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Florida lawyer charged with assault because of rough handshake!

B

BoyBach

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 24, 2006
3,031
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A Florida lawyer has been charged with assault for over-vigorously shaking the hand of a fellow attorney.

Kathy Brewer Rentas, 49, shook the hand of Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Keene so hard her arm was nearly ripped out of its socket, a court official said.

Moments before, Ms Keene successfully prosecuted Ms Bewer Rentas' husband.

Anthony Rentas was accused of violating the terms of a probation order for supplying cocaine, and sentenced to 90 days of house arrest.

After the hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mrs Brewer Rentas insisted on shaking the prosecuting lawyer's hand.

In shaking it, she nearly floored Ms Keene with the vigour of her hand-action.

The strong arm of the lawyer

"With Keene in hand, Brewer made an upward, then a quick downward motion and pulled Keene toward the ground moving her forward, almost causing Keene to fall to the ground," said a court security officer.

Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office, said assaulting a federal officer was a serious matter and that Mrs brew Rentas would be prosecuted "vigorously".

"As a member of the bar, she should know better," she said.

Mrs Brewer Rentas was freed on Friday on $100,000 bail, after spending a night in solitary confinement, and ordered to undergo psychological examination.

She was also ordered to stay away from Mrs Keene, and faces up to a year in prison if convicted of assault.

Mrs Brewer Rentas says she did not intend to cause any harm.
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- BBC News


$100,000 bail and a night in solitary confinement?

My head hurts...
 
too many lawyers with nothing to do. a sane judge would throw the case and the complaining lawyer out of court.
 
Kathy Brewer Rentas, 49, shook the hand of Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Keene so hard her arm was nearly ripped out of its socket, a court official said.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing there's medical evidence of this. :rolleyes:
 
Ahh, if only we had followed Shakespeare's advice. :p

Well, let's have a few bad lawyer jokes huh?

I'll start with one:

Why won't sharks attack lawyers?

Professional courtesy. :D

Seriously, I can see this as a genuine case of assault. That woman clearly lost her mind for a moment.

Why does stuff like this only happen in Florida? :rolleyes:
 
elmo151 said:
too many lawyers with nothing to do. a sane judge would throw the case and the complaining lawyer out of court.
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The situation as described sounded like a pre-meditated assault disguised as a handshake. So why exactly would this be thrown out?
 
Indeed, I have to wonder if anyone actually read past the headline:

"With Keene in hand, Brewer made an upward, then a quick downward motion and pulled Keene toward the ground moving her forward, almost causing Keene to fall to the ground," said a court security officer.
Click to expand...

The "nearly ripped out of its socket" quote was clearly hyperbolic, but nevertheless, explain to me in what sense this is not assault.

For that matter, the event as described in the article suggests that Brewer was using her status as a legal professional to gain access to Keene for the purpose of assaulting her under the guise of collegial courtesy. Irrespective of how this is prosecuted, I cannot imagine but that disbarment will soon follow.
 
Im confused, the person who shook the hand of the attorney was the one at fault, why does the thread title state the lawyer was charged with assault? From what i understand (as i read several times, perhaps im missing something?) The prosecutor assaulted the defendants lawyer?

Never the less, silly americans and their lawyers...always with the lawyers..
 
EricNau said:
Can we turn this into a professional sport? :p
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I'm not sure, but you know who we'd have to ask...;):p
...But really, this is more a case of a misleading headline, not our ridiculous legal system.
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Indeed. This could have happened anywhere; all you need is one crazy woman and a courthouse.
 
Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office, said assaulting a federal officer was a serious matter and that Mrs brew Rentas would be prosecuted "vigorously".
Click to expand...

Psh, 'federal officer.' These people like to make themselves sound more important than they really are. Instead of more frivolous lawsuits, just put the two of them in a cage together until they kill each other. Problem solved.

EDIT: Yeah, EricNau had the right idea!
 
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