JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

OUR THOUGHTS ON THE WALKER SCANDAL

UPDATED WITH NEW INFO ON WHEN WALKER DECIDED TO RESIGN: SEE BELOW.

The Herbert Walker III scandal at the SAO is disturbing for several reasons. First, as we all learned from President Nixon, it is the cover up that will get you.

What did the State Attorney know, and when did she know it?

Are we to believe that Walker’s sexual harassment and battery on employees and people he supervised, including unpaid law school interns was suddenly revealed to the State Attorneys Office on Friday December 28, 2007 at coincidentally the very same day the office decided to fire two other attorneys for unrelated conduct?

Some readers who posted in the comments section have said that Walkers lewd conduct was an open secret at the SAO for years, to the point where interns and attorneys and support staff went out of their way to avoid working with him.

As we asked the other day, is anyone reviewing Walker’s cases to see if his personal demons affected the fairness of how he treated female defendants or female defense attorneys?

And just how did someone who exhibited this type of behavior get at job, and manage to keep his job and get promoted to a supervisory position at the SAO? Is the State Attorney and her staff reviewing hiring and promotion policies. What about the clear indication that employees were frightened to come forward? What is being done to promote a safer and secure working environment at the SAO?

And finally and most importantly, why was Walker allowed to resign when arguably his conduct was criminal, when an intern who was promoting a charity at Safe Space- which is a shelter where women can find safety from people like Herbert Walker III- was fired. Doesn’t anybody at the SAO see the problem with that?

The Herald’s article with Walker’s comments is
HERE


Beyond Walker’s ridiculous statement that he resigned solely to find a better paying job (he quit with no apparent job offers) is the statement from the State Attorney’s office’s employee relations lawyer that Walker was allowed to resign or face being fired over the allegations. (with employees like Walker, it is now obvious why the office needs an “employee relations lawyer”. Just wondering if the PDs office has an ”employee relations lawyer”?)

UPDATE: We received this anonymous comment which makes a world of sense to us:

Hey, Herald lady:You really missed the issues. Poor job.If Walker decided on a random Friday afternoon to quit -- where is he going? Did he have his new business cards? Did he give the required notice? Did he complete the transfer memos on his cases?I know the answers. You do not get to answer those questions when they are not asked. He was given only moments to decide to resign or be fired.

Or are to we conclude that the SAO has a policy where its one thing to touch a woman’s breast against her will, but it is quite a more serious matter to donate toys to a woman’s shelter? Is that really the message they want to send? Because as it sits now, the objective facts speak to the conclusion that the State Attorneys Office either doesn’t view sexual harassment and battery within their work place as all that serious, or they went to extreme measures to cover up Walker’s conduct.

Either way you look at it, something still smells over there on 12th Street and 12th Avenue. If Walker touched a prosecutor against her will in an offensive manner while she was at work, does that not constitute probable cause to begin an investigation into battery? The State Attorneys Office has a policy against letting any victim "drop charges". Doesn't the prosecutors office have a responsibility to initiate a criminal investigation when they learn of facts sufficient to constitute probable cause for a crime?

When the State Attorney can manage to squeeze in a few days work from her vacations in South America, we’d like some answers to these questions.



46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rumpole:

Twelve fine paragraphs, one insignificant quibble.

Any office with more than one person should have an “employee relations lawyer” on staff or on call. The administrative has two intake officers for discrimination complaints and one or more staff lawyers dedicated to investigating claims and firing people.

Anonymous said...

Rumps,
Now you are being stupid. We all know nothing will come about this.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole

Great stuff!! Clever little bugger.

Rumpole said...

We did not post three comments. All have to do with the following: 2 assert that a lawyer at the SAO has an offensive body odor; one asserts that a certain pattern of conduct including where they live and the type of bathing suit they wear means that in the readers opinion the individual is a homosexual. It is just not relevant to this discussion.

Anonymous said...

"State your name for the record please."

"Herbert Erving Walker the third."

"Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I will affirm."

