The Dog Ate My Homework

There is a case in Western New York's Federal District Court entitled "Ca-POW v. Town of Greece".  Attorney David J. Seeger was told by Federal District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa to file papers by May 11, 2010.  He didn't do it.  On four previous times, Judge Siragusa had pointed out to Mr. Seeger that he violated local procedural rules.  The fifth time was too much and Mr. Seeger got socked by the Judge with a $14,000 sanction.  Why?  Mr. Seeger had 29 years of experience as an attorney.  Judge Siragusa said:  "The Court found that [Seeger]'s contention that he was unsure what to do, or that he was 'toying with the decision' to seek leave to amend, or that his father's death 11 years ago, affected his ability to file a memorandum of law in this case, did not contain the ring of truth."

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin

Lawyers hear excuses all the time, particularly if the lawyer is representing someone charged with criminal behavior.  I can count on the fingers of one hand the times throughout my 29 years of practice that a criminal defendant came up to me and said, "Yup, I hit him because he ticked me off."  Note, that is an explanation -- not an excuse.  The excuse in that situation would be, "I don't remember hitting him.  I blacked out.  But if I did hit him, it is only because my mom and dad used to hit me and it caused emotional turmoil to the terrific extent that I blacked out."  That is an excuse.