Ridiculousness Knows No Limits

We are all human, and lawyers, like all human beings, make mistakes. But some mistakes loom larger than others, and in the sometimes surreal existence during a global pandemic, it’s become more important living and working than ever to know the little things—like whether your video is on during that Zoom hearing. Just ask Peruvian lawyer Hector Paredes Robles. Robles had been one of the criminal defense lawyers participating in a virtual hearing involving defendants who were alleged members of a local street gang, Los Z de Chanchamayo, accused of fraud, extortion and land trafficking. Although it’s not clear what precipitated this, at some point during the hearing, Robles took off his clothing and began having sex with an unidentified woman—on camera! The X-rated action led Judge John Chachua Torres to immediately call a halt to the proceedings, but not before tearing into Robles, “who has disrespected the dignity of this court as well as the other lawyers present and the legal profession as a whole.” A subsequent statement from the high court condemned Robles for committing “obscene acts which violated public decency.” Robles (who has yet to issue a statement) was promptly removed from the case, and he faces an investigation by Peru’s Public Ministry as well as its bar association. Maybe he should call Jeffrey Toobin as an expert witness?

And while we don’t know what Robles was thinking during his sudden detour from attorney to porn star, some lawyers out there apparently take too many of their cues from pop culture. Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the bank robbery conviction of Damon Williams because the prosecutor, in closing argument, showed jurors a photo of actor Jack Nicholson from “The Shining,” proclaiming “Here’s Johnny!” as he breaks through a door with an ax. The prosecutor used the still to successfully persuade the jury to convict on a more serious second-degree charge requiring the threat or use of force, even though Williams had only passed the teller a note demanding money. The court found the “use of a sensational and provocative image” to be prejudicial. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended the license of attorney Winston Sitton for four years after he apparently mistook his practice for an episode of the ABC series “How to Get Away With Murder.” Sitton gave advice on Facebook to a woman concerned about possible problems with an abusive ex-boyfriend. When the woman posted a question about the legality of keeping a gun in her car, Sitton replied, “as a lawyer,” that if she wanted to kill the ex-boyfriend, she should “lure him into your house and claim he broke in with intent to do you bodily harm and that you feared for your life.”