03 Jan 2014 at 10:02 AM

Crime, Guns / Firearms, Plaintiffs Firms, Small Law Firms, Suicide, Texas, Violence

Law Firm Partner Gunned Down By Police In Bizarre Firefight

By Joe Patrice

In a sad yet crazy story, a law firm partner was shot and killed after barricading himself in his luxury condo’s lobby and opening fire on the police. Very few details are available at the time. Indeed, what remotely comprehensible motive could there be for building a mini-fortress in your lobby and baiting the police into a firefight.
Making matters worse, the partner’s young daughter was in the lobby the whole time while he embarked on the strange behavior that ultimately led to his death….

Michael Schmidt (technically, Michael E. Schmidt — not to be confused with his father and law partner, who is also named Mike Schmidt), was a partner at The Schmidt Firm, a prominent Dallas-area law firm. He scored a highly-publicized victory last year winning a $10.5 million judgment for the family of a young woman killed by a “monster truck” outside a strip club. That’s a drunk-driving incident with a monster truck at a strip club, in case you forgot this is in Texas.
As NBCDFW reports:

Police said the incident began after the resident talked to an employee of the building.
”He reported to the employee that his apartment was being burglarized,” said Deputy Chief Gil Garza of the Dallas Police Department.
After that employee called for police, Schmidt reportedly moved to a hallway adjacent to the condominium’s lobby and began barricading himself inside.
When officers arrived, they spoke to the employee and were informed of the Schmidt’s location and that he was armed.
“According to the employee, the individual shot at officers when officers tried to speak with him. The officers then retreated into cover.” Garza said.

Michael E. Schmidt

Thankfully, the officers were unharmed. Also unharmed was Schmidt’s 11-year-old daughter, who unbeknownst to the police was in the hallway with Schmidt during the shootout. Whatever set off Schmidt was serious enough that the devoted father — according to all the sources talking to the media — became indifferent to his daughter’s safety.
Indeed, more than just a good father, everyone describes him as a nice, even-keeled man, making this all the more shocking:

Schmidt also had a real connection with people, his friend and fellow lawyer Randy Johnston said.
“The clients that hired Michael didn’t just get his head, they got his heart,” Johnston said.
Nicholas Turchiano, whom Schmidt represented in a 2010 personal injury case, said he was impressed by his counsel.
“I don’t have anything but positive things to say about him,” Turchiano said. “I’m just beside myself because he’s such a nice person and a very talented lawyer.”
Schmidt represented the family of a woman who was run over by a monster truck outside a Dallas strip club. In a unanimous verdict in February 2013, the jury awarded $10.5 million to the family of 23-year-old Kasey McKenzie, who sued the Spearmint Rhino and the truck driver.
Dallas lawyer Mark Siegel recruited Schmidt to serve as the lead attorney on the case. He said he “had faith in his competence” and respected him as a person.
“I’ve never heard him say anything bad about anybody,” Siegel said. “He may not have liked some lawyers’ approach to litigation, but he wouldn’t really bad-mouth that lawyer, which is admirable. It takes a lot of lawyers a long time to learn that.”

Authorities await a toxicology report, which may provide the best insight into this case as a police dispatch suggested that Schmidt was acting “kinda high” at the time.
Dallas Police Fatally Shoot Armed Resident in Condominium Lobby [NBCDFW]
Prominent Dallas civil lawyer killed in shootout with police [Dallas Morning News]
Prominent Dallas lawyer killed in confrontation with police at luxury apartment in Uptown [Dallas Morning News]
Lawyer shot by officers after reporting burglary near Uptown in Dallas [WFAA]

Editor's note: Nothing lawyers are charged with would surprise this Shark after watching the dismemberment of the Estate of Alice R. Gore, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

24 Sep 2013 at 11:09 AM

Crime, Guns / Firearms, Violence

Lawyer Charged With Bank Robbery, Shooting Cop

By Joe Patrice

That sounds awesome! A bank robbery with a sawed-off shotgun, a high-speed chase, and shooting blindly at the authorities. Best GTA mission ever. Way to go Trevor!
Wait… that wasn’t a GTA mission? You’re telling me the crazy bastard in this story wasn’t Trevor, but a 64-year-old attorney turned amateur bank robber? I’d heard of bank robbers becoming lawyers, but the other way around is a new twist. Maybe Spencer Mazyck can make a new “Stealth Lawyer” video about it. Except I guess this guy wasn’t all that stealth since he got caught. He probably didn’t realize there were no more Pay ‘n’ Sprays.
Armed bank robbery. Man, those “million-dollar law degree” guys are really working hard to prove how much you can make with a J.D., aren’t they?

