Nailing SHEEP!

second, damn

That's quacktastic!

Kash is a much, MUCH better writer than Elie.

Well done, Kash. When I found myself amused and not confused by idiotic errors, I scrolled back to the top to confirm my expectation. Sure enough, this one wasn't written by Elie. Two good posts in a row! One by you and one by Lat.

Florida sucks. End of story.

ducktales

Is that a chin yarmulke?

ya'll never get ma lucky #1 dime!

I had the same reaction as 6.

Paul Weiss is cursed, first the S&M staff attorney and now this:

http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/12/paul-weiss-associate-dies-in-fall-at-hong-kong-airport.html

ABA Journal, gossip rag

The lawyer of the day is nice. The lawyer of the year is better. The lawyer of the year is clearly Jonathan Lee Riches. Who else knows what Hamden went through thanks to Rumsfeld?

first!

it's even better (worse?) than that... apparently the woman "allegedly" having sex is married with 2 small kids. and the guy she was "allegedly" caught with was one of her employees.

florida= TTT

i wonder if that's the same restaurant where the carolina panther's cheerleaders were getting it on?

a woo oo

So looks like Paul Weiss has an opening....

A Woo Ooo!

Florida = America's wang. Discuss.

second, damn

6 & 11, ditto.

"Above the Law" is publishing and disseminating false and malicious comments. As the one of the subjects of the article, a lawyer who is NOT above the law, but protected by it, I would first like to thank you for the extra year (I'm 45, not 44, but I appreciate it) and then correct the record for those who may read it. None of us has time to respond to every ridiculous blog, but this is one dedicated to our profession, so it warrants more attention.

This "Aimee" was apparently a guest in a party room of the restaurant that is a popular Tampa restaurant, in a great neighborhood. Multiple witnesses - involved and objective, uninvolved staff - say she began a fight by hitting another woman and a gentleman. She should have been arrested, and may still be, but she told officers that she was with the state attorney's office. She once was, but is no longer.

There was no "Copulating" in the restaurant, as the woman she hit is married, and her husband was with us in the restaurant just before and just after the fight. The person Jodi was with is the consummate gentlemen, who works for her, and with me. "Aimee" was, by the account of restaurant staff "not with it" and her allegations are base, and false.

I am a friend of the victims, and an attorney, which is how I introduced myself to the manager and the officers who initially looked like they were arresting the victim (and had her handcuffed). Although I do absolutely no criminal law whatsoever, I heard that my neighbor and friend was about to be arrested for being hit - and thinking that unjust, I went out to let her know she did not have to speak with the officer (who had not advised her of that) and could be represented if she wanted. She now says she wishes she had known that, but the officer did not present it to her in that way.

That particular piece of advice, the police viewed as "pestering" or "interfering" with an interrogation. They wanted to interview her without counsel and without Mirandizing her. In the end, the police first arrested, or handcuffed, both parties, and then "unarrested" them. I know - you can't do that, but they did.

Multiple objective witnesses confirm that I never got within 15 feet of the "interview" and when told to back off, did so, and retreated to the area where you wait for your car from the valet. Ordered to leave, I said "I am waiting for my car..." (hard to leave without your car), and when I said "what is that officer's name?" I was hit from behind but what I now know was 4 officers. They didn't arrest me, they just tackled me. Seeing blood - which is what you could reasonably foresee from a tackle face first into the pavement, the police realized they might have a problem.

That is why they "arrested" the victim's friend and neighbor who was offering counsel in the midst of an interrogation. So, before you jump to conclusions about Tampa people, Tampa restaurants or especially the fine people first attacked then slandered by "Aimee" please wait for the report from Internal Affairs, the state attorney and the FBI. Let's see how they sort through the kind of excessive force and bad behavior that is seen every weekend in black and latino neigborhoods, and just rarely on display in "swanky" restaurants and neighborhoods. It isn't the first time for these police officers - no one does a take down like that for the first time with a lawyer in a nice neighborhood - as the record will eventually show. They do it the first few dozen times where people can't complain, or complaints fall on deaf (or skeptical) ears. If the incident on South Howard helps illuminate and put an end to similar incidents on North Armenia - and thousands of neighborhoods like that throughout the country, then the incident that seems so fun and salacious on its face to bloggers around the country will come to some good. (you can help by weighing in)

I would do the same thing 100 times over - if responsible attorneys see people at risk of losing their civil liberties to overzealous or unscrupulous officers, they should intervene as I did - without confrontation - but simply by being there as witness to the event. If a few of us get bruised in the process, it is a small price to pay. I have foregone a ski trip over Christmas with my wife and family to deal with the aftermath of someone else's bad behavior... but I will live to fight another day. A motorist that had an accident in Tampa a year or so ago and was shot to death by the same officer who "took me down" will not. How many times does that happen and not get reported? And before you peg me as a bleeding heart, I am a law and order conservative... but law and order requires what Jefferson called a nation on laws and not men. Otherwise we have neither.

