Dawson Plimpton represents Brian Marshall regarding an incident involving Stephanie Pullman. Plimpton claims Marshall's actions were accidental and do not meet the legal standard for non-consensual sexual contact. Plimpton argues the case is weak and continuing prosecution would cause further embarrassment for Pullman. Plimpton intends to prepare for trial and hopes charges will be dropped to prevent further distress for those involved.

1. Dawson Plimpton, Esq.
123 Suttle Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28208
September 21, 20131
Legal Counsel2
ABC Law Firm
123 Main St.
Charlotte, NC 28208
RE: Stephanie Pullman3
Dear Legal Counsel:
I represent Brian Marshall. The incident that occurred on October 9 was truly
unfortunate.4 As I hope you will soon understand, Mr. Marshall does not wish to make a plea
agreement and will continue to prepare for trial. This case is nothing more than childish
horseplaythat caused an accidental touching.5 WhenMr. Marshall was mimicking her stride for
stride down the hallway, he lost his balance and began to fall.Due to his close proximity to Ms.
Pullman, he reached out to brace his fall and grabbed her pants in the process, while his watch
caused a scratch, nothing more.6
We understand that this accident may have led Ms. Pullman to experience some
embarrassment, which Mr. Marshall is truly sorry for.7 Under the law, however, the facts simply
do not rise to the level of non-consensual sexual contact.8 The requirementof the intentional
removal of clothing is not supported here, especially notbeyond a reasonable doubt. It requires
one to show much more than what is before us.For example, unlike in A.A.M., where the
intentionalunhooking of a bra and then the grabbing and pinching of another’s breasts by
reaching around a seat of a car warranted such a charge, Mr. Marshall merely reached out to
brace his fall and happened to grab her pants in the process.State in re A.A.M., 684 N.W.2d 925,
926 (Minn. Ct. App. 2004).9Furthermore, the act must be performed with sexual or aggressive
intent beyond a reasonable doubt. Even in D.W., where the buttocks was intentionally grabbed in
a classroom, it was nothing more than inappropriate horseplay and did not rise to a level of

2. Dawson Plimpton, Esq.
123 Suttle Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28208
seriousness to prove a charge of non-consensual sexual contact. State ex rel. D.W., 887 A.2d 156,
158 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2005).10
Moreover, to prevent Ms. Pullman from receiving any more embarrassment than she may
have already sustained, we feel it would be in your client’s best interest to consider dropping the
charges.11 The long drown out judicial processwill only cause more embarrassment for the
innocent, Mr. Marshall and Ms. Pullman,as she will have to experience the entire incident all
over again.121314 She will have to publicly state what happened again, how she felt again, what
students did and said during and after the unfortunate incident again.1516 Moreover, this case will
likely receive media attention and, with the evidence put forth, will only cause her to experience
more public humiliation than she already has due to this unfortunate event.17
Again, we would like to inform you that we will be preparing for trial. The evidence does
not rise to the level of non-consensual sexual contact. We hope that you respect the further
emotional impact this public case will haveon your client and consider a reasonable alternative
for Ms. Pullman. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have as
we preparefor trial.18
Sincerely,
Dawson Plimpton, Esq.19
Attorney for Brian Marshall
[Rhetorical note: I have included the date to distinguish the document production date
from all other dates.]
2 [Rhetorical note: THIS IS MERELY A WRITING SAMPLE OF MY WORK WHILE IN LAW
SCHOOL, I AM NOT LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW NOR SHOULD ANY OF THE ADDRESSES,
FACTS, OR NAMES BE CONSTRUED AS REAL IN THIS WRITING SAMPLE.]
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3. Dawson Plimpton, Esq.
123 Suttle Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28208
[Rhetorical note: I have right justified the “RE:” to politely inform the reader that the
client is more important.]
4 [Rhetorical note: I have included “truly unfortunate” to pull on the emotional stings of the
reader.]
5 [Rhetorical note: I have included “horseplay” to set the reader up for a future reference to
case precedent.]
6 [Rhetorical note: I have included “reached out to brace his fall” to distinguish his actions
from those referred to in future case precedent.]
7 [Rhetorical note: I have included “truly sorry for” to, once again, pull on the emotional
strings of the reader, just before I throw some law into the picture.]
8 [Rhetorical note: I have included “Under the law” to remind the reader the law will
determine the outcome of this incident.]
9 [Rhetorical note: I have included “happened to” to separate his grab from the needed
intentional grab described in A.A.M.]
10 [Rhetorical note: I have included case precedent of “nothing more than inappropriate
horseplay” to reiterate to the reader that Mr. Marshall’s actions do not warrant a charge on
non-consensual sexual contact.]
11 [Rhetorical note: I have included “in your client’s best interest” immediately following
another pull on the emotional strings of the reader hoping to soften them up a little bit
more.]
12 [Rhetorical note: I have included “more embarrassment” for the second time in two
sentences to stress the importance of and begin to pull on Ms. Pullman’s emotional strings.]
13 [Rhetorical note: Through the use of apophasis, I have included “the innocent, Mr.
Marshall” to cleverly assert yet also pass over this bold statement by continuing to speak
about Ms. Pullman.]
14 [Rhetorical note: Through the use of distinctio, I have included “the innocent, Mr.
Marshall and Ms. Pullman” to clarify the innocent.]
15 [Rhetorical note: Through the use of anaphora, I have repeated the word “again” to
emphasis the number of times Ms. Pullman will have to rehash her embarrassment.]
16 [Rhetorical note: Through the use of asyndeton, I have used no conjunction to make it
seem to the reader that there will be more effects on Ms. Pullman than what I have
mentioned.]
17 [Rhetorical note: I have included “unfortunate event” to once again pull on the emotional
strings of the reader while emphasizing the public humiliation Ms. Pullman is likely to
receive.]
18 [Rhetorical note: I have included a closing paragraph in case the reader is too busy, lazy,
bothered, nervous, pompous to read the entire memo.]
19 [Rhetorical note: I have included the suffix “Esq.” to make certain the reader knows I am
licensed to practice law if “Attorney for” was not enough.]
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