I'm voting for McCain

She looks like a fool. The 8th grader told her that that is something a second grader would have done.

Detroit to 1 Green-Ogre!!!!

Can you tell us about Schulte layoffs?

Ahh, the sweet sweet fruits of affirmative action.

12:40(1) - Agreed. That's the eighth-grader's reference to "a secondary" (as in secondary-school student).

Btw, that 8th grader was pretty good. I could see her in a courtroom someday.

Eighth-graders to $190K!!!

I love this girl! Not only is she articulate, but she didn't even hesitate to ask questions and make her points. Ms. Bell, you just made my day.

How big a tool is Charlie LeDuff with his scraggly beard, tussled hair, white coat, and air of complete insufferable prickishness?

It is a good thing Detroit has a fantastic, honest and ethical Mayor to balance out the city council's incompetencies. Otherwise, the city might be in real trouble.

It looked like the 8th grader had got some coaching; however, she stood her ground really well.

My favorite part was when Conyers says she is not going to be confrontational with the 8th grader after minutes of losing an argument in which she was confrontational the whole time. "That's not what I asked you!"

I'm clerking in Detroit. This news is OLD, OLD, OLD. Read your tips inbox, Lat. The big news here is the Mayor (also a lawyer and, thus, eligible for lawyer of the day) and his bizarre ability to stay in power even though recently released text messages show that he lied under oath last summer in a whistle blower case that was settled for $8.4 million. Come on, Lat!

total pwnage

imagine how stupid the people who elected her must be...I know, they are my neighbors. How can an elected official lose an argument to an 8th grader. Just admit you made a mistake and move on.

12:51(2): ATL has been all over the Kwame Kilpatrick story. He even has his own category tag:

http://abovethelaw.com/kwame_kilpatrick/

This is why the Bible says (Psalm 118) that "[i]t is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes."

I can't believe a member of the US Congress is banging this thing.

I love everything about this video -- especially the part where she gets pwned by the 8th grader.

1:03, I'm sure it is not *only* this thing.

1:03, I'm sure it is not *only* this thing.

Detroit to third-word status!!!

"Councilwoman Conyers' anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between adults and 8th graders."

Barry O. in Chicago

That was amazing. Way to go Ms. Bell. Someone send that Conyers chucklehead the link to ATL.

Charlie LeDuff to 190!!

Oh this is brilliant! Brilliant 8th Grader! Brilliant post! Brilliant comment from "Barr O in Chicago."

"I'm clerking in Detroit and this is OLD news..." is clerking for Clay, aren't you?

Okay, that little girl was awesome. Flat out awesome. She was direct, clear, and poised. She didn't take any smokescreen crap from that crazy grown-up lady. Somebody give that gal a scholarship to a decent private school, now!

Conyers concedes she is not better than a school kid when she justifiies her behavior by asking the 8th grader if she ever name called in school. Priceless

Nuke Detroit now. Sow the earth with salt. What an embarrassment to this country.

Not for Clay. And Lat hasn't published the uber-juicy brief which was released 2 days ago, full of lots of intrigue (conspiring to get the internal affairs head fired) and sex (very dirty text messages from his chief of staff). This is a made for ATL story. Publish Stefani's brief, Lat!

Noooo she did aaaaain't! That girl totally smoked her out.

Conyers is retarded. Holy shit.

i would hire Kierra Bell as an associate in 12 years. cheers!

Kierra to job at my firm.

This is epic.

Kierra Bell should be future laywer of the day. Well done!

UDC has a law school?

Kierra Bell to Detriot City Council Pres Pro-tem!

I dont know what you people are talking about. She clearly defeated the kid. The kid was speechless in the end, and was put in her place.

Maybe Lat could collect $5 from donors and we could send Kierra Bell on a trip to DC to see the SupCt and Congress this summer. What do you say? Set up a paypal?

Bonus: If Bell could get an audience with MR. Conyers and pwn him too.

"Councilwoman Conyers' anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between adults and 8th graders."

Dude, you need to somehow get that to a Det City Council member to read at a hearing.

And I wouldn't be the city council president for $190k/yr. Imagine having to sit next to her and not punch her in the face. I'd just adjourn every time I saw her coming, or hold all of my sessions when she was abroad on junkets with her husband.

Two points -

First, Detroit is like the grown kid who still can't hold a job, abuses drugs, steals from his parents, and they just can't give up on him, even though they know they should. I think it is time we just give up on Detroit. We tried, we can't help them anymore. Let's give them to Canada.

