| Fifth Column | |||
| Scum Anti-War Lawyer Gets His Day In Court Filled With Marines | |||
| 2008-01-20 | |||
| Jay Grodner, the Grodner pleaded guilty in a Chicago courtroom packed with former Marines. Some had Marine pins on their coats, or baseball jackets with the Marine insignia. They didn't yell or call him names. They came to support Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, whose car Grodner defaced in December, but who couldn't attend because he's preparing for his second tour in Iraq. Grodner was late to court for the second time in the case. Grodner called Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Kelly, (Marine Corps/Vietnam 1969-1972), informing Kelly that he would be late to court. "He wanted to avoid the media," Kelly said Friday. "So he's coming a half hour late." "I don't run my courtroom that way!" responded Judge William O'Malley, ordering Grodner be arrested and held on $20,000 bail when he arrived. Finally, Grodner strolled in. A short man, wide, wearing a black fedora, dark glasses, a divorce lawyer dressed like some tough guy in the movies.
Judge O'Malley has also traveled, but in his youth. He was a police officer on the West Side during the riots before law school. And before that, he performed another public service. Judge O'Malley served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1961-1964. During the proceedings, the judge described the offense as anger rose in his voice, especially as Grodner started balking on a plea arrangement he'd made with prosecutors. "Is this what you did? Yes or no," Judge O'Malley asked Grodner. "Without knowing, yes," Grodner said, sticking to his I-might-have-done-it-but-didn't-really-mean-it defense. O'Malley asked again, in a stronger voice, not that of a judge but of a cop on the street or a Marine who meant business. "DID YOU KNOWINGLY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THIS CAR?" O'Malley asked. Grodner bowed his head, meekly, and responded in an equally meek voice: "Yes," he said. After the admission, came the details and Grodner was lucky, getting off with a misdemeanor and no jail time, and not a felony even though he caused $2,400 in damage to Sgt. McNulty's car. So Grodner received a $600 fine, which will go to a Marine charity, 30 hours of community service and a year of court supervision. If he doesn't pay up in a month, the judge promised to put him in jail for a year. Judge O'Malley had something to say. He looked out into his courtroom, at all those men who'd come to support a Marine they didn't know. "You caused damage to this young Marine sergeant's car because you were offended by his Marine Corps license plates," said Judge O'Malley. Grodner stood there, hands behind his back. He grasped the fingers of his left hand with his right, and held it there, so they wouldn't wiggle. "You're probably also wondering why there was a whole crowd of people here, Mr. Grodner," said Judge O'Malley. "I don't want to wonder," said Grodner, continuing in his new meek voice, not in his tough divorce lawyer voice, but the gentle, inside voice he'd just learned. "That's because there is a little principle that the Marine Corps has had since 1775," the judge continued. "When they fought and lost their lives so that people like you could enjoy the freedom of this country. It is a little proverb that we follow: "No Marine is left behind. "So Sgt. McNulty couldn't be here. But other Marines showed up in his stead. Take him away," said the judge and former Marine. They took Grodner away, he was processed, and everyone left. The lobby was dark, quiet, except for two court deputies running the metal detector. Then Grodner came through an inside door, put his fedora back on, the dark glasses, a tough guy again. We stood outside, in the parking lot, talking for 20 minutes. He smoked, and I didn't. He explained that he wasn't anti-military and why he pleaded guilty. "The judge, he's the guy with the black robes," Grodner said. He could have been slapped with a felony, but Sgt. McNulty's family said they wanted to put this behind them and let it go as a misdemeanor. Grodner showed no remorse, and I asked if he'd apologize.
Sgt. McNulty will get some sun, too. In Iraq. | |||
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| Anti-Military Lawyer In Court Tomorrow (Today) |
| 2008-01-18 |
| From Blackfive in case you missed it And from the comment section: From Mike the Marine yesterday: [Sgt] McNulty might derive some comfort from the fact that the presiding judge is a former Marine. Circuit Court Judge William OMalley was a lance corporal in the early 1960s and is known around the Chicago Courthouse for wearing a Marine Corps pin on his lapel and celebrating the Corps birthday each November. The court date is set for tomorrow, January 18th, at 1330 hours at the District 29 Court House on Belmont and Western. Unfortunately, I can't be there, but I will post updates when I get them. Chicago Tribune's John Kass has two editorials on the case. This whole incident started and will end with one man - Jay Grodner. I hope he does the right thing by the Marine. This could all be over tomorrow...or not. In case you were wondering, this case was brought to my attention and I tried, TRIED, to get anyone in the media to take the ball and run with it. Offered exclusivity, contacts, photos, reports, etc. For a variety of reasons, no one wanted it. So, as a resort of last measure, I posted it here at Blackfive (in the Bust Their Chops category) and emailed it to a few Marines I knew who would get the story out on their networks (thank you, Seamus, Jay and Joe). After thousands of emails, hundreds of comments, many offers of support (financial and moral), a few threats, and finally media interest, this story was one of the first big blogosphere efforts of 2008. It got noticed everywhere. Thank you to John Kass for covering the story. If you are so inclined, send him a thank you message for covering the story fairly. In the end, though, it was the military family that brought this story to national attention. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines - us doggies, squids, zoomies, and jarheads - that refused to let this abuse go unnoticed. This is one of those times where we dropped the inter-service rivalry and stepped up for one of our own. Civilian America rallied to our cause, too. I can't tell you how many emails I received from civilians in support of Sergeant McNulty. The reaction of Chicago Police and Firemen backing the Sergeant was astounding. Tons, and I mean tons, of lawyers sent offers to work pro bono and messages of support and advice for the Sergeant. I almost take back every negative thing I've said about their profession. And, last...the most magnificent reaction was from the Viet Nam veterans. It was the most intense response from them that I've witnessed in a long time. I received more email - full of emotion and commitment - from Viet Nam vets that essentially said in various ways: "We will not let what happened to us, happen to you, Marine." I do not pretend to know what will happen tomorrow in court. Attorney Jay Grodner had asked for a continuance so that he could bring in some hired guns. But I do know that my brothers that fought in Viet Nam are right. We won't let this happen to you, Sergeant McNulty. |
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