2015 will be remembered by those in the legal profession for many important reasons: landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, eye-opening verdicts, defining moments in new legislation, and technological advances that are changing the practice of law. But there are many other, lighter reasons to remember this past year, thanks to the bizarre and humorous episodes that dotted the legal landscape in 2015.
For example, we’ve all had bad experiences at depositions, but how many of us have had to deal with an opposing counsel who brought a stun gun and pepper spray to the proceeding? In a Dec. 9 opinion, a California appeals court upheld death penalty sanctions against California solo Douglas Crawford, who had filed a pro se suit against Chase Bank. According to the appellate court, Crawford held a can of pepper spray about three feet from the face of his opposing counsel during the April 2014 deposition, threatening to spray him if he “got out of hand.” Crawford also pointed a stun gun at the other lawyer and discharged it close to his face. The court of appeals noted that “If ever a case required a terminating sanction, this it is.” The California bar is seeking to disbar Crawford.
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