EX-QUEEN OF KINGS
We’re not sure the best defense is a big mouth, but that’s what Darryl Littlejohn has gotten himself. Littlejohn, accused in the much-publicized murder of nightclub-goer Imette St. Guillen, is now represented by a Joyce David. The Daily News says she’s 57, “graying” and her grandchildren call her “bubbe” — although we’re unclear how that’s relevant: Plenty of 57-year-old male defense lawyers would never be described in similar terms.  Still, she should be happy with the play the News gave her: “I have this whole David against Goliath philosophy, fighting for the underdog," said David. “All I have at my disposal is a slingshot, which is my big mouth.” A former president of the Kings County Bar Association, David has been a defender for three decades. “He's [Littlejohn] got a record. He’s on parole, he's the perfect patsy here,” David said. “It's not my job to prove who did it. There are a lot of unanswered questions.”

TRIAL VICTORY BALLOON
Finally, ATLA is going to get a little love. Maybe. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America is not exactly a cuddly group, but in the wars over mass torts no one really ends up looking like the good guy. The National Law Journal reports that ATLA says candidates who “supported the civil justice system won, and the ‘vast majority’ of those who attacked the system and trial lawyers lost.” We’re not exactly sure what it means to “support” the civil justice system, but we do know that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t give up that easily. The group, ATLA’s arch-nemesis, announced a poll showing that Americans want the new Congress to continue to reform the lawsuit system. Then, ATLA CEO Jon Haber, noting campaign attacks on trial lawyer-candidates accusing them of lawsuit abuse, said: “This election destroyed a popular Karl Rove myth. The truth is that trial attorneys are winning, attacks on trial attorneys are backfiring, and opponents of the civil justice system are losing.”

ANGEL V. WISEGUY
Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin is scheduled to sentence Mob associate Michael Yannotti on racketeering conspiracy charges today. According to the New York Post, radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels street patrol Curtis Sliwa wrote a letter to Scheindlin, requesting a tough sentence. A jury could not agree on Yannotti’s role in the Mafia kidnapping of Sliwa in 1992, in which Sliwa was shot and nearly died. Yannotti’s lawyer requested a 46-month term, based on the reduced charges for which his client was found guilty. In an emotional letter, Sliwa said Yannotti should get nothing less than the 20-year maximum.

MONEY WORKS
The Daily News carries a story this morning that goes something like this: Rich man finds that politician supports laws he does not like. Rich man (almost) single-handedly pushes said politician out of office. U.S. Congresswoman Sue Kelly represents, at least for a few more weeks, New York’s 19th district. In 1994, Kelly voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage — and caught the attention of a Westchester County constituent, Adam Rose, who is gay. Finding his opportunity (and the cash) to execute an ouster of Kelly, Rose contributed $500,000 this year to a political action group supporting Democrat Jim Hall, who won the race by a two-percent margin. It’s worth noting, though, that Hall is a once-famous pop musician and had support from everyone from MoveOn.org to Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central — so he wasn’t exactly a nobody that Rose pulled from obscurity. “I was really happy,” Rose said. “Because I felt that the American system really works." Of course, lots of systems will "work" if you have half-a-million bucks to throw at them.