Commentary by Patrick H. Moore
When I was fresh in L.A. just starting to work in criminal defense, a young lawyer (that means he was 40) took me aside and regaled me with tales of how it used to be in the good old days when the legal profession in L.A. had an element of corruption and how it was not uncommon for defense attorneys to have judges “in their pocket”, which of course means that they could be “bought” if the defendant could come up with sufficient coin of the realm.
I think those days are largely, if not entirely, gone in today’s Los Angeles legal climate which is characterized by modern button-down lawyers, a few old (and highly ethical) stalwarts, and dour, painfully serious judges, which of course — on balance — is a good thing, and I had more or less forgot about that story until today when a case of alleged lawyerly corruption out of Columbus, Ohio jogged my pea-brain.
Steven Hoffer of Huffington Post Writes:
An Ohio attorney is accused of raping a woman in a courthouse conference room after she refused to have sex with a judge.
Columbus-based criminal defense attorney Javier Armengau, 52, allegedly tried to convince the mother of his client to perform oral sex on a judge, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Armengau said that the judge was “in his pocket” and that by pleasing him the woman could obtain a favorable sentence for her son, the alleged victim said in her testimony.
According to the report, the woman refused Armengau’s “I’ve got him in my pocket” offer, and in response he allegedly assaulted her sexually in a conference room.
The Columbus Dispatch reports:
The woman said that she made numerous visits to Armengau’s office and that on at least 10 occasions he stripped naked and masturbated in front of her.
The rape, she said, occurred when Armengau took her into a conference room outside the courtroom after her son’s sentencing and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
At the risk of being obvious, it appears that the illustrious Armengau had oral sex on the brain.
These particular allegations come from the third of five women who have brought accusations against Armengau. The beleaguered and over-sexed lawyer is currently on trial for charges of rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, kidnapping and public indecency.
John Futty of the Dispatch writes:
A woman testified yesterday that Columbus lawyer Javier Armengau tried to persuade her to perform oral sex on the judge who was handling her son’s criminal cases, and later raped her in a courthouse conference room after her son was sentenced to prison.
The 48-year-old woman became increasingly frustrated and combative with one of Armengau’s attorneys, who tried to point out inconsistencies between her testimony and statements she made to Columbus police.
“I don’t know where you’re getting this,” the woman said of her interview with police, “but I’d love to see it.”
After these cantankerous exchanges, defense and prosecuting attorneys conferred with the judge, who decided that the woman should watch the video of her police interview outside of the sight of the jury, apparently to get her story straight.
In her testimony, the woman said Armengau asked her to perform oral sex on the judge in his Brewery District office on the night before her son was to be sentenced for violating probation in a burglary case. The witness stated she didn’t recognize the other man in the office, but Armengau told her that he was Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Frye and, according to the witness, he made the suggestion about performing fellatio on the judge in front of the judge.
The witness stated that Armengau told her that her son would go free if she “did” the man, but she claims that she refused and that the same man (Judge Frye) sentenced her son to four years in prison the next day — Aug. 26, 2008.
According to the witness, the rape took place when Armengau took her into a conference room outside the courtroom after her son was sentenced to four years and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
When she was questioned by Assistant Ohio Attorney General Daniel Breyer, the woman said she “bawled and screamed” during the rape but no one heard her.
When cross-examined, she confirmed that she told police that as many as 20 people were in the lobby outside the room.
It appears that the video of the witness’s police interview, which was recorded on April 14, 2013, did contain allegations that contradicted her testimony. For instance, she told the investigators that the rape in the courthouse conference room occurred a few days or perhaps a week before her son was sentenced, and that Armengau told her, “Do it or your son is going down,” which clearly contradicts her trial testimony that the conference room rape occurred the day after she refused to fellate the judge in Armengau’s office.
Based on all of this, The Marion Star is reporting that the Columbus Bar Association has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to suspend Armengau’s law license.
Armengau, of course, is hanging tough and stated on Monday (perhaps between trial witnesses),“I have not engaged in any wrongful conduct nor have I done anything that should warrant a complaint.”
According to his website, Armengau is a member of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
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This is a case where I truly wish that instead of being up to my ears writing an incredibly difficult Federal Sentencing Memorandum, which I’ve been working on all week, I was attending Armengau’s trial, or even better, I wish that I were a member of his jury. We know that out criminal justice system has been groaning under the weight of unethical 
prosecutors for a very long time. We also know that too many cops are brutal, unethical and corrupt. And I readily admit, that in my 11 years of working in criminal defense, we’ve dealt with too many defense attorneys who want nothing more than to charge an arm and a leg and do as little work as possible. This is the first I’ve heard, however, of anything that vaguely resembles what allegedly transpired in Armengau’s office with the alleged “dirty lawyer” and the witness, with Judge Frye allegedly sitting there, while Armengau told the woman what she needed to do if she valued her son’s freedom.
Somebody go get me a pail so I can upchuck.