LINK Lawyer fined $400,000 for warning school about predator priest on staff
Earlier this year, attorney Richard Trahant discovered that a chaplain at (private Catholic) Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, Louisiana had previously been accused of sexual misconduct. Trahant contacted the school and informed them of what he had just learned. Within days, that chaplain, Paul Hart, announced his “retirement.” That lawyer has now been fined $400,000 for warning people about the predator priest.
I repeat: The attorney—not the priest and not the school and not the Catholic Church—was fined $400,000 for alerting people about Hart’s past actions.
It’s hard to make sense of it because it seems so backwards and so egregiously, obviously wrong. (Spoiler: It is.) But the details are worth understanding.
(Follow link for rest of story...)
16
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6 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Lawyers are officers of the court and are bound by strict rules. Rule of law is an imperfect system, but it's better than anarchy. I only hope that no real injustice was done here.
Flyingsaucesir
Level 8
Oct 14, 2022
1
I’ve said it before…..I’m sayin’ it again.
I’m really beginning to lean towards supporting the death penalty…,..especially for these types of fuckers.
CuddyCruiser
Level 8
Oct 13, 2022
2
I am still opposed to the death penalty, but for monsters like him, I can understand how it's tempting to have it for them.
@TomMcGiverin These people are psychologically as well as mentally I’ll or so it appears, at least to me. They are also the epitome of evil IMHO.
If this lawyer was truly acting morally on behalf of potential victims, he shouldn’t have gone to the press.
p-nullifidian
Level 8
Oct 13, 2022
4
Reading all of the posted info is a chore, but attention-grabbing posts don’t distract me. Thanks, “Positivist”.
That is one of the tough things about being a lawyer, namely that you often have to maintain confidentiality and not reveal things that are privileged between you and your clients, as well as information that is under seal by a court, as this information was, as part of the investigating committee the lawyer was on. It all comes down to choosing which principle to honor, the rules of the court and the law, or the public good. In this case, the lawyer chose the latter, and paid the price, literally, for violating the rules of the court. He also could have very easily been disbarred over it. I hope he doesn't end up having that happen, as we need lawyers like him that are willing to self sacrifice in the name of the public good.
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
Oct 13, 2022
5
You covered it well. I was just about to say something similar. I spent years being a mandatory reporter and that is basically backwards to that - I was to report the slightest thing, no matter what I fully knew (a kid punched his mother back for her physical attack - then things were good for, basically ever after that. Now, the time I reported sexual abuse by a staff member, at first I got yelled at - put boss in his place with legal jargon; jail time for that dude and a 2 million payout).
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