"How do you plead to the charges of battery, battery on an Assistant State Attorney, attempted sexual battery, and simple assault?"

"I uhhhh...plead...."


HOW WILL HEWIII PLEAD?

IS THIS THE ARRAIGNMENT OR THE CHANGE OF PLEA?

WHO IS HIS LAWYER?

ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE NEXT EDITION OF

"HERBERT WALKER, PROSECUTIN FOR THE LORD".... A NEW A&E MINI SERIES....

Anonymous said...

I am pleased to announce that with David Letterman having settled with the screen writers guild, the walk out on this blog is over...all Fakes may now return to work. Hurrray!!!!

Anonymous said...

grrrr rufff rufff!!!! we're back!!!! arf arf arf...

Anonymous said...

hey rumpy, check out 10:49 is that one of the comments you are talking about at 11:12?

Anonymous said...

It's clear from the allegations that the SAO knew about Herb's actions. It's a shame that people keep calling them allegations..maybe that's why Lorna and KFR never did anything about it...and POOR dilusional Herb, who claims he never knew about the allegations...i am sure that the disgusting look on those women faces whom he harrased must have alerted him...WHO, is he kidding?

here is some advice for the players:
herb-pack your shit and move out of florida
kfr-don't give people like herb the option to resign, next time just have some balls and fire their ass
horn-if you are going to give advice to kfr, next time maybe fire everyone after xmas, around new years when everyone is too drunk to understand anything
lorna- your job just sucks! save your soul, quit now..everyone gets wasted around this time of the year, they will not notice.

Anonymous said...

KFR= Katherine Fernandez-Retard.

Anonymous said...

10:49

Yours may be the most ignorant post ever:

you somehow assume that gay men engage in overt sexual harassment of women; and, as if that's not enough, that they degrade women.

What planet are you from? There's plenty to skewer HW over without making a fool of yourself.

Rumpole said...

no- that 10:49 comment should not have gone up. Its down. I apologize. I made a mistake.

Anonymous said...

From the FBI's internal profiling manual:

Sexual Harassment:....we see many Offenders work hard to become successful at work. They are frustrated in social settings, and therefore they tend to spend more time at work and quickly advance. The benefit to the offender is that career advancement places them in the position of power they crave over women. They make up for their social inadequacies through their performace at work, and use their position of power to intimidate and harass and coerce women they supervise at work....the offender may exhibit outwardly strong moral convictions...including strong religious convictions that the offender uses to mask their true identity and to find comfort in...the incidental touchings are part of a ritual that the offender engages in. He may force the victim into the same scenario again and again and then use his memories of that scenario in masterbatuory fantasies... while it is possible that the offender may be either single or in a relationship, the common unifying factor is an unhappy childhood and a difficult relationship with the mother...these feelings of powerlessness in childhood and rage against the female authority figure are played out in adulthood with the offender reversing roles and placing the female into the position of being powerless...

WOW RUMP...heavy stuff...

Anonymous said...

You're not the boss of us fake blecher...I've been back for two weeks now. Loser.

Anonymous said...

....making Broward look better and better. Walker should just hope Broward does not get the executive assignment; can you say 18 months fsp.

Anonymous said...

Scab.

Anonymous said...

"I will not be speaking with Kathy Fernandez Rundle and I have no plans at this time to entertain any offers to join the Dade County State Attorneys Office as Vice President in charge of prosecutors. I have my hands full with the Dolphins."

Anonymous said...

Hey, Herald lady:

You really missed the issues. Poor job.

If Walker decided on a random Friday afternoon to quit -- where is he going? Did he have his new business cards? Did he give the required notice? Did he complete the transfer memos on his cases?

I know the answers. You do not get to answer those questions when they are not asked. He was given only moments to decide to resign or be fired.

Lorna may be an awful person, but she is telling the truth about this firing. :)

Anonymous said...

This whole scandal is "Fergielicious".

Anonymous said...

Rumpole please let your readers know that Monday afternoon's FAWL's annual luncheon in which we were to honor Herbert Walker III as our person of the year has , for obvious reasons, been canceled. See You next year.

