Subject:  Fieger on trial today for comments against judges |
Author:
Chris
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Date Posted: 03/ 8/06 7:35pm
Fieger's tirade on docket
He ripped judges; limits may be set
March 8, 2006
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The court is set to hear arguments on a complaint filed nearly five years ago by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission that stemmed from an obscenity-laced tirade Fieger unleashed on three Michigan appellate judges in 1999 after they overturned a $15-million verdict he had won in a medical malpractice case.
He faces reprimand from the commission, but no suspension, if found responsible for violating Michigan court rules that require lawyers to show respect to the judiciary.
Although the penalties are not severe, the case could set new limits on what lawyers can say outside the courtroom.
But Fieger and his attorneys argue that statements made by lawyers outside the courtroom, especially after a verdict, have nearly absolute protection under the First Amendment.
Criticism of public officials is precisely the kind of speech the First Amendment aimed to protect, said Fieger attorney Michael Schwartz, himself a former grievance administrator.
"Just because you don't like to hear it" doesn't mean it can be punished, he said.
Deputy Commission Administrator Robert Edick said the case is a significant test of what behavior courts may require from attorneys outside court. The panel filed the original charges in 2001.
Since then, the case has bounced around in the courts and before the state's Attorney Discipline Board, which sided with Fieger in 2004, with several side trips to the federal courts, where Fieger argued for the disqualification of state judges he contends are biased against him.
Other complaints have been filed, stemming from his broadsides against other judges. All were dismissed before reaching a Supreme Court hearing.
For today's hearing, Fieger has renewed a request that Justice Stephen Markman recuse himself because of conflicts created by, among other things, a lawsuit Fieger filed against the judge and Attorney General Mike Cox.
Contact DAWSON BELL at 313-222-6604 or dbell@freepress.com.
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