Attorney Punished for Criticizing Probate Judge

A Connecticut lawyer in the process of probating his mother’s will and became upset with the judge assigned to the case.  In a letter to the judge, the lawyer claimed that the judge was “a demonstrated financial predator” and accused him of “reprehensible extortion.”

In Notopoulos v. Statewide Grievance Committee, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the Grievance Committee’s reprimand of the attorney.  The court explained that the “statements impugning the integrity of Judge Berman do not constitute speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.”

The lawyer “plans to bring a federal civil rights action for declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that the discipline violates his free-speech rights.”

See G.M. Filisko, Private Letter, Public Reprimand, Attorney Punished for Angry Missive About Judge Handling his Mother’s Estate, ABA J. e-Report, Feb. 17, 2006.