Ben Ball News & Notes

Not that I would, but boy, I wish public service was rewarded a bit more, at least financially.

Then again, I didn't get into this kind of stuff for the money.

But, back to the subject, your points are well taken on this youngin'.

Then again, my only client is the People and neither personal injury nor estate planning are my strong suits (or so my grades would indicate).

My farmworker client had had his car taken by a lendor for alleged non-payment of an unrelated debt. The taking clearly violated a recent US Supreme Court case. I went to court over-prepared with a brief and case citations.

The case was called, I argued my heart out -- just as I had in Moot Court Competitions.

The other lawyer got up, said "Your honor, that's a US Supreme Court case, and you know what we think of them here." He then sat down.

I got up for my rebuttal, and the judge and other lawyer walked out of the courtroom in the middle of my first sentence.

I was stunned and said "May the record indicate that the judge is walking out of the courtroom .... " only to realize that the court reporter had gone with them.

I had with me a great community worker -- a young man named Ruben Rodriguez. (CRLA hired locals to guide us misplaced out-of-towners and to be the bond between our office and the community; they also did a ton of advocacy work.). This was his first time in court with me. He just looked up at me with a knowing smile and drove me back to Madera. (Ruben, who died far too young, was always my hero. He had the courage to work and organize in Madera and be a part of our program -- even though he was stigmatized for life by doing so. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke in his late thirties and died a few years later. His brother, Armando became a judge in Fresno. His nephew David, a lawyer. I lost track with them more than 30 years ago, but am pleased to honor his memory here.)

It took two years to reverse that ruling. But, I did. I still remember the client's name and every bit of that moment.

Over the years since then, I've gotten a bit more experience. Although no one has walked out on me, I've been in courtrooms where justice had departed years before.

I do work on both sides of the bar -- plaintiffs and defendants are my clients. And, I've seen prejudice cut both ways.

Fox is right. Part of the problem is the money flowing to judges and the lack of integrity on the part of the judges who take it -- either unofficially or as "campaign contributions". Both the plaintiff and defense bar have made solid investments.

There is also geographic prejudice. You don't want to come into some parts of Texas, to try a case, without associating a local lawyer. I call them "due process" mannequins. They do nothing and charge a lot. But, if you don't use them, you get home towned.

I once had a Texas lawyer ask me to be a mannequin in a CA court. I told him that he didn't need me -- that the CA courts were not that way. I was proud to do that.

My strong sense, having been in courts in almost all of the states (mostly as a litigation consultant), is that the great divide in the system is one based on class, not race. I believe that the rich do better than the poor. I think justice is easier to achieve in commercial fights between to big companies UNLESS one of those companies is local and weilding political power. I also think class explains the OJ verdict. I could write about it forever, did a lot of research on it and ALMOST sold a made for TV movie based upon the concept of doing the trial over, this time with a competent prosecution team. (The story of that pitch, at Showtime, and what happened in the room to a "sure thing" is one that I'll never forget. I once thought about creating a producers' anthology of "what went wrong during my pitch" stories ... but that was years ago.)

Ah, the memories of an old man who is pleased to retain some memories.

Yes, this is all off topic, but not really.

There are Billy Packers in all walks of life, including on the bench. And, it is up to us to all be Ben Howlands and "call bullshit" on the posers.

We're really going to need AA2 to pick up his game next year and cut down on the bad fouls.  I suspect, if KL does leave, he's going to be indispensible to our ability to shut down opposing big men.

Not that I think it's too much of a cause for concern (I trust CBH will always come up with a game plan to win, no matter who we play, and no matter who we have on the floor).

I'm excited to have another for-sure FOY wearing those magical four letters next year.  There's no way a kid with Jrue's talent will waste it (like OJ2) under the guiding hand of CBH.

To change gears though, the rich are getting richer.  We're considered a solid 1 or 2 seed and we're bringing in the top recruiting class.

Order has been restored to the universe, indeed.