Norm, Deleted

For those of you who have been around here for a while, or at least around the blawgosphere in the olden days when there were a bunch of criminal defense lawyers with blawgs, you probably remember Norm. Norm was there before me, hanging with Mike Cernovich at Crime and Federalism, and later on his own, until one day he decided to break ties with the blawgosphere, pretend we were all evil and he was the lone good lawyer who had enough of being tainted by his association with us mean, nasty lawyers.

But Cerno told me his practice was dead, so Norm decided to repackage himself. He built a new website, hired a publicist, and tried to become an important lawyer. That was more than a decade ago, and he’s had some success since then. He beat the case of Yale student Saifullah Khan, which was a great win.

But then he lost the case of Alex Jones. He lost big. Huge. $1.4 billion huge.

And he didn’t just lose the case, but made a monumental screw-up in the process.

In a sharply critical decision, a Superior Court judge has suspended Infowars broadcaster Alex Jones’ lawyer Norm Pattis from practicing law for six months for the “inexcusable” disclosure of thousands of protected medical and psychiatric records obtained from relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

Even Alex Jones is entitled to a lawyer to represent him, and after shuffling through some who would have likely done a better job, he settled on Norm. He chose poorly.

Bellis said that Pattis’ “abject failure to safeguard the plaintiff’s sensitive records” violated a half dozen rules of professional conduct, including those having to do with misconduct and competence. What’s more, she said his misconduct in general was worsened by his decision to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination and refuse to answer  questions about the improper disclosure during a hearing she convened in court last year.

As an aside, Norm was asked for comment by the Hartford Courant about the decision, but told them he hadn’t read it yet. He was busy.

Pattis, who said he had not read the decision, was in Washington, D.C., participating in the defense of five members of the far right Proud Boys organization charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He said he will appear in U.S. District Court there Monday morning to ask for an order postponing imposition of the suspension at least for the duration of the Proud Boys trial.

Judge Bellis ordered Norm suspended for six months. She refused a stay of the suspension, and Norm will likely seek a stay from the appellate court. But even with all that going on, Norm found time to twit.

Liz Dye at ATL read this as an attempt to make himself the victim, that he’s been “canceled.”

Umm,  sir, the correct term is “cancel culture.”

Andrew Fleischmann saw this as a product of “audience capture.”

It’s unclear to me what Norm is trying to do here, but what has long been clear is that his desperate need for prominence, for recognition, has not worked out as well as he hoped.

It’s not that I feel sorry for Norm. He earned his problems. As Judge Bellis said, it was inexcusable that someone with his experience would have been so reckless with privileged information.

Simply put, given his experience, there is no acceptable excuse for his misconduct,

There is no excuse. Maybe he was too busy putting together his stand up routine to pay attention to his representation of his clients. Maybe he was just that cavalier. Maybe when Norm dropped his trousers, karma bit him in the ass. I don’t know.

Norm has made a lot of enemies along the way, myself included. Still, it’s a shame to see a lawyer who was once well-regarded fall into a hole like this. I don’t have to like Norm to respect his abilities as a lawyer. Even an asshole can be a good lawyer. But this wasn’t about Norm being an asshole.

To call the entire sequence of events that led up to that moment a clusterfuck would be a major understatement.

No matter how desperately you need the attention, it’s no excuse for what happened here. Whether the six month suspension will stick, as it likely will, Norm will be back when it’s over. Whether he will have learned anything from this fiasco is another matter. Norm isn’t the kind of guy who seems to learn from his mistakes.

 

14 thoughts on “Norm, Deleted

  1. Hunting Guy

    Steve Polyak.

    “ Before we work on artificial intelligence why don’t we do something about natural stupidity?”

  2. B. McLeod

    Maybe it was F. Lee Bailey who kicked off the notion that involvement in a sensational case or two could be the springboard to fame and fortune. A lot of people have hitched their wagon to this star, only to go down in flames when the marketing eclipsed attention to professional standards. It happens with sufficient frequency to cast doubt on the wisdom of the strategy. Certainly colleagues who head down this road should be mindful of all the wrecks on the shoulder.

    1. Chris Van Wagner

      Boy, is this the truth or what. The klieg lights shine bright. The carcasses along those tracks are numerous and substantial. Was taught at an early professional age, when the case ends, just say and think, “Next case.” Or, as some famous NFL guy once said, “Just win, baby.” Let the work be its own reward. Followers don’t matter; results do.

  3. F. Lee Billy

    Norm is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. We met him at a People Against Injustice symposium event, New Haven, twenty years ago. He was a guest on the panel. Casually dressed and ponytailed, he slouched slovenly in his chair, as if he were bored with the whole thing. Sure does not look like any lawyer we ever met.

    Now this is a civil rights and judicial reform-minded group of concerned citizens and people who have been hurt by local law enforcement, rogue prosecutors and errant judges.

    So the first words out of Norm’s mouth are: “We lawyers work hard. We have to get PAID.” Oh really!?! We are not impressed with this important lawyer. Obviously we cannot afford him for our impending cases.

    Refer to the front page of New Haven Register, Tuesday January 15, 2002: Protesters Rail at High Bail. The accompanying color photo shows three of our members with home-made signs in front of the Nightmare on Elm Street. One lady pictured is Barbara Fair, is a founding member. Another lady founder is Emma Jones, whose son Malik was murdered by cop in 1997. We are present off-camera somewhere. Norm paid his lip-service, but did nothing for us. (Too busy bricking gold, no doubt.)

    We participated on Norm’s first blawg regularly. However, we jumped ship when we discovered SJ,and never looked back. We also relocated to a neighboring jurisdiction when Probation started “riding” us and threatening violation which would result in prison.

    Hey, Norm is the proverbial Accident Waiting to Happen! His temporary suspension simpley gives him more publicity. Some people, even lawyers, are like that. Hey, he’s not behind bars like some of his clients.

    Hey, where’s my H/T?

      1. F. Lee Billy

        Schadenfreude to you too. Caboose,… we like that word. We trust you will never loose your license,… to blawg your heart out!!?!

        What if he calls and asks you to represent him? Proud Man, ahem!

        1. SHG Post author

          If he did (he won’t), I would because that’s what I do. He wouldn’t be the first asshole I represented, Bill.

  4. Grum

    Andrew’s reference to “audience capture” made me immediately think.
    My job is very far from the Law, but reputation is a thing, and people care about it. Is it a thing that you cultivate, or is it an organic thing that you acquire by being diligent and doing your job with integrity and care? We get asked every year, “How can you make yourself more impactful?”. Well, I could fuck up – that would make an impact, and what impact was desired was not specified.
    My reply was that I want to get stuff done with zero drama – perhaps something that the Norms of this world may have lost sight of. There is a reason that “playing to the gallery” is not a compliment. Nor is hubris.

  5. Mitchell

    Your long ranging accounts on
    Norm and Gerry Spence have
    a tone like the hoaxes on
    Davey Crockett, but
    Norm was the cult promoter with
    His California , “proof of” magic mirrors, and cyber turf.
    Cancel culture @ large.
    But, you would rep for
    Norm as a certified
    a- hole.
    Down the rabbit hole you have gone, at last

    1. F. Lee Billy

      Hey dude, even a-holes and gang-bangers have Constituitional rights which cannot be suspended under our current government–although it does happen not infrequently. Ahem! Been there, seen that more than once.

      Scott’s reply surprised us for sure; however, we take him at his word. His words are gold, after following him for a dozen years or more. We trust you are neither a lawyer nor a licensed attorney. (A distinction without a difference which we have never understood.)

      Finally, I make no delight in saying I hate lawyers and the whole judicial enterprise. The whole thing is so alien and Byzantine to me. It’s like I wanna projectile-vomit. Last but not least, uniformed police officers give me the heebie jeebies every time. I break out into a cold sweat.

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