John Pierce
Where in the world is John Pierce?
Does he have COVID? Was he in a car accident? Is he dehydrated? Or is he just taking a really long nap? The MAGA attorney’s friends and colleagues have put forward various explanations for his absence over the past ten days, but one thing is clear: This guy is not in court, and it’s putting the 15 or so Capitol Riot defendants he represents in a bad spot.
In his stead, Pierce’s associate Ryan Marshall has been showing up. The problem is that Marshall, a law school graduate, is not barred in any jurisdiction and probably never will be since he’s under indictment for participation in a guardianship fraud and abusing his position as a law clerk. Nevertheless, Marshall has now appeared at four hearings and a reverse proffer session and assured The Daily Beast, that he would “be fine, and able to handle” Pierce’s caseload on his own.
Federal prosecutors are unconvinced of the propriety of this arrangement, not to say the ability of a recent law graduate to “handle” upwards of a dozen complex criminal defenses at once.
At the first of two hearings before US District Judge Amit Mehta yesterday, the court wondered whether Jim Bainbridge, the other named member in Pierce’s firm, might enter an appearance in his partner’s absence. Marshall replied that he had no contact with his boss’s purported partner.
Calling it “disappointing,” Judge Mehta wondered when an IRL licensed attorney might appear, and was assured that negotiations were ongoing.
The Daily Beast reports:
Marshall said he had located a licensed lawyer to assist with Pierce’s Jan. 6 caseload, but that she was a bankruptcy attorney, not a criminal defense attorney, who is permitted to practice in Alabama and Florida. However, this person is also sick, and could not appear until a later date, Marshall said.
Because when you’re facing criminal trespass charges, what you want is an expert in Chapter 13, right? Although, if the alternative is a person with no working phone line who’s been in the wind for almost two weeks …
At the second hearing before Judge Mehta, Marshall scored himself a babysitter. What appears to be the above-mentioned bankruptcy lawyer showed up on the line, but refused to address the court because “Ryan is much more familiar with what’s going on than I am.”
Meanwhile, both defendants insisted on preserving their right to a speedy trial, despite the fact that their own lawyer is making that impossible. Pierce’s client Shane Jenkins was also screaming about a “Reverse RICO,” but no one has time on a Friday to decipher those goat entrails. (Although Marcy Wheeler has an interesting theory.)
“We’re in a difficult position here,” Judge Mehta noted, before conscripting the public defenders originally assigned to the January 6 defendants back into service, at least in an advisory capacity, until Pierce either re-emerges or definitively nopes out.
The circus continues. Albeit, with a big hole in the center ring.
Capitol Rioters Turn on Lawyer Who Has Gone AWOL [The Daily Beast]
‘We’re in a Difficult Position Here’: John Pierce’s Illness Leaves Judge Wrestling With How to Proceed in Jan. 6 Case [Law.com]
“STAND BACK AND STAND BY:” JOHN PIERCE’S PLAN FOR A PUBLIC AUTHORITY OR — MORE LIKELY — A MYPILLOW DEFENSE [Empty Wheel]
Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.