Wealthy Child Molester Gets Probation, Wouldn't Fare Well In Prison

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

A case worker is not necessarily the same as a social worker. But I guess everyone knows that.

Hence my use of CPS/social worker. They are often related - I know of some women with degrees in social work who work or worked for CPS - but yes, not necessarily the same.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

A case worker is not necessarily the same as a social worker. But I guess everyone knows that.

A social worker in Oklahoma has to have a specialized license with training. I routinely employ. A case worker has to have a bachelor's degree and a pulse. If they're any more highly qualified, they'd probably be doing a different job.

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by Kevin

A social worker in Oklahoma has to have a specialized license with training. I routinely employ. A case worker has to have a bachelor's degree and a pulse. If they're any more highly qualified, they'd probably be doing a different job.

A case manager in DC doesn't even require a Bachelor's, truth be told.

[honeychile]

Just throwing this into the thread: I personally know three supposedly intelligent & decent women who, when they went through a divorce, claimed that the man to whom each had been married was the worst child molester in the world. Not that I know all of the facts one way or another, but there's a saying about hell hath no fury.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Just throwing this into the thread: I personally know three supposedly intelligent & decent women who, when they went through a divorce, claimed that the man to whom each had been married was the worst child molester in the world. Not that I know all of the facts one way or another, but there's a saying about hell hath no fury.

This is very common in custody cases. First mom accuses dad of being abusive to her. If that doesn't work, the kids start making disclosures. When I have these sorts of women (I've never seen or heard of this pattern of conduct from a father), I'll tell my client to prepare for each stage of escalation.

Most of the time, it completely blows up in her face, but other times, especially when mom has convinced the kids that it really did happen, it's ruined parent-child relationships. In fact, in about half an hour, I'll be in front of a judge on exactly that type of case where mom's sexual abuse allegations blew up completely in her face.

Of course the fact that so many, including a former case worker are so sure of this guy's guilt, having access to very little information about the case, or even not admitting there's plenty of room for doubt here is concerning. It does tell me that he probably did the right thing in taking a plea rather than going before a jury of his peers.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

A case manager in DC doesn't even require a Bachelor's, truth be told.

Ouch.

[DubaiSis]

I find this argument really interesting. So here's my 2 cents:
1-advanced education only expresses a certain amount of intelligence. And lack of said advanced education does NOT reflect the opposite. I could have 3 PhD's if I wanted and I'd still be an underpaid travel agent. But I LIKE being a travel agent and no degree is required for that whatsoever (although most agents I know do have undergrad degrees). Thank god for smart people who choose to do shitty jobs even though they could be lawyers or work on Wall Street. (my career not included in that thanks. I mean nurses, CPS types, garbage men, the really crappy jobs, excusing the pun)
2-while this is an interesting case that makes for good news coverage, I've seen first hand a sexual assault claim from a child (in this case a teenager) that was a load of crap. That isn't to say that it happens all the time, but I think in certain circles it is probably much more common to accuse unjustly. This girl was the embodiment of the stereotype you'd expect of an unjust accuser. And molestation as a divorce argument? I believe him when he says it happens all the time. People can and will do horrible, seriously vile things to each other in divorce. But regarding the girl I know who did the accusing years ago, she got help, got her life together and now, wait for it, works as a school counselor.

[Kevin]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/justic...html?hpt=hp_t4

Check out the prosecutor's public statement at the end.

Will some of you just admit that I might know what I'm talking about?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Will some of you just admit that I might know what I'm talking about?

There are multiple conversations happening in this thread.

I only care about your failure to admit that you, too, come with prejudices and subjectivity; and your assholeness regarding the letters discussion.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

There are multiple conversations happening in this thread.

I only care about your failure to admit that you, too, come with prejudices and subjectivity; and your assholeness regarding the letters discussion.

