If you’re representing an elected official and former adoption agency manager accused of mistreating birth mothers imported from the Marshall Islands until they gave birth, you face a tough road. Authorities say Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen — of course Maricopa, Arizona, is where something this shady supposedly happened — faces charges in multiple jurisdictions for crimes like human smuggling, sale of a child, fraud, forgery, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. So attorney Matt Long told the Associated Press:
“This was not human trafficking,” Long said. “That’s going to be borne out by evidence. That’s going to be borne out by the manner in which it will be demonstrated that Mr. Petersen dealt with the birth mothers and the adopted families.”
Unfortunately, here’s what Google did with that headline:
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It seems Google’s already made up its mind about these charges. Good luck pushing back on that one.
Lawyer says Arizona official Paul Petersen miscast as human smuggler [Salt Lake Tribune]
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.