Yagman Seeks Reversal By Selling His Pal Erwin Chemerinsky Down the River
After scumbag civil rights lawyer Stephen Yagman was convicted of thirteen federal felonies, including tax evasion, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud, one person stuck with him: his pal Erwin Chemerinsky. The well-known leftist law professor stepped up for Yagman in a big way — not only trying in vain to save Yagman’s bar card, but handling Yagman’s criminal appeal pro bono.
And while Chemerinsky may be (OK, is) a raging leftist with the common sense God gave a rotting potato, he is generally thought to be a legal scholar of the first rank. Nobody would ever say he screwed up Yagman’s appeal.
Nobody, that is . . . except for Yagman himself:
The normally voluble Yagman is keeping an exceptionally low profile, but he’s raising eyebrows anyway. He hopes to win back his old life by having his conviction overturned on appeal before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
And to do that, among other things, Yagman hopes to convince the court that his good friend, Irvine School of Law Dean and legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, misrepresented him and screwed up Yagman’s previous and unsuccessful appeal.
Last November, Yagman filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate his convictions. Key among his claims since then: that the government withheld evidence and that he got ineffective assistance from Chemerinsky, who worked pro bono on his appeal.
Top appellate lawyers in Los Angeles describe Yagman’s chances of convincing the court that Chemerinsky ruined Yagman’s appeal as “next to zero,” “forget about it” and “absolutely no way.”
That’s the thanks Chemerinsky gets. He is apparently taken aback:
Chemerinsky commented on the case by email to L.A. Weekly, saying, “I am sad that Mr. Yagman made these allegations. I worked very hard to provide him the best representation I could. I encourage anyone to read the briefs I filed and the transcript of the oral argument in assessing Mr. Yagman’s allegations.”
Yagman claims Chemerinsky didn’t have enough time to devote to his case. But Chemerinsky writes to the Weekly: “I devoted a very significant amount of time to writing the briefs and preparing the oral argument. I think that will be evident to anyone who reads the briefs or listens to the tape of the oral argument.”
I’m sure it’s evident to Yagman too. But, you know, when you’re a dishonest convicted criminal, you can’t let your actions be ruled by niggling scruples about minor issues — like the fact that you’re backstabbing your loyal friends.
Not being a fan of either Yagman, or Chemerinsky, my dream would be that the court finds that Yagman is still guilty,
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (f8e76c) — 8/31/2011 @ 10:43 pmbut that the defense was inadequate, and strips Irwin of his BAR credential.
Heh.
Patterico (f724ca) — 8/31/2011 @ 10:47 pmSo is this bushs fault?
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/31/2011 @ 10:56 pm“….but you knew I was a snake when you picked me up”
First thing that popped in my mind was that parable.
It must be a leftist Olympic event- this under bus tossing.
ppk_pixie (1df0c8) — 8/31/2011 @ 11:04 pmCriminals have no real friends
Icy Texan (b1b8ac) — 8/31/2011 @ 11:13 pmHas anybody ever seen Cyrus and Yagman in a room at the same time?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/31/2011 @ 11:23 pmThe charge against Chermy appears to be crap, but people will do all kinds of things to get out of a cage. It’s hard to be trapped in a cage.
Brian (87f809) — 9/1/2011 @ 1:33 amHmmm…. Throwing associates — any and all associates — under the bus?
I smell Democratic Presidential Hopeful!!
Smock Puppet, Facepalm Expert (c9dcd8) — 9/1/2011 @ 3:18 amThat is funny, pixie. I thought about a similar parable, about the scorpion and the turtle.
JD (318f81) — 9/1/2011 @ 4:40 amThis is not news.
Convicted criminals raise the issue of ineffective assistance in prior proceedings and prior appeals in almost all subsequent appeals and habeas corpus proceedings.
It is ineffective assistance of counsel not to raise the issue.
slp (b38cdd) — 9/1/2011 @ 5:13 amI presume Chemerinsky isn’t surprised by this? Right…. I mean, he couldn’t have misestimated Yagman’s moral and ethical sense? Thought it was just fine, probably.
Richard Aubrey (cafc94) — 9/1/2011 @ 5:35 amBirds of a feather.
This all puts me in mind of the late William Kunstler. Kunstler was never upset when a client of his tried to obtain vacatur of a judgment on the ground of Kunstler’s purported ineffective assistance of counsel. His view was that anything that helped a client beat the man was OK with him.
