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Lawyers Using Databases To Grab Clients
bc90021 writes "It seems that lawyers are using jail-house email lists to send potential clients letters offering their services. One couple, on finding their son who'd been missing for two days, '...was astonished that deputies failed to call them when their son was arrested -- though contact and medical information was in the young man's wallet -- yet managed to inform people who wanted his business.'"
Capitalism at it's best.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Particularly nauseating fact from this case was the company who proudly boasted "we are experts in drug cases" on the envelope.
Still, you shouldn't expect any more from these pond life.
Jolyon
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
Great quote from the film: "North, this is America. Everybody needs a lawyer."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Using spam to punish criminals. Priceless!
Get out of jail today!
Want to make your member^H^H^H^H^H^Hjailtime longer^H^H^H^H^H^Hshorter? Just give Smith at Law a call, we will do the rest! Guaranteed results! You only have to take^H^H^H^Hmake one pill^H^H^H^Hcall!
Bored? Why not join a decent mess
To go to jail for spamming, and then get spammed by a lawyer?
They've been doing that for a while, at least in California. Someone goes through the records and collects addresses. My neighbor got a DUI, and he started getting lots of snail mail offers from lawyers.
I wonder if lawyers contacted OJ after his arrest...
riding round the world on an old motorcycle
Hmm. I would have liked to have known what the outcome of that was. I have a friend who is in a similar situation and he gets questioned all the time by people concerned for his well-being. But arrested on suspicion of using drugs? Just because he was acting erratic? Does that strike anyone else as strange?
I'd sue the pants off the casino and the arresting agency over that if I was him or his guardian. WTF is this? Arrest first and ask questions later? What have we come to?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Not only does money talk, it also listens.
Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
Will this be a new punitive measure? "I hereby sentence you to six months in prison and one hundred pieces of spam."
_____
Thank you.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.
You have the right to receive exciting new offers from spamvertise.com.
If you choose to opt out of our mailing list, your user preferences will be reset some time in the future.
Those who are innocent will want lawyers who relentlessly pursue the truth. The rest need lawyers who know what people can get away with. In our oppositional based legal system, the demand for scummy lawyers will be equal or greater than honest lawyers.
I actually used to run a small business that collected traffic ticket (and DUI) information from the counties and provided it to ticket law offices in a format they could use (i.e. mailing lists). This information was hosted on various gov't run BBSs; but, it is now available on the internet. And this was back in 1999! And the jail (who had been arrested the day before) data was available, but my clients were only interested in traffic citations and DUIs... My point? This has been going on for years, and the timing of the article suprised me. I think those people were especially upset since the police didn't call them (although they had gone through his wallet to determine and post his demographic info); however, the article seems to indicate that he was 18 or over, making you wonder if anything 'wrong' occurred in this situation. Annoying? Yes. Public information? Hey, it is. Interesting debate, though.
So I'm going to guess he is over 21. I'm going to have to ask any future arresting officers to please NOT call my parents. The fam doesn't need to know everytime I get a drunk and disorderly.
The thing about needing medication sucks, but its well within the realm of possibility that his health issue both doesn't present as an actual health issue and renders him unable or unwilling to notify the officers. If thats the case, nothing to see. IF the officers knew something was wrong and still failed to act, well then fsck them.
I carry contact and medical information too, but thats only for use if I am unconscious or otherwise unable to speak for myself. Don't call my mommy just because I get picked up. If the officers dug through the medical records of everyone they picked up, wouldn't we by crying invasion of privacy then too?
I want it on the record so that there's no misunderstanding on the part of future generations, or the current generation who's building the future:
I don't want to end up living in a Neal Stephenson novel. No, not even if I get to be Hiro Protagonist.
Reading this writeup reminded me of the scene in Snow Crash where we discover the police have outsourced incarceration, and take YT to The Clink. All that is left is dollars. The human equation is lost, and anyone holding a sense of morals or ethics is seen as an anachronism. I don't know about anyone else, but... Yuck.
Great books, but I wouldn't want to live there.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
One of my many side jobs is procuring information for attorney's solicitation. Let me tell you, call it scummy or what not, but lawyers will go to any means possible to get their solicitation letters out. This is their livelyhood for 90% of them. It is not very surprising that the lawyers would have the information faster than the parents. And for those of you who might refer to this practice as scummy, remember that in the event that you might find yourself needing an attorney. Competitive soliciation drives the prices down, and in areas with a lot of attorney's soliciting, expect to find prices half of what you would find in more friendly, less competitive areas. Any advertisement can be called scummy until it benefits you personally.
I'd bet he politely asked to place a phone call, but the officer responded, "What good is a phone call if you're unable to speak?" The rest, as they say, is history.
