Girls Gone Wild producer and all around jackass, Joe Francis, used his time as a deponent to put on a seminar for what not to do when being deposed. Pay attention law students. Apparently, repeatedly stating that you plead the Fifth to most generic questions, farting openly and repeatedly checking your email or taking a cell call are sanctionable offenses. Who knew?Unimpressed with his antics, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ruled in favor of Wynn Las Vegas and ordered the soft-porn video mogul to pay the Strip casino a $2 million gambling debt, which, with interest and court costs, could soar to $3 million.
In court papers, the Wynn’s lawyers argued that Francis improperly asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to answer even the most innocuous questions during the nearly daylong deposition in February.
And several times during the deposition Francis openly passed gas, further disrespecting the legal proceeding, the Wynn lawyers charged.
Note to litigant readers: try not to piss off the judge by insulting the legal process. They usually don't take it well. Especially when you insult the legal process with a case pending before a member of The Family like Judge Leavitt.
I like the part where he repeatedly objected and/or refused to answer the question regarding whether he had a cell phone but checked email and/or text messages during the deposition - on his cell phone.
ReplyDeleteStay classy Francis.
What a hypocrit Judge Leavitt is. She routinely mocks the judicial system by eating snacks, slamming Big Gulps and chatting with her staff during trials.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree re: Judge Leavitt. I had a business litigation in front of her a few years back and, IMHO, she not only made some really poor rulings, but also was also sorely lacking in judicial temperment. I think she lacks the necessary temperment and mental horsepower to be a good judge.
ReplyDeleteI used to think Eighth Judicial was nothing more than a viper's pit (especially as compared with federal court), with nearly all of the judges (save maybe 1 or 2) being really poor, but things seem to be improving over the last 5 years or so. I still remember appearing in front of Hufffaker and Gates and thinking that they were just horrible.
Dare I say that the spotlights put on the judiciary by l'affiar de Halverson and the L.A. Times series may have prompted greater accountability or some small improvement, or am I just being an optimist this morning?!
You're just being an optimist this morning. Please. Tim Williams? Stefany Miley? Cory? Vega? Walsh? The list goes on. These are dumb judges. The money which funds the candidacies of the judges of the Eighth comes, in large part, from the Trial Lawyers and Big Gaming. Others contribute, but those are the biggest and most reliable sources. Once the handpicked candidates are in office, things are expected to be (and usually are) seen the way the donors want them seen.
ReplyDeletewayyyy more DUMB...And unprepared lawyers than JUDGES!!!! maybe you need someone else to do your work!
ReplyDelete