MIK (4363c7) — 9/1/2011 @ 6:25 amIs it really? Has the demimonde of criminal defense law come to that?
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 9/1/2011 @ 7:08 amHe should be president.
DohBiden (d54602) — 9/1/2011 @ 7:18 amI really don’t think Chemerinsky should mind. It is all part of the strategy. If the goal is to get his client off the convictions, this is another tactic to be used. I’m sure once Yagman is free and clear, they will both be in a bar laughing at the situation. Birds of a feather. That’s what leftists do to undermine the law.
MyOpinion (c1edfb) — 9/1/2011 @ 7:32 amSnakes and scorpions and liberals, oh my!
PatAZ (da3db7) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:40 amI suggest the new unit, the “Yagman” for measuring assholiness. The Yagman is a large unit, so in most cases people would measure in milliYagmans (mY) or microYagmans (uY).
Kevin M (563f77) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:44 amThere was a great Mose Allison song. “The Snake” that applies here. But MyOpinion is probably right. They are both snakes.
BarSinister (5a3146) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:49 amYagman threw his crony under the bus?
Sounds like Yagman should be an obama admin official.
DohBiden (d54602) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:50 amIt was done pro bono. (Ironically, translating to “for the public good”)
Good luck to Yagman getting his next representation. I hope he can convince his live-in g/f to give him back some of the money he left with her for ‘safekeeping’ so he can front a retainer and full-boat rate.
Timesdisliker (de39ef) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:54 amSaid the Scorpion to the Frog
Professor Fate (8096f2) — 9/1/2011 @ 8:59 amComment by MyOpinion — 9/1/2011 @ 7:32 am
What self respecting bar would allow these two to drink there?
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (588042) — 9/1/2011 @ 9:17 amThe California bar. Heyooooo!
Hadlowe (163d77) — 9/1/2011 @ 11:12 amHadlowe, you mail mail my “straight-man fee” to ……
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (588042) — 9/1/2011 @ 11:28 amA comedy duo is in town for a gig, and before the show the ‘straight-man’ takes a walk along the shoreline. He’s enjoying the sun and solitude, when he hears a voice from the ocean,”Help! I’m drowning, I’m drowning!” The straight-man takes off his hat, looks at his shoes, scratches his forehead, and yells back, “You say you’re drowning?”
Timesdisliker (de39ef) — 9/1/2011 @ 12:25 pmYagman vs Chemerinsky? … I’ll take “a pox on both houses for$ 100” Alex.
SPQR (4a8846) — 9/1/2011 @ 12:31 pmI’ve listened to Chemerinsky for years on Hugh Hewitt’s show. There is no position too far left for Chemerinsky to defend and promote.
Mike K (8f3f19) — 9/1/2011 @ 12:45 pmRemember the potato brain Chemerinsky is referred to as a “Smart Guy” by RINO Hugh Hewitt. Hewitt routinely debases himself in his sycophancy to the tax sucking bureaucrat Chemerinsky.
Federale (ae10d6) — 9/1/2011 @ 3:45 pmMike K., the thing that has always infuriated me about Chemerinsky is that he’ll claim that a position “is” the current law under the Constitution when in fact he’s describing his subjective belief of what it ought to be, not what is in fact current case law. This kind of dishonesty should not be engaged in by a law professor.
He’s done it for years, I recall back when I was still practicing in California that the Calif Bar Journal would publish editorials where he would do the same dishonest act.
Its one reason I don’t listen to Hugh Hewitt currently.
SPQR (26be8b) — 9/1/2011 @ 3:56 pmSPQR, Hewitt is a sharp guy. I think that he is happily giving Chemerinsky lots and lots of rope.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 9/1/2011 @ 4:00 pmSPQR, it just demonstrates (especially when he gets schooled by John Eastman) how the Left lives in their own little dream fantasy world.
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (588042) — 9/1/2011 @ 4:11 pmSimon Jester, nope. Hewitt allows Chemerinsky to get away with misrepresentations because Hewitt is sucking up to Erwin. It pisses me off.
SPQR (26be8b) — 9/1/2011 @ 4:18 pmHugh Hewitt is a romney suckup so you shouldn’t listern to him anyways.
DohBiden (d54602) — 9/1/2011 @ 4:56 pmThere is that.
SPQR (26be8b) — 9/1/2011 @ 5:17 pm