Sweet Little Devil

Thanks to the updated news from our friends at PD STUFF

Okay, maybe I jumped to quickly to call this kid a HERO. It's more like, "Lying sack." Cassidy Grigg might be getting torn a new one for the next few months until people move on to the next tragedy.

According to the Rocky Mountain News:

Cassidy Grigg told the Today show this morning: "You could tell that he wanted the females. He tapped me on the shoulder and he told me to leave the room. I told him, "I don't want to leave."

But it never happened, according to his mother, Larina Grigg.

She said he "wanted to be a hero" but amid television crews scrambling to interview him about what he experienced, he "got caught up in the chaos." The mother said he "feels awful" about it and that's why he wanted to come forward and set the record straight.

Oy. My dad would have given me the ass whuppin of a lifetime if I had pulled the whole family in and lied on national television.

Now, if you've read any of the comments in my last post Sweet Home Colorado...I'm waiting to hear what they find in the shooter's van: Porn or Great Expectations?

Sweet Home Colorado

Alright, you've all heard or read about the shooting in Colorado (The shooter has been identified as Dwayne Morrison) and you've all seen the kid (CASSIDY GRIGG) they're calling a hero on CBS's The Early Show...

Now you can see him on his Myspace page which as of right now is public:

His profile reads:

MY NAME IS CASSDIY DANIEL GRIGG I AM 16 MY BIRTHDAY IS OCTOBER 23
SO SOON I WILL BE 17 I GET MY LICENSE IN 1 WEEK ABOUT ME I LIVE IN THE MOUNTANS WHERE THERE IS NOT ALOT TO DO I HAVE A HUGE FAMILY 6 KIDS MY OLDER SISTER IS MARRIED AND IS GOING TO HAVE MY FIRST NEPHEW IN NOVEMBER I HAVE 3 OLDER BROTHERS TOMMY, ANDY, AND BENJI THEN I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER WHO IS 12 I AM GOING TO BE IN 11 GRADE I PLAY FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL FOR PLATTE CANYON HIGH I LOVE TO DRAW AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES PERFERIBLY HALO X BOX IS THE BEST I AM GOING TO GET A TATOO WITH MY BROTHER ANDY WHEN I TURN 18 IT IS GOING TO BE "GRIGG" IN OLD ENGLISH PRINT ON THE BACK SIDE OF MY ARM I HAVE 2 DOGS ONE OF MY DOGS PASSED AWAY THE OTHER DAY AND OF COURSE THE BEST ONE I HAVE 2 CATS AND 2 BIRDS I LOVE MUSIC WITH OUT IT WE WOULD ALL BE LOST MY FAVORITE FOOD IS MACCORNI AND CHEESE MY FAVORITE BAND IS EMERY MY FAVORITE COLOR IS LIME GREEN MY FAVORITE MOVE IS BRAVEHEART MY FAVORITE CAR IS A S 2000 (HANDA)

Much like me, his spelling is atrocious, but he seems like a clean-cut Mormon kid. Anyway, just thought you might be interested in a behind-the-scenes of the stuff shaking down in Colorado.

Freaks come in all shapes and sizes and I'm concerned about people like my fellow Californian, LAER who is convinced on his blog Cheat-Seeking Missiles that:

One thing is absolutely certain: When authorities in Bailey, Colorado check
out the van Morrison was living in, they will find it chock full of pornography.
I absolutely guarantee it.

I'm not a Porn advocate or anything although I don't mind a good Playboy now and then, but why is it that when bad shit happens, the freaks start tumbling out of the trees?

Bad Bad Leroy Brown: Public Defender & Going To Jail Because You Screwed Up

It's YOUTUBE Tuesday!

Has anyone out there had a chance to use YouTube? I've posted a few links here but I did a search on videos for Public Defender and I got about 47 results, here are two that I found most interesting:

You MUST SEE THIS VIDEO. Its the worst acting this side of...well...the moon? It does have one thing going for it...it;s entertaining AND only a few minutes long. G*d help you if you know these two guys and they work in your office (I think these entertaining weirdo's are out of Texas).


