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Judge determined to help homeless defendant reach family after finding out he's a lawyer

"I was an attorney for 15 years."

Photo credit: Canva

Judge realizes homeless defendant is a lawyer, works to reunite him with family

There are often sayings about how close average people in America are to becoming homeless. Many Americans are a brief layoff away from being homeless as savings accounts are depleted with inflation. So it's not always surprising when someone ends up without a home and with people living further away from their parents or extended family, help isn't aways just down the road.

One man found himself standing in front of a judge with a court appointed attorney to plead his case. The defendant was arrested after allegedly throwing something through a store window in retaliation for a verbal altercation he had with the owner. Mr. Lane is currently homeless living in Houston, Texas, appearing in court with an acquaintance who was arrested alongside Lane.

It didn't take long to discover that Lane didn't fit the stereotypical image of a homeless person that many people might imagine upon hearing the word. Before Judge David Fleischer addresses the man, he is intently studying the paperwork in front of his lawyer. Upon hearing what the two defendants are charged with, Fleisher asks, "what are you doing with yourself these days Mr. Lane?"

All Rise Nbc GIF by Law & OrderGiphy

The man's response stuns the judge and likely everyone else in the courtroom, "presently? I'm not doing anything, I'm unemployed. I was an attorney for 15 years in Chicago, Illinois and I moved here in July, late June."

Lane admits that he is unaware if his license has officially expired in Illinois, but before moving to Texas he was a practicing attorney. The judge is visibly shocked by this revelation, wondering aloud how a lawyer from Chicago becomes homeless in Houston. In reality, homelessness can happen to just about anyone in America without adequate savings and family support.

Home Equality GIF by INTO ACTIONGiphy

Homelessness has reached a record high, increasing 18% from 2023-2024 with 34% of the homeless population being families with children. But of all the over 700k homeless individuals, 69% of them are men. People who couch surf, reside in homeless shelters or sleep in their cars are all considered to be homeless, and moving to a new state makes some people more vulnerable to the risk of homelessness.

Relocating is expensive which can deplete savings. Oftentimes people relocate for employment or better opportunities, but jobs can fall through and opportunities may be harder to come by than originally thought. This reality can cause many people to rely on whatever they have left in savings to make ends meet. In Lane's case, he claims to have relocated at the behest of his extended family members but once arriving to Houston he became overwhelmed with the process of getting his Texas bar license.

Angry Dick Wolf GIF by Wolf EntertainmentGiphy

"I love being a lawyer," Lane exclaims before answering the judges next question. "In order to practice here, which is my my new home, it would've been a process of I think taking a bar...three days you guys have. Yeah, and uh...I had some other things going on in my life that producing..." he says before being cut off.

As Lane continues talking Judge Fleischer finds out the man comes from a family of lawyers. His parents and younger sister are lawyers in San Fransisco and it sounds as if his older brother is also in the legal field but he has not informed them of his predicament. It's then that the judge becomes determined to get the man in contact with his family members so he can get help to get back on his feet.


"Here's the problem Mr. Lane, it's that we gave you a free bond, you picked up a new case and the last thing I want is to just let you go and you're going to be roaming the streets of Houston. It's just not a good place to roam and if you've got nowhere to go, you've got nothing to do, it could be a recipe for trouble and that's why I want to let you out but not just to the street. If you have a place to go to, if you have family, if someone's willing to take you in, then we can work something but for you to just be let out on the street," Judge Fleischer shrugs.

Instead of just handing down a sentence, Fleischer goes back and forth between Lane and his lawyer to find a way to attach release to contacting family support. Lane, who is clearly well versed in courtroom proceedings is not opposed to having the lawyer contact his family.

In the end, it was decided by all three men that Lane's lawyer would reach out to family members as a condition to be released. Hopefully contacting family helps the man start moving back towards a more positive direction. We never find out why he didn't return home after realizing he was not going to be successful in Texas but thanks to Judge Fleischer, Lane has a second chance.

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Remember when Michael Cohen threatened a reporter? Jim Carrey definitely does.

If you hadn't heard, Jim Carrey likes to paint.

Swapping out the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for a more quiet life of canvases and color swatches, Carrey's been making all kinds of statements via his paint brush. But in recent months, the iconic actor has taken a liking to reimagining the figures we often see splashed across front pages and news chyrons: high-profile members of President Donald Trump's orbit.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for AFI.

Now, a new caricature created by Carrey is making waves again.

The subject is Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. And the depiction ... isn't too flattering.

The painting includes words wrapped around the lawyer's head you may have missed at first glance.

Ensnaring Cohen's turquoise face is a quote from Trump's personal lawyer: "I’m warning you, tread very lightly because what I’m going to do to you is gonna be fucking disgusting."

The slightly edited-down quote was part of a larger threat Cohen made to The Daily Beast back in 2015, when Trump was the front-runner to be the GOP nominee for president. During an interview with Cohen, the media outlet brought up an allegation from the president's ex-wife, Ivana Trump, that the then-candidate had once raped her while they were married.

Cohen, rattled by the subject matter, basically blew up. Here is the quote Carrey incorporated into his painting in full context (emphasis added):

“I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know. So I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting. You understand me?

You write a story that has Mr. Trump’s name in it, with the word ‘rape,’ and I’m going to mess your life up … for as long as you’re on this frickin’ planet … you’re going to have judgments against you, so much money, you’ll never know how to get out from underneath it."

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

While Carrey hasn't specified why he chose that particular quote, Cohen's attack on the free press is especially telling in lieu of recent news.

The home, hotel room, and offices of Trump's self-proclaimed "fix-it guy" were raided by the FBI earlier this month, casting doubt on Cohen's innocence in shielding the president from ongoing investigations into his business dealings and alleged extra-marital affairs.

Just days after the raid, with the eyes of the country on his every move, Cohen dropped libel suits against BuzzFeed and Fusion GPS for their roles in publishing the so-called Steele dossier, which connected Trump to Moscow through various unconfirmed claims.

It appears Cohen's bark is worse than his bite when it comes to his disdain for the free press.

Cohen's not the only one in Trump's world who's taken a hit from Carrey's paintbrush.

In March, the actor shared a painting of an angry, open-mouthed press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Some slammed the caricature as sexist. But others defended Carrey's work, as the style of the painting fell in line with the actor's other works, and unflattering depictions of powerful people have often been used as a tool for political commentary — regardless of the subject's gender.

Between the time Huckabee Sanders' portrait went viral and his latest recreation of Cohen, Carrey painted several other Trump allies as well.

Like Scott Pruitt, the president's embattled EPA chief.

And Trump's new controversial and very hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton.

Even Fox News host — and, incredibly, client of Cohen's — Sean Hannity got a shout-out from Carrey.

Carrey's creations are brash, unapologetic, and as candid as they come. They may not be your cup of artistry tea — regardless of where you lie on the political spectrum — and that's OK.

But the actor's commentary on Cohen's threats to the free press are critical to keep in mind for every Republican, Democrat, and independent alike. After all, it was George W. Bush who once said media is "indispensable to democracy."

"We need the media to hold people like me to account," the former president told NBC News last year — breaking with Trump's move barring several news organizations from White House press briefings.  

A free press is American as apple pie. And if it takes a Canadian actor to remind us of that, so be it.

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With Trump's travel ban still in flux, these lawyers created a brilliant way to help.

When President Trump passed an executive order temporarily banning travelers from "terror-prone" countries, Seattle attorney Takao Yamada hurried to the airport.

He was one of the first lawyers on the scene to lend a helping hand to innocent people who might be affected by the order.

"It was chaos," Yamada says. Families waiting on loved ones, panicked. Not knowing if they were stuck in extensive interviews, being sent home, or worse.

No one knew what exactly the order meant or how it was being enforced.

All the disorder made it hard to really help anyone, Yamada says. Without knowing who was coming into the country, where they were coming from, and which kinds of papers they had, well-meaning attorneys were left scrambling.

Photo by Konrad Fiedler/AFP/Getty Images

Yamada got together with some fellow attorneys and had an idea: What if there was a way for us to get all of that information ahead of time?

Any good lawyer knows they're a lot more effective with the proper preparation.

Yamada along with co-founders Greg McLawsen and Tahminda Watson, worked with some software developers to (quickly) create an app.

The app "Airport Lawyer" connects travelers coming into the U.S. with volunteer attorneys who can help them navigate U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

AirportLawyer.org

Using a nationwide network of thousands of volunteers — Yamada said there are hundreds of attorneys in Seattle alone willing to help, free of charge — travelers from abroad can arrange to have a lawyer meet them at the airport when they land.

Sometimes, the lawyers will be prepared with extra papers and documentation to avoid any holdups at Customs and Border Protection. Other times, they'll simply be a calm, informed presence that can keep tabs on the process and communicate with U.S. family members.

Though a federal court temporarily struck down Donald Trump's travel ban, the administration is fighting back. Yamada expects more confusion and chaos as the chips continue to fall.

Here's how you and your loved ones can use Airport Lawyer to help ensure safe and fair travels.

Step 1. Go to AirportLawyer.org and click "Get help now for an arriving immigrant."

Provide as much information as you can on behalf of the traveler, including arrival date, airport, airline and flight number, visa type, and how the attorneys can get in touch with family members on the U.S. side.

Step 2. Once you do that, Airport Lawyer supervisors get notified of the arrival and match you with a volunteer attorney.

All the information is stored on a secure system, where the team will connect you with a volunteer lawyer near your airport (most of the big ones are covered, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.). If they can match you with an attorney, that person will reach out and help you come up with a plan for arrival.

Step 3. Stick it to Donald Trump.

Arrive safe. Clear Customs. Embrace your family. Show Donald Trump that his bigoted and unconstitutional policies won't stand without a fight.

"It's just been so amazing seeing how many people want to help," Yamada says.

He recalls witnessing many powerful reunions between long-lost relatives, made possible in large part by the hard work of thousands of whip-smart attorneys during their precious free time.

Yamada himself wears several professionals hats, along with volunteering. And, oh yeah, his wife is pregnant. But he makes the time because he knows this is important.

"Most people are just trying to get back here to see their family," he says. That's nothing something Donald Trump should be allowed to take away from us.

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A Supreme Court justice said 4 words in American Sign Language. Here's why that's awesome.

On Tuesday, April 19, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said, "Your motion is granted" in court. Sound typical? It's not.

Because for the first time in U.S. history, these words were spoken from the Supreme Court bench in American Sign Language.

To most people, that probably doesn't sound like a big deal. After all, it's just one little phrase, right? And it's not like he said something cool like "Awkward turtle" or "My hovercraft is full of eels" either.

He just said a thing that judges normally say in court.

Chief Justice Roberts. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

But for the millions of Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing — including the 12 lawyers who were being sworn into the Supreme Court bar that day — it means a lot.

It wasn't until 1982 that a deaf lawyer was given an opportunity to argue in front of the Supreme Court. More than three decades later, there are around 200 deaf lawyers working in America. By contrast, licensed lawyers make up about 0.4% of the total U.S. population.

“Some deaf or hard-of-hearing lawyers doubt that they can actually practice law," Howard Rosenblum, one of the lawyers who was sworn in that day, told the Washington Post. “But the real practice is based on intellect and deaf people have that in spades.”

“I think the biggest challenge has been to get people to give me the opportunity,” added Teresa Curtin, another deaf lawyer sworn in Chief Justice Roberts.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

And that illuminates a real problem in our culture: The assumption that people with physical disabilities are somehow less qualified to use their minds.

There's another issue, too, with the way we tend to dismiss those who struggle to communicate in standard American English. But whereas we're willing to learn bits and phrases of other languages to help us move through the world — who doesn't know how to say "hello" or "where's the bathroom?" in at least one other language? — we're much less accommodating of communication barriers like deafness.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

It's easy to assume that all deaf people have a supernatural ability to read lips, for example. But lipreading is a pretty ineffective form of communication. Even if you think you're doing a good thing by speaking slowly and oh-ver-ee-nun-see-ate-ing eh-vuh-ree sill-uh-bull, most lip-readers can still only understand about 30% of what's being said.

American Sign Language, on the other hand, is actually an incredibly efficient way to connect with people. It's clear, it's concise, and there are less complicated verb conjugations to worry about. You don't have to worry about talking over someone in order to be heard. You can communicate with anyone in a crowd as long as they're in eyesight, and that's pretty cool!

Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images.

Deaf people, like anyone else, are capable of amazing things. But if we're going to make them find their way in the hearing world, the least we can do is talk to them on their terms.

By speaking those four simple words in ASL, Chief Justice Roberts demonstrated a willingness to embrace the Deaf community and meet them where they are. Instead of sitting back and watching as they climbed across the hearing barriers, that one simple signing action communicated something much more than words. It said, "I see you, and I acknowledge that you matter just as much as anyone else."

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