Washington Lawyer - November/December 2022 - 39

ON FURTHER REVIEW
Of course, the notes, which were in evidence,
showed just the opposite of what the prosecutor
had elicited from Byrd. The prosecutor
had thus provided Trout with this setup:
Josh Treem, a distinguished lawyer with an
unblemished record and a 50-year career
with a reputation of outstanding integrity,
has been accused of a crime that he was
not candid with the tribunal. Ladies and
gentlemen, you are the tribunal. So imagine
my dismay when I heard [the prosecutor]
try to elicit testimony, in evidence, that is
unquestionably false.6
Trout's final line addresses the government's
contention head on and then immediately
turns the tables. As Anthony Amsterdam
advises in Trial Manual 5 for the Defense of
Criminal Cases, " In general, defense counsel's
objective is to focus on arguments that will
make the jury affirmatively want to acquit the
defendant. It is important to get out of a purely
defensive posture and to present some positive
reason to acquit. " For that reason, Amsterdam
notes " the adage that defense counsel should
turn the case around and make the jury try the
prosecutor. "
It is an argument that must be crafted with
tremendous care, and Trout took his time to lay
out the facts. The next column will cover that
in more detail.
Lloyd Liu is a partner at Bennett LoCicero & Liu LLP,
where he focuses on white-collar defense, government
investigations, and complex civil litigation.
NOTES
1 Stein, Jacob A., " A Matter of Style, " 11 Litig. 51
(1984).
2 Robert, Amanda, " Defense Attorney Convicted in
$1M Federal Money Laundering Case, " ABA Journal
(Jan. 4, 2022), abajournal.com/news/article/
baltimore-attorney-convicted-in-federal-moneylaundering-case.
3
O'Neill, Madeleine, " 'Overreaching'? Case
Against Ravenell, Treem Alarms Lawyers as
Trial Concludes, " The Daily Record (Dec. 22,
2021), https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/12/22/
overreaching-case-against-ravenell-treem-alarmslawyers-as-trial-concludes.
'
4 Ravenell, Trial Tr. Closing Argument on Behalf of
Mr. Treem E-3:10-20.
5 Id. at E-3:21-25.
6 Id. at E-4:7-13.
Insights, analysis, and tips
to advance your practice
and stay connected to the
D.C. Bar community.
dcbar.org/blog
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DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES
continued from page 37
petition for negotiated discipline and suspend
her for six months, with 90 days stayed with
conditions for violations of D.C. Rules 8.1(a) and
8.4(c) and California Business and Professions
Code § 6106.
Disciplinary Actions Taken by the Board on
Professional Responsibility
Original Matters
In re Kenneth L. Blackwell. Bar No. 441413.
July 27, 2022. The Board on Professional Re -
sponsibility recommended that the D.C. Court
of Appeals suspend Blackwell for six months,
with all but 60 days stayed in favor of three
years of probation with conditions. This matter
arises out of Blackwell's failure to pay courtordered
child support and his responses
to Disciplinary Counsel's investigative inquiries.
Blackwell's failure to pay child support violated
Rule 3.4(c) (knowingly disobeying the obligations
under the rules of a tribunal), and his
knowingly false statements to Disciplinary
Counsel violated Rule 8.1(a).
In re Steven B. Fabrizio. Bar No. 436482. July 18,
2022. The Board on Professional Responsibility
recommended that the D.C. Court of Appeals
disbar Fabrizio. Fabrizio pleaded guilty in the
United States District Court for the District of
Columbia to one count of third-degree sexual
abuse in violation of D.C. Code § 22-3004(1),
a crime of moral turpitude per se, and one
count of blackmail in violation of D.C. Code
§ 22-3252(a)(2). The Board concluded that
Fabrizio's admitted criminal conduct involved
moral turpitude.
In re Dana A. Paul. Bar No. 490142. June 27, 2022.
The Board on Professional Responsibility
recommended that the D.C. Court of Appeals
suspend Paul for 90 days. This matter arises
from disclosures Paul made to Disciplinary
Counsel in 2018 concerning a lawyer who previously
filed a complaint against Paul based
on his representation of the lawyer and her
husband. The Board found that Paul violated
D.C. Rule 1.6(a) regarding disclosure of client
confidences or secrets.
Informal Admonitions issued by Disciplinary
Counsel and Reports and Recommendations
issued by the Board on Professional Responsibility
are posted at www.dcattorneydiscipline.org. Most
board recommendations as to discipline are not
final until considered by the court. Court opinions
are printed in the Atlantic Reporter and also are
available online for decisions issued since August
1998. To obtain a copy of a recent slip opinion, visit
www.dccourts.gov/court-of-appeals/opinionsmemorandum-of-judgments.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
2022
* WASHINGTON LAWYER 39

http://abajournal.com/news/article/baltimore-attorney-convicted-in-federal-money-laundering-case http://abajournal.com/news/article/baltimore-attorney-convicted-in-federal-money-laundering-case http://abajournal.com/news/article/baltimore-attorney-convicted-in-federal-money-laundering-case https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/12/22/overreaching-case-against-ravenell-treem-alarms-lawyers-as-trial-concludes https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/12/22/overreaching-case-against-ravenell-treem-alarms-lawyers-as-trial-concludes https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/12/22/overreaching-case-against-ravenell-treem-alarms-lawyers-as-trial-concludes http://www.dcbar.org/blog http://www.dcattorneydiscipline.org http://www.dccourts.gov/court-of-appeals/opinions-memorandum-of-judgments http://www.dccourts.gov/court-of-appeals/opinions-memorandum-of-judgments

Washington Lawyer - November/December 2022

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