I don't know how in the hell I missed this story but here is a quick news story of an interpreter that got sent to the slammer because he neglected to request an interpreter for his trial:

My Client The Millionaire

Willard C. Bunney....yeah, thats right. The guy in the picture above was assigned a Public Defender after he was charged with exposing himself and committing a lewd act at the Oslo Conservation Area in the 300 block of Ninth Street Southeast (I'm assuming this is somewhere in Florida).

The problem? Mr. Bunney has over 4.2 Million dollars in assets. Nice huh? Well, now he is being charged with another crime: Making a false statement to officals.

Bunney appeared before County Judge David Morgan on Wednesday and posted a $500 bond on the charge of making a false statement to officials. Bunney pleaded not guilty to the offense, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Bunney's attorney, Charles A. Sullivan Jr., called the situation "a misunderstanding.."

Sullivan said Bunney might have been confused by a questionnaire he filled in when he applied for indigent status.

"It's like if you go into Wal-Mart and mistakenly put something in your pocket, but you go back in and say, 'I made a mistake," Sullivan said. "There was no intent to commit a crime."

Yeah, I'm going to have to remember that one...we actually get a lot of theft cases from Wal-Mart. The, Oopsy, I put all those cans of baby formula in my pocket accidentally explanation should really work out nicely...the perfect defense!

I love Florida.

Kill All The Lawyers

For all the Lawyers that read this...please stick with me and don't go to another blog yet, I don't want you all to think I'm going on some lawyer rant.

Believe it or not, this is actually going to be a book review...of sorts.

Now, as many of you know, I'm a horrible writer which also probably makes me unqualified to write a book review. I can only respond with, you may be right BUT I'm gonna to write one anyway! This is a blawg remember. Just the fact that I can turn my computer on means I'm capable of writing a review.

I realize this description of the requirements needed to write a book review does not preclude even some chimpanzee's from writing reviews and I'll hazard a guess that some already have.

I may not be a book reviewer but me LOVES me my books.

I'm a simple person with simple tastes...I enjoy reading Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, John Grisham, and I now I can call myself a fan and reader of Paul Levine, author of (most recently) Kill All The Lawyers (KATY).

KATY is the third in a series of books (Solomon vs. Lord and Deep Blue Alibi) featuring an awesome array of cast and characters all based out of (an around) my favorite city in Florida...MIAMI!

I love legal mysteries but sometimes after working real-life criminal cases, I want to go home and read something NOT law related. Kill All The Lawyers is most definitely not work. It was actually a lot of fun to read and when I finally had a chance to kick back and read it, I whipped through it in a couple of nights.

I hate to repeat what the other real book reviewers had to say about the book but it reminds me of an attorney version of Moonlighting. Does anyone remember one of the greatest private investigator themed television series to ever grace the boob tube? Please...I hope to G*d someone does!

Instead of David Addison (played by Bruce Willis in the TV series) and Maddie Hayes (played by THE Cybill Shepherd), Kill All The Lawyers features Steven Solomon and Victoria Lord. I can totally see this as a television series that I would watch faithfully every Sunday but of course I'm happy to read it on paper (for now).

Steven, is a criminal defense attorney and ex-college ballplayer who still basks in the (mostly) glory days of his past conquests on and off the playing field and Victoria is the prim and proper hot blonde ex-prosecutor who now shares an office with him.

KATY pretty much revolves around an ex-client coming back to haunt Steven who made some not so ethical decisions last time he represented the client in trial. For those of you that are sticklers for the spotless image of lawyers everywhere, this book may irk you a bit BUT if you like a little legal fun and frolicking, then this is for you.

Now, just to stray a bit here, I would like to cast my future television show...I would say that Greg Kinnear would play an excellent Steven Solomon and Victoria would have to be played by none other than Connie Britton...yeah, thats right. I didn't just pull Connie Britton out of my ass...she's a fantastic actress and very hot...although...maybe they could use someone younger and hotter.

Whatever.

You don't need to read the first two books to understand the latest one although I would highly recommend it. Mostly because they are also great reads but you'll really be attached to the characters by book three. Yes, I'm finally attached to something....I'm sorry to say it's characters in a book.

If anyone reading this is interested, I have the first book in the series (Solomon vs. Lord) available to the first person that e-mails me their mailing address. I promise that you'll be hooked immediately and want to order the next two (you're on your own with those)

Nancy Grace: Crazy Bitch or Jesus In A Blonde Wig?

Before I start this post, I just want to point out that our friend Blonde Justice has already worn this outfit on several occassions. I hope you're flattered Blondie!

Read this article to get a bit of an introduction to the story, because I'm not sure how many people are familiar with the story in Florida of Melinda Duckett and her missing son Trenton. Now, after reading about the story, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO WATCH THE NANCY GRACE INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CUOMO.

Poor Chris Cuomo...he almost had an edge on her then she threw the That baby is gone because that mother refused to answer our (Nancy Grace and Law Enforcement) questions! then it just seemed like he needed to start apologizing for asking her tough questions. Ya big putz!

Of course, I don't believe that Nancy Grace is at fault for Melinda Duckett's suicide but I love how she puts herself in the position of Misunderstood Savior For Victim's Everywhere.

Ugh.

Anyway, the story is interesting because I had a client some time back who died and everyone thought he died knowing he was "Guilty as sin," and responsible for a heinous crime. I felt (and knew) otherwise but we never had a chance to prove it in trial and his memory will forever be tainted by the public's perceived guilt.

NOTE: A few crime reporters reported finding Melinda's Myspace page. It is a private profile which thanks to some new techniques I was shown by a friend of the blawg, I was able to dig up some interesting comments she made on some of her friends pages. They are curious to read, but since they haven't been publicized in the news, I won't go into any detail.

More importantly, I'll explain the Myspace Investigation techniques in my next post which I just learned thanks to Private Investigator,

2 Teens Suspected Of Wisconsin School Plot

From Yahoo! News comes this news story out of Green Bay, Wisconsin:

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Two 17-year-olds (William C. Cornell and Shawn R. Sturtz) suspected of plotting a shooting spree at their school were fascinated with the mass killings at Columbine High School and had homemade bombs and weapons at their homes, investigators said Friday.

Take a wild guess...Yup, at least one of them (Shawn) has a Myspace Page.

This is the only photo he has on his site and under his profile, he writes something confusing and I'M SURE it's something the media is going to use it to say the kid was crazy:

Who I'd like to meet:
anyone that likes me or wants to be my friend why cuz i kick ass O_o i should have said that. lol but its so true. hey why are you talking shut up. no way man im the one that kicks it. ya but im in cortrol of the body. shut up man it just a matter of time. hellz no im not giving this body up ill shoot you. bring it............ mmmmmmm peace and quit at last..... hey what are you doing i killed you
nooooooo.....................

Yeah...I didn't take any screenshots of the page but check it out while you still can.

MORE LATER.

A Crimson Snow Angel

I loved my Gold Toe socks.

Not because they are particularly fashionable...in fact they might be considered a bit old school but I really did like them. Why? Because they're just the right thickness for all of my dress shoes and they're like the memories of the first girl you kissed or lost your virginity to...they last forever.

Gold Toe's allowed my feet to be snug in my all my dress shoes, not tight and constricted like some of the thicker dress socks I've worn in the past.

Although nothing will surpass the feel of my DKNY black dress socks (when I like walk around in those bad boys it feels like I’m walking on silk cushions) they make my shoes feel like they'll slide right off my feet if I walk too fast...that and the fact that I don't like the idea of walking around in DKNY anything.

I’m a dude, remember?

I can usually find my Gold Toe's on sale at Ross or Burlington Coat Factory and I get them in those three socks per package deal…You guys know the deal, a mish mash of overpriced socks in a big metal bin at your local clothing outlet which they call on sale but they're really just a buck off.

You can call me cheap but I don’t care what anyone tells me...$9.99 for three socks is NOT A SALE. It's a big rip. You just don't walk away from the salesperson thinking, Dude, I just got a steal on some socks!

Which brings me back to my Gold Toe's:

It was eerie to see them on the feet of a dead man.

I'll call the shooting victim, Mr. Gill. Mr. Gill was about my same height, weight, and complexion (although he had a bit more hair on his legs)…It was kind of like looking at myself laying on the floor.

I was slightly disturbed by the image which still hasn't left my head.

Mr. Gill had been shot about three times. The one shot to his lower body caused blood to drizzle down one of his legs (while he had been walking around). Although, the Gold Toe's were completely soaked, you really couldn't tell except where the blood was drying on the golden reinforced toes. The blood on the linoleum still seemed to be moist looking at the time the photograph was taken.

I could make out a few bloody footprints he made, staggering, getting weaker by the minute, until he finally collapsed in his kitchen. He didn't quite make it to his objective, a telephone about three feet away on the wall. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have stood leaning on a counter for so long...this is where a lot of that blood drizzled down his leg.

If he had been able to dial he might have had a chance, but instead he bled to death on his kitchen floor. Some little dust bunnies from under the fridge were stuck to his fingers and cheek.

Mr. Gill's Gold Toe's left marks on the floor which I could only imagine came from trying to get back up, He tried and tried until he finally gave up and just moved one leg side to side. Like a half-hearted attempt at making a crimson snow angel.

I don’t know what he was thinking when he put those socks on the morning he died. I wonder things like this. Almost every time I get a case like this, I just wonder what they were thinking about when they got out of bed that morning.

I don't like putting on my Gold Toe's anymore.

Sweeeeeet.

Thanks to Skelly over at A & C, I now know that Alaskablawg is back in blawgging action.

I'm sorry for not believing.

-Sancho

September 11th

September 11. Never Forget.

I've been reading a combination of these words on cars, trucks, commercials, and newspapers in the last few weeks…all leading up to today.

I can't even imagine the devastation and horror of the WTC towers falling in New York city five years ago.

I simply can't.

I sympathize with the victims and families of the 1000's of people that were killed and the legacy they are going to live with for the rest of their lives.

But...

Why is the innocent victim (a 33 year-old single mother of three) of a stabbing in my own city any less special than any of the passengers on the planes or people who perished in the towers? Why is this same woman's (who was killed on her way to the store to get her weekly groceries for her family…she had 35 dollars in cash on her) family not eligible for the 3.1 million dollars in victims compensation that each of the families from 9/11 are averaging?

The attacks killed 2,551 civilians (i.e., non-emergency-response personnel) and seriously injured another 215. The vast majority of these victims and their families sought compensation through the VCF. This group received a total of $8.7 billion in benefits, or an average of $3.1 million per recipient. Sixty-nine percent of the benefits came from the government, 23 percent from insurance, and 8 percent from charities.

Even if you take out the 31 percent provided by insurance and charities combined, it's still a huge percentage of money that is being paid out by our own government. Why are the regular everyday victims not worth as much?

Here is what I won't forget:

Our government failed us on September 11, 2001, and after they failed us, they decided to throw money at everyone in an attempt to make it all better.

Have a wonderful day everyone and...

Never Forget.

Not The Best Day For PD Investigator's Everywhere

This news story out of Merced, California is why we get paid to do defense investigations an NOT become correctional officers transferring inmates around.

Yup.

Apparently this handsome devil decided that being under the care of a contract Public Defender Investigator when he was allowed to temporarily visit his dying mother by a very, very, VERY caring judge (while still needing to serve 2 1/2 years more years) was a good opportunity to make a getaway on a motorcycle.

Oy vey.

He apparently is a kinder and gentler escaped inmate and completely unlike the bad assed AND completely tatted up character from that Prison escape television series this guy is:

Risner is described as a 6-foot-tall white male weighing 170 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and dark blue pants.

Risner has a tattoo of a cowgirl on the left side of his chest and a heart with flowers on his upper right arm.

A cowgirl and flowers. That is so damn sweet. They shoulda looked more carefully at those things, He might have had the escape plan on him the entire time.

Chilling, just chilling.

I was actually called up to escort a client to a visit with family once but it fell through. I was disappointed at the time but the more I read stories like this the more I think THANK GAWD!

Blogger Beta Question

Does anyone else out there who had their Blogger account migrated to a Beta account have difficulty posting to blogs still being run on the original Blogger?

I noticed it before but just figured it was a glitch but a week later (this morning), I tried posting a comment to Woman Of The Law and I couldn't. Frickin irritating sometimes.

Me needs me my coffee. Have a good frickin weekend everyone.

