A Fort Wayne attorney, James Hanson, faces a
felony charge of intimidation after sending a Facebook message threatening the ex-husband of his client. Hanson represented Nachole Mevis in her divorce and more recently was representing her in a misdemeanor domestic battery charge her ex-husband, Chad Vice, filed against her. Hanson threatened to "anal rape" Vice so hard that his "teeth come lose" after Mevis' arrest. In 2012, Hanson ran unsuccessfully against State Rep. Bob Morris (R) in District 83 as
a Libertarian candidate. Here's the text of the message Hanson sent to Vice using his Facebook account:
You pissed off the wrong attorney. You want to beat up women and then play games with the legal system… well then you will get exactly what you deserve. After I get Nachole out of jail. I’m going to gather all the relevant evidence and them I’m going to anal rape you so hard your teeth come loose. I tried working with you with respect. Now I’m going to treat you like the pond scum you are. Watch your ass you little (expletive). I’ve got you in my sights now.”
8 comments:
I doubt the disciplinary commission will be in a hurry to disbar him since he didn't threaten a judge
Anti-violence counseling + 6 months
to 2 years suspension + monitoring?
If he was drinking when he made his post and is now remorseful, maybe less on the sanctions.
Not the brightest bulb in the legal profession, apparently.
It's obviously an outrageous, over-the-top comment. But that's actually what might cause it to be protected speech, at least from any criminal action. I highly doubt he intended his comments to be taken literally, but rather as hyperbole. As such, to say it is a physical threat is a bit of a reach. After Brewington, it's clear it probably has to be a physical threat to convict someone under the intimidation statute.
The Commission may wait for the criminal case to be concluded, but I would be shocked if he isn't at least subject to a public reprimand even if the criminal charges are later dismissed or he's acquitted. I think any argument that threatening on a social media website to "anal rape" an opposing party is protected free speech goes nowhere with the Commission. How is "anal rape" not a physical threat?
It's a figure of speech, not meant literally. Like saying "i'm going to tear your skin off in cross examination" Is that a physical threat? Of course not.
The bottom line is that he was sending a threatening message to the complaining victim in a pending criminal matter. Any attorney should know that it is improper to contact a witness for the opposing side for the purpose of communicating a threat. That's witness tampering if nothing else.
Oh he will get a vacation, I'm sure. He was stupid to do that. But it wasn't a literal physical threat. It was a figure of speech. "I'm going to kick ass in court". Is that a threat? Of course not.
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