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Cross Posted at Legal Schnauzer
How is a lawyer likely to react when confronted with the undeniable truth about the ugly side of the legal field?
He probably will lash out in abrupt and misguided fashion. I know because just yesterday a lawyer threatened me with a defamation lawsuit because of my coverage of an Alabama divorce/child custody case.
I attended a status conference at the Jefferson County Domestic Relations Court on Turner v. Turner, a case that involves the custody of triplets who now are 10 years old. Turner v. Turner embodies much of what is wrong with our broken justice system, and we have reported on it several times. (See here, here, and here.)
The case got even uglier yesterday as I was leaving the hearing. Tom Kendrick, of the Birmingham firm Norman Wood Kendrick and Turner, approached me, introduced himself and proceeded to threaten me, on about five different occasions, with a lawsuit for portraying his firm in a false light. I informed Mr. Kendrick that I've been a professional journalist for 30-plus years, with 11 years of experience in daily newspapers, and I had not written anything that is defamatory on Turner v. Turner--or any other subject.
Kendrick appeared to be visibly shaken by my presence at the hearing--or the overall issues raised by the Turner case. Why would that be? Kile Turner, the defendant in the case, is a partner in Kendrick's firm. And here is a key issue, as we presented it in a recent post:
During the divorce/child custody proceedings, Kile Turner stated under oath that Dr. Hajo Drees, Angela Turner Drees' current husband, had been convicted on two felony counts of domestic violence--one involving his ex wife and one involving his son. Those statements apparently played a key role in Turner receiving custody of the three children, triplets, that he had with Angela Turner Drees.
Kile Turner, in a proceeding before the Alabama State Bar, reportedly acknowledged that those statements were not true. But Angela Turner Drees has not been allowed to have contact with her children for more than two years. And we've seen no signs that Kile Turner will be sanctioned for making false statements before a court, statements that helped him benefit in the course of litigation.
I told Tom Kendrick yesterday that, before I wrote that earlier post, I had reviewed at least three public documents that indicate Kile Turner indeed had made false statements in a court proceeding--and had acknowledged that the statements were false. Was Kendrick interested in the truth about that issue, about matters of simple justice, right and wrong? No, he was not. He wanted to threaten me with a lawsuit.
About four times, I told Kendrick that I would be glad to schedule an interview with him, Kile Turner, and Turner's lawyer (Richard Vincent). He never took me up on the offer and referred to me as a "tool" for the party opposite of Kile Turner. Kendrick wound up walking away in a huff, saying, "I don't want to talk to you." This came after he had initiated the conversation.
I suspect this is not unusual behavior in the legal field. Many lawyers know their profession is riddled with sleaze, and they know it's driven largely by corrupt judges. After all, there is little benefit to being a corrupt lawyer if you don't have corrupt judges. A number of lawyers have admitted to me that they regularly witness unlawful and unethical conduct from their colleagues.
Still, lawyers are a protective bunch, and they are prone to shoot the messenger when presented with a message that makes them squeamish. I know because for almost four years I've been such a messenger with this blog.
In fact, I informed Kendrick that I had been unlawfully fired from my job at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) because my blog dares to tell the truth about Alabama courts and the legal profession. I further informed Kendrick that my wife had been cheated out of her job, apparently for being married to a journalist who reveals uncomfortable truths about lawyers.
This seemed to be news to Kendrick. I saw no sign that he cares one iota about what happens to people who challenge lawyers' nasty grip on our justice system.
