Comments on: Untitled 4

By: Matt Skillern

Matt Skillern — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:51:10 +0000

No doubt in my mind that Family law is a more dangerous area of law. The emotions run so high that rational thought rarely enters the equation. I was in Tyler when a man opened up on the courthouse with an AK-47 type weapon and killed 2 and shot several others. His ex-wife was killed and his son was shot. The three were at court for a child support matter.

Criminal law clients are not just limited to the scope of bad people on their best behavior. Some clients are great people who made a mistake. Some clients are future great people who made a youthful indiscretion. Some clients are good people who allowed substance abuse to cloud their judgment and/or actions.

Then, there all always the falsely accused. Can “bad people” be falsely accused?

By: Ron in Houston

Ron in Houston — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:12:13 +0000

I definitely think I’ve heard of more court related violence out of the family/civil context. I think the important thing is to stick to what has been my philosophy over the years: “Don’t mess with crazy people.” I will often advise a client to avoid overly antagonizing the other side if I think they’re on the crazy side.

By: PA

PA — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:44:03 +0000

No one is safe. Even in my world (patent law), apparently attorneys are fair game for “crazy client” shootings if the client perceives that the attorney cheated him out of a patent to the benefit of a large corporate client.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/joe.jackson.office.2.333966.html

By: Tarian

Tarian — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:13:30 +0000

I’m with Mark on this one. All the courthouse/lawyer shootings I’ve heard about in the last 20 years — even the Tarrant Co. shooting (by George Lott, a lawyer himself and UT alum, now executed) that wounded a judge and killed a popular ADA — had their roots in some family law dispute. I’ve always heard it’s a dangerous area to practice.

Usually by the time they get to criminal court, defendants have so many other people to be mad at, their lawyer (and even the prosecutors) are fairly safe. Grievance? Sure. Contract? Probably not.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:27:41 +0000

Family law clients are good people on their worst behavior. Criminal clients are bad people on their best behavior. CPS clients (half my practice) are therefore bad people on their worst behavior.

By: anna

anna — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:09:15 +0000

I agree. Really, the only clients who have threatened me have been the crazy ones. One was blowing off steam so he could behave in court. The other was just a master manipulator who liked to talk about body bags, but had no power or real intent. He was in ADMAX.
Now I have been threatened with reporting me to the bar, but that was because they were blaming me for decisions the judge made or changes in the law from the supremes. I was not scared.