I commend Trooper for his fine post. It shows excellent character. I hope to shake your hand some day, Trooper.
I have to thank Ritchie for bringing to my attention a typo in my post (#666?). The sentence that said, "In defamation suit in a court of law, Neil has only the burden of coming forward with the statements Neil made." should have read, "In a defamation suit in a court of law, Neil only has the burden of coming forward with the statements DAVE made." Yes, it was absurd the other way around, so thank you, Ritchie.
And yes, Ritchie, I would love to read the PI's report with my own eyes; please direct me to anybody who has actually seen the thing. Reminds me of the story I used to hear once or twice a week when I worked (before you were born, yada, yada) for Ross Allen (arrogant name-dropping). The story is that a water-skier fell in a "nest of cottonmouths" in Lake such and such, and when they pulled his limp and lifeless corpse from the water 5 minutes later, he had 200 bite marks on his body. It was always the storyteller's uncle or sister who was there or read it in the paper, or whatever. Nobody came and said "I was there" or even "I read it in the Miami Herald."
We ought not to assume too much about the PI's report until we see it, and I certainly will be open-minded when I do. Those things vary widely in quality and I urge you not to abandon the sharp eyes of skepticism that have served you so well.
I also want to talk to the TPD detective who is investigating the case, particularly if to find out if he has in fact been leaking information that could be posted on this BOI and compromise his investigation.
Ritchie, a lot of your questions are the "Have you stopped beating your wife?" type. My hunch is that you like to throw stuff in lakes just to see if any stupid fish come up and try to eat it, and the results amuse me, too.
Scott and Daniel, I understand the concern about the quality of Neil's lawyer. The post was to give Dave and hopefully his lawyer a glimpse of what the case looks like. Dave can't change the facts; it is too late for that, and lawyers are not ethically permitted to make the facts. We take the facts as we find them. In Florida civil procedure there are no trials by ambush, unlike other states. Both sides are required to name their witnesses, with addresses. Both sides subpoena the other side's witnesses, just like I will be able to subpoena Dave and ask him questions under oath about anything likely to lead to witnesses or evidence in the case. Dave can't change any facts and I will know his whole case before trial; we do that because it encourages settlements without taking up the court's time. Yes, I know this is not the sterotypical lawyer way of doing these things. If we did it the way we've always done it, nobody would be breeding chondros, either.
I want to make it clear that, whether you think that Dave Lawson fit the profile of the burglar of the Pit, there is regrettably no shortage in the world of people such as I described, and I am not accusing Dave of doing any burglary.
If you thought I was, you are mistaken.
Meantime, if Dave's lawyer reads my posts, she will be able to better advise Dave on what course of action to take. I am betting that will work in Neil's favor, not against him, so I prefer that she know how I think this will play out. If Dave doesn't show her the posts, she may not see the picture from any angle but Dave's. I e-mailed Dave's lawyer (her e-mail address is on the Florida Bar website, so she must want people to use it) at 11:21 a.m. on 5/22/02 to confirm that she represents him. I have not received a response from her.