Don't Blame Your Crimes On A Fake 'Black Man' -- Good Advice For Lawyers And Human Beings

It doesn't take much to imagine this scenario going from the humorous to the tragic.

Kenneth Lewis and Heather Wilsey

Kenneth Lewis and Heather Wilsey

Sometimes there are tales of attorney misconduct that are very specific to the legal profession — overbilling, attorney/client “relations,” you get the point. But other times, the fact that the subject is a lawyer is purely incidental to the story. Like this one, in which two Ohio attorneys try to pin their drunk driving and subsequent car crash on a mythological black man. Attorney or no, that’s just a terrible move.

According to police, Kenneth Lewis and Heather Wilsey, two white attorneys, were out drinking at a local bar earlier this month. Citing video footage, police say they were both intoxicated, but they got into Lewis’s car, a black Acura, and Wilsey drove off. Not too long after that, the Acura hit a telephone pole and police were called. Once the pair start talking to police, the story diverges from what the evidence shows. According to the Chronicle-Telegram:

Lewis, 42, told police that he and Wilsey were at the Train Station Bar and were too intoxicated too drive, but they met a black man who told them he would drive them.

Lewis told police that he got into the back of the Acura, which he owned, and Wilsey got into the front passenger seat of the vehicle. The black man got behind the wheel and drove south on East River Street before turning west onto Fourth Street, according to Lewis’ account.

The Acura went through the intersection at East Avenue and struck the utility pole before hitting the curb, Lewis said. The report said the car had heavy damage to the right side and the tire and rim were destroyed, rendering the car inoperable.

After the crash, Lewis told officers, the black man, whom he described as wearing a red baseball cap, a dark shirt and camouflage shorts, ran from the scene.

Now, luckily at this point, the police are highly skeptical of the pair’s story and go to the bar to find the video surveillance which allegedly contradicts the attorneys’ story. But imagine Lewis and Wilsey were slightly more convincing, or the police that responded were just a little bit more inclined to believe the lawyers. Now let’s add a black kid wearing a red baseball cap who was walking home nearby to round out our hypothetical. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision a tragic outcome where the attorneys that started the drama in the first instance are not paying the highest cost.

Both Lewis and Wilsey were arrested and charged with obstructing official business and have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

2 lawyers charged with obstruction after saying black man crashed their car [The Chronicle-Telegram]

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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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