As lawyers, one of the most frustrating parts of the job can be when you take on a client and are stuck dealing with that client’s bad facts, poor choices, or the difficult-to-defend positions that he’s taken. As a result, sometimes our job becomes one of damage control instead of cavalry riding to the rescue. Perhaps George Clooney’s titular character in the lawyer movie “Michael Clayton” said it best when he informed one client, “I’m not a miracle worker; I’m a janitor.”
For example, think of the uphill battle faced when you have a criminal client who actually tattooed a murder scene on his chest. That was the case in 2011, when a tattoo helped convict Anthony “Chopper” Garcia of a 2004 gang-related murder at a California liquor store. The tattoo on Garcia’s chest rather helpfully depicted the murder scene, including the name of the liquor store, the Christmas lights outside the store, a nearby business, a light post in the store’s parking lot, and ever a “chopper” spraying bullets at a victim. Not surprisingly, with the prosecutor calling the inked rendition a “nonverbal confession,” the jury wasted no time in convicting Garcia.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
