Crime, Perverts, Peter Barta

Reading the Bartameter (Part 4): A Georgetown Law Classmate Weighs In

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If you’re tired of reading about Peter Barta, the Legal Aid Society lawyer who allegedly videotaped his female colleagues as they were changing their clothes in the office, then skip this post.
But if you’d be interested in reading an email from a law school classmate of his, you can check it out, after the jump.


Here’s what a Georgetown University Law Center classmate of Peter Barta had to say about him. It’s perfectly consistent with what we’ve learned about Barta from prior correspondence:

I knew Peter in law school. Keep in mind that I haven’t seen him or spoken to him in years (I graduated in 2000).

He wasn’t a bad guy. He was very involved in a lot of public interest projects, which is how I knew him. He was generally pretty decent and helpful.

He was a bit socially awkward, but no more so than a lot of other folks who went to Georgetown or other “smart kids” I have known.

So far, so good. We can see how he ended up as a Legal Aid Society lawyer, standing up for the little guy. But there’s more:

He did strike me as what I would call “girl crazy.” He was hung up on particular female celebrities in a way that seemed immature. Kind of like the equivalent of “schoolgirl crushes” or something. It wasn’t like he was planning to stalk them. It was just the kind of thing that made you roll your eyes. I thought it was odd that he would babble on about whatever actress he thought was cute. It was like hearing a fifteen year old girl rhapsodize about “McDreamy” or something.

I can’t imagine him doing something like this though. When I saw the story in the New York Times, my jaw just dropped. While in no way trying to minimize the effect of what he has allegedly done, I would tend to think someone like this needs professional help more than he needs severe punishment.

Frankly, I think the stuff that has happened to him so far is pretty harsh. Even if he were acquitted of all the charges, his legal career is pretty much over.

We disagree. Don’t be so hasty! We couldn’t disagree more with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s quip that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Everyone loves a comeback story.
If Peter Barta does a stint in rehab — a la Lindsay Lohan, who just left the building — he could emerge stronger than ever. If he doesn’t get disbarred, his experience as a criminal defendant will give him a unique ability to empathize with his clients.
And who knows — maybe he could end up as the poster boy for Sex Addicts Anonymous!
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Peter Barta (scroll down)

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