Opinion ID: 845581
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Trial Court's Authority to Dismiss this Case

Text: In this case, Judge Macdonald initially concluded that evidence of Bennett's prior conviction was inadmissible before the jury because of its unduly prejudicial nature. Rather than abiding by the trial court's order, even after both the Court of Appeals and this Court denied plaintiff leave to appeal regarding the order, plaintiff and her counsel engaged in a concerted and wide-ranging campaign in the weeks before various scheduled trial dates to publicize the details of the inadmissible evidence through the mass media and other available means. They continued to do so even after the trial court explicitly warned them that such misconduct would result in the dismissal of plaintiff's lawsuit. The trial court has a gate-keeping obligation, when such misconduct occurs, to impose sanctions that will not only deter the misconduct but also serve as a deterrent to other litigants. Moreover, MCL 600.611 and MCR 2.504(B)(1) provide the trial court with the authority to impose sanctions such as dismissal. Here, Judge Macdonald issued an order excluding evidence regarding Bennett's expunged conviction. Judge Giovan later reaffirmed Judge Macdonald's initial order of exclusion, and explicitly warned the parties that he would dismiss the case if the inappropriate remarks regarding the excluded conviction continued. [22] Plaintiff's understanding of Judge Macdonald's order and Judge Giovan's warning to adhere to the order was clearly demonstrated in her deposition and in the June 26, 2002, television interview that was broadcast on WDIV Channel 4 in which she acknowledged Judge Giovan's warning that dismissal would result if she continued her behavior, but further stated that it doesn't bother me, because I'm not going to quit fighting against sexual harassment. Plaintiff's counsel also clearly understood Judge Macdonald's order and Judge Giovan's explicit warning to adhere to the order. The trial court twice explicitly discussed the improper conduct with plaintiff's counsel and warned everyone about the consequences of continuing misconduct. Despite the warning, and despite the approaching trial, plaintiff and her counsel continued the misconduct. [23] In fact, as Judge Giovan noted, plaintiff's lead counsel, George Washington and Miranda Massie, appeared in television news broadcasts that specifically referred to Bennett's expunged conviction. Moreover, plaintiff's counsel acknowledged that counsel could possibly be violating the expungement statute by publicly disseminating information regarding Bennett's expunged conviction, but stated that it was worth the risk. Also of note is Ms. Masley's statement at the July 8, 2002, hearing that Ms. Maldonado has a right to speak about Mr. Bennett's conviction for sure. She further stated that plaintiff and her counsel, depending on how close it was to trial, had the right to publicize evidence that had been excluded by the court. Judge Giovan properly noted that, notwithstanding the rulings of two judges and the apparent illegality of disclosing Bennett's excluded conviction, nothing would deter plaintiff from continuing to publicize information regarding Bennett's excluded conviction. Plaintiff so admitted in her deposition. Even without an explicit order precluding plaintiff and her counsel from publicizing Bennett's excluded conviction, Judge Giovan chose a principled option in dismissing plaintiff's case in order to protect the administration of justice. The imposition of any lesser sanction would have been unjust in light of plaintiff's and her counsel's flagrant misbehavior. [24] Not only did plaintiff and her counsel disregard Judge Macdonald's order and Judge Giovan's explicit warning to respect the order, counsel violated numerous rules of professional conduct. Plaintiff's counsel's public references to Bennett's excluded conviction violated MRPC 3.6, which was the basis for Judge Giovan's dismissal. Plaintiff's counsel reasonably knew or should have known that their comments would have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the proceedings by improperly influencing prospective jurors regarding Bennett's propensities to commit sexual harassment, especially since trial was approximately two weeks away. Plaintiff argues that Judge Giovan improperly relied on MRPC 3.6 in dismissing plaintiff's case. She contends that Judge Giovan's dismissal was solely based on plaintiff's comments, and that MRPC 3.6 does not apply to nonlawyers. Plaintiff correctly argues that the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct do not apply to nonlawyers, but mistakenly contends that Judge Giovan relied only on her behavior in ordering a dismissal. Plaintiff also erroneously contends that she is free to engage in improper pretrial publicity designed to taint the potential jury pool. The Michigan Court Rules do apply to plaintiff. They authorize the trial court to impose sanctions such as dismissal for party misconduct. MCR 2.504(B)(1). Judge Giovan expressly warned plaintiff that if she continued to disseminate information regarding Bennett's excluded conviction in violation of Judge Macdonald's order, he would dismiss her case. Plaintiff failed to obey this warning and, thus, Judge Giovan properly dismissed her case. [25] In any event, even if plaintiff is not bound by MRPC 3.6, plaintiff's counsel's repeated public references to Bennett's excluded conviction, coupled with Ms. Massie's statement five days before trial that Metro Detroit judges were biased in favor of the Ford Motor Company, were substantially likely to materially prejudice the proceedings and improperly influence prospective jurors. Judge Giovan did not reach a conclusion regarding a possible violation of MRPC 3.5, finding it was unnecessary because he dismissed the case under MRPC 3.6. Because Judge Giovan did not rely on this rule in dismissing the case, we need not reach a conclusion regarding a possible violation of the rule. We nevertheless enumerate plaintiff's counsel's acts of disrespect against the trial court to highlight plaintiff's counsel's undignified and discourteous conduct toward the trial court. Plaintiff's counsel, on numerous occasions, despite court orders and an explicit warning by the trial court, publicly divulged information regarding Bennett's excluded conviction. Plaintiff's counsel also deliberately disregarded the trial court's oral directive to refrain from disseminating information regarding Bennett's excluded conviction. Ms. Masley sarcastically responded to the trial court's questioning at the dismissal hearing, and at one point, while on the stand, turned to members of the Justice for Justine committee present in the courtroom and asked them who they voted for in the last judicial election. Additionally, Ms. Massie commented during a July 3, 2002, television interview that Metro Detroit judges are biased toward the Ford Motor Company. While this conduct may not amount to a violation of MRPC 3.5, it further justifies Judge Giovan's dismissal for plaintiff's and her counsel's participation in pretrial publicity designed to taint the jury pool. We also note MRPC 8.4, although Judge Giovan did not rely on this rule in ordering dismissal. MRPC 8.4 prohibits lawyers from engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. MRPC 8.4(a) prohibits lawyers from engaging in misconduct through the acts of others. Here, plaintiff's counsel not only failed to restrain plaintiff from repeatedly and intentionally publicizing Bennett's inadmissible expunged conviction in order to taint the potential jury pool and deny defendants a fair trial, they participated with plaintiff in the misconduct on numerous occasions. This inappropriate and unprofessional conduct directly violated Judge Macdonald's order, Judge Giovan's reaffirmance of the order, and Judge Giovan's explicit warning. Moreover, this conduct was directly aimed at frustrating the due administration of justice. It also supports the dismissal of plaintiff's complaint.