Second, the worts part about all of this is the sense of pride Conyers takes in making an ass out of herself. AA working more magic.

12:44 (1): Are you a little bitter because you got rejected by UDC Law School?

1:46[2] is completely right. ATL needs to take up a collection to send this girl to DC to meet lawmakers and judges and other important muckity-mucks. Please, Lat, set up the fund. I will give some bux immediately. I will give every day.

Dear Ms. Conyers,

YOU GOT OWNED, OWNED, OWNED, OWNED.
YOU GOT OWNED, OWNED, OWNED, OWNED!

http://you.justgotowned.com/

Sen. Obama MUST reject and denounce Mrs. Conyers' hateful comments - they are offensive to CGI characters and bald individuals alike.

Wow. 8th grader > Conyers.

Kierra was calm, bright, and logical. Her parents should be very proud of her for perfectly navigating the line between standing up to badly behaved adults and being disrespectful. She seems like a very promising girl.

Ms. Conyers should be ashamed of herself.

Why is it that a black idiot lawyer of the day must be a shining example of the failure of affirmative action, but a white idiot lawyer of the day doesn't have commenters asking whether law schools should stop admitting legacy students, or better yet, asking why the predominantly white male profession produces so many idiots that Lat can make a regular feature of them?

Maybe Mrs. Conyers should've punched that little hood-rat in the eye...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E2D71530F937A15751C1A9639C8B63

Or maybe they should give Kierra Ms. Conyer's job since she apparently is more clear-thinking.

I wonder what Imus would say...

How much AA help do you need to get into UDC or land a job on a Detroit counsel position?

Real AA help would have placed her at Columbia where she can be around people with >100 IQ's. Maybe then she could hold her ground in a discussion with elementary school kids.

wow...have never seen a vibrant site turn into such a desert so quickly. where's the new spot?

1. what the heck is UDC?

2. no wonder detroit sucks so much if these are the best that they have.

3. that idiot woman thinks she did nothing wrong. you are in a city council meeting and you are talking about "bringing somethang up in heeere". seriously?

Starting today, I'm going to start a tally of the number of times ATL ridicules a person of color or a female (usually both) as its Lawyer of the Day. Acting crazy transcends race and gender, but ATL has chosen to present a certain view of the "type" of people who display a lack of professionalism. Nice work, ATL. Keep it up, and I'll be posting the numbers.

2:33, way to try to take the fun out of an amusing diversion. Moreover, you couldn't be more wrong. Look back through the archives of Lawyer of the Day and you'll find that the vast majority of them are white men. Also, several of the female Lawyers of the Day attain the status by doing interesting, rather than foolish things. Finally, the fact that you paint a gay asian as a sexist racist is FABuLoUS.

stuff it 2:33, that video was awesome.

Starting today, I'm going to start a tally of the number of time that a person of color or a female (usually both) does something so blatantly stupid and obnoxious as to warrant being Lawyer of the Day. Hello, Shanetta Cutler and Charlene Morisseau! Talk to the hand... snap!... oh no, you DIDN'T, Shrek!

I don't think I'll be making too many people mad to say UDC is one of the worst (and ugliest) law schools in the country. They sum it up quite nicely:

BAR PASSAGE: The School of Law's first-time bar passage rate has increased to over 60%. First-time D.C. bar passage is 80%

First of all- who the hell takes the DC bar?

http://www.law.udc.edu/advocate/facts.html

Conyers is way hot, especially when she gets mad

Exhibit 1 in the argument against free elections.

12:44- She's an idiot. Affirmative action has nothing to do with it. It's not like she's a Georgetown Law Grad. She's a UDC House of Law and 99 cent Waffle Grad.

P.S.- You're an idiot too. Shrek!

Detroit should hire a private company to govern the city.

Instead of banging the gavel on the table the president of the city council should have struck that rabble over the head with it.

Can we get back to the idea of collecting dough to reward that 8th grader for kicking that idiot lady in the intellectual tuchus?

Seconded. Lat, you set up a PayPal scholarship fund for this kid, and I've got $20 for her today.

3:19
that's a great idea. They should especially hire a private company to replace the police force, who will invest large sums of money into robotic policing technology, the real aim of which is to protect the evil corporate bosses.

