Criminal law is challenging. The lawyer must fight with the District Attorney, and sometimes with his own client. Everything reaches a climax with the sentencing hearing. That is when a criminal defendant finds out the bad news. In Houston, John Petruzzi was appearing in state district court for a sentencing hearing. The defendant, Jaquarius Lewis had pleaded guilty to a plea bargain in January. Now, in April, 2026, he would find out the Judge’s decision would be. The plea bargain provided that Mr. Lewis would be sentenced to some prison time longer than five years, but equal to or less than 50 years. So, the Judge had a time period to choose from.
The Judge sided with the prosecutor and sentenced Lewis to 50 years – the maximum allowed under the plea agreement. Immediately, Mr. Lewis punched his lawyer in the face,. As the 65 year old lawyer fell back into a chair, he hit a counter and passed out. In January, Mr. Lewis had filed his own motion seeking the appointment of a new lawyer. Mr. Petruzzi was court-appointed. So, Mr. Petruzzi was not necessarily Lewis’ choice to be attorney. Lawyer Petruzzi has practiced law since 1980. He says this was the first time he had ever been punched.
Shortly after the sentencing hearing, Mr. Lewis was charged with intentionally causing bodily injury to Mr. Petruzzi. See ABA Bar Journal report here for more information.
I was in court once when the opposite happened. The criminal defendant was so happy with his sentence that he immediately grabbed his female attorney, who was quite attractive, and kissed her on the lips. She told me later she was completely surprised.