"But You Know, If You Wanted To Save People, You Should've Become A Doctor"

I just finished watching a rather contorted episode of "Law & Order" on TNT (in lieu of watching more fawning news coverage of Obama's administration picks . .. . which might compel me to jump off a bridge into one our lovely Eastern NC rivers).

ADA Serena Southerlyn, portrayed by Elisabeth Rohm was featured. The episode is actually summarized at Wikipedia (I've added tidbits to the summary):

Southerlyn was brought before the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division's Disciplinary Committee in 2002 after promising to get legal help for a murder suspect who had taken hostages, to get him to release his prisoners. The man (a peeping-Tom gone wrong - accused of bludgeoning two women to death with a free weight) had a knife to a woman's throat and demanded a lawyer. Southerlyn, who happened to be in the area (she was actually summoned to the scene by police negotiators), volunteered to enter the store where the holdup was taking place, to negotiate the hostage's release (police snipers were on the verge of shooting the suspect).

Since the man had asked for a lawyer, the committee attempted to paint Southerlyn's actions as fraudulent, since she was supposedly representing herself as his lawyer (which she denied), when she was in fact a district attorney. In her defense, Southerlyn's "lies", with a knife at a woman's throat, were of omission . . . she told the man she was a lawyer . . . just not that she was with the DA's office. In talking him down, she saved two lives - the life of the hostage - and the life of the murderer (he copped a plea) who then had the cahoones to accuse her of violating his rights.

(Executive Assistant DA) Jack McCoy, who had once been brought before the committee himself, represented her. NYC DA Nora Levin (a former ethics professor in law school) was called to testify against her own ADA. Southerlyn was reprimanded, but kept her law license.

What bothered me most about this episode (apart from its improbability), was the smug & sanctimonious way the attorney prosecuting the ethics violation spoke of the black & white ethical obligations of lawyers. It was then that I knew that they weren't doing reality TV.

Of course, I view this in the context of my own situation and experience with lawyers - who never blinked twice while bold-faced lying - to the Court and to me . . . even after getting caught . . . because they knew they could get away with it. The deck is so totally stacked in their favor.

Gangs aren't the only problem we have in Asheboro.

Not for lack of trying, I've yet to see any of these oh-so-ethical lawyers answer for their actions before the North Carolina State Bar . . . for (1) filing false answers on behalf of their clients (I believe the technical term is suborning perjury), (2) lying to their client, or (3) flat out ignoring their obligations as the officer of a North Carolina Court to the victim of a crime.

At the end of the episode, as McCoy and Southerlyn celebrate over scotch, DA Nora Levin tells Sabrina how much she admires and appreciates what she did . . . when she had seconds to decide what would keep life from becoming death.

"But you know, if you wanted to save people, you should've become a doctor".

Speaking as the doctor who did save the life, oh the places I could go with that one!

More whiskey-scented air kisses to you and yours, Schmid.

I hope the booze you worked so hard to buy here helps.

Actually, I don't.