Sanction For Accusations Of Judicial Misconduct
The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board has recommended a suspension of a year and a day with six months stayed and probation of an attorney who, among other things, accused a judge of misconduct
This case highlights the unfavorable consequences of the legal profession – incompetence and/or corruption of its members. …
The corruption and/or incompetence of attorneys and judges in this case is not only a systemic problem; it is an opportunity for reparation for Stanford McNabb and everyone who was victimized by a system designed to protect their rights. …
Although the lower court [the Third Circuit Court of Appeal], which affirmed the egregious actions of the trial court [Judge Keaty’s Division] is the same court Judge Keaty is actively campaigning to sit upon, Stan [McNabb] did not presume wrong doing. ….
The lower court wants to cover up the egregious actions of the trial court so it cannot be used in the current election.
The board found the allegations were frivolous and caused delay
The Board adopts the Committee’s finding that Respondent’s sweeping and repeated accusations in her writ that the judiciary is incompetent and/or corrupt is unsupported by the facts, and is in violation of Rule 3.1.
…her numerous unfounded motions to recuse Judge Keaty from Respondent’s cases in family court, as well as the repeated appeals she filed in Ms. Guillory’s bankruptcy case, resulted in undue delay of multiple matters, in violation of Rule 3.5(d).
Further, the accusations violated Rule 8.2.
On sanction
The facts of the case at bar are unique, and there is no case directly on point. However, the cases above which include similar types of misconduct exhibit a range of suspension from six months with a portion deferred, to three years with eighteen months deferred.
…The Board is particularly disturbed by Respondent’s repeated accusations of corruption and incompetence levied at the judiciary in the writ application filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court in the McNabb matter. In challenging the lower court’s rulings, Respondent repeatedly wrote that Judge Keaty and the Third Circuit panel that heard Mr. McNabb’s appeal were “incompetent and/or corrupt.” She then took the opportunity to circulate a copy of the writ application via email to her friends and colleagues in the Lafayette Bar. During the hearing in this matter Respondent said that she and Mr. McNabb wrote the writ application together, “but the offense…the language that the judges find offensive was his. He wanted that included – that strong language included – because he felt that injury very deeply, and he wanted to be very strong in how he felt.” See Hearing Transcript, p. 255. During her sworn statement she stated, “They [the words in the writ] were not my own. They were my client’s words.” See Respondent’s 7/21/10 Sworn Statement, p. 81. It is clear however, that Respondent signed and filed the writ application and is therefore responsible for the language and accusations contained therein. Every licensed attorney’s professional obligations include the obligation to adhere to the legal profession’s professional and ethical rules, regardless of the demands placed upon them by their clients.
Two dissents would impose the full year and a day suspension. (Mike Frisch)