That Lawyer

“Because he says what I want to believe.”

A few years ago I wrote an editorial on Social Security. It was based entirely on facts. Those facts were gathered from the original documents that started the program.

Many people told me my information was wrong. I challenged them to provide me with documents that disproved the documents I used.

A few weeks later one man caught me and threw a pamphlet at me. “This,” he said, “proves you are wrong.”

The pamphlet was a small poorly printed booklet titled “The Truth About Social Security.”

I asked who the author was, he didn’t know. I asked what documents were sourced. He didn’t know. I asked the authors qualifications, he didn’t know. Then I asked why he believed a pamphlet by an unknown writer with unknown qualifications and unknown sources.

His answer was revealing. “Because he says what I want to believe.”

Last week at the Charlotte County School Board meeting a lawyer from Charlottesville spoke regarding the Osborne memorial bench. He declared it was protected freedom of speech.

Today my phone has been ringing “because he said what they want to believe.” This unknown lawyer from out of town with no credentials who they know nothing about and have never heard of before said what they want to believe so it must be true.

He may be a nice guy. He may have all sorts of ability; he may have graduated at the top of his class at Harvard or the bottom of his class at PoDunk School of Law. He may have extensive experience in First Amendment cases or he may have never argued a case in court. We don’t know. All we know is “he said what they want to believe.”

The lawyer the school has been paying is considered one of the best in Virginia. He has experience and he has ties to Charlotte County but he is wrong simply because he didn’t say what they want to believe.

Now here is a fact. Both of the lawyers may be right and they may both be wrong. But the only way to find out is take it to court.

Another fact: anyone can sue anyone. Even if the suit is frivolous, you still have to defend yourself.

Defending yourself means paying a lawyer. So you will lose even if you win.

For those of you who think the county should take a chance with being sued, especially with the amount of publicity the bench has received, I would suggest you retain a lawyer at your expense to defend the case. That lawyer should guarantee a win and agree to pay any fines, fees and lost revenue for the county caused by a suit.

I am willing to bet that that lawyer doesn’t exist.