Anonymous said...

Don't say I never gave you anything Rumpola- a captured email from Don his Horness:

To: All ASAs
From: Don Horn
RE: Sexual Harassment policy and morale.

The State attorney has scheduled work days for herself on Tuesday February 12 and Thursday April 24, 2008. She will be off from her scheduled vacation and working on those days. Accordingly there will be a meeting at 2:00 PM in the 6th floor conference room on the subjects of our office's sexual harassment policy and on morale. Lets get 100% attendance and boost our State Attorney's morale and show her some of the Dade SAO spirit we are famous for.
That is all.
DH, Esq.

Rumpole said...

the comment by the fake asa did not make it for obvious reasons. (sexual orientation for one)

Anonymous said...

Susannah Nesmith really did drop the ball. Again. Why not employ some basic investigative techniques before printing lies? Like maybe talk to someone other than the bureaucratic powers-that-be at the SAO.

Just like the Herald, unfortunately. It seems like every story that I actually personally know something about, they get facts wrong. Almost every time.

Anonymous said...

"Herbert"

"whose dat?"

"HERBERT"

"why is mah statute book on fire...yet it is not being destroyed."

"HERBERT IT IS I. I AM SPEAKING TO YOU THROUGH A BURNING STATUTE BOOK."

"jesus?"

"SORRY HERBERT. GOOD GUY. GREAT GUY ACTUALLY, BUT YOU'VE BEEN BACKING THE WRONG HORSE AS IT WERE."

"what is your name?"

"I AM THAT I AM. LISTEN, YOU CAN GET ALL THIS SCHMALTZ BY WATCHING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES. ATKINS DIED A FEW YEARS AGO AND EVER SINCE THEN IT'S BEEN BIG ROAST BEEF NIGHTS ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND I DON'T WANT TO BE LATE. LISTEN TO ME HERBERT- I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU AND I DON'T LIKE WHAT I'VE SEEN. THOSE WERE YOUNG GIRLS. INNOCENT. AND YOU SCARED THEM. PLUS YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF JUDGE ADRIEN, BUT THAT IS FOR ANOTHER DAY. HERBERT, I'VE GIVEN YOU ONE WARNING BY FIRING YOU. I'M NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND. SO YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. STOP HARASSING THOSE WOMEN."

"wait..one question. If not jesus, what church should I be going to?"

"THAT'S UP TO YOU HERBERT. BUT I'LL GIVE YOU ONE HINT. AH SALEM MALCHEM MY BROTHER."

Anonymous said...

OMG. ROFLOL...LAMO...please whoever wrote that come forward. You have a great future as a writer. Hysterical.

Anonymous said...

Nothing personal Susanna but
you did indeed drop the ball on
this one. And let me say it is
hardly the first time.

It is not really your fault, however since your profession is more about getting the quick sensational headline than about
getting the actual facts.

I know you have space constraints
but if you are a journalist and
not a sensationalist you should
at least answer the obvious questions in your story.

Even before anonymous made his
statement I was wondering about
Walker's BS statements. You don't
leave a job for more money without actually having a job making more
money already lined up. Incredible.

I guess your response will be that
you were just reporting what he said. But it is still lazy work
on your part.

Also re: Jimenez its the same thing
- couldn't even call the guy and get his side of the story. Maybe
you should stop scouring the halls
and get back to the office and do
some leg work sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Sussanah needs to look into the free van the SAO has from Kendall Toyota, the owner of which was prosecuted by the SAO...Beans's the name!

Anonymous said...

you put the 10;49 up because you thought it was funny which it was. a gay man can and will overcompensate for his proclivities in the workplace by acting like he likes women, and overdo it. a straight man just does it , a gay man overdoes it.

Rumpole said...

No, I put it up by mistake. I go to a screen that has all the potential comments and I can check a "publish" or "reject" box. I checked the wrong box. It was not a comment I approve of under the rules of this blog.

