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| Fifth Column | |||
| Scum Anti-War Lawyer Gets His Day In Court Filled With Marines | |||
| 2008-01-20 | |||
| Jay Grodner, the Grodner pleaded guilty in a Chicago courtroom packed with former Marines. Some had Marine pins on their coats, or baseball jackets with the Marine insignia. They didn't yell or call him names. They came to support Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, whose car Grodner defaced in December, but who couldn't attend because he's preparing for his second tour in Iraq. Grodner was late to court for the second time in the case. Grodner called Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Kelly, (Marine Corps/Vietnam 1969-1972), informing Kelly that he would be late to court. "He wanted to avoid the media," Kelly said Friday. "So he's coming a half hour late." "I don't run my courtroom that way!" responded Judge William O'Malley, ordering Grodner be arrested and held on $20,000 bail when he arrived. Finally, Grodner strolled in. A short man, wide, wearing a black fedora, dark glasses, a divorce lawyer dressed like some tough guy in the movies.
Judge O'Malley has also traveled, but in his youth. He was a police officer on the West Side during the riots before law school. And before that, he performed another public service. Judge O'Malley served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1961-1964. During the proceedings, the judge described the offense as anger rose in his voice, especially as Grodner started balking on a plea arrangement he'd made with prosecutors. "Is this what you did? Yes or no," Judge O'Malley asked Grodner. "Without knowing, yes," Grodner said, sticking to his I-might-have-done-it-but-didn't-really-mean-it defense. O'Malley asked again, in a stronger voice, not that of a judge but of a cop on the street or a Marine who meant business. "DID YOU KNOWINGLY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THIS CAR?" O'Malley asked. Grodner bowed his head, meekly, and responded in an equally meek voice: "Yes," he said. After the admission, came the details and Grodner was lucky, getting off with a misdemeanor and no jail time, and not a felony even though he caused $2,400 in damage to Sgt. McNulty's car. So Grodner received a $600 fine, which will go to a Marine charity, 30 hours of community service and a year of court supervision. If he doesn't pay up in a month, the judge promised to put him in jail for a year. Judge O'Malley had something to say. He looked out into his courtroom, at all those men who'd come to support a Marine they didn't know. "You caused damage to this young Marine sergeant's car because you were offended by his Marine Corps license plates," said Judge O'Malley. Grodner stood there, hands behind his back. He grasped the fingers of his left hand with his right, and held it there, so they wouldn't wiggle. "You're probably also wondering why there was a whole crowd of people here, Mr. Grodner," said Judge O'Malley. "I don't want to wonder," said Grodner, continuing in his new meek voice, not in his tough divorce lawyer voice, but the gentle, inside voice he'd just learned. "That's because there is a little principle that the Marine Corps has had since 1775," the judge continued. "When they fought and lost their lives so that people like you could enjoy the freedom of this country. It is a little proverb that we follow: "No Marine is left behind. "So Sgt. McNulty couldn't be here. But other Marines showed up in his stead. Take him away," said the judge and former Marine. They took Grodner away, he was processed, and everyone left. The lobby was dark, quiet, except for two court deputies running the metal detector. Then Grodner came through an inside door, put his fedora back on, the dark glasses, a tough guy again. We stood outside, in the parking lot, talking for 20 minutes. He smoked, and I didn't. He explained that he wasn't anti-military and why he pleaded guilty. "The judge, he's the guy with the black robes," Grodner said. He could have been slapped with a felony, but Sgt. McNulty's family said they wanted to put this behind them and let it go as a misdemeanor. Grodner showed no remorse, and I asked if he'd apologize.
Sgt. McNulty will get some sun, too. In Iraq. | |||
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #9 Perhaps this POS will regret his actions, if he hasn't already From the sounds of things the only thing he regrets is getting caught. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-01-20 20:43 |
| #8 Can he leave the country before fulfilling the plea agreement? Specifically, the 30 hours of community service and the year of court supervision? If no, what happens if/when he does leave for France? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-01-20 19:34 |
| #7 Grodner's law career will get a big boost - assuming he can keep his license and move to San Francisco or Boston. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-01-20 18:40 |
| #6 Grodner's career is down the toilet, he'll have to pay for the damages plus the penalties, and others are challenging his law license. I think justice is served. Perhaps this POS will regret his actions, if he hasn't already |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-20 18:16 |
| #5 Blackfive has also posted the entire transcript here -- scroll down |
| Posted by: Sherry 2008-01-20 18:09 |
| #4 From Blackfive -- Update 01-20-08: Transcript added below. For what it's worth, the prosecutors were vets - Patrick Kelly was a Marine and Arunas Buntinas was a SF Officer (and a very good one too if he's the same guy I knew 20 years ago). |
| Posted by: Sherry 2008-01-20 18:05 |
| #3 'I'm sorry if I scratched your car' Weasel jerk. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-01-20 16:40 |
| #2 Very unsatisfying. I regret that they let it go as a misdemeanor. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-01-20 16:10 |
| #1 It's not over yet, either: there's still the Sergeant's civil damage claim, and possibly a professional disciplinary proceeding against Grodner's law license. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-01-20 16:03 |