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Peter Barta’s Milky Conditional Discharge

Peter Barta 2 Peter A Barta Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgTime for a quick update on a past Lawyer of the Day Weekend. From New York Newsday:

A former Legal Aid Society lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally using a hidden videocamera to spy on female co-workers as they changed clothes in their offices.

Peter Barta, 32, of Queens, used a camera hidden in a clock to videotape five co-workers in the public defense agency’s Manhattan offices, recording at least one woman with her breasts and buttocks bared….

Barta, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful surveillance, a felony, in exchange for a conditional discharge. The case will be dismissed and sealed after he completes a year of counseling.

Barta will be automatically disbarred. But clerking doesn’t constitute the practice of law, which is why you don’t need to be admitted to the bar to do it. Maybe Peter Barta can land a clerkship with this fine jurist?

Legal Aid lawyer plead guilty in coworker voyeurism case [New York Newsday]
Voyeur lawyer pleads guilty to oogling co-workers [AP]
Inside the Apartment of a Peeping Tom [Gothamist]
‘PEEP’ LAWYER HAD KINKY TOY TROVE [New York Post]

Comments

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1 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:49 PM

Third!

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2 Posted by Notre Dame is LAST! | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:52 PM

From the Gothamist:
"The accused voyeur unsurprisingly had a large collection of pornography. Court documents said that Barta owned 90 porn videos and 211 issues of Playboy, as well as copies of "Celebrity Skin" and "Oriental Women.""

Since when is 90 vids considered large? What's that, you say, 90 is large? Hmmm. Maybe I should find a girlfriemd

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3 Posted by anon | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:53 PM

milky discharge? dood you watch way too much gay porn. Get your head out of the sexual gutter man.

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4 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:55 PM

Georgetown Law to 90 videos!!

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5 Posted by anon | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:04 PM

What is a gigabyte equivalent of 90 vids? I have over 40 gigs of porn on my computer. Is that /largeexcessive? Anyone know of any authority on this?

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6 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:09 PM

I don't get it. How is this a new post? Seems like it's just rehashing two old, rather ridiculous, posts... which somehow, miraculously form something new...

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7 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:13 PM

What the hell is this oogling that AP speaks of? Ogling I've heard of, but oogling?

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8 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:14 PM

It's new because he just pleaded - that's the news hook. Read the first two links, which are from today.

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9 Posted by New Development | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:24 PM

I don't get it. How is this a new post? Seems like it's just rehashing two old, rather ridiculous, posts... which somehow, miraculously form something new...

It is a new development in a stroy referenced previously assface.

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10 Posted by The guy who e-mailed you the AP story | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:24 PM

David:

Again, all I'm looking for is the standard "from one of our readers."

sheesh.

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11 Posted by Shameful | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:30 PM

Georgetown grad to unemployment and possible future violations of the conditions attached to the discharge!

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12 Posted by the guy who complained about "poop" | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:40 PM

Piercie--

THIS is how you do a gross title!

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13 Posted by Anonymous | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:41 PM

"milky discharge", "wide receiver", "tight end" ???

Lat, I'm beginning to wonder about you.

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14 Posted by anon | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:47 PM

Lat is bisexual, if not strictly gay. He changed the "Interested In" area of his Facebook profile to both men and women. What other evidence doth thou need?

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15 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 6:41 PM

wait...that's a crime!?

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16 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 7:27 PM

But his Facebook profile lists "Friendship" and "Networking" (as well as "Dating" and "A Relationship"). So how can we tell which gender he wants for what?

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17 Posted by Hates loser websites | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 7:37 PM

Lat, based on that picture, I see you like to visit pathetic, puerile websites. Sigh....I expected better.

But since I visit it too, I'm getting a kick out of the pics.

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18 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:47 PM

Lat has a Facebook?

You should've announced Lat, I feel rejected... :(

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19 Posted by Fed Soc | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 10:49 PM

Funny how no one seems to find it worth mentioning that Barta is a hardcore liberal Democrat. Can anyone imagine if he were an employee of the Heritage Foundation rather than working at a leftist organiztion -- he would be all over the news and the laughingstock of Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich & Co. Then again, there is nothing new about a liberal living with his mom as a grown adult and being otherwise screwed up, so this may not be media bias after all.

