Let me get this straight -- you get into a car you know has mj in it, and you're headed for another state. And oh, by the way, you don't mention that fact to a totally innocent third party. Then you either know beforehand, or find out as soon as it's dark, that the car is also missing a headlight. Somewhere in that time line, you cross state lines. You get stopped for the headlight and become incontinent because of the mj you've known is there since before you set off. And now you want sympathy because it wasn't yours? You're lucky the guy in the back seat didn't permanently raise your voice.
Some years later, Juwan Simpson has an unlicensed gun and marijuana in a car he's driving, but should skate, or at worst, get a love tap on the wrist, because you did something stupid and incredibly selfish and ended up peeing in a car seat several years ago?
That's fractured logic. For your clients' sakes, I hope your arguments in front of a jury hold more water.
First, let's clear up some misunderstandings. No, I did not get in a car that I knew had jarijuana in it, though that wouldn't have stopped me from getting in. It was spring break! I found out once we got to the third guy's house. At that point, I could choose to abandon the road trip (what 20-something guy is going to do that?), keep my mouth shut. rat out my one friend to my other friend. Now, I knew I could trust my friend not to break the stuff out in the presence of the other friend. So I didn't forsee a problem. Again, this was a good 8-10 years before I went to law school. It was after dark when we left. It was nearly midnight. I think my friend may have mentioned something about the headlight before we left, but, hey, we were headed to Orlando for a hoops tourney and then to Daytona for Spring Break. We had nothing but fun in the sun on our minds.BTW: what is the point about "heading for another state or crossing state lines? I've never been stopped when crossing state lines before or since--and wasn't on that night Both stops were well into the state of FL. No, I did not "become incontinent" and "Pee in my friend's seat. That was merely a figure of speech. Sorry it was lost on you. Again, I did not know about the weed until after we had gone from Tuscaloosa, through Northport, across the bridge, over to the south side of Tuscaloosa, and stopped at the third guy's apartment. I suggested that my friend with the weed not tell the other guy because I knew the guy would go balistic. There was no intent to place the guy in any legal peril nor any anticipation thereof. Did I ask for sympathy? NO! I just told a story about something that happened in the late 80's/early 90's about how a totally innocent guy, the guy in the back seat, could have been in trouble and not even known what was going on. Why would he "raise my voice?" I gave him plausible deniability. Also, believe me, the driver was a stand-up guy and would have claimed ownership and protected the other two of us...or at least helped me in clearing the third guy. I don't see where what I did was "stupid" for me at the time or under the circumstances. We were all already out of college; however, we were headed to FL for a tourney and it just happened to be spring break, too...so we were sort of reliving our college years and pretending to be "spring breakers." (Have you seen the movie "OLd School"?) For the record, My only client at this time is the bank for which I am employed. I am not currently a trial attorney. HOwever, when I was doing criminal work, I had a client who had committed a parole violation by possessing a weapon (which happened to be stolen.) While possessing that weapon, he got in a shootout and emptied his gun into another guy's chest at point blank range. He was brought up on a probation revocation violation on the weapon charge--not the shooting--there were no charges for that. Well instead of getting revoked and having to go back to prison and serve the remaining 17 years on a 3/20 split sentence, he got three months in the county lock-up. I'd say I can make pretty good arguments. BTW, that was before a judge--not a jury!
...and, no, I'm not saying that Simpson should "skate"; however, he shouldn't have to sit out a third of the season for something that the law couldn't even hang on him.
If I can have a client put another guy in ICU for 3 months and that client be back out on the streets before the other guy is out of the hospital, One, I'd say I did my job pretty darn well. Two, I'd say that your idea of appropriate punishment is way over the top.
Now, back to the driver/owner of the car and weed in my story. Again, I wasn't even thinking of law school at that point in my life; however, as a friend of both guys, I owed my loyalty to both of them. One showed me something in confidence. I suggested that he "keep it under his hat" for the sake of the three of us having a good trip. Had any trouble come of the stop, I would have shown my loyalty to the other guy by wholeheartedly supporting his truthful claims of ignorance and innocence.(BTW, the other two guys had never met before that night.) Well, the rest of the trip and the remainder of the third guy's life, that little episode was one of many jokes which arose from that trip.
If I do want sympathy, it's because after that ordeal, we never "inhaled" the stuff on that trip.
No, I don't mean to be making a big joke of my situation or Juwan's; however, I just don't see the big deal in either situation. Same with the reaction on this board when the incident first broke in the news or when JPW's incident hit the news, or a couple of years back when the Britt boy "bumped" a cop in an incident on the strip. Guys will be guys. People--especially athletes--are not going to be choirboys. I'll tell you this, when I was doing court appointed juvenile work, I can't tell you how many times I sat in court with other attorney's who I knew would have tested positive on a given day while we worked out a deal to send one kid after another to boot camp--or worse--for using the same stuff I knew the other attorney's (and some of the social workers, pO's, etc.) were using.
We've clearly got vastly different opinions about what donstitutes "appropriate" punishment. I'm glad that the judges I've appeared before agreed more with my views than with yours.
