You are currently browsing the Boston Uncommon Law weblog archives for the day January 29, 2009.
January 29, 2009 by admin.
What do you do if you want a new lawyer and the judge won’t let you have one?
This is the dilemma Wuesi McGowan – a home invasion robbery suspect – faced during his criminal trial.
Mr. McGowan had requested that San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser remove his public defender, Jeffrey Martin, from his case. Judge Fraser – who had previously denied an earlier motion by Mr. McGowan to let him represent himself – refused.
Fortunately for bloggers everywhere, Mr. McGowan came up with an innovative – and ultimately successful, albeit pretty gross – solution to his problem.
During a mid-morning break in his trial, Mr. McGowan smeared feces on his lawyer’s face and hair.
For good measure, he threw some feces at the jurors too.
Needless to say, Jeffrey Martin is no longer Mr. McGowan’s attorney.
It may also be worth mentioning (i.e., so nobody attacks someone with feces in a courtroom and then says, “Joe Stanganelli told me to do it!”) that Judge Fraser has issued a mistrial and quadrupled Mr. McGowan’s bail because of this incident. Mr. McGowan could also face assault charges for this, er, foul attack.
It goes without saying that if someone (other than a baby) has flung feces at you, you may want to contact a lawyer. And take a shower.
- Joe Stanganelli, Esq.
Beacon Hill Law
Posted in Weird News, Criminal Law, Personal Injury, LinkedIn, Disclaimers | Print | 1 Comment »