Of course he is. I’m Jerry Callow.
Well, that shows why you needed to pay for a lawyer. You were actually objecting to “hearsay”! 
I could imagine the buffoon responding to your objection, “What’s wrong? I’m HERE, and I’m SAYING it!”
Heh, lucky for my the judge couldn’t distinguish between my saying “heresay” vs “hearsay”!
In federal court, they check your ID at security (and by that I mean look at your license, they don’t compare it to any database, so it’s pretty silly). The only place I have ever had to show my bar card was to get into jails to see clients.
I started practicing before the internet (or at least before it existed as we now know it). I don’t know how they checked bar numbers in those days. Now, it is very easy. See the “quick lookup” section on this page. If I had a reason to check, I could know in a couple of second if a person was actually licensed to practice law. But, in 30+ years, I’ve never had a reason to bother checking.
https://www.mywsba.org/PersonifyEbusiness/Default.aspx?TabID=1536
Just wanted to let you all know I am appreciating this thread.
I took a tour of the Maricopa County courts a couple years ago. It’s really instructive for a TV junkie to see what court is really like. The day I was there it was almost all drug cases. It was an assembly line. Many lawyers with piles of files for all the expected cases. Motions and pleas.
Got to tour the jail, too. I am NOT going to get arrested! And it gave me a new appreciation in L&O when the put someone on “suicide watch”. It doesn’t just mean they look more often!
Yeah, before OK City, they didn’t even have security to go into some federal buildings. I stopped practicing in fed cts (district courts in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincy, 6th/7th/8th Circuits) about 10 years ago, but even then, they asked for an ID in the lobbies, but people other than lawyers went in. No one checked IDs at the courtroom doors.
I also found it laughable that they didn’t check IDs against anything. Such BS theater. All they were checking was whether you HAD a driver’s license. Some reason to believe terrorists couldn’t get driver’s licenses? 
Back in the day, in Cook County courts, you’d handwrite an order in the courtroom. Yeah, you would put A bar number on it, but again, who checked when?
I prefer to think @kayaker misspelled “OBJECTION, heresy!” It’s funny in my head, at least. 
That’s what I thought too! (For a moment.)
Isn’t that objection appropriate if someone affirms rather than taking an oath? 
Any of you law school graduates batting 1.000?
Hey I never said I graduated.
Were they recording the ID’s? If so, then that would allow FBI agents to check whether a suspect had been in before (let’s say, scouting a building in a few days in advance of a violent protest, thus suggesting premeditation…?)
At the very least, if someone causes a disturbance, they have a record of who it might be. I hope at the time, drivers’ licenses were not that easy to counterfeit?
Nope.
In the Law and Order episode mentioned in the OP, the characters in the DA’s office didn’t seem worried at all about the fraudulent ADA’s cases being overturned; the possibility was disposed of in one throwaway line. That struck me even on first viewing; is that accurate?
Off the top of my head, I’m not sure a defendant would have standing to complain about it. Certainly if the defense attorney was unlicensed the conviction would be in jeopardy, but does an unlicensed prosecutor violate due process? I have no idea.
I could have committed fraud for about 8 years after I did the whole Paralegal cert thing - I was working with a lawyer that left his log ins around for us to use to get info for various reasons, I still have it memorized, but he retired 8 years after I worked with him.
Just checked, still have access to his lexisnexis account … it must be on auto pay or something
In Oregon, and I think Nevada, the clerks ask you to put your bar number on the record when you make an appearance on a case. I have to look mine up every time (I only have memorized my home state bar number)
In all the states I practice, you have to put your bar number on every pleading filed.
I thought they were very worried about it - didn’t they double check a several dozen cases at the order of the appeals court to prove there weren’t any anomalies (admittedly, that thread got dropped after the episode focused on finding the murderer - but that’s just the way the series works).
They were, but McCoy was sure the cases were rock solid. “You get to know a man in the trenches.” Appeals court Chief Justice Leonidas Midonas* demanded Branch check 25 cases, and the appellate court folk would check 25 more.
For not having a law degree (or using his real name) Tenofskie/Dieter was actually a really good attorney. Just very boring.
*yeah, I’ve seen this one a time or two…hundred.
As I recall my brief stint in private practice (before electronic filing), IIRC, it was common for my clerk to physically file pleadings w/ the court clerk. So, was there any way for the clerk to confirm that I had actually written - or even seen - the pleading?
And when appearing in court, as I said, you would put your # on any order/motion, but I sure don’t remember anyone checking it against my card. Or asking for any ID before I appeared in court before a judge and against an atty who did not know me.
I’m not even sure what combination of events would eventually lead to me realizing someone had masqueraded as me. Or what would have led the pre-digital clerk to cross-reference bar #s.