afitzy
Former Member
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- May 12, 2019
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I re-read your post and wonder if this is a 1st Amend. issue or perhaps its only a 1st Amend. issue in the mind of No Case Norm?Norm's response before the hearing call by the GAL was:
"Pattis said Tuesday he doesn’t think his comments violated the court order but would listen to the judge if she disagrees.
“I have enormous respect for Judge (Donna) Heller,” Pattis said. “If I erred, I’m sure she’ll tell me.”
He chuckled as he delivered the bolded comment. He knew he had stepped out of line, but he also knew that most judges don't want to tangle with him about First Amendment rights....His argument would be, "I'm only doing the best I can for my client." UGH!
The Advocate's story has a few more details:
Jennifer Dulos case: Search ends at trash plant, Pattis accused of violating court order
I truly would like to see a legal argument presented by Pattis to support the idea that illegal actions by an Officer of the Court are justified if they are being undertaken in defense of a client? I hope Judge Heller punishes this behavior in a very harsh way as if it isn't punished now it will simply continue IMO.
Who else would have the sheer audacity to claim that they didn't know the status of the report and use their ineptitude to justify their behavior? There was zero accountability or responsibility shown by Pattis so far as any of the comments in MSM so far as I can tell. He justified his behavior as being OK as he was defending his client. Last time I looked laws and court rules still had to be followed by legal professionals. I would have respected him just a bit if he had said he made a mistake, saw the error of his ways and apologized to JD and her family.
Now, I am simply waiting for Pattis to make the argument to the court that the report is already public and so as such should be Exhibit A of his criminal case evidence. IMO if this happens there is something seriously wrong in CT Judiciary as this document was never meant to be public and some level of court accountability has to exist for the psych records and documents of people involved in litigation in the St of CT. IMO what Pattis did was reprehensible and the fact that he showed remorse for such a despicable deed told us all precisely who he is as a person-he is simply a legal who has a convenient grasp of the law and blusters on in a lawless manner while shouting from the rooftops that his lawless behavior is in defense of his client. I am totally calling BS on this entire episode and I hope Judge Heller calls out Pattis in a very public and punative way!
To me the issue is that the document released had been sealed by the Family Court and contained confidential and sensitive personal information and was never meant for public consumption. Further, the document was in draft form and by all accounts didn't even qualify for admission as evidence in Family Court.
I think the legal violations by No Case Norm in this situation involved a) not checking status of the psych report and b) taking what he knew was highly personal information and releasing it to the press. I won't even get into the idea that the report was in draft form so on that basis alone most likely should not have discussed with the press.
I hope there are consequences for No Case Norm imposed by the court. But its CT so we shall have to wait and see what happens....
MOO