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With the Legal Argument of the Century, a Lawyer Says His Client Wasn't Trying to Harm Ricky Pearsall With That Unfortunate Bullet-Through-the-Chest Thing

What with today being 9/11 and all, it's worth looking back at this scene on the field before the 49ers game as a reminder of all that first responders do for us. The sacrifices so many of them made on that horrific day. And the risks these dedicated professionals are making every day, 23 years later. That was a great tribute the Niners paid to the officers who saved Ricky Pearsall's life Monday. And well deserved. 

But as 500,000 episodes of network television have reminded us, there are two sides of the criminal justice system, the police and the lawyers. (I know that's not how it goes. Quit interrupting.) And now that Pearsall's shooter is getting his first of many days in court, we get the treat of being able to see how the other half of the system operates. And however strange it might seem to someone who's not used to it, the day-to-day reality of court proceedings can be even stranger. Take this argument for instance:

The Athletic - The 17-year-old charged with attempted murder, attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic weapon in the shooting of San Francisco 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall [made his] appearance on Tuesday at the Juvenile Justice Center in San Francisco. ...

[Public defender Robert] Dunlap said that his investigator unearthed new surveillance footage of the Aug. 31 incident in downtown San Francisco which he hopes might help his client against the charge of attempted murder.

“It was a rather extended struggle between Mr. Pearsall and my client,” Dunlap said, describing this security footage. “They were really fighting back and forth on the sidewalk. As you might imagine, Mr. Pearsall gets the best of it. He does kind of — I don’t know if you’ve ever wrestled or not — a nice hip toss and throws my client to the ground and ends up on top of him.

“… I think (the video) supports that this is an attempted robbery and not an attempted murder.” Police said that three shots were fired during the altercation. One hit Pearsall in the chest and exited out his back, according to a Facebook post from the wideout’s mother, Erin Pearsall. The bullet missed all of Pearsall’s vital organs.

By way of full disclosure, in my career working in the MA Trial Court, I spent a decent amount of time working in the Juvenile sessions. It's a whole other world in there. Totally separate from the other departments. Different types of hearings. Different charges. Different nomenclature. Different punishments. I didn't exactly love it. It's sort of box seats to the inevitable collapse of Western Civilization. It's the Minor Leagues you go to to get a first look at the young talent making its way up to the adult courts. A preview of terrible coming attractions. 

Though it had its moments. Once in a while I got to sit in on hearings of some incorrigible little white trash jagoff I knew. Maybe I coached him or he tried (and failed) to make my kid's life miserable. Now he was in front of a judge with his probation officer telling her he tried to cheat a drug test by handing him borrowed, room temperature pee or whatever. On those occassions I'd tell my boss to take me off the clock because it was unfair to the taxpayers for me to get paid to have that much fun. 

But I digress. The picture I want to paint is that Juvenile Court is not exactly the place lawyers go to get rich. It can be a thankless job. Representing some of the most troubled and underserved members of the community. So I'd luck to cut public defender Robert Dunlap as much slack as possible. In that situation, you don't choose your client; your name is on the list and you get randomly assigned to whichever defendant needs to be represented. 

But holy moly, is that an argument he just made. That's a bold claim indeed. So you point a loaded gun as someone. At their chest, no less. (As Mel Gibson teaches his kids when they're about to shoot at the Redcoats in The Patriot, "Aim small, miss small.) Safety off. Finger on the trigger. The gun goes off. Repeatedly. And one bullet goes in the front of Pearsall's torso and out the back. Missing all the big, important things on the way through, just by divine providence or dumb luck. Or both. But meaning to kill him? Not my guy. This was a crazy, crazy accident, Your Honor. Just one of those things that happen when a guy you're holding at gun point decides to show his wrestling moves

If anything, he's almost suggesting his client is the victim here. Like if Pearsall didn't resists, everything would've gone smooth. Everyone would've come out a winner. But no. He had decide to go all Superfly Jimmy Snooka on everyone. That's an amazing case to make at a moment like this.

If an argument like that succeeds, it might create a legal precedence that changes jurisprudence forever. Mr. Booth was merely attempting to wing President Lincoln to get him to rethink the Emanicpation Proclimation, not put a musket ball in his brain. It was not Mr. Oswald's intention to kill JFK by removing 1/3 of his skull. He was merely promoting his "Hands Off Cuba" agenda. If Thomas and Martha Wayne had simply handed over her jewelry faster in Crime Alley, their sullen, creepy little mifit son wouldn't be a guilt-ridden orphan.

But hey, it's worth a shot I suppose. I just don't see any way that in a city filled with 49ers fans desperate to get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time, you're going to find 12 jurors willing to go along with it. I could say "Good luck," but I won't because I don't wish it.