Opinion ID: 1496361
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: conduct meriting discipline has been proven

Text: Although, as noted, Mr. Madison admits he engaged in most of the conduct and made most of the statements just set out, [8] his defense is that none of this conduct and none of his allegations as to the judges' lack of qualifications or integrity should form the basis for discipline because they are all true. In particular, he believes that the judge who continued his client's jury trial did not have a good reason for doing so, and he believes that the judge who handled the landlord-tenant matter wrongly decided the case and wrongly denied him the opportunity to cross-examine the tenant. He thinks this fully vindicates his accusations and other conduct. Mr. Madison misapprehends the basis for discipline, although it clearly and repeatedly was explained to him in the record and in the briefs filed by OCDC. His complaints are with the merits of one judge's rulings and with whether another judge acted properly in failing to hear his case when scheduled. There are established mechanisms for raising such issues. Lawyers concerned with a court's ruling have an appropriate avenue to challenge that ruling through an appeal. Rule 81.01. Lawyers believing a judge is biased have an appropriate avenue to challenge that judge by seeking recusal. Rule 51.07. Mr. Madison is aware of how to file an appeal; his letter to the judge in the landlord-tenant matter noted that he knew he could appeal but chose not to do so. Mr. Madison is aware of his right to ask a judge to recuse, as he did so, and the judge did, in fact, recuse herself. Yet he continued to harass that judge about the continuance. He also is necessarily aware, as are all lawyers licensed in Missouri, that if he believes an ethical violation has occurred, he is required to file a complaint with the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline. Rule 4-8.3(b). Mr. Madison never filed such a complaint against either judge. Moreover, while Mr. Madison says he engaged in careful research that supports each statement in his letters, he offered no factual basis for his innuendos and assertions. As to the judge whose absence caused his case to be continued, all Mr. Madison knew was that the judge was unable to attend, for a reason not known and not explained to him by her staff, and that another judge was not available to take her place, so the case had to be continued. Mr. Madison never learned why she was unable to appearindeed, that is his complaint. Yet he nonetheless asserted in his letters, and in part to the media and other members of the public, that her reasons were arbitrary, that she was racist and treated him differently because he was black, that she was part of an evil network and would seek vengeance upon him, that she could not uphold the high ideals of her office, that she apparently thought she was the most important person in the legal process, that he had profound doubts about her fitness to preside over cases and that she seemed to be drunk with power, and that her robe was forever stained by her failure to avoid unspecified improprieties. The only evidence he offered to support any of these assertions was that she was unable to appear one Monday for a trial. As to the second judge, the only misconduct that Mr. Madison has identified is that the judge allegedly denied him the opportunity to cross-examine a witness and was incorrect as to the relevant law. Even if true, this would constitute an error that at most would entitle his client to a new trial if Mr. Madison had appealed. Mr. Madison chose not to appeal, although he was aware he could do so. Nothing about the alleged legal errors by the judge, however, justifies arguing with the judge after the judge has said the ruling is final or refusing to leave the courtroom when requested to do so. Nothing about the judge's alleged legal errors supports the allegations that the judge showed contempt for the law or Mr. Madison, that the judge acted with a ruthless abuse of power, or that the judge was unethical or took money from Mr. Madison's client, as Mr. Madison's letter states. Far from being careful or well-researched, Mr. Madison's allegations against both judges were completely without factual basis and were made in the heat of anger and pique. The conduct falls far below the standard of what the reasonable attorney, considered in light of all his professional functions, would do in the same or similar circumstances. Westfall, 808 S.W.2d at 837. The allegations were made either with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard as to their truth. They were intended to disrupt the legal process, and they did so needlessly. They further caused one judge to recuse herself unnecessarily from a case and put her in fear for her safety. This conduct was prejudicial to the administration of justice. In In re Arnold, 274 Kan. 761, 56 P.3d 259, 263-64 (2002), an attorney similarly sent a letter to a judge after an unsuccessful court appearance. The letter stated that the judge should  please [emphasis in original] seriously consider retiring from the bench, that the judge did not have what is required to do his job, was absurdly fastidious about rules and decorum, and that this masked an underlying incompetence. You act like a robot. The Kansas Supreme Court found that this letter contained unrestrained and intemperate statements that the speaker knew or should have known were false and constituted a violation of his duty to the profession. See also Notopoulos v. Statewide Grievance Committee, 277 Conn. 218, 890 A.2d 509, 516-17 (2006) (attorney reprimanded where he presented no factual basis for his statements about judge that were made either knowing they were false or with reckless disregard for their truth); Anthony v. Virginia State Bar, 270 Va. 601, 621 S.E.2d 121, 126 (2005) (derogatory statement concerning qualifications or integrity of judge made without basis tends to diminish public perception of integrity of courts and is subject to discipline); Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar v. Farber, 185 W.Va. 522, 408 S.E.2d 274 (1991) (three-month suspension appropriate for attorney who blamed conspiracy for his losses and was unable to separate fact from fiction or to admit the wrongfulness of his conduct). Mr. Madison's conduct was even more egregious than that disciplined in the above cases. His conduct and statements were prejudicial to the administration of justice, disrupted the tribunal, and impugned the integrity and qualifications of two judges in reckless disregard of the truth of his claims. His conduct violates Rule 4-3.5(d), Rule 4-8.2(a) and Rule 4-8.4(d), and merits discipline.