What Do Dog-Fights and Gloria Allred Have In Common?

The Supreme Court is struggling with the question of whether the depiction of certain dog-fighting can be prohibited under the First Amendment. Frequently protecting freedom of speech brings us some unwanted results. It brought us advertising by lawyers. The first time I saw a TV advertisement showing a portly man in his bathing suit smoking a cigar for the apparent purpose of equating his competence with his lavish surroundings, I feared that the law had become a business rather than a profession.

Which brings me to the subject of Gloria Allred, who like a magical puff of smoke appears and injects herself into matters in which she has no client or connection. She has written to David Letterman, displayed a poster with advice for him and given interviews regarding his admitted affairs. She has suggested (without a modicum of proof) that he may have been guilty of sexual harassment of those with whom he had an affair. But in seeking the Ambulance Chaser Award of the Year, she suggests that those employees who did NOT have an affair with David Letterman may have sexual harassment claims.

Her reasoning is that if those who had the affairs benefited in some way, than those who did not were sexually harassed by the hostile workplace created (and that of course assumes that they knew of the affairs). I take it that she advocates an equal opportunity employer--if the boss has sex with one or more employees, he must have it with all or face the consequences.

She takes it one step further by suggesting that the male employees may also have a claim, because Letterman was obviously interested in women only and therefore, they were adversely affected because they did not receive the (yet undisclosed) largess others received!

So that there will be no mistake about my intentions. I am not a defender of David Letterman's conduct if it should amount to sexual harassment. I am a devoted advocate of free speech and fierce opponent of sexual harassment, but I am also a proud member of the legal profession. When lawyers speculate about wrongdoing, advance claims without factual basis and utilize those techniques to obtain clients, I wince for all of us who view the practice of law as an honorable and worthy profession. This conduct may bring in business, but it demeans the profession and feeds the public's disgust for it.

Note: In the old common law champerty and maintenance were prohibited. According to Wikipedia "maintenance was the intermeddling of an uninterested party to encourage a lawsuit."

Comments

[Eris23]

Another excellent entry.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

Eris23 - Thanks

[Shirley Fisk]

10/12/09
4:06pm
Duke University Law School (just visiting)

I agree with you, Judge H. Lee Sarokin.
I walked into Gloria Allred's office in Los Angeles in 2006 because I needed help (I never had an attorney) with a real case which was going very badly even though I had evidence to support all of my claims, Fisk v. Letterman, et al (it was still in USDC, SDNY at the time.) I also had a broken foot thanks to the negligence of others.
Ms. Allred's staff encouraged me to provide as much information as possible but that was the end of our contact. What kind of case is she actually looking for if not for mine? She just wants to be on TV without doing any actual litigating?

[halfitaliangirl]

Thank you Judge for an excellent take on Ms. Allred and her kind. I'm old enough to remember when all these lawyers first appeared on TV...it was for the Dahmer trial. Back then all they did was report on what was going on in the courtroom. There was little if any speculation about the crime or the trial or its outcome. Then it all morphed into what we have today, people like Allred, her daughter, Nancy Grace, Jane Valez-Mitchell and a host of men (lawyers, former judges, medical examiners and Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew types) who interject themselves into the crime, speculate up a blue streak and frankly give suspects like Casey Anthony and Misty Cummings and all the wife/girlfriend killers ideas on how to get around the legal system and create the perfect crime. Talk about your self-fulfilling prohepsy. In my opinion, the Allreds and Graces of this world are nothing more than entertainers with a law background. I hope somewhere down the line that these shows are yanked from the TV. We don't need them. They add expense and length to the investigation/trial and they taint the jury pool for the simple reason that we can not get away from the story.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

halfitaliangirl - Let's face it. It's not going away and will probably get worse. Cable TV needs to fill all of that time and many of the people you name are all too anxious to fill the void.

[halfitaliangirl]

Sadly, I know it's not going away but if these people who are supposed to be experts in their field could speculate and/or condemn a little less maybe justice could be served. I guess I'll just have to stop watching them...and the entertainment shows.

Thanks again for a really thought provoking posting.

[GrahamInCanada]

"Which brings me to the subject of Gloria Allred, who like a magical puff of smoke appears and injects herself into matters in which she has no client or connection. She has written to David Letterman, displayed a poster with advice for him and given interviews regarding his admitted affairs. She has suggested (without a modicum of proof) that he may have been guilty of sexual harassment of those with whom he had an affair. But in seeking the Ambulance Chaser Award of the Year, she suggests that those employees who did NOT have an affair with David Letterman may have sexual harassment claims."

There is a reason I am your fan, and your description puff of smoke is so apt, I applaud.

But, Judge, was Gloria (cough, cough, I cannot believe what devil advocates work requires) chasing an ambulance? Or was she serving more of an educational role?

Every time I hear of her she seems to be trying to prove something, not represent anybody.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

GrahamInCanada - You are right. I may have been too harsh on her, but I suspect that she is just as interested in attracting business and promoting herself as educating the public.

[kckitty]

Why doesn't ANYONE talk about the real crime ......Blackmail. I thought that sex between consenting adults was legal.

[FilthyHarry]

Cause it doesn't need to be discussed? It was reported, investigated, charges filed. Everything is proceeding as it should.

You're point is taken though, Letterman is a victim of a crime. Under other circumstances, if there was something different about Letterman, and he was the victim of a crime, and people started attacking him, there'd be outrage.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

kckitty - I did discuss the blackmail charge in a previous post - Letterman Blackmailed Again? But here I was more concerned with the perception of the legal profession.

[Sandy248]

Judge thank you for this article. Gloria Allred is indeed an embarrassment to your profession. I cringe anytime she's on her soapbox.