This. I don't really doubt your knowledge of the mechanics of the legal system, but your condescension to others on this board regarding the worthiness of your qualifications vs other qualifications has been really nasty. You and your qualifications aren't the only ones who know things, and you're not better than anyone else posting here. Quite frankly, that's been your tone: I'm a lawyer and therefore automatically better than you. Your tone has buried your legal knowledge.

[DrPhil]

There are many GCers with terminal degrees. That includes GCers who, even if we are not attorneys, have careers that require knowledge of the legal system.

Kevin's problem arose when he tripped over himself. The thread got derailed because of the back and forth. I'm all for a good back and forth but Kevin assumed he was most qualified and falsely believed he is an unbiased, nonprejudiced, objectively neutral expert. Then instead of critiquing the qualifications of the average CPS worker for the sake of discussion, and in a general sense, he made it a specific "you" directly aimed at als463 and (based on the tone) any GCer who Kevin assumes isn't up to his level of (insert whatever he unfoundedly assumed). Maybe we should create a pissing contest thread in which everyone posts their resume'/CV...not!!!

/thread recap

[SWTXBelle]

Miss Manners says your advanced degrees should be like silk underwear - it should be enough that you know you have them; there's no need to show everyone.

A gentleman who worked with my father was a former professor with very impressive credentials. He never made an issue of it, so when people found out about them, they were positively taken aback by 1.) his achievements and 2.) his humility.


And finally - How many lawyer jokes are there?
Three. The rest are true stories.

[Kevin]

The JD is relevant here because none of you have or probably will ever discuss a plea deal with anyone because most of you aren't lawyers or aren't going to make the poor life choices which will lead you be in a position where you're considering entering a plea.

I recently had a case where I think I got her a pretty good deal considering that her co-defendant got 18 months to do for exactly the same crime with 5 years suspended and a permanent drug felony on his record.

On the other hand, she got 7 years deferred. That means that if she's a good girl and goes to her classes and doesn't get charged with any more crimes in the next 7 years, this whole thing goes off her record like it never happened and it won't be considered a felony conviction either.

She won't be able to buy or possess pseudoephedrine for a very long time though.

This case, I imagine, could be very similar to the case at hand. The deal the D.A. was offering was too good considering the amount of time she was looking at (2 years mandatory on the gun charge alone) had she proceeded to trial. It was kind of a no-brainer.

And yes, I do bring quite a bit more objectivity to the table than your average bear, and if you'll read very closely, I never said this guy was clearly innocent or guilty, just that under these circumstances, an innocent man might take a deal such as what was offered. I'm not sure how you can say I'm not objective if I've never offered a single conclusion. Just possibilities.

That got your caseworkers panties in a twist because she just knew he was guilty (based on her ample knowledge of this case from reading an internet article) and away we went.

Do I have an axe to grind with crappy CPS workers? You bet I do. Those idiots ruin lives. Whether als was a terrible caseworker, I don't know. Based on her leaping to conclusions here, the odds aren't terribly in her favor.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

The JD is relevant here because none of you have or probably will ever discuss a plea deal with anyone because most of you aren't lawyers

There's so much that I could say but I don't want to inadvertently throw shade on the GC attorneys who have no dog in this fight.

Originally Posted by Kevin

And yes, I do bring quite a bit more objectivity to the table than your average bear...

No, you don't. Do not confuse specific knowledge and specific experience with objectivity.

The objectivity of law has long been debated and researched and remains up for debate. Therefore everyone (there are people in the legal system with much more broad knowledge and experience than the attorneys) involved in the legal system has prejudices, biases, and subjectivity that are irremovable and difficult to buffer.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Kevin

T
. Whether als was a terrible caseworker, I don't know. Based on her leaping to conclusions here, the odds aren't terribly in her favor.

Wait, did you just leap to a conclusion (namely that she is a terrible caseworker - and don't even play the "well, I didn't SAY she was a terrible caseworker" game) based on absolutely no knowledge of her or her work experience, and criticize her for leaping to a conclusion? Sheesh.