Wednesday, March 15, 2006

A SPEED BUMP UNDER THE BUS OF STATE

Today the Washington Post is reporting about the lawyer whose e-mails, interviews, and stratgezing put the Moussaoui death penalty in doubt. I was shocked to see the woman named. I was even more shocked to read the following: "Carla J. Martin, a former flight attendant . . ." Uh, what does the fact that she was once a flight attendant have to do with this case?

Then I read that the Department of Justice filed papers saying: "In this sea of Government attorneys and agents who have assiduously played by the rules, Ms. Martin stands as the lone miscreant. Her aberrant and apparently criminal behavior should not be the basis for undoing the good work of so many." Apparently criminal behavior? I mean, she is on the same side as the Justice lawyers. Is there not a more subtle and/or neutral way to have said that?

On the third page of the article the Post starts a short biography of Ms. Martin. In part it says that "she received her degree in 1989 and the next year joined the bar in Pennsylvania, a state where she never lived. Lawyers for federal agencies can be licensed in any state, but some attorneys consider Pennsylvania's bar exam to be among the least difficult." I mean, I have heard the Pennsylvania rumors, but it is hard to see why they mentioned that in this article.

All in all, this article looks like a hatchet job on Ms. Martin, and it appears that Justice is throwing Ms. Martin directly under the bus. It is possible that she is the misbehaving disaster they are making her out to be, but this article looks clearly targeted to discredit her. I wonder if they will blame Katrina and 9/11 on her too.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"You ain't nothing but a waitress in the sky"...The Romantics

Is the Pennsylvania bar any more difficult than the Illinois bar?

2:27 PM  
Blogger David said...

I understand that by reputation, Pennsylvania is considered the easiest bar on the East Coast. I do not believe that anyone considers the Illinois bar very difficult. However, PA is so close to NY and DC that lots and lots of lawyers in those centers of the profession think of PA when they think of easy bars.

2:55 PM  

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