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Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See: Stiletto’s his Achilles Heel?

May 8th, 2014. By LucyC

Ok—brace yourselves…for Crazy Sh*t that Lawyers See (and deal with)…

Pumped for Murder? He tried his best, but Jack Carroll, the lawyer defending Stiletto murderer Ana Trujillo, was left asking the jury what he missed—after they sentenced his client to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend. A compelling defense, perhaps?

Trujillo has been found guilty of murdering her steady, Dr. Stefan Andersson of Sweden, a University of Houston medical researcher. In fact, she was accused of bludgeoning the 59-year-old doc to death by repeatedly hitting him (25 times I think the count is) in the face, head and arms with the heel of her shoe. For those inquiring minds—it was a blue suede closed-toe pump, size 9 with a 5.5 inch heel. Sexy! But possibly a good argument for ballet flats.

Carroll, apparently surprised by the verdict, told the jury today, “I thought I had convinced you all. I knew I failed in my duty, I missed something there. You took less than two hours. I missed something, what did I miss?” Oh dear. It’s a bit late for that.

The jury took less than two hours to reach a verdict, but over five to decide the sentencing. I’m guessing the acting job wasn’t convincing—Carroll put Trujillo on the stand where she testified for six hours, telling the jury that in 2012, Andersson violently attacked her in a rage, after the pair had been out on the town—read drinking in bar. Trujillo not only told the jury what happened, but acted it out with Carroll standing in as Andersson. “He was suffocating me. I cannot breath,” Trujillo said. “Desperately, I reached over and grabbed my left shoe.” As one does.

Here’s the kicker—pardon the pun—Trujillo told the jury that Andersson liked to see her wear high heels, and would occasionally ask her to walk on him in her heels or dance for him while wearing them. Ironic.

When asked by her attorney why she didn’t leave Andersson, Trujillo said, “Because I loved him and wanted him to get better.” Ok, I may not be a doctor but I’d say murder is contraindicated here.

The prosecution clearly wasn’t convinced—during her closing arguments prosecutor Sarah Mickelson told the court, “She’s not just crazy, she is scary crazy.”

So—off to jail she goes. The sentence carries a mandatory sentence of 30 years, so Trujillo will be 75 before she is eligible for parole. Definitely a good argument for ballet flats.

Gold Garbage? Nicholas Valvo, a 30-year old former city sanitation worker from Staten Island who was fired after complaining about his co-workers, may be in deeper sh*t than originally thought. He has filed a lawsuit claiming he was sexually harassed and hazed by his co-workers at a Brooklyn garage, because he asked for steady daytime hours. The reason for the request—hardship—he was the primary caregiver in the evening for his grandmother. Ain’t that sweet.

But wait—it isn’t that straight forward—(you knew that). Valvo may have been moonlighting. He and a “colleague”, co-defendant Patrick Deane of Prince’s Bay, are facing criminal charges in state Supreme Court, St. George, for allegedly stiffing their relatives for $340,000 in a dodgy gold refining  deal. Prosecutors allege the two pocketed their partners’ cash. They’ve been indicted on felony counts of grand larceny and scheme to defraud, said prosecutors.

Mario F. Gallucci, Valvo’s criminal-defense lawyer, said “I think that the guy they invested in scammed them all and took their money.” According to Gallucci, everyone lost money in the deal, including Valvo and Dean (sounds like that figure skating team from the 80s, doesn’t it?). Hey—you gotta believe in something.

The deal was that Valvo and Dean offered to buy gold cheaply, in Africa(?), for three of their relatives and acquaintances. They would then bring it back stateside where they would refine and sell it, according to District Attorney Daniel Donovan’s office. Then presumably, the two would make a fortune and quit their day jobs… and everyone lives happily ever after. Or not.

“My position is that it was an honest business venture that didn’t materialize the way everyone thought it would,” Gallucci said, maintaining that Valvo and Deane were also victimized.

But there’s still a lottery ticket of sorts, to play out—the employment lawsuit—where Valvo’s civil lawyer, Frank R. Schirripa, of Manhattan, is keeping quiet. The lawsuit is pending against the Sanitation department.

Crazy?—you decide…The mother of 16-year old boy who allegedly posted some pretty nasty stuff about his teacher on social media (where else), is suing the school district after he was suspended. The kid actually made a death threat. No word from his lawyer on this one.

Apparently, Braeden Burge called his health teacher a “bitch” writing she “needs to be shot” on his Facebook page. That’s rational. This after he got a C which got him grounded. “I just noticed that every time I’ve been grounded in middle school it’s because of Mrs. Bouck… I wish she would just get fired haha but I doubt that’ll ever happen,” the teen added.

So, here comes Mom to the rescue. Nope, not kidding. His mother, with the help of the ACLU Foundation of Oregon, filed their lawsuit against Colton School District 53 alleging First and Fourteenth Amendment violations.

