Bad Ideas, Drinking, Lawyer of the Day, Michelle Leavitt, Rank Stupidity

Above the Law Lawyer of the Day: Joseph Caramagno

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Lawyer of the day? Hell, let’s give Joseph Caramagno the whole week:

After a lawyer due to defend a man against a kidnapping charge showed up to court late and smelling of booze last week, a Clark County District Court judge ordered the attorney to take a Breathalyzer test in open court, then declared a mistrial when the test confirmed her suspicions.

In a remarkable exchange captured by the courtroom’s video camera, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ordered defense attorney Joseph Caramagno to submit to the test after she smelled alcohol on his breath.

The result indicated that Caramagno’s blood-alcohol level was 0.075. In Nevada, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.

C’mon, Judge Leavitt, lighten up! The practice of law isn’t that hard. Defending a guy against kidnapping charges is much easier than driving — especially if the car’s a stick-shift.
And that’s not all; the story gets even better. Here’s a three-word teaser: black halter top. Check it out, after the jump.


Here’s the best part of the article:

Caramagno arrived about 90 minutes late in the company of a young woman wearing a black halter top and tight pants. On the video recording, Caramagno can be heard slurring his words, and Leavitt asks him what is wrong with him.

“I’m going to tell you, to be honest with you, you don’t look right,” Leavitt said.

He told the judge that his car had been rear-ended by another car on Sahara Avenue, causing him a head injury.

But Leavitt said she became suspicious when details of Caramagno’s accident account varied. Leavitt summoned him and prosecutors into her chambers. During this meeting, the judge said, Caramagno told her the woman who accompanied him into court was his ex-girlfriend.

But when Leavitt questioned the woman, she said she had met Caramagno about 20 minutes earlier at the nearby Courthouse Café and had never dated Caramagno.

Caramagno also referred to the woman as Christine. The woman later identified herself in court as Josephine.

Your Honor, don’t hold that against Mr. Caramagno. He confuses his hootchies even when sober.
KIDNAPPING CASE: Alcohol Test on Lawyer Stirs Mistrial [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

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