I just recently discovered a web site for the Law Offices of R. Scott Andringa in Clearwater Florida. His About Us page has an interesting bit of information (emphasis mine):
After beginning his career as a misdemeanor prosecutor in the State Attorneys Office in Clearwater, Florida he was promoted to Misdemeanor Lead Trial Attorney. He transferred to New Port Richey, Florida in 1995 when he was promoted to prosecuting felony cases. He remained in New Port Richey for nine years, prosecuting many high-profile cases including a landmark dance studio fraud case, death penalty cases and a drug trafficking case that was featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline and in the New York Times. He was also responsible for dozens of other successful prosecutions and was profiled in the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune.
I only know one Scott Andringa who was involved in a Florida drug trafficking case that was featured on 60 Minutes, and that’s this guy. I guess he still doesn’t get it.
I suppose he could be just the sort of aggressive lawyer some people need: One of those guys for whom winning is more important than anything else.
shg says
Spectacular find, Mark. This is one you should really expand, with all the ugly details surrounding his glorification on 60 Minutes, so that no one is ever fooled into being impressed by his facile presentation of his credentials.
Mark Draughn says
Oh, I have a plan. Yes I do.
More on that next week.
Marc J. Randazza says
I can’t wait. Just in case I miss it, please tip me off so that I can link to it. This guy sounds like a world-class asshat.
Mark Draughn says
He’s not the only one out there.
Mark Bennett says
Asshats in the legal community? I’m shocked. Shocked!
(Things your Amazon widget is trying to sell me: Transformers, Wall-E, Eclipse, and Goin’ Down On It. What demographic are you marketing to here?)
Mark Draughn says
Hey Mark, you’re the guy who has blog categories for both “Asshat Lawyer of the Day” and “Asshat of the Day Award”, so I suspect your protestations of shock are less than genuine.
(As for Amazon, the widget is trying to sell me The Spiderwick Chronicles, Silverlight 1.0 Unleashed, Expert F#, and 3D Programming for Windows, so I think maybe the appropriate question is what the heck have you been buying?
Dawna says
Going back to the 60 mintutes case, being in Clearwater Florida, and knowing the case quite clearly, The attorney was only doing his job. If you dont listen to the media (which we all know is mostly lies) and you know real concrete details you would know he had all the evidence in his house to prove that he was a fraud, he forged his perscriptions to get more drugs for himself. or who ever else. Put yourself in the shoes of the doctor, whos career would have been comprimised because of an addiction this man had. And one last question: Would everyone feel this way if the man was not in a wheel chair? He broke the law, the attonony doesnt decide that, an unbias jury does. Blame the jury, blame the judge, blame the man who signed his own perscriptions for candy.
mark abrams says
Richard Paeys prescriptions were all written by his Doctor. Prosecutor Andriga knew perfectly well that Richard Paey never sold any drugs (they had him under surviellance for months). Prosecutor Andriga had plenty of chances to let him go too, the 1st 2 attempts to convict Paey failed . It took a 3rd trial to manage a conviction and even then the foreman had to lie to the other jurors. So the prosecuting attorney was NOT doing his job . He knowingly prosecuted and convicted a completely innocent crippled man, a man suffering from multiple sclerosis and constant pain from a botched back surgery . Andriga has never expressed any remorse for what he did . Why he did what he did we dont know. We do know that what he did was evil .