ATL Practice Pointers: Don't Taser the Client
Even if you have a possible justification for doing so -- 'cause it might be illegal. From the ABA Journal:
Proceedings have been delayed in a California misdemeanor case in which the defense is claiming that police brutalized their client with a stun gun during his arrest at a shopping mall last year.
That's because the defense team is now being criminally investigated for allegedly violating human experimentation laws by repeatedly using a stun gun on their client themselves during an evidence-gathering effort in a law office.
Additional details here. Our tipster, a criminal defense lawyer, observes:
"I can't decide which I like better:(1) imagining those nervous, sweaty-palmed, study-group types from law school, wringing their hands and saying, 'C'mon, guys, we have to be PREPARED! How are we gonna know what he looked like when he was writhing in agony unless we shock him AGAIN?' or
(2) the idea of defense lawyers seizing the opportunity to taser a client -- which we have ALL dreamed of doing."
Shocking Case: Legal Team Tasers Client [ABA Journal]
(10) Comments
First! Again!
just awesome!! i say this is the client's fault for not having video footage to use on-hand.
Being #2 = doodie
I thought that's what Lit Support people were for.
Why didn't they just go on youtube if they wanted some video evidence of what it looks like to be tasered?
And I admit my ignorance of the statute, but... can you really shoehorn evidence-gathering into the Protection of Human Subjects in "Medical Experimentation" Act. Weak. But maybe an ethics violation... maybe.
Whether it's a criminal offense or not, it's pretty stupid strategically, since the prosecution can now argue that if the defendant voluntarily submitted to being re-tasered by the defense team, it can't be that bad.
Maybe I should transfer to the Johhny Knoxville School of Law if I want to practice insurance defense!
BFD. I use a stun gun on my clients all the time. Me and sparky have a 98% capture and no more 11th hour structure changes.
4:43:
Lit support folks are too valuable to taser; that's what summer associates are for. Of course, experimenting on summer associates does have one downside: the results do not necessarily translate to actual human test subjects.
Note, all, how clearly the comments fall on either side of the line: the study-group people, who can be seen analyzing the case on the merits, (i.e., "Whether it's a criminal offense or not, it's pretty stupid strategically, since the prosecution can now argue that if the defendant voluntarily submitted to being re-tasered by the defense team, it can't be that bad."), and those who are patently jealous of anyone who gets to taser a client. Mmmm ... tasered client ...