“So run a red light today! It’s on us!”
Ugh.
Ethical…
The ABA is encouraging lawyers to honor veterans through pro bono assistance, according to a statement by ABA President James R. Silkenat.“America’s lawyers join the rest of the nation on Veterans Day in honoring those who have served for their crucial contributions to preserving our democratic rule of law,” Silkenat says in the statement on the American Bar Association website. The ABA has several military assistance programs. They include:
• The ABA Military Pro Bono Project, which accepts pro bono case referrals from military lawyers on behalf of junior-enlisted, active-duty military personnel and their families.
• The Veterans’ Claims Assistance Network, which helps wounded and disabled veterans complete claims packages for expedited review by the Veterans Administration.
• ABA Home Front, a source of free publications and information on legal topics encountered by military families.
More information on ABA programs for veterans is available here.
Unethical (and stupid)…
Also from the Journal:
A New Jersey law firm is offering a free defense to military veterans charged with a traffic offense on Veterans Day.
“Whether it’s a serious matter, like a DWI, or a speeding ticket, we will take care of it for free,” attorney Al Mollo of the Mollo Law Firm told the Asbury Park Press.
He said his Red Bank firm started offering the free representation last year and this year is publicizing it. Mollo, who comes from a military family, says he also hopes to encourage other law firms to join in the effort or adopt similar programs.
An offer of free legal services is generous. Specifying a particular offense…
- trivializes the offense,
- suggests that veterans deserve some special leniency regarding the offense, and
- implies that veterans are particularly likely to engage in the offense.
Imagine a similar offer to veterans for spousal abuse charges on Veterans Day, or illegal drug use, or PTSD rage assaults.
Ugh.
Ethics Alarms 
Clearly an offer unavailable to Bowe Bergdahl…
What about war crimes accusations?
The military pro bono project is here .
Well, at least someone is honoring our vets, regardless of the way the ABA managed to minimize it. The Walmart scam — “hang out a green light so veterans know they are honored” — and the best place to buy green light bulbs is, uh, Walmart — is insulting. Not to mention that though this is supposed to be a national holiday, everyone seems to be working, in my jurisdiction schools are open, trash has been picked up, etc. I guess the “honor” of not lumping Veterans’ Day with all the others that have been moved to the closest Monday so people can have a long weekend turns out to be no honor at all. It’s business as usual in the private sector — except probably the banks, which love to have a reason to be closed… Hang out your flag… that’s about all that can be done, I think.
You have to wonder how Al Mollo came up with this idea. Is there an upsurge of traffic violations by veterans on Veteran’s Day similar to the upsurge in drunk drivers on New Years Eve? It seems so random.
No drunk driver should get pro-bono representation. They should pay through the nose, then go to jail.
They don’t have a right to fight in court the possibility (albeit extremely small possibility) that they are being falsely accused?
Is that what WalMart means by “Greenlight a Vet?”
The things you see these days…