If I were Queen for a Day!

Since I am now in pre-bar exam panic, I really should be getting to the library. But, I was a good girl this morning and went to the gym and while I was going to town on the elliptical trainer, I watched the news. I feel like I could write endlessly about all the ridiculous goings-on in the world. Not a good way to start the day, especially when today is Community Property and Torts final review day.

I hope this doesn't come off like a Hardaway-esque diabtribe, but I have a bit of a rant about the criminal justice system to get out of the way today so I can move on to the studying. (Ranting about criminal justice = studying for the bar! Go, me!!)

Troy Ellerman, a Colorado attorney that represented various individuals in the BALCO scandal, plead guilty to obstruction of justice for leaking grand jury testimony and is trying to get the prosecutor to agree to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will also likely be disbarred.

Hilda Figueroa, a 30-year-old Redwood City woman who disposed of her newborn baby in a dumpster last year also cut a deal with the prosecutor. She faces one year in prison and 4 years probation after lying to authorities that she gave birth to a stillborn that she flushed down the toilet. The coroner's report showed that the child was born alive; the baby was found in a dumpster wrapped in plastic. Oh yeah, and she has to do some mandatory counseling. She plead no contest to one count of child endangerment.

AS IF THAT WEREN'T VILE ENOUGH, THIS CANDIDATE FOR MOTHER-OF-THE-YEAR IS PREGNANT AGAIN AND WILL GIVE BIRTH IN JULY WHILE SERVING HER SENTENCE FOR KILLING THE FIRST ONE.

Hold the phone, Batman. What??? Words fail me. Really. And that never happens.

Troy Ellerman broke the law and what he did was unethical, deceitful, and compromised the rights of his clients, as well as other individuals involved in the BALCO case. He deserves to be punished, as well as disbarred. His credibility is shot, he clearly has no respect for the law or the rules of professional responsibility to which he i sbound, and should probably consider gainful employment at Taco Bell. But more likely, he will write a bestseller and join Mark Furhman in exile someplace where no one watches baseball. He is an embarrassment to the profession and I can't wait for the newest onslaught of lawyer jokes. BUT HE IS NOT A BABY KILLER.

The baby killer gets one year. And another baby. She plead out to one count of child endangerment. How much more endangered can a child be?? The outrageous incongruence of these two cases astounds me. Before I embark on an irrational, emotional tirade, (clearly a departure from my everyday rational demeanor, ha!) I am just going to say that I hope there is more to this story than I got from the news this morning; I hope she is mentally ill or was strung out on drugs or that she had some other type of watershed event or circumstance that might provide some clarity on how someone could commit this type of crime. It would certainly make this ridiculous sentence more palatable.

Maybe I still do want more out of my legal career than just a door and air-conditioning. HHmmmm, better get to the library!!