British Expatriate Network

http//www.courttv.com/people/docs/connery/connerysuit.html

Considering he lives in the Bahamas for most of the year I think the suits a wee bit flakey roll

Sounds like the Sean Connery, as portrayed in the "Celebrity Jeapordy" sketches, on "Saturday Night Live".

"We meet again, Trebek...."

The style the attorney has adopted is obvioulsy intended to play to the masses rather than the judge -- all that stuff about Connery being like the vile ogre he defeats as a hero on the screen. That would really annoy me if I were the judge.

I hate lawyers.

I don't know how that plays in NY but back in England you'd probably get a costs order for wasting court time and a severe telling off from the Judge... In the High Court they might even throw you pleadings back at you;(yes seriously, I've seen it happen)

You certainly wouldn't pass any law exams.

As you say, for the benefit of the media rather than the courts.

It would depend on the judge, but they give them more latitude typically. The statement of facts sections are ususally where this grandstanding goes on and smarter lawyers keep it there and not in the actual reasoning in the arguments (where the judge's tolerance level is usually lower). Still, this is what you get when you have too many lawyers raised on bad courtroom dramas . . .

I think English courts and Judges are still fairly intolerant of this sort of stuff; I was opposite an Australian trained Solicitor in the high court once who had written something like this - the Judge started criticising her pleading style (as they sometimes do) - she objected, big mistake, loud bollocking, followed by papers being flung (in chambers in the High Court in London attorneys stand at a desk, the judge sits about 2 feet away) and the Judge adjourning and telling us to come back the next day, with our pleadings in order - then awarded cost against the Solicitor's clients (a London Borough).

Poor woman didn't know what hit her.

Costs and time are huge issue in England - the Courts can be pretty intolerant of anything they think is wasting time/money. roll

When I was in court a couple of years back, my attorney was a local guy and the opposing one was not.

This became very apparent when the judge had a go at him for not following local filing procedures and more or less sunk the case against me from that moment onwards.

Courts and judges can be very parochial - even in fairly small jurisdictions.

Old men in wigs and tights in hot rooms without without A/C can be a bit cranky too :roll:

Bankruptcy courts in LA have what are known as "local local rules" which means rules JUST FOR THIS SPECIFIC COURTROOM. You have to get it right for each particular judge. This happens in many, many other courts too.

One of many reasons I am not a litigator (although certainly not the first).

Actually I think this is one of the reasons I like litigation.... apparently some people find me argumentative, and this way I get paid for it too :wink: :D