Feliz Navidad

I had a Hispanic guy today who was charged with disorderly conduct. He was arrested fifteen days ago and given a thousand dollar bond. He could not make bond, so he spent the past fifteen days in jail awaiting trial.

The facts of his case? Well, I am not exactly sure what the officer's version was because the officer was out sick today, but I can tell you that that Rico Cuervo was apparently waving a toy gun in the air. I approached the DA to talk about the case.

"So he's charged with playing with a toy, essentially. What are you supposed to do with a toy gun? Put it in a gun safe?"

He chuckled. We both imagine that Rico was displaying the gun in some way as to maybe make someone believe that it was real. Nonetheless, he was kind enough to dismiss the case. Even with the possible menacing circumstances, the warrant actually said "waving a toy gun."

I mean, in just under a month you might have to charge some jolly old guy with a million or so counts of that if waving a toy around constitutes a crime.

I also just found out that a colleague of mine is no longer practicing law. His client had posted bond on some serious cases. Ultimately, the client wound up going to prison for a long time. Well, when you post bond and your case is disposed of, you get your bond money back. Apparently Ricky Mernins signed over his client's bond money to himself. It was tens of thousands of dollars. Oh, and did I mention that Ricky Mernins had been appointed by the court to represent the guy? So, essentially, Ricky Mernins -- attorney at law -- stole tens of thousands of dollars from a guy who the court decided was too poor to be able to hire his own lawyer.

Well, at least there is one more lawyer that Eddie Schlipple officially ranks ahead of.