The "anonymous" sourcing to the police department that has me "offering my legal services" to people who declined is to cover up what they know is a problem. I don't do criminal work, so I wouldn't offer my services except to help a friend, not some nut who punched my friends and then made up stories about them to cover for her own drunken behavior.

I know nothing about "Aimee" apart from this incident, but I suggest that if the profession has its weaknesses, and it does, you start your inquiry there. As the son of a 50 year practitioner - who started long before you had to "confirm your understanding in writing" - it saddens me that there has to be a website(s) to address bad legal behavior, and that the default position would be, without inquiry, that this must have been an ambulance chaser... good grief. Not your fault... but a sad state of the profession. Some of us still do things... for free... at their own risk because it simply right.

I welcome your comments and your help in beginning to put the focus of this story where it should be - not as sexy as the bathroom story but more important: Excessive force against innocent citizens of all walks in every neighborhood.

Brent W. Yessin

Interesting comment - I have only one response: ducktales, a woo oo !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Duckburg skyrocketing up the list of America's most violent cities!

A-whoo-oo!

Mr Yessin, Kudo's for having the courage to post here and defend yourself and friends. Hopefully you will see fit to answer a couple of question that come to mind.

1. Why was the "consumate gentleman" in the woman's restroom in the first place? We've all read that he was their being consoled over relationship issues, but might there be a better place for that "consoling" to happen? I can think of half a dozen right off the top of my head. If I was a woman and walked into a restroom and found a man in there, I might be a bit alarmed. That's just me though"

2. Were you in the woman's restroom also? I am assuming you weren't, so my followup question is: how do you know what was happening in there? Are you just taking your friends words for it? Much as Aimee's friends might take her word for it? Oh wait, I forgot Jodi's husband was in the establishment, so it would have been physically impossible for her to rendezvous with a man in the woman's bathroom and "copulate".

3. What do you think caused the initial fight? Did this Aimee just pick someone to throw a punch at, with no provocation?

I am responding to this in a caring and compassionate manner and not from a legal perspective! I think the facts will speak for themselves as this story unravels!

Christmas Eve, I was shopping and a glass shelf fell on a man's head causing several lacerations and a hematoma. He looked at me as I passed by with blood gushing down his face and a bit confused as to what just happened to him. I ignored the loud crash only to find myself in the middle of it as I turned the corner. I along with two other women offered him assistance. Another man investigated the shelf. It was not installed properly therefore causing it to collapse. There were several heavy crystal vases that smashed onto this victim's head. We stayed with him, provided necessary emergency care and advised him to fill out the proper documents before he left in the ambulance. There was one employee who assisted him for five minutes otherwise leaving this man unattended. When she returned after 20 minutes she wanted us all to leave. Can't do that-first of all once a healthcare provider responds they are obligated to stay until another healthcare provider arrives -she became persistant...

OMG am I happy that it didn't turn out like this story! I mean I was leaning directly over his face, bending his head foreward towards me... as I was trying to stop his head from bleeding. (Don't go there!) It might have looked rather sexual to a passer by??? Right in the middle of a classy upscale department store... The clerk was insistant that we leave. I declined to leave. I couldn't until the ambulance came...I am held to a higher standard as a healthcare professional legally and ethically- I know that this man could have become unresponsive or confused from the head injury needing futher assistance....Now change the characters in this story to the Tampa story..Identifying a need, kindness, compassion, offering assistance to a friend?

I was not at the restaurant, therefore I do not know the details but I do know Brent, Jodi and George and I can speak to their character.

Brent will offer his services when he believes rights are being violated. He did so for my son when a security guard choked him out from behind leaving him unable to defend himself. It was clearly use of unnecessary force and all the charges were dropped immediately against my son. The rent a cop thought my son was too mouthy -standing up for himself and shut him down from behind by choking him! Scares me to think what the outcome might have been if he choked him too hard!

