a shining example from my chosen profession

I just read this really disturbing story in the Oregonian that does not reflect well on lawyers -- no shock, I know, but this was particularly nasty and this time it's a defense attorney being a jerk. Come on, people, defense attorneys are supposed to be the good guys!

Apparently, after a former soldier was sentenced for molesting an eight year old boy 11 years ago, the victim confronted said defense attorney outside the courtroom. He called the defense attorney a name and the defense attorney, by his own account, responded by saying "at least I didn't try and commit suicide!"

WTF???

I'm not defending the right of the victim to call the attorney a name. But the attorney's childish and nasty response was totally uncalled for and, I'd like to think, in violation of the Oregon Code of Professional Responsibility (aka: the ethics rules).

It's bad enough that he taunted the victim of child sex abuse about his past suicidality, but it's even worse that he told the Oregonian what he said! I mean, I guess honesty is better than lying about it, but his openness implies that he doesn't think there's anything wrong with what he said. And the Oregonian certainly didn't seem to blink, the headline of the article is "Sex case ends on healing note."

Which healing note would that be? I only hear mutual acrimony and unprofessional behavior by an attorney. Certainly the legal profession can do a little better, and the Oregonian would do well to work on their angles because this one seems way off the mark.