DEA informant - An article in Friday's Section A about a man wrongly set up by a DEA informant inaccurately described a nickname given by defense lawyer Ian Loveseth to his client Nabil Ismael. The article stated that the nicknameunfavorabley compared the size of Ismael's brain to another part of his anatomy, which could be read as a denigration of Ismael's intelligence. In coining the nickname, Loveseth sought to capture Ismael's bravery.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-snitch2dec02,1,1554872,full.story
OK - now exactly what the hell did the LA Times say was said by a defense attorney about a man wrongly set up by a DEA informant... if you can even follow that. Well -
Ismael's lawyer, Ian Loveseth, advised his client to take the plea deal that prosecutors offered. Ismael's wife was pregnant, and if he lost at trial, the young father would be sent away for a minimum of 20 years. But Ismael, a devout Muslim, refused, saying he couldn't lie to Allah and "admit to something that wasn't my intent."
Loveseth, a veteran defense attorney, wasn't pleased. He gave Ismael a crass nickname that unfavorably compared the size of his brain to another part of his anatomy.
About the only phrase that comes to mind is... dickhead... but that could hardly be used to describe... bravery. But then it says the lawyer 'coined' the expression, which supposedly means he could have said almost anything.
And if the attorney wasn't pleased with his client's decision - why would he give him a crass nickname to 'capture his bravery' - particularly since the part of the story about the attorney not being pleased with him was not changed - just the perceived meaning of the nickname.
Granted, Loveseth could been angry with this client and still have also given him a crass nickname for being brave, but the correction the Times has made - does not properly demonstrate that, assuming that is indeed the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment