Posted on 12/28/2005 7:43:51 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Philadelphia School District Lawyer Calls Jurors 'Crackers' Attorney Removed As Lead Councel After Racist Comments
POSTED: 10:17 am EST December 28, 2005 UPDATED: 10:25 am EST December 28, 2005
PHILADELPHIA -- Attorney Carl Singley has lost his role as lead counsel in a school district discrimination case after allegations that he called several white jurors "crackers" after their verdict.
The jury had awarded about $3 million in damages to four white plaintiffs who contended that their boss in the Philadelphia School District's purchasing department had fired them in 2003 for racial reasons.
Singley, who is black, was accused of making the comment to jurors in a courthouse elevator after last week's verdict. He soon found himself back in the courtroom before U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbc10.com ...
Can you recall where you saw or learned that?
Virginia as a child. I heard someone say it and asked my grandfather what they meant.
Hallelujah! Celebration and rejoicing! Blacks are now fully equal in all respects and enjoy the societal benefits of Bull Connors at his height.
If this lawyer had been out in California...his career would be terminated. He would have spent months in specialized training to overcome his shortfalls in management.
It does not matter if he was in an elevator or on the dark side of the Moon, he remains an officer of the court and it is just as impermissible for him to verbally attack members of a jury as it would be for him to insult the judge. There are strict codes of propriety that this guy signed on to when he was admitted to the bar, and they are in force 27/7, not just when he's in the courtroom.
Would you please post the authority for your statement.
Thuggerly love
I would say that his remarks seriously impacts the discussions on how the appeals process continues or is settled.
True, and then he would be "monitored" for a few years to be certain his racist views were not returning to his practice. Actually, were I one of the jurors he said that to/or about, I would file a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania Bar Association and have him disbarred, or sanctioned in the extreme. We have no business allowing these kinds of comments to go unchallenged, by black lawyers or white lawyers! (Indian & Chinese lawyers get a pass on this!) :0) (please excuse sarcasm as noted!)
Yeah, when I was a little boy back on the farm in Tennessee, there was a joke that the older folks liked to tell. "Hey, did you hear about that new factory that just opened? It's a cracker factory; the women pack the crackers and the men crack ..."
http://www.blankrome.com/images/attypics/02106.jpg
Carl E. Singley
Partner
Mr. Singley concentrates his practice in the areas of civil litigation and appellate advocacy, legal ethics, government contracts and business law. Mr. Singley had been a tenured professor of law at Temple University since 1976, where he served as dean from 1983-1987. He also served as first deputy city solicitor for the City of Philadelphia from 1980-1982. From 1987-2000, Mr. Singley also practiced law and represented Fortune 500 companies in procurement matters; advised various local and state governments on a wide variety of state and municipal law matters; and served as counsel in numerous public finance transactions totaling over $4.5 billion. Mr. Singley has litigated and argued cases on libel and defamation, business law, civil liability, constitutional law, and municipal law in various state and federal courts, and he serves as an expert witness on legal ethics.
Mr. Singley has written and published numerous articles and essays on a wide variety of subjects over the past 25 years including legal ethics, criminal justice, jury trials, affirmative action, legal history, municipal finance, leadership theory and golf. Mr. Singley is a frequent public speaker for diverse professional, business and civic organizations and has given over 250 speeches locally and nationally since 1985. He is also the recipient of over 80 awards and citations.
******
'These men were playing the race card."
That's what prominent African American attorney Carl Singley, working on behalf of the Philadelphia School District, said last week in the closing argument of a trial in which four white defendants claimed they were dismissed from their jobs because they were white.
snip
The gavel had barely sounded to end the trial when Singley played the race card himself. In a post-verdict exchange in a courthouse elevator, he called several white jurors in the case "crackers" - a derogatory name for white people.
He later apologized for his "inappropriate comments" in front of U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle 3d and five of the seven jurors.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13461271.htm
January 16-22, 2003
snip
in the early '70s, it was Singley, then a law professor at Temple University
After serving as professor, then dean of Temple Law, he was first deputy city solicitor under Mayor Bill Green before returning to private practice. Today, Singley is a partner at Blank Rome LLP, one of the city's most prestigious law firms.
snip
Singley has been instrumental in forming a search party determined to find a Democratic candidate to oust Street in the primaries, and short of that would throw his considerable weight behind the Republican Sam Katz.
http://tinyurl.com/86w4h
Wikipedia doesn't have a clue as to what the term Cracker means !!!
If I was being verbally abused by a city attorney over how I decided a case as a juror, I would complain about intimidating conduct by a city official. The lawyer should be suspended for unprofessional conduct
Wikipedia?
I wouldn't waste a mouse click to go to that site.
I haven't seen this before. If this is real and not photo shopped, this guy is an even bigger ***hole than I have ever imagined. What an incredible nitwit.
It wouldn't have any effect on either the appeals process or whether the case is settled. If civil procedure in that state is even remotely similar to what I'm familiar with, a Motion for New Trial won't be ruled upon (denied by operation of law) or would be denied anyway. As far as settlement goes, the other sides' attorney(s) isn't going to care what he said about the jurors.
The only place it really has an impact is this guy's continued appearance in that court -- on that or other cases.
The guy was outside counsel -- not a governmental employee -- and complaints will probably fall on deaf ears.
IF an Assistant DA did this, then yes, I would agree with you that some sort of complain is in order -- to the DA, County Commissioner's Court (or your state's equivilent), etc. However, while he probably will face a big chewing out over this from his firm's senior partners (if he isn't one himself), I don't think they hand down suspensions.
This firm might have bigger problems, as its likely going to have to explain to its client why they recommended trial over what likely was a reasonable settlement. I'm guessing, of course, but I'd be surprised if the Plaintiff's offer wasn't reasonable.
I imagine that you are referring to the John Kerry photo where he is giving the black power salute. That is NOT PHOTOSHOPPED.
This was at an NAACP event. Could you imagine if Bush did this?
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