[brijit]

Doesn't Allred claim to be a victims' advocate? Is she forgetting that Letterman is VICTIM in this story? Ooops, excuse me, the alleged extortionist isn't a celebrity so no one (least of all Allred) wants to waste time talking about him.

[GrahamInCanada]

If this was extortion, then Letterman was the victim of extortion.

But the basis of extortion is that the victim has something to hide.

Now, in some cases, the victim has a blameless thing to hide: a nude picture, an embarrassing error, an inconvenient reality.

But what if the victim is being extorted because the victim broke the law?

The victim does not get out of murder by charging somebody with blackmailing them because they knew about the murder, to put it as bluntly as possible.

[Fabini]

I am not a lawyer and I do not play one on TV, although I have seem my share over the years. What I am concerned about is holding up legal work as a profession. My local floor tile installers are professionals (along with the car window replacement guys). No lawyer has ever benefited me as much.

As for the Supreme Court and videos of dog fights: If the underlying act is illegal no video of it is legal. Murder is illegal, snuff films are illegal. It doesn't take a wise Latina to know this.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

Fabini - I am sorry that you have such a low view of lawyers, but you obviously are not alone. Whether or not the depiction of illegal acts can be totally banned is not an easy question, Suppose the TV program depicts it for the purpose of showing its existence and ending the practice?

[Fabini]

Yes, it's the social redemption thing. During a mad dog fight a promoter turns to a fight fan and says, "The existential underpinnings of class warfare are represented in the actions of these canines." Ergo, socially good, now back to the action.

As for news programs, they are more Kabuki theater than redeeming.

[FilthyHarry]

I used to loathe lawyers like every good American does, until I stopped to think about what they do. Lawyers don't make the laws. Our legal system is a near impenetrable byzantine maze of irrational insanity. Lawyers are not responsible for this. Without lawyers, the average citizen would be completely at the mercy of the law and those who knew better. Lawyers aren't responsible for the mess our justice system is, they're responsible for mitigating its damage. And yes the damage is still large, but that just speaks to the failure of our govt.

Also, regarding the dog-fighting, I've never understood how prostitution could be illegal, but porno is legal. (Btw, I'm for legalization of prostitution.)

[clevomon]

...I wandered in here for your take on the dog-fighting videos, but you seem to have kind of trailed off and forgot about them.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

clevomon - I am sorry if I misled you. I intended to demonstrate that in respect to dog-fighting and lawyer advertising that sometimes enforcement of free speech requires us to accept conduct that we consider objectionable. The interests of free speech may supersede our abhorrence at dog fighting videos as it has allowed degrading advertising by lawyers. That was my intent.

[tigerlille]

Well spoken. Dr. Drew Pinsky engages in the same sort of behavior; he publicly diagnoses and recommends treatment for celebrities he has no connection with. I have often wondered if his conduct violates any sort of AMA code of ethics.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

tigerlille - I did not know that doctors did it as well, but some of the lawyer commercials are just embarrassing

[tigerlille]

Dr. Drew Pinsky is a "celebrity" doctor. He had, and perhaps currently has, a reality show on television about his rehab program, often featuring celebrity patients. He is a notch up from Dr. Phil, but not by much. I am not sure if his behavior falls under the category of ambulance chasing, or if he just enjoys attention, but periodically I will read an article where Dr. Drew has diagnosed some Hollywood actor that he does not have a professional relationship with, with a major personality disorder. He also speculate about celebrities' alcohol/drug usage. I think that his conduct is worse, and potentially more harmful, than those sleazy lawyer ads you see on television. Gloria Allred is shameless, but I must admit that I sometimes get a quiet chuckle out of those advertisements for Nancy Grace's show, where you see her tearing someone apart in 30 seconds or less.

[RobinSeattle]

Outside of Nancy Grace, Allred is the media's most vexatious female narcissist.

[honoursplendor]

"vexatious female narcissist" is my new favorite phrase.

[realitychicken]

There needs to be an investigation. If it was a hostile workplace then people might be to scared too step forward. How can we get at the truth relaying on people to potentially damage their own careers and reputations? Please call for an investigation that would protect staffers confidentiality..

[FilthyHarry]

What evidence do you have that wrongdoing has occurred that warrants an investigation? Without a complaint, it is frightening that people would propose legal investigations into private people's lives to investigate wrongdoing for which no one has complained of and for which there is no evidence.

Show me a victim and show me some evidence and I'm with you.

[realitychicken]

It's not private lives but the workplace that needs to be examined.

[Dolmance]

Gloria Allred showed herself to be pathologically obnoxious when George Harrison died and for some strange reason went on a rampage to find his body. She should be put on a shelf with Orly Taitze (or whatever her name is) and ignored. But unfortunately, the press loves a train wreck.

[brijit]

She also had some sort of public tantrum about determining the exact spot where Harrison died. There may have been a point to all her Harrison nonsense but I can't imagine what it was. Except of course as a way to inject herself in the big story of the day.

[honoursplendor]

Judge Sarokin thank you for continuing to be a voice of reason and rationality (quite prudent for a judge!) on so many matters. I enjoy your posts and your comments are spot on. Today's public discourse is so often cluttered with clueless, ill-informed or simply fame and fortune hungry "experts" that reality is often lost in translation. You offer a measured voice that we so desperately need more of. Much appreciated.

[Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Huffpost Blogger]

honoursplendor - Thank you for your kind words.

[PatA]

Hear, Hear, Judge Sarokin! Seems like I've waited all my life to hear someone, like you, take a swipe at Gloria Allred. "Ambulance chaser"!!
Our consolation? She disrespects herself as she disrespects the honorable profession of law.