Sexual harassment is about power, not sex, and not sexual preference.

Anonymous said...

Miami Herald reporter Susannah Nesmith gets the facts of a story wrong every time. I have never known her to report a completely accurate story. When she can't get a comment she makes up her own facts to fill in the gaps. Nesmith engages in irresponsible journalism. I think she should be investigated. The Herald needs to look into this.

Anonymous said...

Be careful what you wish for. KFR's incompetence and absentee landlord style of management works both ways. It is part of the reason way so many bottom feeder attorneys can survive in Dade county. With a strong State Attorney, many in the defense bar would actually have to earn their fees.
Either way, the citizens of Dade county should finally see her for the fraud that she is. That office is a disaster. From innocent people being prosecuted to evil criminals getting away with murder (literally) and let us not forget her political allies running wild with corruption (that's right, I went there).

Anonymous said...

hey reizenstein why do you have such a hard on for this guy? you usually criticze the state for being too agressieve but i guess the rules are different for asa's

Anonymous said...

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net

December 30, 2007

Katherine Fernandez Rundle
State Attorney
Miami, Florida Via email to katherinefernandezrundle@miamisao.com

Re: Alleged Donation of Van to SAO

Dear Ms. Rundle:

The following has been asserted at the Justice Building Blog:

Anonymous said...
Sussanah needs to look into the free van the SAO has from Kendall Toyota, the owner of which was prosecuted by the SAO...Beans's the name!
Saturday, December 29, 2007 6:28:00 PM
Given the problem that Miami Police Chief Timoney has had pertaining to a Lexus provided him by this same outfit, please disclose publicly whether there is any truth to the above assertion.

Thanks, and Happy New Year.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

While it is so easy to criticize the Office of Kathy (and they do have flaws yet... so does everybody), I find that the Office is much more professional, accomodating, approachable and reasonable then most other prosecution offices.

The results that are acchieved in Miami Dade are quite different than what you would get on other locales. Is it that us defense attorneys are so much better than north of the border or is the opposition better to deal with?

Hey anonymous cry babies, be carerful what you wish for!

Anonymous said...

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law

1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111

Coral Gables, Florida 33146

305-666-4366

amendmentone@comcast.net



December 31, 2007



Arlene Sankel

The Florida Bar

Suite M100, Rivergate Plaza

444 Brickell Avenue

Miami, Florida 33131



Re: Hank Adorno, Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero’s Former Partner



Dear Ms. Sankel:



Speaking of selective prosecution, how’s The Bar coming on that Bar complaint against Hank Adorno re the fire fee scandal?



Regards, Jack Thompson



Copy: Florida Bar Governors

Media

Anonymous said...

Reference John B. Thompson, December 30, 2007 comment about the " Alleged Donation of Van to SAO"

The problem with pretending to know the facts is that you are pretending to know the facts. This matter was discussed in full detail in the Daily Business Review Article of 9/18/07. If you missed it, here it is:

Ethics
Expanded probe

By: Julie Kay
September 18, 2007

The Miami-Dade Ethics Commission has expanded its probe into Miami Police Chief John Timoney’s acceptance of a free Lexus to include others who may have received free vehicles from a Miami-area dealership, the Daily Business Review has learned.
University of Miami President Donna Shalala and an unidentified college football coach could be questioned about whether they have accepted free cars from Lexus of Kendall, according to a source close to the inquiry.

The county Ethics Commission plans to issue subpoenas to the owner of Lexus of Kendall and Kendall Toyota this month to determine who received free cars from the business.

Timoney has acknowledged accepting a free Lexus from the dealership and has since apologized and paid for the car.

Margot Winick, spokeswoman for the University of Miami, said Shalala bought a Lexus hybrid a year ago, and neither she nor the university accepted a free car from Lexus.

Shalala “doesn’t need a free car,” Winick said. “The university provides a car and driver to the president. The university is not aware of any investigation.”

Managers at Lexus of Kendall and owner Gerald Bean did not return telephone calls seeking comment before deadline.