Jodi is a loving and caring person. I was not the least bit surprised to read that she was conforting George. That is who she is. There is NO way that Jodi and George would be having sex in the bathroom. First of all, hello...he is gay and secondly, Jodi adores her husband very very much! Anyone that knows Jodi knows that her husband and her children are what make her world a beautiful place!

George is a wonderful man who is an employee and a friend of Jodi's. Jodi & George help so many people in a caring and professional manner. Their one mistake was being in the ladies room....BUT FOR Ms. Dias entering and acting like G-girl there would be no story. Obviously she wasn't interfering to help but to provoke a fight. I do not know Ms. Dias....I do however have one question for her: Wouldn't it have been classier and easier to go to management and tell them what she suspected? Let management handle it.

It sounds as if G-girl (Ms Dias) is a bit of a wildcat reacting rather than analyzing the facts or the problem???? What is Ms. Dias interpretation of having sex? There is no description of that...Embracing one another...comforting a friend...OMG... Will that be the next thing to be taken away? No more embracing or comforting a friend in public..no more good Sam's!!!

(OK- I can see the point...not in the ladies room. The ladies room was not the best choice, but it was perhaps the best choice under the circumstances! Women always go to the ladies room with their friends (come on you know it!)..and sometimes we forget our gay friends aren't girlfriends! Sorry George...but it is true!)

Now that you know the cast of characters...I think it is
important to take this point home...

The gift of Christmas is about love and caring-and helping one another. Jodi conforts a friend in pain, Brent helps a friend. I assisted a man in need and would not leave when I was told to by an employee. George needed Jodi's friendship...Jodi needed Brent's assistance although she did not realize it at the time...I find it sad that this story was not presented in that fashion but rather a trashy rag creating a South Tampa vortex -move on!

I am responding to this in a caring and compassionate manner and not from a legal perspective! I think the facts will speak for themselves as this story unravels!

Christmas Eve, I was shopping and a glass shelf fell on a man's head causing several lacerations and a hematoma. He looked at me as I passed by with blood gushing down his face and a bit confused as to what just happened to him. I ignored the loud crash only to find myself in the middle of it as I turned the corner. I along with two other women offered him assistance. Another man investigated the shelf. It was not installed properly therefore causing it to collapse. There were several heavy crystal vases that smashed onto this victim's head. We stayed with him, provided necessary emergency care and advised him to fill out the proper documents before he left in the ambulance. There was one employee who assisted him for five minutes otherwise leaving this man unattended. When she returned after 20 minutes she wanted us all to leave. Can't do that-first of all once a healthcare provider responds they are obligated to stay until another healthcare provider arrives -she became persistant...

OMG am I happy that it didn't turn out like this story! I mean I was leaning directly over his face, bending his head foreward towards me... as I was trying to stop his head from bleeding. (Don't go there!) It might have looked rather sexual to a passer by??? Right in the middle of a classy upscale department store... The clerk was insistant that we leave. I declined to leave. I couldn't until the ambulance came...I am held to a higher standard as a healthcare professional legally and ethically- I know that this man could have become unresponsive or confused from the head injury needing futher assistance....Now change the characters in this story to the Tampa story..Identifying a need, kindness, compassion, offering assistance to a friend?

I was not at the restaurant, therefore I do not know the details but I do know Brent, Jodi and George and I can speak to their character.

Brent will offer his services when he believes rights are being violated. He did so for my son when a security guard choked him out from behind leaving him unable to defend himself. It was clearly use of unnecessary force and all the charges were dropped immediately against my son. The rent a cop thought my son was too mouthy -standing up for himself and shut him down from behind by choking him! Scares me to think what the outcome might have been if he choked him too hard!

Jodi is a loving and caring person. I was not the least bit surprised to read that she was conforting George. That is who she is. There is NO way that Jodi and George would be having sex in the bathroom. First of all, hello...he is gay and secondly, Jodi adores her husband very very much! Anyone that knows Jodi knows that her husband and her children are what make her world a beautiful place!

George is a wonderful man who is an employee and a friend of Jodi's. Jodi & George help so many people in a caring and professional manner. Their one mistake was being in the ladies room....BUT FOR Ms. Dias entering and acting like G-girl there would be no story. Obviously she wasn't interfering to help but to provoke a fight. I do not know Ms. Dias....I do however have one question for her: Wouldn't it have been classier and easier to go to management and tell them what she suspected? Let management handle it.