Mother, Kelly Burge, claims the district had no right to suspend her son for comments he made “from the privacy of his own home, outside of school hours, and while not participating in a school-sponsored activity.” What, including death threats?

Yes, according to the lawsuit, “The district has overreached by suspending Braeden for off-campus speech with no evidence that his speech actually caused or was reasonably likely to cause a material and substantial disruption of on-campus educational activities.” “[Principal Kara Powell] did not ask Braeden if he had access to guns or any experience with guns, she did not speak with the other students who posted comments on Braeden’s Facebook wall in response to his comments about Bouck.”

Seriously.

Tags: Crazy sh*t lawyers see
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Asbestos News Roundup: 4.16.14 – Asbestos and Navy Vets

April 16th, 2014. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Navy Veterans at Risk for Asbestos

US Navy Veterans are at a particularly high risk for asbestos-related disease, due to their asbestos exposure while working on navy ships undergoing refits. But because asbestos-related disease can take up to 30 years or more to manifest, it is often detected long after men have left the Navy.

The states with the most US Navy Veterans include California, Florida, New York, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, Massachusetts, Washington, Maine, Oregon, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Montana, Kansas, North Dakota, Hawaii, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

US Navy Veterans are not the only group of workers at high risk for asbestos exposure. Men and women who worked in power plants, manufacturing factories, chemical plants, oil refineries, mines, smelters, aerospace manufacturing facilities, demolition construction work sites, railroads, automotive manufacturing facilities, or auto brake shops may also have been exposed to high levels of asbestos.

Asbestos Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: Jeanne Belman, special administrator of deceased Marcella Goedeke estate, has filed an asbestos lawsuit against CSX Transportation, alleging the company is responsible for the developing asbestos mesothelioma and Goedeke’s subsequent death.

Filed a lawsuit March 14, the lawsuit claims the railway allowed its employees to be exposed to asbestos despite being aware of the associated adverse health risks.

Specifically, Belman alleges that Goedeke suffered second hand asbestos exposure to asbestos fibers that clung to her husband’s work clothing. Goedeke’s husband worked at The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. When Goedeke’s husband came home, she inhaled and ingested the asbestos fibers that were on his clothes, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims that the asbestos mesothelioma caused Goedeke great pain and disability, and that she endured serious mental anguish and extreme nervousness and incurred significant medical costs, the suit states. She passed away on March 18, 2012, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims Goedeke’s asbestos disease could have been avoided had The Baltimore and Railroad Company heeded the advice of experts in 1935 who warned the railroad to educate all its employees about asbestos fibers. According to the complaint, the experts also advised the company to get rid of asbestos dust, to sprinkle the working area with water, to have employees wear inhalers and to have frequent analyses made of the dust content of air at different times during work hours.

Instead, Belman alleges the railroad negligently exposed Goedeke’s husband to asbestos, allowed him to carry the asbestos with him into his home, failed to warn him that it could cause disease, failed to prevent him from being exposed to the asbestos, failed to provide him with protective clothing and allowed unsafe work practices to become routine.

Eventually, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company was taken over by CSX, which Belman named as a defendant in her complaint that seeks damages under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA). Belman is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs. (madisonrecord.com)

St. Clair County, IL: Nicole Lockett has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 21 defendant corporations which, she alleges, caused the Randle R. Lockett Sr. to develop mesothelioma after his exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout his father’s career. He subsequently died of his asbestos disease.

According to the lawsuit, Randle R. Lockett Sr.’s father worked in the military and at ICBM and Minuteman and MX missile site maintaining and repairing silos. The defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for Mr. Lockett`s father`s safety, the suit states. As a result of his asbestos-related disease, Randle R. Lockett Sr. became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. Additionally, he was prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued, the lawsuit states.

Nicole Lockett is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, compensatory damages of more than $200,000, punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish the defendants for their misconduct and other relief the court deems just.(madionsrecord.com)

St. Clair County, IL: An asbestos lawsuit has been filed by Betty G. Crutchfield naming 41 defendant corporations, which, she claims, caused Donald Crutchfield Sr. to develop lung cancer after his exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout his career. Mr. Crutchfield died from his asbestos disease.

As a result of his asbestos-related illness Donald Crutchfield Sr. became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, Betty Crutchfield claims. In addition, he were prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to him, the lawsuit states.

Betty G. Crutchfield is seeking a judgment of more than $300,000, compensatory damages of more than $100,000, punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish the defendants for their misconduct and other relief the court deems just. (madisonrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

New York, NY: A $980,000 judgement has been upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit entered against defendant Cleaver Brooks. The court found that the plaintiff presented enough evidence at trial to support a causal link between the defendant’s asbestos-containing boilers and the deceased Kit L. McCormick illness.

