Stun-Gun Wielding Lawyer Sanctioned

A California Appeals Court approved a trial judge’s decision to throw out a lawsuit after one lawyer produced pepper spray and a stun gun at a deposition, then threatened to use the weapons against opposing counsel. Attorney Douglas Crawford held the pepper spray about three feet from opposing counsel and told him, “I will pepper spray you if you get out of hand,” according to the court. He then pointed the stun gun at counsel’s head, saying, “If that doesn’t quell you, this is a flashlight that turns into a stun gun.” He then discharged the gun near opposing counsel’s head. “If ever a case required a terminating sanction, this is it,” the appeals court wrote. The California bar is seeking to disbar Crawford over the incident.