or if the lawyer was working for the rich mother fuckers.

If you want to get really pissed off, NoCo, buy the book. I'm about halfway through it and find that I sometimes have to put in down and walk away to keep my blood pressure within reasonable limits.

I've read a couple Taibbis, is this one full of fresh material? The 2nd or 3rd one I read started to sound very repetitive.

His writing style might lead one to feel that way. He's lacking in the poetic style that lends tensions and excitement to non-fiction.

And like many crusading authors he's kind of a one trick pony.

And his trick is telling the truth. I can live with that.

You make "crusading" sound like an insult. Isn't that what the press is for?

Facts are overrated.

I read The Good Book for inspiration.

I kid.  I've read 2 or 3 of Matt's books so you can call me a fan.  

A jaded fan. (Sounds like a gift from the Emperor)

I think he's only written four or five books, so you certainly a fan (jaded or not).
When I finish this one I'm going to buy "Smells Like Dead Elephants," which is a collection of some of his Rolling Stone columns. Of course, it would be just my luck that they will be columns I've already read.

I have ordered "The Divide" -- should have it in a week.

I hope you enjoy it. Otherwise I may feel bad about recommending it. But I'll probably get over it.   

If you keep putting it aside in disgust, you'll never be ready to lend it to me. So I shan't wait.

Wikipedia wrote:

Bibliography

• The Exile: Sex, Drugs, and Libel in the New Russia (ISBN 0-8021-3652-4). Co-authored with Mark Ames, and published in 2000 with a foreword by Eduard Limonov. A movie based on the book is under development by producers Ted Hope and James Schamus of Good Machine.[26]
  
• Spanking the Donkey: On the Campaign Trail with the Democrats, (ISBN 1-56584-891-. A campaign diary from the 2004 US presidential election, published by New Press in 2005.
  
• Spanking the Donkey: Dispatches from the Dumb Season, (ISBN 978-0307345714). Published by Three Rivers Press (August 22, 2006).
  Smells Like Dead Elephants: Dispatches from a Rotting Empire, (ISBN 0-8021-7041-2). Published by Grove Press, Black Cat in 2007.
  
• The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics & Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire, (ISBN 0-385-52034-4). Published by Spiegel & Grau in 2008.
  
• Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America, (ISBN 0-385-52995-3). Published by Spiegel & Grau in 2010.
  
• The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap, (ISBN 978-0812993424). Published by Spiegel & Grau (April 8, 2014).

I have read Spanking, Derangement and Griftopia.

NoCoPilot wrote:

If you keep putting it aside in disgust, you'll never be ready to lend it to me.  So I shan't wait.

I don't always put it aside in disgust. Sometimes I put it aside in anger.

And if you think public defenders are the scum of the legal profession, you've got some surprises coming.

NoCoPilot wrote:

I have read Spanking, Derangement and Griftopia.

Is that a law firm or a personal ad?

_Howard wrote:

And if you think public defenders are the scum of the legal profession, you've got some surprises coming.

Funeral homes are right up there. I got called, the very day my dad died, and asked a zillion questions and told they needed payment that very day and right now or else. Fuckers.

When we got the ashes there were big chunks of bone, too.

That's a despicable story, but how does it involve lawyers?

I dunno. Men in dark suits.