The SF Chronicle wrote:The lawyer, Troy Ellerman, 44, who formerly represented the founder and another official of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, agreed to plead guilty to four charges of disclosing the confidential transcripts in violation of a federal judge's order. The plea agreement calls or a prison sentence of up to two years and a $250,000 fine.
In his plea agreement, Ellerman admitted allowing a Chronicle reporter, Mark Fainaru-Wada, to take verbatim notes of the testimony by Bonds, fellow baseball players Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, and sprinter Tim Montgomery in the lawyer's Sacramento office in June and November 2004.
I wonder what the Lawdude would say on this. I would think that this plea opens the attorney to disciplinary proceedings, possibly including a loss of his license. However, IANAL (I am not a lawyer).
I wonder about the posibility of civil cases against him for damages. Ellerman was paid to provide a criminal defense and then commited an illegal act by leaking information that was damaging to his own clients. One has to wonder what his motivation was to take this type of risk. Now he gets five times the prison time of the defendants he was representing. What's up with this guys brain.
26mi235 wrote:I wonder what the Lawdude would say on this. I would think that this plea opens the attorney to disciplinary proceedings, possibly including a loss of his license. However, IANAL (I am not a lawyer).
Law dude--in a thread on the now-closed doping board-- wrote:
Dutra wrote:I have a greater problem of Feds leaking grand jury testimony, if that is the case. That type of activity poses a greater threat than athletes taking steroids.9.
I agree with you there. It threatens something more important than sports.
I still find it reprehensible that anyone would leak grand jury testimony, even more so when the leaker turns out to be a lawyer. I've no idea what would cause a guy do even think of doing a thing like that.
But let's remember that lawyers are people, too, and they are not immune from human frailties. Some of them commit crimes and do other stupid things. When they do commit a serious crime, as this guy apparently did, they should be prepared to pay the penalty, including disbarment.
OK, so there will be one less law dude in California. I'm sure there will still be more than enough.
Law dude wrote:But let's remember that lawyers are people, too, and they are not immune from human frailties. Some of them commit crimes and do other stupid things.
In the reports in the press, it cites that the testimony of five athletes were leaked by allowing word-for-word copying of that testimony. Only one was T&F, TM. How does this line up with accusations in the book about track and field athletes other than TM, especially MJ?
Mennisco wrote:Tafnut what is the medical condition which causes your font to be alternately large and tiny? Would Viagra help?
Let's just say the days are warm, but the nights are cold.
New (?) question: in a story linked on the home page, Gatlin is requesting a new arbitration hearing, saying that he thinks that the evidence will clear him of wrongdoing. Why would he not have fought this at the time? And why did he deny taking PEDs, but admit they were in his system? His case has puzzled me mightily. I really, really didn't think it was in his character, and this new talk gives me the tiniest glimmer of hope.
tafnut wrote:And why did he deny taking PEDs, but admit they were in his system?
Because his side claims that the PEDs were administered by a trainer who rubbed him with a DHEA cream.
IIRC, shortly after that claim was made by someone (I don't remember who first made it) Gatlin's lawyer (perhaps it's now his former lawyer) disavowed that claim and said it was not part of Gatlin's defense.
"The court hereby rejects the plea agreement and refuses to be bound thereby," White said, declaring that Ellerman had "corrupted several different aspects of the criminal justice system," particularly the grand jury. Ellerman lied to government agents, courts and the news media, the judge said.