Timoney came under fire last month following news reports he accepted a free Lexus. In the wake of the disclosure, the Fraternal Order of Police conducted a no-confidence vote against the chief. Eighty percent of the 650 officers who cast ballots registered their disapproval.

Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez asked the Ethics Commission to investigate whether Timoney violated state ethics law.

Timoney said he accepted the car as a demonstration model because his friend owns the dealership. After the story was broken by WFOR-TV, Timoney acknowledged he had made a mistake and paid full price for the car, listed at $54,000.

While Timoney has been cooperating with the commission, the Lexus dealership has not, according to a source close to the investigation. Both Lexus of Kendall and Kendall Toyota are owned by Bean. Kendall Toyota is the nation’s third-largest Toyota dealership, and Lexus of Kendall is the only Lexus dealership in Miami-Dade County.

The dealerships came under fire in 2001 after five former employees filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming managers including Bean’s son, Terry, commonly used racial and ethnic slurs and discriminated against Jews and Hispanics.

A subsequent lawsuit filed by the EEOC resulted in a consent decree in 2003. The agreement included compensatory damages of $700,000 to victims and required the dealership to adopt employment discrimination training for managers and require all new employees to be provided with a civil rights policy.

According to sources close to the Lexus investigation, the Ethics Commission is expected to issuing subpoenas Thursday.

Sources said the commission also is reviewing a request for proposal from the city of Miami for Toyota hybrid cars.

Additionally, the probe will focus on whether a manager at Lexus of Kendall was recently given a coveted volunteer police reservist position with the Miami Police Department and whether it was part of a quid pro quo with Timoney.

Delrish Moss, a spokesman for the Miami police, said there was no quid pro quo involved with the car acquired by Timoney.

The police chief was not the only law enforcement recipient. A free minivan was given to the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office by Kendall Toyota, according to sources.

But the commission is not reviewing that donation.

The office of State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle wrote the state director of fleet management seeking permission to accept the van after Kendall Toyota offered to provide the agency with a fully insured van.

The state attorney’s office received state approval, accepted the van in 2005 and is using it for community outreach - to visit crime victims at their homes and to educate community groups about crime-prevention programs.

Chet Zerlin, chief assistant state attorney, said detailed logs are kept on the usage of the van and it is strictly used for public purposes.

“The issue was raised as to whether we were allowed to take it, and we were told there is no problem with it as long as it is used for public purposes,” said Joe Centorino, head of public corruption at the state attorney’s office.

However, Bob Jarvis, who teaches ethics law at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, said the state attorney’s office should return the van.

“Clearly, it’s inappropriate for public officials to take anything more than pens and pencils,” he said. “It’s a recipe for trouble. It sends the wrong message. It looks like you can curry favor and makes the public wonder if there are two types of justice.”

Because Rundle’s office accepted the van, it would have to recuse itself from any potential case involving the dealership, Jarvis said.

Centorino said his office is monitoring the Lexus investigation by the Ethics Commission and would wait until the probe is complete before deciding whether to undertake one of its own.

Julie Kay can be reached at jkay@alm.com or at (954) 468-2622.
Link for State Attorney office letters asking for approval to lease vehicles: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/images/news_photos/44967/Letters.PDF

Anonymous said...

I worked with HEW3 for many years as a former ASA and have hung out with him socially. I can tell you that it seems highly unlikely that he would touch a female's sexual parts. I can see him telling women that they were attractive(which in itself may not be appropriate), but grabbing someone's breast or twirling their hair is just something that I cannot see him doing. Could he be obnoxious or maybe even a jerk to staff? Absolutely! Could some of these women have embellished their stories a little bit because of their anger with him being obnoxious? Possible! Let us not pass judgment on Herb until we all know more of the facts. No matter how obnoxious or arrogant he may have been as a prosecutor, he deserves the same treatment as anyone accussed of wrong doing.

Anonymous said...

I am disturbed by the celebratory atmosphere attending the misfortunes of Herb Walker.

