And they wonder why people hate lawyers!

What’s the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?
Answer:
One is a scum-sucking bottom feeder, and the other is a catfish.
It is clear that the legal representative of the Auckland mother (and I use that term very loosely) facing 36 charges of abusing her 9-year-old daughter is doing very little to dispel the above notion.
According to media reports; Joanne Wickliffe - lawyer for the unemployed woman – has argued that media coverage referring to the "torture case" was prejudicial to her client’s right to a fair trial. Ms Wickliffe also claims that media coverage of the daughter's progress in her new foster home risked creating too much public sympathy for the girl – as opposed to the mother of the year.
To show you just how reprehensible Ms Wickliffe’s client is and how hard up this catfish is for custom; here is a quick recap of the stomach-churning media report of what this wonderful mother and father have been accused of doing to this little girl:
“Police and social workers are appalled at the alleged abuse of a nine-year-old girl whose body was covered in bruises when she was found hiding in a wardrobe in a west Auckland house.
Social workers said in court documents the nine-year-old had been abused so badly that almost every part of her body was covered in injuries, including part of her scalp torn off her head as she was dragged down the hall.
At hospital the girl was found to be starving, dehydrated and anaemic from internal bleeding. She had a broken bone in her foot and extensive bruising all over her body.
Her father, 32, faced charges of assaulting her between January 2009 and November this year, using a broomstick and a vacuum pipe as weapons, and assaulting her during over eight days in November.
Her mother, 30, faced charges of injuring with intent, assault with various weapons, wilful neglect by failing to seek medical help, withholding food, and causing grievous bodily harm. She was also charged with assaulting another child, aged seven, with a table leg and an unknown weapon.
It was believed the girl was as removed from her parents by Child Youth and Family (CYF) soon after she was born and returned to them two years ago, the newspaper reported.
Court documents allege the girl had been violently beaten since the beginning of 2009, sometimes with a stick.
In April this year, her mother allegedly repeatedly punched her in the face and hands. She did not get medical treatment for the girl but was believed to have gone to the doctor herself after breaking bones in both her hands during the beating.
In November her father allegedly beat her with a vacuum cleaner and a broomstick.
It was alleged the child's mother attacked her almost daily and in November used a broomstick, punched her in the face and body, bent her toenail backwards and caused grievous bodily harm with a hammer, the newspaper reported.
She was also allegedly hit with a broomstick and a table leg, repeatedly punched in the face and body, and kicked in the groin with steel-capped boots.
Her toenail was allegedly torn off and salt and boiling water poured on to the bleeding wound.
She was allegedly put in a hot bath and had her head held under water, was starved of food and forced to stand in the corner, sometimes naked, without moving.
The girl may need counselling for the rest of her life.”
Wickliffe claimed the media reports created prejudice against her client.
Sorry, but who cares? This maggot of a mother and the scumbag she bred with did not seem to care about prejudicing the future of their nine year old daughter when they repeatedly committed these atrocities against her.
Thankfully Judge Emma Aitken declined to make a ruling on Wickliffe's submissions and told her to put an application in writing and give notice to the media if she wished to pursue the complaint.
Meanwhile, Wickliffe asked for more time before the mother entered a plea, as lawyer Lorraine Smith would be appearing as co-counsel and needed to examine the evidence in more depth. Smith previously represented the 2006 father of the year (not) Chris Kahui in the trial where he was acquitted of murdering his baby twins.
With Lawyers like Smith and Wickliffe around and still prepared to defend scum like Kahui and the parents of this nine year old girl; it is no wonder catfish are so reluctant to be associated in any way with the legal profession!