We should let/force Detroit -- or better yet, Michigan -- secede from the Union. It's a net drag on the country. Give it to Canada!

That 8th grader was awesome! I'd vote for her before Obama. She probably would have torn Rev. Wright apart -- which is more than Obama had the guts to do.

1:09 - it's already there.

The 8th grader still failed to rake Conyers over the coals on Conyers's breach of the forum's rules; she shouldn't have conceded that the council president was disrespecting Conyers by insisting that she STFU until she had the floor. But it's a freakin' 8th grader... real potential there.

I <3 3:46. Robocop reference?

3:46 --

Best. Robocop Reference. Ever.

BACK IN THE DAY...

Back in the mid-90s, Monica Conyers and I worked together at Sutherland out of the Atlanta office. In her defense, she was one of the firm's best partners and a strong advocate of ensuring the firm paid its associates "market" bonuses, or above.

Incredible! That eighth grader is something else. Composed, articulate and not willing to back down. She should be commended. Conyers, on the other hand, got smoked!

Monica Conyers worked at SAB?

UDC wasn't even an accredited law school until like... yesterday.

i didn't know conyers is an attorney. is "sutherland" a good firm (i think they were at my school, loyola, for oci).

UPDATE: We have confirmed reports that Kierra Bell is really Gary Coleman in drag.

2:10 - Word. The AA stuff is nonsense. There are more moronic white lawyers per capita for sure.

I didn't know that Sutherland recruits from UDC. I graduated their with high honors in 2004 and never knew that they interviewed there.

Goes to show all the UDC haters out there... we have lots of top alumni, at top firms like Sutherland, including one Monica Conyers (President pro temp of Detroit Council and the wife of a famous U.S. Representative).

Does anyone have Ms. Bell's resume? I think we have an open spot in our summer program...

4:20(2) - uhhh, did you see the video? Not someone to be proud to call a fellow alum.

4:20 (2). Are you joking?

Sutherland to Monica Conyers, Monica Gooding, Monica Lewinsky, and 190th on "Vault 200" !!!

the words UDC and sutherland create a real clusterf&%k !

can anyone confirm the UDC - Conyers - Sutherland connection? if this is true, this is funnier than the Sutherland "rumors" posted earlier this week.

4:20(2)

You graduated from UDC with "high honors"? You mean you went to the school that boasts such "top alumni" as Monica Conyers?

Well Congratulations! You should send your resume to my firm... we are hiring contract attorneys to do insurance defense and even pay overtime.

4:26. Yes. I work in the ATL office and can confirm that she was our hiring partner during the mid-90s. She brought me on board. She really was one of ATL's top lawyers and had an impressive book of business and a busy SCOTUS practice.

The girls laughing behind Conyers back at the end are awesome.

"But you did it in school didn't you?"
yes.
"So we are all human right"
yes.

The devilish crucible of brutal cross examination by Conyers reveals the tautological truth that 8th graders are either human children who attend school or they are not!

Let me make sure I have this straight----

* Monica Conyers, wife of Congressman Conyers, graduated from UDC, was the hiring partner at Sutherland, and had an active Supreme Court practice?
* This doesn't add up -- particularly the Supreme Court / UDC things (as a former SCOTUS insider, I have never heard of UDC's alumni list including a "Supreme Court regular" named Monica Conyers).

Guys in my 8th grade class used to graduate with high honors from UDC while serving as Supreme Court justices married to members of Congress all the time. It was no big deal.

FRAT STUD Jr.

Hey, I don't think Lat's allowed to do a paypal account. Does anyone else know how to do it? Just set it up and put the link in the comments. I'll give. Put me down for $10.

So, I saw Monica Conyers in the video. Was she wearing a fat suit?

Who's the pretty woman in the still shot? Her daughter?

I'd like to point out that this story has nothing to do with race but everything to do with Democrats.

"Monica Conyers is a University of District of Columbia School of Law grad...and the pro-tem president of the Detroit City Council. "

TO THE ANTI-LOYOLA CREW: At least our grads get better jobs than that!

4:20 (2) - UDC law sucks, Sutherland sucks, and judging from the video I just watched, Monica Conyers is a low-class joke who is prone to inappropriate emotional outbursts and cannot even hold her own against an 8th grader - albeit a very smart and poised one.

I just saw one of your "Top Alumi" get owned by a 13 year-old.