I dealt with Herb as a defense attorney often. I did not like his prosecutorial style. I found him quite inflexible and unyielding, in my opinion. His plea offers were harsh and his zeal appeared to me to be unbecoming an ASA. He appeared too personally involved in the cases.

In short, I am no fan of Herb Walker. Yet, why the glee at his downfall? Why the happiness at his pain?

The easy answer of course is that he must now suffer as he made others suffer. That answer is not good enough.

We humans are a hypocritical lot. When one commits suicide due to overwhelming personal problems, we feel sad and remorseful after the fact. But what do we do to support people in their moments of darkness? Yes, even those who many tend to dislike as Herb. I do not think Herb ever realized how much he was disliked.

Rumpole said...

The short answer:

scha·den·freu·de /ˈʃɑdnËŒfrɔɪdÉ™/ Pronunciation Key -
[shahd-n-froi-duh]
–noun satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Origin: 1890–95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy]


A bit longer answer- In his time of need, when he needs people to trust and believe in him or give him a second chance, those defense attorneys who had clients treated very unfairly because of Walker's unyielding beliefs and his style, which many believed was fed by his borderline religious beliefs- people are now feeling "what goes around, comes around." and that in a sense Walker is getting a small dose of his own medicine.

In my opinion- this is a world of difference between a tough prosecutor who is at least rational, and a person like Walker who you could not reason with.

Walker may not have realized how much he was dissliked because in his belief system, he had little use for those who did not hold his beliefs. As we now see, he may werid attempts to convert some women, and to him, the rest of the world didn't matter because he didn't need them. He needs them now.

It is just perfect justice when a person who acts as if defense attorneys are scum, needs one. Read Walker's resignation memo- not one word about seeking justice. Just a battle between good and evil. Well, I guess I'm not so evil now if he gets arrested and charged for his deviant behavior and hires me, am I?

Or he could be a real man, and show us real faith, and plead guilty without counsel because he sinned and needs to be punished. Lets see what happens. I do not wish anyone harm, and although I feel bad for him, he made it very hard for anyone to give a damn about him because he didn't give a damn about anyone. I guess his situation challenges my morality to step up and show I am a better person than he. Because the prosecutor Herb Walker couldn't care less if I was representing an attorney charged with crimes based on acts he has been alleged to have comitted.

Guess I should have stuck to the short answer.

Rumpole said...

The short answer:

scha·den·freu·de /ˈʃɑdnËŒfrɔɪdÉ™/ Pronunciation Key -
[shahd-n-froi-duh]
–noun satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Origin: 1890–95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy]


A bit longer answer: In his time of need, when he needs people to trust and believe in him or give him a second chance, those defense attorneys who had clients treated very unfairly because of Walker's unyielding beliefs and his style, which many believed was fed by his borderline religious beliefs- those attorneys are now feeling "what goes around, comes around.". And in their opinion Walker is getting a small dose of his own medicine.

In my opinion- there is a world of difference between a tough prosecutor who is at least rational, and a person like Walker who you could not reason with.

Walker may not have realized how much he was dissliked because in his belief system, he had little use for those who did not hold his beliefs. As we now see, he may weird attempts to convert some women, and to him, the rest of the world didn't matter because he didn't need them. He needs them now.

It is just perfect justice when a person who acts as if defense attorneys are scum, needs one. Read Walker's resignation memo- not one word about seeking justice. Just a battle between good and evil. Well, I guess I'm not so evil now if he gets arrested and charged for his deviant behavior and hires me, am I?

Or he could be a real man, and show us real faith, and plead guilty without counsel because he sinned and needs to be punished. Lets see what happens. I do not wish anyone harm, and although I feel bad for him, he made it very hard for anyone to give a damn about him because he didn't give a damn about anyone. I guess his situation challenges my morality to step up and show I am a better person than he. Because the prosecutor Herb Walker couldn't care less if I was representing an attorney charged with crimes based on acts he has been alleged to have comitted.

Guess I should have stuck to the short answer.

Anonymous said...

