Word: erdmann
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...comments about the judiciary infuriated the justices of New York's Appellate Division, First Department (Manhattan and The Bronx). They petitioned the grievance committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to consider whether Erdmann had violated those canons of ethics that require lawyers to show respect for the bench. Though the Appellate Division has authority over an attorney's qualifications, initiation of formal disciplinary proceedings is normally left to the Bar Association. After some quiet, inconclusive discussions, the Bar Association decided to do nothing more than give Erdmann a private rebuke...
...Appellate Division, satisfying the technical requirement that the First Department, which lodged the complaint, would not also act as judge. The upshot is that justices of one department of the Appellate Division will be the complainant, while their colleagues from another department serve as judge and jury. Erdmann, of course, had spoken of all Appellate Division justices, not just those of the First Department...
Chilling Effect. The dubious affair came to light only when Erdmann's lawyer, William Leibovitz, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, went to federal district court to argue that the First Department's justices were violating Erdmann's civil rights. Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan said that the issue was out of his jurisdiction, and Erdmann has taken the case to the U.S. court of appeals...
Leibovitz contends in his brief that the incident already has had a "chilling effect" on other lawyers who might criticize the courts. Few attorneys, in fact, would comment publicly on the case, though some have filed affidavits in Erdmann's defense. They may disagree with his salty language, but they object strenuously to the notion that judicial robes entitle their wearers to sanctity...
...Harvard Law School professors, James Vorenberg and Alan Dershowitz, say in their affidavits that they are considering using Mills' article in their criminal law classes. If the case goes forward, Dershowitz contends, "it will significantly deter important scholarly and journalistic criticism of the judiciary by attorneys." Disciplining Erdmann, says Vorenberg, "would lead students and young lawyers to believe that it is dangerous to speak out on controversial issues...