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20 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:57 PM

Hey Fed Soc, how are Senator Craig, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Foley, Bob Allen, Jim Bakker, Bob Barr and Ted Haggard doing, just to name a few.

The reason this is not in neon on the news is that that he was not a Republican/Conservative/Evangelical hypocrite. We are all human, all have failings (whether it be sex, booze, drugs, gambling, etc.), but the difference between conservatives/evangelicals (and others) is that they play the holier-than-thou card. When they get caught, hypocrisy is de facto newsworthy.

As long as it is consentual adults, who gives a shit. Granted, this guy did not get the consent of his victims, and deserves to be punished. But lighten the fuck up. Oh, and if you are willing to concede that there are no conservative "missionaries" living off of daddy's dole, then fine, criticize all you want about "living with his mom." Otherwise, go get your shinebox.

Viva Monster Rain.

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21 Posted by tom | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 4:40 AM

Ok, kids, back to the topic at hand..
Can any experts clarify how this could affect his future practice of law in a state that does permit individuals with a felony on their record (like Texas) to be barred?
Besides which, if the case is dismissed and sealed after a year, would he still be considered a felon for bar purposes?

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22 Posted by Fed Soc | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 8:33 AM

11:57: You are making the typical liberal argument that really works as follows: since liberals do not even try to live a decent life nor care about basic moral values, they should be able to get away with anything without too much fuss. But since Republicans actually do care about family values and morality and make serious effort to live a good life, then they should be demonized and called "hypocrites" the moment they make a mistake or do not fully meet their standards (even though we all know that no one is perfect).

People like Larry Craig, David Vitter and most on your list were good family men with good kids who lived a respectable life 98% of the time, though unfortunately they also made some serious mistakes. This is a far cry from Barta, who not only never accomplished anything professionally, but had a fully screwed up personal life as well. Unlike with Craig, Vitter, and other Republicans who recently were involved in scandals, in this case, the Democrat's entire existence seemed to revolved only around his perversions.

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23 Posted by guest | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:08 AM

Fed Soc:

Perhaps Mr. Bartha, too, led a "respectable" life 98% of the time. Perhaps he lived with Mama because he couldn't afford an apartment on his own because he made the (moral) choice to work for Legal Aid making sure indigant defendants are able to exercise their constitutional right to counsel. Taking aside his monumental screwup, isn't that trying to live a good life and accomplish something professionally?

If he chooses to watch porn (and I have not heard that any of the porn he possessed was illegal) in the privacy of his home, then who the F cares. As far as I am concerned that's no different that what a consenting couple might do behind closed doors - as long as noone else is harmed, who cares.

I'm just sayin'.

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24 Posted by guest | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:28 AM

10:49 -- Clearly he couldn't be a Heritage Foundation guy, since we know all the conservatives are closeted homosexuals. Here's hoping someday you guys can find a way to accept yourselves.

/Larry Craig

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25 Posted by guest | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:39 AM

So this guy for a job chose to represent indigent people, rather than cash in and make more money doing auto accidents.

Craig, Swaggert, Haggard, et. al., what exactly did they ever accomplish apart from being ranting about morals while attempting to get bj's in an airport bathroom?

That is why it is more of a story when a preachy moralistic better than thou type is found to be a complete liar.

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26 Posted by guest | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:41 AM

You know, I have been practicing for awhile and I do not recall ever being completly naked in my office. What is going on over there at legal aid?

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27 Posted by anon | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:56 AM

Fed Soc: are you for real? you're dumber than bricks, twice as closeted, and thrice as pathetic. for the sake of us all, please swallow a frisbee, asap.

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28 Posted by guest | Permalink Thursday, October 25, 2007 10:17 AM

9:41 - apparently it's common practice at Legal Aid for attorneys to dress casually in the office and change into suits for court appearances.

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29 Posted by guest | Permalink Friday, August 1, 2008 10:08 AM

just an update....he now admins a site about teen celebrity girls at teencelebdb.com - username is bartap

also you can find him on thecelebdb.com checking out the older celebs

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