About Don Kiley, Part I About Don Kiley, Part I Transcripts:
Interviewer: One of the most interesting cases you've worked on?
DK: I've had a lot of interesting cases. Maybe one of the most trying cases was one that I handled very soon on when I was admitted to practice law. My father had a client whose sister was determined to have been in need of supervision. A person in need of supervision is someone who's mentally or physically impaired and can no longer take care of their own affairs.
So this man lived in Florida and his sister was here in Rockland County; he called us up because he found that she had been sent to Rockland Psychiatric Facility. My father knew this guy for a long time and he said that we would represent him and we would bring an action to have her produced and make a determination as to whether or not there was judicial basis for her restraint. So the case was assigned to a judge in Rockland County and my father decided that I should go on and handle this case and he gave me the very specific instructions that I should get an adjournment. So I went to Rockland County thinking the case was on at 9:30 in the morning, which is when court generally starts, and I got there to find that the case was on for a 2:00 call. And I'm very happy it was, because my client was odd, to say the least, and he made an odd appearance. It was unfair that people perceived him this way, but he had lost his right hand and he had a stump - he didn't have a prosthesis. So what happened was, I went with him over to the psychiatric facility and I could see that they seemed to know who he was. As it turned out he had been there before, and I'm now meeting with sister of his, who was brought into the room by one of the administrators of the hospital and I'm starting to ask her questions figuring that I can now prepare my case so when it comes to two o'clock, I'll at least be familiar. I wanted have her produced because it's my dad's case and he wants to handle it. So I'm preparing myself and I'm interviewing her - I'm trying to interview her - and it was as if I was speaking to someone who was absolutely catatonic. She wasn't responding to my questions at all. I thought it was really strange because my client was telling me how she's perfectly competent, she knows exactly what's going on, he's had conversations with her and she's fine. So when I went to leave, I had a chance to speak to the administrator so we could coordinate how we were going to meet before the judge. And he said to me, ''Look, on the side, I have to tell you that she's got some serious psychological injuries, but your client is worse than she is.'' So here I am, and I decide there's nothing else to do; I have to go back and speak to my father about it and find out what he thinks when we go back - maybe we're not going to peruse this case. But now I've still got to get my adjournment. So we go on over to the court, it's two o'clock, and there are many cases on the calendar, people filed in behind him in the seating. And the first case that the judge called was this particular case. I went up and before I can say I request an adjournment, he said call your first witness.
Interviewer: Couldn't even get it out of your mouth.
DK. I'm thinking to myself, what witness? Who am I gonna call? So I figured at the very least, let me try to start this case, we'll probably adjourn it, and I'll just put my client on. So I started to ask him just a few basic questions - where are you from, where do you live now. And as I'm asking him these questions, I now can hear behind me that there's a woman who is screaming at my client. I turned around, and I can see it's this woman who two hours previously was catatonic. She's now screaming at my client, and she's telling him, ''What are you doing here? I don't need you. I don't want you up here helping me. I'm perfectly fine as I am.'' And the administrator is sitting there next to her and he's looking at me like this is another day at the office. So as I'm looking at her now I can hear my client screaming behind me back at her, and he's standing there and he's pumping with his and at her and the stump is going it at her and I can see the people are just aghast. So while he's having an argument back and forth with his sister I turned around to the judge and I said ''Your Honor, may I approach the bench?'' and with a smile on his face he said to me, ''Would you like an adjournment?'' That was my experience, that was maybe the most interesting, most unforgettable case I've ever had.
Represented by Donald Kiley Jr., concertgoer claims he was "attacked and assaulted" by fellow unprovoked concertgoers who felt "comfortable to engage in mischief and physical violence" at the encouragement of the rappers. Read
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