Getting Hit By A Bus And Other Randomness (If It's A Word)

That's a lot better than getting hit by a bus.

-Bob Irwin (66 years-old), father of Steve "The Crocodile Hunter"

Irwin on his son dying while doing a job he loved.

I was thinking about the Crocodile Hunter, who died on Monday after being attacked by a Stingray while filming a documentary in. I thought about Irwin quite a bit actually, wondering about some of the things he told family and friends, and even about his love for his livelyhood.

I love my job. I don't have a television show that revolves around me (yet) and I'm not famous but I love my job and the people I work with. Seriously. If I could marry it, I would.

Irwin loved his job too. He told his family and he mentioned it a few times in interviews that if he died while filming, he would want it all captured on film for the world to see. Everyone including his dad has said that he died doing what he loved doing, "Steve knew the risks involved with the type of work he was doing, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

I love my job but I don't want to die doing it. Not for any case, client, or attorney and truth be told I don't know if there is anything I love in this life that if I died doing it, someone could say, At least he died doing what he loved!

Friend 1: Didya hear about Sancho?

Friend 2: Yeah, it's horrible. I'm really going to that bastard.

Friend1: Yeah, I will too, but at least he died doing what he loved.

Friend 2: What the hell are you talking about?

Friend 1: What? He died doing what he loved didn't he?

Friend 2: No, he didn't. He was driving home and he got hit by a bus.

Friend 1: Oh.

Friend 2: If he had died doing what he loved, it would have been very traumatic for his wife, his girlfriend and Penelope Cruz.

Friend 1: Huh?

I could do this conversation with my two friends all day. One day, if I am lucky enough to be able to add a third friend, I'll make sure to include their imaginary conversations also.

I know you're all out there, I can hear you breathing.

_________________________

Things have been busy with me. On the work front, things are good BUT fricking busy. It's actually out of control busy with no end in site to the madness. So I guess, things aren't as good as they could be. There is a fine line between constructive busy and I'm so fucking swamped I want to scream busy.

A very fine line.

I'm getting a little discouraged to be honest with you. I got into this work to make a difference and I truly believe that I did make a difference for a while. I don't think anyone did better or more complete investigation on a case than me.

Lately though, things have been different. I've gone from being able to give a case 150% of my attention going above and beyond to make sure that everything that could be done is done, to giving a case 50% of my attention and completing the bare minimum necessary...meaning just sticking to the PD's investigation request, to the letter. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's because of the caseload. I don't know how long I can go feeling like this but I have faith that it will get better in the next month or so. If it doesn't...well, I'll cross that bridge when and if I get to it.

_________________________

My Love life.

It's complicated and sometimes just makes me wish I could just get hit by a bus.

When I have the stomach for it, I'll explain more. Until then, its easier for me to stay busy at work digging myself out of a pile of new requests that just might be end of me.

Our Brothers & Sister's Need Some Support

Yes indeedy folks, there is a storm brewing in my home state...as a matter of fact, the storm has already started.

Our fellow Public Defender's in Sacramento County are on strike today along with 7000 other county workers. According to the Sacramento Bee:

Sanitation workers, clerks, social workers and other employees at more than 100 county offices are expected to join the picket line protesting administration proposals that increase employees' share of health benefits.

Just because some of us are county employees, it doesn't mean that we are rolling in cash. I know what the small majority of the general public thinks about County workers and yes, there are the stereotypical county employees at some offices, that give all of us a bad name but the majority of employees are intelligent, hard working, and just want what everyone wants, a decent living wage.

If you read some of the comments from readers you'll see varying levels of support and there are those that just think these county workers are lucky to have a job:

I stand by my statement that the vast majority of these people are low-level, and could be replaced at the drop of a hat. All they do is drink out of the public trough, and possess skills that most any high school graduate can perform. There's no way they could survive in private business. They better be careful. Can you spell "pink slip" ???

Yeah, I know guys that make comments like this are uninformed but its disheartening to read just the same. I have my fingers crossed for all the Sacramento County employees and I hope the strike doesn't last long...not getting paid at all is a real bitch!

If you can and live in the area, give our Brothers and Sister's a honk of support and help em give those county Supervisor's Hell!!!