Contact your local bar association. Ask for their lawyer referral service.
This gets you lawyers that are reasonably reputable, and often the referral service will have a deal worked out so that the initial consultation isn't going to empty your bank account.
My roommate was arrested in November of last year. There were 10 solicitations in the mailbox 2 days later, 15 the next, and between 7 and 20 everyday for a week thereafter. (South Florida, if it makes a difference).
I just think it's interesting that every single form of excess in the US is frowned upon, except making obscene amounts of money. If you like sex too much, you're a sexaholic; if you take too many recreational substances, you're a drug abuser; if you eat too much you're a glutton; if you're very vocal about your beliefs or religion, you're a fanatic. However, if you make more money than any 1,000 people could spend in 10 lifetimes, you're an entrepreneur (sp?). Now, before I get flamed, I'm not saying that capitalism is bad, but when you take ANYTHING to an extreme, it's usually not a good thing. The main reason that Communism failed is that they took Marx's ideas to their logical extreme without any thought of human nature or simple compassion. Anyone remember "Lost Horizon"? When the head monk is telling Ronald Coleman's character that they do everything in moderation and therefore are more than moderately happy? Just something to think about...
If I sell a t-shirt with Michael Jordan's name on it I could get sued. Isn't this the same thing? If so, then why can't I get paid when my name is sold? If it isn't the same thing, how is it different and why don't I have a choice in the matter?
Speak truth to power.
No.
Er, rather, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
While I don't think authorities should be using that information for commercial purposes, arrests records should absolutely be 100% public.
With private records, you run the risk of embarrassment when the neighbors read your name in the local police blotter.
Without private records, you end up...Well, we don't know where you end up. You're gone. And while we suspect the police had some involvement, nobody can find you to waive your right to keep your arrest secret.
Nice to known members of the Bush administration are reading /. to mod such posts up. Send me a postcard from Guantanamo.
In California, statute 5150 enables them to put anybody into a mental facilty against their will for 72 hours for observation. This is NOT the same as an arrest. Arrested people go to jail. Committed people go to mental institutions. This kid was in a mental institution. Unfortunately, I beleive the legal requirements for locking somebody up for mental illness are much less stringent then for being criminals -- pretty much just the cop's judgement. They don't have a case for "false arrest" unless he was actually charged with a crime.
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
Could be illegal to do this....In a number of state, i.e. South Carolina and New York, it is illegal to use any public records (such as arrest records, property titles, mortgage records, etc.) for the purpose of solicitation.
Someone should check the states where these sharks are swimming to see if those states have such restrictions.... then the will need their own lawyers.
Would it matter? You should do some ride alongs with local police for a few nights.
Not to mention- this guy is supposed to be on medication daily- and was off it. I am glad they picked him up for his own safety and that of others. This way he doesn't have to use the temp insanity defense if he 'accidentaly' kills somebody while he's off his meds. You see, in that state, he is not responsible for his own actions. So who is? When the folks were called he was in a mental care place- not jail. Sounds like he was treated well.
Beat cops don't have the time or training to do a lot more than look at the current situation and quickly decide if they are going to remove someone. In a casino I bet it is an easy/quick decision. Then when he is no longer a threat to himself or anyone else, you have time to decide what to do. I didn't see anything in the article about him being charged.
But as I said, there just isn't enough information here to make any kind of decision on the rightness/wrongness of what was done. Me- I'm sympathetic to cops and so I tend to assume they did o.k. unless something shows otherwise. It seems (maybe not- I'm just saying) that you are otherwise inclined.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
LoL - scum of the earth squared. If only we could somehow bring SCO into this equation I think we'd have the "most... evil... story... ever...".
;-)
cLive
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
I had a similar situation, and the amount of mail I got afterwards was staggering. I didn't bother counting the letters (since I was innocent, and didn't need a lawyer), but the stack was about 5 inches high.
And I wasn't allowed to make a phone call b/c cellphones don't take collect calls, and I didn't know anybody local's number (was arrested out of town). And, yes, there are very few cops who are doing the job right.
-bZj
.sig
Obviously you've never had to face anything like this before. Before considering how high and mighty you'd be, remember that prosecution conviction rates are in the 90% across the states. If you ever get accused, win any way you can.
I've lost both of my parents to prison. My mother is guilty and my father is not. My father was actually a lawyer who believed in justice.
We do not have justice. We have law. There is a big difference. Don't trust that they'll play fair. Don't trust your lawyer to do a good job. Don't trust the jury to see the holes in the story.
Bash any hole you can in the prosecutions case.
And remember, it's going to cost a ton of money.
"Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain