SanJoaquinSooner
1/21/2011, 09:33 AM
Who needs to know anything to be an expert?
By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist
In Print: Thursday, January 20, 2011
There's nothing funny about the charge against Luis Munuzuri-Harris — posing as an officer to rape a woman along Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa.
But as usually happens, this guy's stubborn attempt to be his own lawyer turned into a disaster, and that was darkly funny.
What is it about the law especially, and certain other professions, that makes people think they don't need to know anything to do it?
After all, there's no TV show titled, Who Wants to Be a Brain Surgeon?
We do not elect our airline pilots.
Not many people try to be their own high-voltage electrician. (Their own plumber, yes. Which is good for the real plumbers.)
But the law — that's nothin', apparently. You just go in and talk like they do on TV, and outsmart all those lawyers.
I disliked Boston Legal for that reason. Of all courtroom shows, it had the least to do with the actual practice of law. James Spader or Candice Bergen would just waltz in to court and say, "Shouldn't our society's values be so-and-so?" And poor, flummoxed Judge Henry Gibson would agree.
Nuts. Phooey.
In fact, the rules of procedure and evidence in a criminal trial are a thing of beauty. Heck, the rule on "hearsay" alone is a magnificent monster, and I will pay cash money to any nonlawyer who can name all the important exceptions to it. In a courtroom, unlike on television (or in politics), the word "evidence" has an actual meaning.
Some professions are more vulnerable than others.
Singing, for instance. You can spend your whole life learning to be a good classical singer — the technique, the theory of music, the skill.
Or you can sashay into American Idol and impress Randy and the gang, even if you're a bit pitchy.
You know why most restaurants fail? Because they're started by somebody who was told, "You make a good red sauce." Judging from the contestants on Mr. Trump's show, the popular belief seems to be that success in business consists of yelling, ducking responsibility and acting like the biggest jerk. (Again, just like politics.)
You might remember, during the bull market, a rash of commercials in which anybody who knew anything about investing was the butt of the joke. Who needs them? After all, they've only spent a lifetime trying to learn it, and any guy with a computer and a "Day Trading for Dummies" book can do just as well. For some reason this movement lost steam when the market crashed. Go figure.
Likewise, during the height of the real estate boom, the for-sale-by-homeowner movement took off, because what could an agent possibly know? Yet a good Realtor (I said a good one) knows more about how to sell a house than you'll ever know.
The absurd extreme, of course, comes in our politics. It's always amazing how many people choose our leaders based on whether he or she is "a regular guy" or "somebody I can relate to" or because "she's just like me."
Good grief! I am an ignoramus about most things, most of the time. I don't want somebody "just like me" to be my surgeon, my airline pilot or even my plumber, let alone the president. I want people who know more than I do.
You know. The "elites."
Anyway, look, I gotta go now. Some guy with a blog is going to explain to me why I'm doing such a lousy job.
Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times
By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist
In Print: Thursday, January 20, 2011
There's nothing funny about the charge against Luis Munuzuri-Harris — posing as an officer to rape a woman along Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa.
But as usually happens, this guy's stubborn attempt to be his own lawyer turned into a disaster, and that was darkly funny.
What is it about the law especially, and certain other professions, that makes people think they don't need to know anything to do it?
After all, there's no TV show titled, Who Wants to Be a Brain Surgeon?
We do not elect our airline pilots.
Not many people try to be their own high-voltage electrician. (Their own plumber, yes. Which is good for the real plumbers.)
But the law — that's nothin', apparently. You just go in and talk like they do on TV, and outsmart all those lawyers.
I disliked Boston Legal for that reason. Of all courtroom shows, it had the least to do with the actual practice of law. James Spader or Candice Bergen would just waltz in to court and say, "Shouldn't our society's values be so-and-so?" And poor, flummoxed Judge Henry Gibson would agree.
Nuts. Phooey.
In fact, the rules of procedure and evidence in a criminal trial are a thing of beauty. Heck, the rule on "hearsay" alone is a magnificent monster, and I will pay cash money to any nonlawyer who can name all the important exceptions to it. In a courtroom, unlike on television (or in politics), the word "evidence" has an actual meaning.
Some professions are more vulnerable than others.
Singing, for instance. You can spend your whole life learning to be a good classical singer — the technique, the theory of music, the skill.
Or you can sashay into American Idol and impress Randy and the gang, even if you're a bit pitchy.
You know why most restaurants fail? Because they're started by somebody who was told, "You make a good red sauce." Judging from the contestants on Mr. Trump's show, the popular belief seems to be that success in business consists of yelling, ducking responsibility and acting like the biggest jerk. (Again, just like politics.)
You might remember, during the bull market, a rash of commercials in which anybody who knew anything about investing was the butt of the joke. Who needs them? After all, they've only spent a lifetime trying to learn it, and any guy with a computer and a "Day Trading for Dummies" book can do just as well. For some reason this movement lost steam when the market crashed. Go figure.
Likewise, during the height of the real estate boom, the for-sale-by-homeowner movement took off, because what could an agent possibly know? Yet a good Realtor (I said a good one) knows more about how to sell a house than you'll ever know.
The absurd extreme, of course, comes in our politics. It's always amazing how many people choose our leaders based on whether he or she is "a regular guy" or "somebody I can relate to" or because "she's just like me."
Good grief! I am an ignoramus about most things, most of the time. I don't want somebody "just like me" to be my surgeon, my airline pilot or even my plumber, let alone the president. I want people who know more than I do.
You know. The "elites."
Anyway, look, I gotta go now. Some guy with a blog is going to explain to me why I'm doing such a lousy job.
Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times