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Category: In Your Face

There may be "jackasses" on some appellate courts, but we lawyers cannot point them out. To do so would amount to "personal abuse" and subject the lawyer to disciplinary action. Lawyers also cannot compare judges to Nazis or Adolph Hitler. (In Michigan, at least.)

Would it be "personal abuse" to mention that a judge was ignorant of the law or inattentive or unprepared during oral argument? How about plain old lazy? Or, out of touch with reality?

My guess would be that in Michigan any of these comments would warrant a reprimand. The judicial branch of government may only be described by Michigan lawyers as magnificent, inspiring and totally fair. I am reminded of the line in a Disney movie: If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all.

Mich. Supreme Court reprimands lawyer

The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded an outspoken lawyer for "vulgar and crude" attacks against appeals court judges, whom he likened during radio appearances to Nazis.

The court voted 4-3 to reprimand Geoffrey Fieger for twice appearing on Detroit-areas radio shows in 1999 and calling state Court of Appeals judges "jackasses" and other names. The judges had angered Fieger by overturning a $15 million medical malpractice judgment he had won.

Fieger - best known for defending assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian - also likened the judges to Adolph Hitler and other Nazis.
Fieger argued he and other lawyers have a First Amendment right to publicly criticize judges. The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board agreed in a 2004 ruling, but the grievance board that filed the complaint against Fieger appealed to the state's high court.

In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Clifford Taylor concluded Fieger's broadcast remarks were "nothing more than personal abuse."

The dissent said Fieger's speech was political and should be protected under the U.S. Constitution.

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