Shooting Lawyers Is A Trend... But Getting Away With It Requires High Office

Man Gets Life for Shooting L.A. Lawyer in Videotaped Attack

It would appear that shooting lawyers is fast becoming a trendy thing to do, but getting away with it requires high public office, like being VPOTUS.

A man who opened fire on a lawyer who dodged and ducked behind a tree in a videotaped attack outside the Van Nuys courthouse was sentenced Friday to life in prison plus 25 years.

William Strier, 66, shot attorney Gerald Curry five times in the neck, arms and shoulder outside the courthouse on Oct. 31, 2003. A television cameraman covering the murder trial of actor Robert Blake videotaped Strier emptying two handguns while Curry bobbed, weaved and crouched behind the slender tree.

Strier, who attended the hearing on a gurney because of back problems, was removed from the courtroom before the sentence was announced because he was disruptive.

In January, a Superior Court jury convicted Strier of premeditated attempted murder with special circumstances that he discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury.

The judge gave Strier the maximum sentence, citing a probation report that noted Strier shot a neighbor for no apparent reason in 1969. The victim was shot four times but survived. Strier was initially convicted of assault, but it was later dismissed.