Originally Posted by
UNM1136
Even states with barratry statutes have a lot of trouble with charging/convicting it. Ask me how I know. Locally, a DWI attorney failed to exhonerate her client in criminal trial (she got the DWI to go away, but her client pled to all the lesser included offenses) and then turned around and filed a federal suit for false arrest, excessive force, etc. (the federal judge said "pled to reckless driving...I guess the false arrest claim is going bye-bye" and dismissed it on its face.) The atty was made a judge by one of our worst liberal governors and was the only judge to receive a "do not retain" rating by a govermentally run organization that reviews and rates judges for consumer review during retention elections.
About 15 years ago the trend was for canine officers to have an agency checkbook and to write a check to the dipshit that got bit at the hospital after the arrest and for the agency to consider that a settlement after the bite. There was no evidence that this was occuring locally, but local attys were scanning the local radio freqs and arriving at the hospital to "advise the accused (read caught and/or bit felony arrestees)' of their rights, and excercising their rights to discuss anything they want with people in the hospital.
In this state, barratry is a misdemeanor, punishable by a jail sentence of up to 364 days in jail and/or $999 in fines. Even if arrested or charged, and atty/client privelege is waived, it can verh reasknably seen as the "cost of doing business".
pat