Kelly McCormick filed the asbestos lawsuit on behalf of her husband, Kit L. McCormick, who was injured allegedly as a result of asbestos exposure. (harrismartin.com)

 

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos risk, Asbestos Settlement
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Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See: Reality TV Edition (Even their Lawsuits are Larger than Life)

April 9th, 2014. By LucyC

Ok—brace yourselves…for the Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See (or at least have to deal with).

Is this the “fun” in funeral? Let’s hope not. Plymouth, Mass, was the scene of a recent shooting. It happened during a funeral (why not?) and the accused is claiming self defense. Hey – funerals can be tense affairs. At least the corpse was safe, so to speak. (I know…I know…)

The accused, Gai Scott, of Randolph, pleaded not guilty in Plymouth District Court to armed assault with intent to murder. “When the dust settles with respect to this case, it’s going to be abundantly clear that Mr. Scott, a licensed gun owner, was acting in self-defense and in defense of his family,” said Jon Ciraulo, Gai Scott’s lawyer.

Thirty-six year old Scott is accused of shooting his 48-year old Uncle who goes by the name Benzino—a hip-hop artist and star of the reality TV show, VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta”. Benzino’s real name is Raymond Scott, and he put in a surprise attendance at his mother’s funeral. The incident occurred on Route 3 in Duxbury, during the funeral procession. I’ll bet that livened things up (pardon the pun).

According to a statement issued by the Plymouth district DA, “growing family tension” between the men resulted in the shooting. For his part, Benzino was released from South Shore Hospital in Weymouth earlier this week, very much alive. He said he had paid his respects to his mother in private at the funeral home but decided to skip the procession and funeral because of tensions in the family over money. Apparently, he was on his way to Plymouth to pick up a friend when he came upon the procession and someone opened fire. But he didn’t volunteer any names of the shooter. Not making things any easier for his lawyer here.

The accused was ordered held without bail pending a hearing, and as one might expect, Gai Scott was ultimately denied bail as it was sort of thought he might be a danger to society. Perhaps?

 

It ain’t all tutus and frills… A pair of brawling Betties—also known to the courts as Kelly Hyland and Abby Lee Miller, of “Dance Moms” fame—or infamy—you choose—finally have a court date. Kelly Hyland is charged with assaulting Abby Miller, and the whole thing is caught on tape. A slam dunk you think—um, not so much, according to the defense lawyer.

The back story—for anyone who failed to follow “Dance Moms”—is that the former star of the Lifetime series instigated a cat fight (as one does) over what role Hyland’s daughter, Brooke, would play in a dance routine—Meow! Gritty stuff indeed. (The pic at right shows a clip posted over at TMZ where Dance Mom Kelly goes at it with Dance Mom Dame Hyland over the amount of time the kids get to learn new routines. Like I said, this is gritty stuff indeed…)

Caught on video, as everything is these days, Hyland is shown losing the plot on dance instructor Abby Lee Miller backstage at Lehman College. “Get your finger out of my face!” Hyland screams before slapping, scratching and pulling Miller’s hair in the scuffle. “She’s crazy,” Miller yells back.

Hyland’s defense lawyer, Paul Martin, said he’s trying to unearth uncut footage of the incident, which he said would show Miller being the aggressor. “My client’s intention is to go trial. She believes that she’s not guilty of any crime and we’re confident that when a jury considers all the evidence that she’ll be vindicated,” Martin said. Yes, good luck with that.

“I think the videotape along with the history of Ms. Miller, my client will be vindicated of any type of criminal wrongdoing.” Guess we’ll see…court date’s set for May…

Tags: Benzino, Dance Moms, Lawsuit, Lawyers, Reality TV
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Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See: Jump’s a Slam Dunk for the Prosecution?

March 28th, 2014. By LucyC

Defense lawyers for these three guys may set a record for fastest case tried, after police discovered actual footage from a GoPro camera taken by two men from Long Island who BASE jumped from the new Freedom Tower (aka the former World Trade Center) in New York. See video below…can[t get much better evidence than that.

The four men involved turned themselves in to New York police for parachuting off the top of the United States’ tallest building, while their lawyers were negotiating with the prosecutors.

Lawyers for Andrew Rossig, James Brady, Marco Markovich and Kyle Hartwell state that three of the men climbed the 1,776 foot (541 meter) tower on September 30, 2013, while the fourth fellow kept watch. According to their attorneys, these four guys are experienced BASE jumpers.

FYI—the new Tower isn’t even officially open yet. One of the jumpers, Andrew Rossig, said the jump exposed lax security at the site—a possible defense? Maybe a point in the defendants’ favor their lawyers could leverage? Uhm…maybe not. Their lawyers say the men will likely be charged with trespassing and burglary.

