February 28, 2014

"A prominent Madison personal injury lawyer pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor battery for a domestic incident at his home and said he used alcohol..."

"...to deal with the stress of fighting an aggressive form of cancer that could end his life."
"It's my hope and intent to work through this in my remaining days in an appropriate manner," Daniel Rottier told Dane County Circuit Judge William Hanrahan.
Here's yesterday's post, discussing the arrest.

27 comments:

Michael K said...

I guess he was fighting more than cancer.

David said...

Wikipedia: "Prognosis depends on how early the cancer is discovered and treated. For the least aggressive grade, about 90% of patients survive more than five years after diagnosis. People usually have a good survival rate at the low grade volume of cancer.For the most aggressive grade, more than a quarter of patients live more than five years."

Tari said...

Did he hit his wife so hard she had to go to the ER, and that precipitated the arrest, or did she just call the cops on him after he hit her? Not to condone domestic violence, but if it's the latter, calling the cops on a dying man is COLD. Actually, calling the cops on any family member, regardless of condition, is a mean, nasty thing to do, unless you are in fear for your life. Once the cops show up you have no control over what will happen next. That's not a risk I'd like to take.

William said...

He used his cane to hit her. Don't you hate a guy who won't fight fair?

MadisonMan said...

I wish him the best of luck in fighting the cancer.

Chef Mojo said...

How fucking dare he use cancer as an excuse. There is no excuse nor justification.

SteveR said...

My mom died of cancer when I was 14 and I smoke a lot of pot for the next 20 years to deal with the stress. That sound good?

Big Mike said...

@Tari, is he dyin' or is he lyin'?

Time will tell!

Big Mike said...

I think Meade and I both agree with Chief Mojo, Tari. A man, if he's really a man, never hits his wife. If that's not the way you and your husband deal with each other, can I recommend counseling? Like right away?

Mark said...

Wish him the best with his cancer.

There is no reason to hit your spouse. Ever.

alan markus said...

is he dyin' or is he lyin'?

Time will tell!


And how is Segway Jeremy Ryan these days?

Tari said...

Big Mike - wow, I never imagined in a million years someone would misconstrue what I said like that. I can't wait to tell my husband! Although, come to think of it, he won't be flattered. So I guess I won't tell him, because he doesn't deserve insults at the end of a long day.

A wealthy or somewhat wealthy woman, the wife of a respected attorney, should not call the cops in such a situation. She has choices, she has money. If she's hurt or angry, she can take her Visa card and head for the door. She can then sue her husband for battery, divorce him, take half his money and leave him to die alone, if she is so inclined. Calling armed men to the house, especially when two people are angry enough for one of them to be hitting the other, is a bad idea. Walk away.

David said...

Tari, he hit her with a cane.

It's at least possible that he would have hit her again.

And again. And again.

There is a lot we do not know about the incident. I can imagine a scenario where he shows so much immediate remorse and contrition that it might be advisable for her to do what you suggest.

But on the facts we have she was right to get some protection as fast as she could.

Large, drunk, angry man hits woman with dangerous object. They are along and out of earshot of anyone else.

" Once the cops show up you have no control over what will happen next," you said.

She already had no control over what would happen next.

Big Mike said...

@Tari, your comment at 6:09 certainly read like "it's all my fault really, he didn't mean to break my arm" (or blacken her eye or punch her stomach until she miscarried or clobber her with a hardwood cane).

But as to calling the cops, certainly there is a risk in bringing them in. During a fourteen year study it was found that 106 of 771 police fatalities (13.8%) were as a result of responding to a domestic violence dispute. Consequently being called in to handle domestic violence cases scares Hell out of cops, and they'll come in the door nervous and possibly trigger happy.

Back when I had my first knee operation my sensei taught me how to use a cane to kill a person if I needed to defend myself while still healing. The notion that this guy used his cane on the wife is only one step removed, in my mind, from using a knife or a gun on her.

You may think this whole thing is funny, but I'm still not laughing.

traditionalguy said...

Drinking trial lawyers have a dispensation for courtroom PTSD. I wish him a full recovery.

alan markus said...

A wealthy or somewhat wealthy woman, the wife of a respected attorney, should not call the cops in such a situation. She has choices, she has money. If she's hurt or angry, she can take her Visa card and head for the door. She can then sue her husband for battery, divorce him, take half his money and leave him to die alone, if she is so inclined

Yeah, but a documented case of abuse certainly can give one a certain negotiating advantage. And the best documentation is as soon as it has happened - no questions about where it happened, who did it, etc.

kjbe said...

Sounds like he's got a lot on his plate. I get that, but it's no excuse for him harming somebody else and I hope he's sincere in his remorse. Him learning new coping mechanisms (he's blaming his drinking) will be the key. Time will tell.

kjbe said...

BTW, his wife was absolutely right to call the cops.

kentuckyliz said...

Damn right she was. Why is assault and battery OK as long as you do it to someone you love?

I've seen pix of bruises on women's bodies in the shape of a chair leg (you know, the shaped kind, you could see the imprint plain as day in the bruise) and tennis rackets and baseball bats and golf clubs. And open hands.

The police know that bruises don't show their full colors immediately, and they know to go back and take pictures again a day later when the full purple is showing.

What a poor decision on his part. Raging against the dying of the light is understandable but that rage isn't supposed to be violence against those you love.

What an asshole.

Dr Weevil said...

Sometimes a "personal injury lawyer" is a personal injury lawyer in more ways than one.

Smilin' Jack said...

"It's my hope and intent to work through this in my remaining days in an appropriate manner," Daniel Rottier told Dane County Circuit Judge William Hanrahan.

He's in luck--I think most prisons have programs that can help him with that.

Kirk Parker said...

Tari, what's to misconstrue? He hit her with his cane, and you're pondering whether or not it was assault?

Kirk Parker said...

David (in response to Tari):

"She already had no control over what would happen next"

This.

James Pawlak said...

Is is "pleaded" or "plead" or either?

Ann Althouse said...

"Is is "pleaded" or "plead" or either?"

"Plead" is present tense. There's "pled" without the "a" for the past tense in the irregular form. I think either "pleaded" or "pled" is fine.

carrie said...

Do we know that it was the wife who called 911? The best defense is to make yourself into a victim, and he did that.

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