The Purple Wall Of Silence

In the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin's killing of George Floyd there are currently many media reports about cracks in the "blue wall of silence" due to several police officers testifying against Chauvin. Historically, police officers have been reluctant to testify against or report misconduct by fellow officers. 

There is another wall of silence which exists in our society. It is what I have termed the "purple wall of silence" which is when lawyers knowingly turn a blind eye to crimes and ethical actions committed by other lawyers. (Why purple? Because it is the traditional academic color for law as well as the color for royalty - royalty often being considered above the law.)  

The Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board (LPRB) is the attorney run entity tasked with enforcing the lawyers rules of professional conduct in Minnesota. The reality is the LPRB operates mostly for show as it only takes action in a minute fraction of the complaints it receives and has never as far as I can tell disciplined a lawyer for lying in family court. The county attorney has stated in writing that lawyers only commit fraud when they are under oath and the term "fraud upon the court" does not exist in Minnesota statues. Both are not only false but outrageously false. Despite my repeated attempts the county attorney's office has refused to clarify their statements. 

Furthermore, In my case many lawyers have seen the evidence agaisnt Nelly Wince but none has reported it as is required by their professional rules. They chose silence over duty. To my knowledge no lawyer in the state's history has ever been disciplined for failure to report a violation of another lawyer. 

Not only is the purple wall of silence similar to the  blue wall of silence but it is intimately intertwined with it. Police officers also have a duty to report crimes by fellow officers but failure to do so is rarely if ever prosecuted. One of the primary colors that make up purple is blue. 

Although there are many good police officers and lawyers when a defined group becomes above the law in practice, it will attract bad people to the group. Once members, these unsavory people are not easily removed because the group acts to protect their own, no matter how abhorrent or even outright criminal their behavior is. 

The Chauvin trial will hopefully begin the process of tearing down the blue wall. I can only hope the purple wall goes with it.