But not one to give up easily, Markovich’s attorney, Joseph Corozzo of Manhattan (shown at right, with the look of one who knows his client’s antics will be all over the late-night monologues, standing next to Markovich, middle, and Hartwell, far right), said they want to find “a way to use the video to donate money to charity.” That’s thinking outside the box. He said the charity would be one working on behalf of 9/11 victims, “to show they meant no disrespect.”

According to Joseph Murray, who is representing Hartwell, his client had not been arraigned. “My guy is not alleged to be one of the jumpers,” he told local media while he was waiting for the start of the arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court. “I guess he’s being charged as acting in concert with the top count being burglary.” He sounds enthusiastic.

The Freedom TowerSla is expected to open later this year—then I guess BASE jumping can begin legitimately.

Tags: Andrew Rossig, BASE Jumping, Freedom Tower, James Brady, Kyle Hartwell, Marco Markovich, NYC
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Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See: Social Angst, the Illusory Sentence, and Blame Nike

March 20th, 2014. By LucyC

Ok—brace yourselves…it’s the “never a dull moment” side of lawyering. Regardless of whether it’s in a courtroom, a conference room or even a jail cell, lawyers surely see all kinds of crazy sh*t. And deal with it, too…

Let’s take this offline…Never mind cyber bullying—some folks like to keep it a bit more real. Two men engaged in a dispute over a Facebook post have taken to bricks and guns. No, it wasn’t a multiplayer Minecraft moment—these two went for the real deal! According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Phoenix, AZ, 22-year-old Zachary Heath Belitz faces a disorderly conduct charge based on accusations he threw a brick at the home of a Facebook group administrator.

The admin’s crime? He posted an item about Belitz’ upcoming trial on indecent exposure charges involving multiple women. Whoops. That posted tidbit had the potential to reach close to 15,000 people on FB—not including shares. Keep in mind, it’s not like the indecent exposure charges had not already been reported by multiple news outlets last fall… (fyi, Belitz goes to court on April 15)

Not content to let law and order take its course, sheriff’s officials say the Facebook administrator—Eric Woodson, who heads up the local FB page “The Neighborhood Watchers”–ran outside with a shotgun and fired twice at a truck, presumably with Belitz inside, who fled the scene. No one was hurt. It wasn’t known whether Belitz has an attorney yet for this latest hiccup. He might be looking for one–any volunteers?

Texas Style Justice? In 1977, Jerry Hartfield was convicted and received the death sentence for murder in Bay City, Texas. Seems straight forward enough. And, like a good prisoner, he has subsequently served 37 years, presumably without incident. But there’s a problem. (You knew that was coming). It seems that Hartfield’s sentence was actually overturned in 1977. BUT, in 1987 the governor at the time commuted Hartfield’s sentence to life in prison, before Hartfield was able to demand his release. Say what?

It might be worth mentioning here that court documents describe Hartfield as being illiterate with an IQ of 51. Back to the story…

Cut to 2006 – a fellow inmate convinced Hartfield to apply for a retrial—based on the grounds that his sentence was illusory—there was no sentence to commute! The motion for retrial has since been granted, and Hartfield is set to go to court this April.

While attorneys representing Hartfield call their client’s treatment a blatant violation of justice, the prosecutors have actually suggested that Hartfield himself is to blame for his 30 year stay in prison. And no, I am not making this up.

And it just keeps getting crazier…

Just Do It Baby! Twenty-six year old inmate and former pimp Sirgiorgio Clardy recently decided to take matters in to his own hands. Doing time in Oregon for beating up a john who failed to pay, he has now handwritten a $100 million lawsuit naming Nike as the defendant. Not connecting the dots between pimp + john + jail + Nike? Ok, here we go…

Clardy claims that Nike inadequately marketed its Air Jordans—the ones you wear to “be like Mike”. See, Clardy was wearing a pair when he stomped and kicked the john using a “dangerous weapon” – the Nike Airs. He apparently maimed the john’s face. Clardy quite naturally believes that because Nike allegedly failed to label its shoes as dangerous weapons, the company is partly to blame for his incarceration. Where the heck’s the ATF weighing in on this one?

Clardy’s rap sheet has more sheets than a roll of Scott’s toilet tissue—and as such, he’s seen the interior of a court room a fews time before. (That’s him, strapped into a chair in court, in a picture that first ran in The Oregonian.) Lawyers within an arms’ length radius of him have been spit on and threatened, according to reports, and one judge who figured out that Clardy might have a tough time seeking willing counsel, appointed a legal advisor. Wasn’t long before he cried uncle and got off that case. (That’s the legal advisor, sitting at a safe distance, in the foreground of the pic.)

Yep. Lawyers see plenty of crazy sh*t.

 

Tags: Civil Court, Crazy Lawsuit, Criminal Court, Defense Attorney, lawsuits, Lawyers, Legal Advisor, Legal Humor, Personal Injury, Public Defender, Weird Lawsuit
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