It sounds as if G-girl (Ms Dias) is a bit of a wildcat reacting rather than analyzing the facts or the problem???? What is Ms. Dias interpretation of having sex? There is no description of that...Embracing one another...comforting a friend...OMG... Will that be the next thing to be taken away? No more embracing or comforting a friend in public..no more good Sam's!!!

(OK- I can see the point...not in the ladies room. The ladies room was not the best choice, but it was perhaps the best choice under the circumstances! Women always go to the ladies room with their friends (come on you know it!)..and sometimes we forget our gay friends aren't girlfriends! Sorry George...but it is true!)

Now that you know the cast of characters...I think it is
important to take this point home...

The gift of Christmas is about love and caring-and helping one another. Jodi conforts a friend in pain, Brent helps a friend. I assisted a man in need and would not leave when I was told to by an employee. George needed Jodi's friendship...Jodi needed Brent's assistance although she did not realize it at the time...I find it sad that this story was not presented in that fashion but rather a trashy rag creating a South Tampa vortex -move on!

I am responding to this in a caring and compassionate manner and not from a legal perspective! I think the facts will speak for themselves as this story unravels!

Christmas Eve, I was shopping and a glass shelf fell on a man's head causing several lacerations and a hematoma. He looked at me as I passed by with blood gushing down his face and a bit confused as to what just happened to him. I ignored the loud crash only to find myself in the middle of it as I turned the corner. I along with two other women offered him assistance. Another man investigated the shelf. It was not installed properly therefore causing it to collapse. There were several heavy crystal vases that smashed onto this victim's head. We stayed with him, provided necessary emergency care and advised him to fill out the proper documents before he left in the ambulance. There was one employee who assisted him for five minutes otherwise leaving this man unattended. When she returned after 20 minutes she wanted us all to leave. Can't do that-first of all once a healthcare provider responds they are obligated to stay until another healthcare provider arrives -she became persistant...

OMG am I happy that it didn't turn out like this story! I mean I was leaning directly over his face, bending his head foreward towards me... as I was trying to stop his head from bleeding. (Don't go there!) It might have looked rather sexual to a passer by??? Right in the middle of a classy upscale department store... The clerk was insistant that we leave. I declined to leave. I couldn't until the ambulance came...I am held to a higher standard as a healthcare professional legally and ethically- I know that this man could have become unresponsive or confused from the head injury needing futher assistance....Now change the characters in this story to the Tampa story..Identifying a need, kindness, compassion, offering assistance to a friend?

I was not at the restaurant, therefore I do not know the details but I do know Brent, Jodi and George and I can speak to their character.

Brent will offer his services when he believes rights are being violated. He did so for my son when a security guard choked him out from behind leaving him unable to defend himself. It was clearly use of unnecessary force and all the charges were dropped immediately against my son. The rent a cop thought my son was too mouthy -standing up for himself and shut him down from behind by choking him! Scares me to think what the outcome might have been if he choked him too hard!

Jodi is a loving and caring person. I was not the least bit surprised to read that she was conforting George. That is who she is. There is NO way that Jodi and George would be having sex in the bathroom. First of all, hello...he is gay and secondly, Jodi adores her husband very very much! Anyone that knows Jodi knows that her husband and her children are what make her world a beautiful place!

George is a wonderful man who is an employee and a friend of Jodi's. Jodi & George help so many people in a caring and professional manner. Their one mistake was being in the ladies room....BUT FOR Ms. Dias entering and acting like G-girl there would be no story. Obviously she wasn't interfering to help but to provoke a fight. I do not know Ms. Dias....I do however have one question for her: Wouldn't it have been classier and easier to go to management and tell them what she suspected? Let management handle it.

It sounds as if G-girl (Ms Dias) is a bit of a wildcat reacting rather than analyzing the facts or the problem???? What is Ms. Dias interpretation of having sex? There is no description of that...Embracing one another...comforting a friend...OMG... Will that be the next thing to be taken away? No more embracing or comforting a friend in public..no more good Sam's!!!

(OK- I can see the point...not in the ladies room. The ladies room was not the best choice, but it was perhaps the best choice under the circumstances! Women always go to the ladies room with their friends (come on you know it!)..and sometimes we forget our gay friends aren't girlfriends! Sorry George...but it is true!)

Now that you know the cast of characters...I think it is
important to take this point home...