Here's her bio:
http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/legislative/citycouncil/members/ConyersM/

As a 10-year-old papergirl, Monica Conyers did not like the cold of Detroit but the papers had to be delivered or there would be no money. Monica understood the importance of hard work as she helped her mother make ends meet for a family of seven.

Hard work has been a way of life for Councilwoman Monica Conyers. Married for more than sixteen years to one of America's most powerful U.S. congressmen, John Conyers; the couple are raising their two sons, John III and Carl in Detroit.

Monica's husband, Congressman Conyers, supported his wife's bid for council. The congressman did not mince words when he would ask Detroiters to:"Join the Conyers family as we fight to take back Detroit from those that put self interest above your interests. Detroit deserves better. I respect you enough to say that you must vote for more than a name. Vote for Monica because she has prepared herself to serve Detroit," said congressman Conyers.

The work ethic honed on the streets of Detroit as a papergirl was the foundation as Councilwoman Conyers earned degrees from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law (Juris Doctor), Central Michigan University (Masters Public Administration) and Bennett College (BA Secondary Education/ Political Science) and served as a Lyndon B. Johnson intern in the nation's capitol.

Monica Conyers worked for sixteen years as a teacher and administrator, managing staff and budgets with the DPS and she has served as co-chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses Association and sits on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

The hard work paid off as Monica Conyers shocked political experts when she garnered enough votes to elevate Councilwoman Conyers to the position of Detroit City Council President Pro Tempore as her vote total even exceeded that of Mayoral candidates Kilpatrick and Hendrix.

When asked what she would do to balance the city budget, Council President Pro Tem Conyers said, "I would not vote for a budget that exceeds realistic revenue projections. You can't spend what you don't have. Deliver for the people of Detroit or hit the door."

(don't see anything about Sutherland?)

This could as easily have been Stephen Colbert (at least then it would have been funny):

"But you did it in school didn't you?" - Conyers/[Colbert]
yes.
"So we are all human right" - Conyers[Colbert]
yes.
"Apology accepted." - Colbert

So you have to give it to Conyers for learning from a pro.

4:20 (2) -

Decently subtle trolling. The common "their" mistake was nice, and the "pro-temp" was delicious. But I thought that going so far as to mention Conyers as a positive example was excessive, amateurish.

Her only reponse to a well reasoned 8th grade argument should have been, "I let me emotions get the better of me. I apologize to you and to President ____. I hope you can forgive my outburst."

Now she just looks like a complete fool.

that 8th grader was great -- good for her ! ! !

99th!

And 100th -- for the comments clusterf**k!

Let's send that 8th-grader on a trip! Someone set up a paypal account!!!!!!!!!

The fact that she is black has nothing to do with any of this. I(Directed at some of the more subtly racist remarks). It is the fact that as a human being she seems to feel that she doesn't have any "boundaries", and that the rules of public decorum don't apply to her. She may have been smart back in the day, but clearly she is now picking fights with 8th graders, a strong indicator that her little "grey cells" are no longer functioning. What this also shows is that there are young people in the world who have great potential to do great things and hopefully not become as messed up as her.

Great video!

The funniest part about this whole thing is that Conyers and her chief of staff *orchestrated* this event. They decided that it would be a good idea to bring kids in and have them ask her questions about the "shrek" incident." It's not like this was some surprise question out of the blue.

So I have to assume that she planned out her answers. She must have actually sat down with her chief of staff and said, "Right, let's bring these kids in and, with tape rolling, have them ask me about calling that guy shrek. Then I'll turn it around on them and be like, 'oh, you've never done anything wrong either?' and then they'll see that I was right all along."

For the posters who have suggested starting a paypal collection for the 8th grader: What makes you think she need it? Because she's black? She's in Detroit? I know this site isn't about careful reflection, but I hope you take a moment to think about why you felt so compelled to collect alms for her.

Whatever, 2:28. Way to make it about race.

How about because she deserves it? If you pwnd Conyers (even though you're probably in 18th grade) that bad on video I'd even give you $10.

So, question answered. Are you going to set up the PayPal?

2:46: How did I make it about race? Have you read the comments on this post?

I've never seen an alms collection go out for anyone else on this site that's done something laudable; but when it's a young black girl (apparently) from an inner-city, apparently she needs a scholarship fund to save her from her plight.

