BS BULLETIN:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lawyers are asking for increased security when the actor testifies in an upcoming car-crash trial.
• Their concern followed a social-media post from the opposing law firm featuring attorney Gary Dordick dressed like the Terminator with the words “I’ll be back.”
• The post also advertised when and where Schwarzenegger is expected to appear in court.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is headed to court.

Apparently, the Terminator will be waiting for him. Lawyers for the 79-year-old actor and former California governor have asked a Los Angeles judge for additional security measures when Schwarzenegger appears next month in a civil trial stemming from a 2022 traffic accident.

And this is where things get weird.

Gary Dordick, an attorney representing plaintiff Cheryl Augustine, recently appeared in a social-media post dressed in Schwarzenegger’s most famous movie look — leather jacket, dark sunglasses and a gun — accompanied by the immortal Terminator line: “I’ll be back.”

(Image: Screenshot Instagram)

The post wasn’t merely a movie gag.

According to Schwarzenegger’s attorneys, it also publicized the date, time, courthouse address, department number, and expected duration of Schwarzenegger’s appearance. It reportedly identified Schwarzenegger as the trial’s first witness.

That got his lawyers’ attention.

In court papers filed Tuesday, Schwarzenegger’s team asked Judge Edward B. Moreton Jr. to establish a security and management protocol for the trial. They want Schwarzenegger’s arrival, departure, and courtroom seating coordinated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

They’re also asking for restrictions on photography, video, and audio recording in the courtroom and surrounding corridors unless specifically approved by the judge.

And if the Terminator promotion results in additional security costs? Schwarzenegger’s lawyers argue Augustine should pay them because her side generated the publicity they say created the need.

The underlying case is serious. Augustine alleges Schwarzenegger negligently caused a January 2022 crash involving his GMC Yukon and her Toyota Prius at Sunset Boulevard and Allenford Avenue.

Her attorneys say she suffered a traumatic brain injury and lasting changes to her personality and relationships. Schwarzenegger has conceded negligence but disputes the amount of damages she is seeking. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 12.

His attorneys acknowledge that Schwarzenegger’s courthouse appearance was already publicly available information. They argue that advertising the precise details to a massive social-media audience — complete with a gun-toting Terminator tribute — is something else entirely.

As they put it in the filing, the post effectively advertises the appearance of “one of the most recognizable people in the world at a fixed place and time.”

MY QUICK TAKE

There are approximately eight billion lawyers on Earth who could have made this situation less weird.

Arnold somehow got the one who showed up dressed as Arnold.

Hollywood couldn’t pitch this movie because somebody at the studio would say the script was too stupid.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

• Los Angeles Times — Lawyers seek extra security for Schwarzenegger after opposing attorney’s ‘Terminator’-style post
• MyNewsLA — Schwarzenegger attorneys warn of potential impact of plaintiff law firm’s post
• TMZ — Schwarzenegger’s lawyers want extra security after opposing attorney’s ‘Terminator’ post