The gift of Christmas is about love and caring-and helping one another. Jodi conforts a friend in pain, Brent helps a friend. I assisted a man in need and would not leave when I was told to by an employee. George needed Jodi's friendship...Jodi needed Brent's assistance although she did not realize it at the time...I find it sad that this story was not presented in that fashion but rather a trashy rag creating a South Tampa vortex -move on!

Sounds like another Brittany Spears story. Why on earth would any attorney antagonize 4, not 1, but 4 police officers? come on everyone, this makes no sense. we have more problems than this kind of inappropriate news reporting. Knowing Mr Yessin, I find it highly unlikely for him to indulge in this type of behavior. It's Xmas, we are in a recession, we have criminal politicians, Wall Street running a gamut, and this is something we even need to hear about?

Sounds like another Brittany Spears story. Why on earth would any attorney antagonize 4, not 1, but 4 police officers? come on everyone, this makes no sense. we have more problems than this kind of inappropriate news reporting. Knowing Mr Yessin, I find it highly unlikely for him to indulge in this type of behavior. It's Xmas, we are in a recession, we have criminal politicians, Wall Street running a gamut, and this is something we even need to hear about?

Thanks very much to those who have taken another look at this. I don't regularly check blogs, but it is apparent that when the facts came out, people saw that there was far more to it than "sex in the bathroom", which did not occur. And thanks especially for the last comment - I had forgotten that and am grateful that you did not! Thanks and Merry Christmas.

In answer to the questions in 28 - I was not in the bathroom, and I am not sure why George was, except that I think Jodi was consoling him, and it must seemed like a private place... there were not that many people in the restaurant and the bathroom doesn't get that much traffic, like it would at a busy bar, for example. If I walked in - and I have before - on someone of the wrong gender in the bathroom, I would have laughed and said "one of us is in the wrong place...". I am sure that everyone involved wishes that Aimee had done that instead, including the police, whose actions are now being reviewed by their own internal affairs, the FBI and the public.

As for why I believe my friends, it is not just because they are friends, but also because objective and unbiased witnesses on the restaurant staff confirm that Aimee hit George and Jodi - they were not in the bathroom but did see the aftermath as it spilled out into the hallway.

They apparently told the police that, but somehow that was omitted from the police report - time will tell why what the police motivation for that was.

Thanks to everyone for a more sober and thoughtful view of this incident, which claimed several victims and probably should remind those of us who do not see police brutality and excessive force in our neighborhood very often that there are plenty of people who are not so fortunate, and who live with this every day.

It certainly got my attention, and I intend to work on this issue in our community to bring some positive outcome to a bad set of circumstances. This department has had a spotty reputation for decades because of behavior like this, and it taints good officers - and probably puts them at risk - when bad officers (who go a career without a promotion like these guys) regularly act like they did last Saturday.

Thanks again to everyone who has shown an interest in the real story.

Brent

Spirit of the Law v. Letter of the Law has turned into
"Spirit Be Damned, It’s the Loopholes That Count"

G-girl ( LOL) should have notified management of what she perceived as a sexual encounter and removed herself gracefully from the situation.

Mr. Yessin -make sure you have your attorney with you next time you want to help a friend or neighbor!

along with a nurse or doctor!

It's nice to see you respond in a xmas spirit when old friends avail their support to you,and perhaps you need a nurse and a doctor with you, Brent, you do know a few, but all in all, this mishap has a reason, there are no coincidences in life, and it puts focus back on what's realy important in life. Perhaps some good will come from this and you wil find comfort in knowing that.

It's nice to see you respond in a xmas spirit when old friends avail their support to you,and perhaps you need a nurse and a doctor with you, Brent, you do know a few, but all in all, this mishap has a reason, there are no coincidences in life, and it puts focus back on what's realy important in life. Perhaps some good will come from this and you wil find comfort in knowing that.

It's nice to see you respond in a xmas spirit when old friends avail their support to you,and perhaps you need a nurse and a doctor with you, Brent, you do know a few, but all in all, this mishap has a reason, there are no coincidences in life, and it puts focus back on what's realy important in life. Perhaps some good will come from this and you wil find comfort in knowing that.

But that picture does not do you any justice......

Is that a mug shot? and where is the orange jump suit?

Is that a mug shot? and where is the orange jump suit?

The charges against all, including Mr. Yessin were dropped and the judge admonished the arresting officers for “poor judgement.” More stellar behavior by Tampa PD.