You're right, 2:46, she deserves our praise--but what makes you think she needs to be lifted out of her surroundings for her own improvement? She looks like she's doing just fine without white knights coming down from on high with money and private school scholarships. In the end, I doubt that a collection basket would have been demanded if she had blonde hair and was visiting some suburban council meeting.

Kierra Bell just rocked that. Good for her. Nicely done.

Oh, and I would also like to say that if there were a paypal set up for her to give her some sort of award or cool opportunity, I would donate too. Not because she's black, and not because she may or may not be from inner-city Detroit, but because I found her to be entirely delightful, articulate, and impressive. And -- this has nothing to do with race or city -- being a smart 8th grader sometimes really sucks. So I hope that somehow word makes its way back to her that a bunch of attorneys who don't know her were genuinely impressed with her, think she's got something special, and hope that she'll keep it up and go very far. (Or at least, I know I would have loved hearing that when I was in 8th grade....)
~6:44

MONICA CONYERS / SCOTUS COMMENTS.

Monica Conyers was a SAB attorney (from Atlanta) with an active Supreme Court practice. I did a lexis search of her name and (unless another Monica Gooding from SAB exists), she came up as lead council on 4 cases and several in the courts of appeals (primarily 11th and 6th circuits, makes sense for an ATL / Detroit-based attorney). Not bad for a UDC grad.

Kash,

Will you marry me. Please check off one of the boxes, below.

____Yes
____No

Props to the 8th grader!

Kierra rocks. I hope someone sends her this post.

5:21 said, "What makes you think she needs to be lifted out of her surroundings for her own improvement?"

There's nothing racist about making this assumption; it's statistically probable. I live in Detroit, and it's pretty rough out there. Only 25% of Detroit kids graduate high school. "In the end, I doubt that a collection basket would have been demanded if she had blonde hair and was visiting some suburban council meeting." Me too. Kids in the suburbs are just not (as a statistical matter) facing the same situation.

5:21, are you blind or just stupid? Black kids in Detroit are likely to be poor, and living in the inner city IS, in fact, a handicap. This bright, articulate, girl might not be able to reach her full potential, and that would be a shame.

Race and class matter. We can't just wish this fact away.

Did you all watch the next video, where LeDuff interviews here one on one? It's a comedy gold mine. After viewing it, however, methinks LeDuff must be schtick. Nobody is that douchey in real life.

Detroit is just TTT... I'm surprised it even comes up, even as humor. It'd be like Lat commenting on Cooley grads... it's just too easy.

To those who suggested she should've admitted she was wrong... that's not how the game is played. Rationalize and show what she did was okay... but never admit a mistake.

That little 8th grader will make us all proud one day. Hold your leaders and adults accountable, always.

Monica Conyers is an ignorant beeyatch. This has nothing to do with race.

And, UDC should be closed.

Somebody set a PayPal account up for the 8th grader!!!

It would seem to me Monica Conyers made an observation that many women (publicly or privately) confront everyday which is patriarchy and unveiled disrespect. Do I agree with the name calling, no but Monica Conyers seems to be an aggressive, bright, and articulate woman that many (men and women) could feel threatened by. Like her or hate her, she is a force to be wreckened with.

I think it is wonderful this woman openly takes a stand against disrepect and she is willing to defend herself if need be. Now, if she were a quiet, unassuming, and retiring personality there would be no problem with her. It is because she refuses to accept blatant disrespect and has no problem confronting it she somehow is labeled as "angry".

It is seems that Monica Conyers refuses to be a door mat and those who have problems with it need to get over it.

5/11 @ 3:41 = Monica Conyers

This comment is so riddled with grammatical mistakes and poor reasoning, that it can only be Dame Conyers herself (wreckened???). Even assuming that Ms. Conyers was acting in response to "disrespect," her response was completely inappropriate, and by trying to excuse her actions to a bunch of schoolchildren (who obviously understand how to conduct themselves better than she does) she has merely highlighted how wrong she was. If an 8th grader called her teacher "Shrek," then punishment would be appropriate and would no doubt follow. What on earth was Ms. Conyers thinking in making such an analogy? There are appropriate avenues (obviously not namecalling) for someone to take if she feels she is not being listened to, whether that person is a schoolchild or a councilwoman, and for Ms. Conyers to suggest to schoolchildren that her retributive actions are excusable is a shameful attempt at a moral lesson.

Whether a person is male or female, young or old, it is improper to act as Ms. Conyers did, and her poor attempt to manipulate junior highschoolers into making her look better is even worse.