This all started when Warren Gladders of Wentzville, Missouri allegedly strolled into the First Bank of Dutzow on Friday:

Authorities said Gladders had walked into the bank and pulled out a handgun. Warren County Sheriff Kevin T. Harrison said Gladders told tellers not to put dye packs in the cash, forcing the employees to fan the bills at the counter to make sure.
He then ordered the tellers to go to the bank vault and bring him $100 and $50 bills. He put the money into a duffel bag and ran out of the bank.
“He said if anybody did anything, he would kill everyone in the bank,” Harrison said.

Gladders, a graduate of the Washington University of St. Louis School of Law, probably realized this was all illegal. On the other hand, he’s 64. Maybe he could just pretend he was old and confused and get off easy. It worked for Rip Torn.
Here’s what happened next, according to the police. A woman waiting outside the bank saw the whole thing and called the cops. As Gladders tried to return to Fall-Out-Boy-ville, a trooper pulled him over. At this point, the shooting started. Gladders shot the 26-year-old trooper in the chest, but thankfully the trooper was wearing body armor and sustained only bruising. Gladders, on the other hand, was shot in both legs and remains hospitalized. He’s technically been charged with “first-degree assault against a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action, robbery in the first degree and possession of an illegal firearm — a sawed-off shotgun.” This concludes the issue-spotting portion of the article.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a man at the Gladders homestead referred all questions to attorney Brad Kessler. Interesting. Brad Kessler is a noted St. Louis-area criminal defense attorney. He also considers himself an “outsider artist” who is, well, this guy:

Despite his unconventional looks, Kessler has a reputation as a superstar criminal defense lawyer. Another St. Louis attorney describes him thusly:

“There were four of us who would go to the Downtown Y and work out in the early ’80s. Brad looked like the romantic hero of the paperback novels, with his muscles and long hair. But he paid no mind to all these women who were watching him. Of the four of us, Brad was the one who remained focused on staying in shape. He’s the same way in court, very focused, a natural born litigator.”

So we have a lawyer accused of robbing a bank and shooting a cop represented by the “romantic hero of the paperback novels.” Fun trial.
But the critical question our tipster posed remains unanswered: will Wash U be including “Bank Robber” in its employment statistics?
Wentzville man charged in trooper shooting, bank robbery [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Brad Kessler: Attorney-Cum-Artist with Great Hair and Killer Tats Running for Office [Riverfront Times]

18 Sep 2013 at 5:03 PM

Crime, Non-Sequiturs, Philosophy, Pornography, Sex, Sex Scandals, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns

Non-Sequiturs: 09.18.13

By Joe Patrice

He may not look like much, but this little guy’s name is ‘John Holmes’ for a reason.

* A woman and her husband are charged with making dog porn, which is… well, it’s filming dogs having their way with the woman. So if you’re in North Carolina and get called for jury duty, that might be in your future. [Huffington Post Weird]
* Instead of a gun fight over getting cut off in traffic or someone dissing a sports team, this Russian guy opened fire with rubber bullets over an argument about Immanuel Kant. Much more cultured over there. [Critical-Theory]
* Gypsy family tries to pay bail with gold and the state judge cried foul, probably because he feared he was being… ugh. What followed was a thorough investigation of Romany culture. [New York Times]
* Judges in Chicago have to comply with a small sampling of the demeaning security procedures everyone else has had to deal with for the last 12 years and they deal with it graciously throw an absolute bitchfit. I mean, their complaints are sound, but still… [Chicago Sun-Times]
* Man held by authorities for peacefully protesting a photo enforced traffic light. Some things, like a guaranteed stream of city income, are too important to let free speech get in the way. [Autoblog]
* A judge has ordered a new trial for the cops convicted of the Danziger Bridge slayings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Among the reasons, the prosecutors were writing disparaging comments about the defendants on online comments sections. As if anyone takes internet commenters seriously. [The Times-Picayune]
* Only a few more hours to register for this event featuring Kathy Ruemmler, counsel to President Obama, talking about women in law, leadership, and government. [Ms. JD]