Judge to Lawyer: "Just Go Ahead and Blow"

Earlier this month, we gave Nevada attorney William Caramagno a Lawyer of the Day award. What did he do to merit this honor? He showed up to court late — and, even better, drunk — to defend a client facing a kidnapping charge. A charge with a potential life sentence.
How was the lawyer’s drunkenness detected? By a breathalyzer test, ordered by the judge, and administered in open court. Caramagno tried to get out of it, protesting that there was “no probable cause for me to blow.” But Judge Michelle Leavitt stood her ground, ordering him to “just go ahead and blow.”
Which he did. The result? A blood alcohol level of 0.075 — just shy of the legal limit for driving while intoxicated (0.080).
When we wrote about this incident previously, we had only read news accounts of it. But now we have audiovisual evidence of the encounter. Judge Leavitt sounds a lot like a high school guidance counselor, her voice full of concern mixed with toughness. Just listen to the way she says this line (at around 3:45 in the video): “You gotta blow good… You gotta blow good, I’m confident you know that…”
Here’s the video. Check it out for yourself:

(Gavel bang: Concurring Opinions.)
Earlier: Above the Law Lawyer of the Day: Joseph Caramagno
KIDNAPPING CASE: Alcohol test on lawyer stirs mistrial [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
A Lawyer’s Bad Morning [Concurring Opinions]
Is Litigating While Drunk A Crime? I Say Yes [Concurring Opinions]

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