Rump:

As my clients say: "I feel you." My comment several posts back were directed to me as much as others. Upon first hearing of Herb's misfortune, I too smiled and felt satisfaction. But frankly I felt ashamed of that feeling. We all are comforted when someone gets their comeuppance. I am no exception to those human feelings. It as if G-D has a mischievous sense of humor or metes out justice. Yes Herb did think defense attorneys were scum. I had heard him make comments about many of us who are otherwise esteemed and respected in our profession. A defense of a client was an affront to his sense of dignity. An accusation was guilt itself. Yes, there is something quite karmic about all of this.

Yet in moments like this, let Herb deal with his pain. And I stgill believe that kindness to a man so situated as Herb will only serve to help him and also us.

Sorry for the preachy tone of all of this.

But as Ol' Abe Lincoln said: "Let us rise to the better angels of our nature"

Anonymous said...

Rump, you said, "Or he could be a real man, and show us real faith, and plead guilty without counsel because he sinned and needs to be punished."

Sure. Is that what you tell your clients? LMFAO.

Hypocrite.

Rumpole said...

Well stop laughing your ass off, and take your head out of it as well while your at it.

I would never counsel anyone to go to court without an attorney and plead guilty.

But as the previous reader notes, HEWIII thought all defense attorneys were scum. To his simplistic view of the world, criminal cases were good versus evil. No cop lied. No innocent man was arrested.

Should he be charged here, lets see who the hypocrite is. If he gets an attorney, well....the answer will be obvious.

I'm not the one who said defense attorneys are scum. He did. I'm not the one who put criminal law in the area of good versus evil. He did. If he gets dragged into that arena, lets just see how much he really believes in what he said.

Its easy to be sanctimonious when its not your ass on the line.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I hold Mr. Walker's beliefs, but I am still a defense attorney. Previously I was an ASA, but once I took upon myself to defend someone who IS innocent (the case is still on going), Mr. Walker degraded me and was as obnoxious as anyone I have ever seen....I believe it's because I am a woman.
Mr. Walker even degraded me in front of the lead detective on the case, who reprimanded Mr. Walker expeditiously.
Mr. Walker makes me ashamed of being a Christian, a "born again believer," as others like to call it. He gives justice and the Bible a bad reputation. That is NOT how Christ tells us to be towards others. I guess God does "write correctly with crocked lines..."

Anonymous said...

Wow. I am completely beside myself on this one. I happen to be represented by Herb on a case where I was abused by a defendant. Under no circumstances did he ever hit on me. (I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I do happen to be a model- one that has graced many national magazines, modeled for famous designers, etc.) Herb was always respectful and very nice in my book.

But hey- I guess I wasn't there. But it just surprises me to be honest that's all.

Anonymous said...

Every September 11, 2001 I remember what I was doing when the twin towers came down... I was in my supervisors office informing her that i was being sexually harassed by H.W.! I had been touched inappropriately on the leg by him as he discussed a sexual battery case with a Detective. He followed me around the office and made me feel beyond uncomfortable. He once touched my neck from behind while leaving a note on my desk asking me to take him out of the dog house. I turned that note into my supervisor. I was afraid to be alone with him and would always ask a coworker to accompany when i had to pull a file from his office. Two female attorney's approached him and told him how he made me feel. They hoped he would stop his behavior. Instead he called me to his office (I had no one I could grab that day because it was late in the evening) he starting yelling at me and said that he was insulted that i thought he was attracted to me. Aside from what I am writing happened H.W. would talk about being pure/virgin and say a lot of weird things. When the employees came forward in 07' many people contacted me because they thought I was a part of the group. I should mentioned I had been promoted and during training I spoke about the non-stop harassment I faced by H.W. but I never received help. Today I couldn't shake the thought of what happened and I decided to google his name and found this blog. I wish I had known it existed back in 07'. I am originally from NY and know people that were personally impacted on September 11. It is so sad that every 9/11 I remember Herb the Perve and how i was hysterically crying to my supervisor about his behavior when the towers started to come down!