Ethy Awards

Returning to our normal format, legal humorist Sean Carter introduces the newest Ethy Awards nominees, including a rare dual nominee for the Joan Rivers Award.

(1)  COCKTAIL (The Outlawyer Award)

Two New York lawyers have plead guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail into an empty police cruiser during last summer's George Floyd protests.  As a result of their felony convictions, both attorneys will almost certainly be disbarred.

(2)  CRY-BABY (Best Original Excuse)

A New Jersey lawyer only received a reprimand after explaining that his harassment and threats against an opposing party were caused by the exhaustion of trying to care for a colicky baby.

(3)  NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN (Joan Rivers Award)

Two lawyers have been disciplined in separate matters for exposing their client's unsuitable as parents in custody matters.

a)  A Colorado lawyer received a stayed nine-month suspension and probation for delivering an affidavit to a custody evaluator that contained information about a former client's volatile behavior.

b)  A DC lawyer consented to a 60-day suspension (30 days stayed) for divulging information of the client's unsuitability as a parent to the guardian ad litem in the matter.

(4)  1984 (Critic's Choice Award)

An Arizona lawyer received a reprimand and one year's probation for making vague assertions of systemic racial discrimination by the Arizona courts in his appellate pleadings.

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In this special episode of the podcast, we break with our usual format of introducing Ethy Award nominees to discuss the recent guilty verdicts for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.  In particular, Sean Carter explains in detail the crimes for which the defendants were convicted and why their lawyer's efforts to argue self-defense ultimately failed.

Moreover, Sean gives a preview of the federal hate crime trial against these same defendants in February.  Finally, he explains his (surprising) opposition to the prosecution of the former DA in this case for her failure to originally bring charges.

And for you legal ethics lovers, we have a special treat because this entire case came about as a result of an ethical lapse by a previous unknown Georgia criminal defense lawyer.

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In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees, including the first ever group nomination for an entire organization.

(1)  DOWNTOWN (Worst Love Scene)

A New Jersey lawyer was merely censured for graphically offering a divorce client oral sex at the conclusion of his representation in the matter.

(2)  CADDY SHACK (Judge Dredd)

A Tennessee lawyer was publicly reprimanded for his funny social media posts, which were deemed "neither dignified nor appropriate for a judge" by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.

(3)  PUBLIC ACCESS (Hitchcock Award)

A New Jersey lawyer working as a cop was reprimanded for running his daughter's plates and license in an effort to check up on her whereabouts and activities.

(4)  THE CRYING GAME (Archie Bunker Award)

An Illinois lawyer is suing the state disciplinary authority for its refusal to discipline lawyers who have engaged in acts of discrimination against her on the basis of her transgender status.

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In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four (4) new nominees, including a rare nominee from our neighbors in the north in Saskatchewan, Canada.

1)  NEVER LET ME GO (Archie Bunker Award)

An Ohio judge was given a stayed six-month suspension for sending inappropriate Facebook messages to a court reporter.

2)  THE RING (Pit Bull Award)

A Georgia lawyer received a reprimand for threatening to report an undocumented former client to ICE if she didn't immediately return his call about another matter.

3)  DADDY'S GIRL (Eager Beaver Award)

An inactive Kentucky lawyer was reprimanded for representing his daughter as her criminal defense lawyer after she was arrested for shoplifting.

4)  I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Worst Love Scene)

A Saskatchewan lawyer was suspended for six months (all but one month stayed) for improperly touching a client 10 years earlier.

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In this episode, we introduce our first Canadian nominee for an Ethy Award, as well as three (3) other potential "winners."

(1)  DON'T THINK TWICE (Comeback Kid Award)

A Canadian law graduate had his application to the Saskatchewan Law Society accepted, despite losing his teacher's credentials in 2015 for sexist and racists tweets.

(2)  CRISIS HOTLINE (Worst Love Scene)

A Michigan lawyer was disbarred after becoming romantically involved with a client and "borrowing" money from her settlements, despite his claim that he received approval to do so after calling the state bar's ethics hotline.

(3)  VACATION FRIENDS (Judge Dredd Award)

A Michigan judge was suspended for 180 days for not recusing himself in cases involving a lawyer who was a very close friend.

(4)  CONVICTION (Prosecutorial Misconduct)

A former Maryland prosecutor was disbarred for his refusal to turn over exculpatory evidence after gaining a conviction in the case years earlier.

In this episode, legal humorist Sean Carter announces the latest Ethy Awards nominees.

(1)  RAISING ARIZONA (Best Original Excuse)

Despite multiple domestic violence incidents, an Oklahoma lawyer was only suspended for two years.  His suspension was mitigated, in part, by a horrific childhood.

(2)  BURN AFTER READING (Pit Bull Award)

An Illinois lawyer was disbarred for attempting to extort $200,000 from his law firm employer as form of severance upon announcing his resignation from the firm.

(3)  SCHOOL TIES (Archie Bunker Award)

An Illinois lawyer was suspended for six months for engaging in anti-Semitic text rants as part of a dispute over her independent contractor fees.

(4)  2 GUNS (Worst Legal Strategy)

Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel is asking the state supreme court to indefinitely suspend the law license of the  lawyer who waved his automatic weapon at a group of peaceful BLM protestors marching through his neighborhood.

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(1)  HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (Outlawyer Award)

A New Jersey lawyer was censured after accidentally shooting her son when her gun misfired and then failing to get him immediate medical attention.

(2)  THE BIG MOUTH (Joan Rivers Award)

A Maine lawyer was reprimanded for informing the opposing party about his impending divorce before the client wife had a chance to do and had actually changed her mind, wanting to stay in the marriage and work things out.

(3)  GET HARD (David Copperfield Award)

A Colorado lawyer was disbarred for self-dealing and embezzling from a political action committee for which he served as the Treasurer.

(4)  SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Most Impaired in a Non-Legal Setting)

An Illinois lawyer was suspended for two years for continually violating an order of protection prohibiting him from contacting his ex-wife; often under the influence of alcohol.

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In this episode, Sean Carter introduces the next four (4) Ethy Award nominees and in the process, discusses the unusual criminal prosecution against the prosecutor who initially failed to prosecute the killers of Ahmaud Arbery.

(1)  DRIVE ME CRAZY (Most Impaired in a Non-Legal Setting)

A Massachusetts lawyer was publicly reprimanded following her conviction for vehicular homicide due to driving while distracted by her phone.

(2)  IMPEACHMENT (Most Creative Tale)

An Ohio lawyer was suspended for two years (one year stayed) for sleeping with two clients and then lying about it to his firm and bar counsel.

(3)  BABY MAMA (Joan Rivers Award)

A Florida lawyer was suspended for one year for impregnating his client and then using information learned in the representation in an attempt to gain majority custody of their love child.

(4)  VIGILANTE FORCE (Prosecutorial Misconduct)

A former Georgia prosecutor was indicted on two misdemeanor counts for her actions in failing to prosecute the vigilante killers of Ahmaud Arbery.

In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees for the 2022 Ethy Awards, including a nominee in a brand new category -- The Comeback Kid Award.

(1)  RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS (Worst Legal Strategy)

A Vermont lawyer was suspended for nine (9) months for failing to fully cooperate with a bar investigation.  She had been arrested for pulling a gun on a store employee after becoming incensed by the store's social distancing sign.  She attended the bar's Zoom hearing from the front seat of her car wearing a mask and pleading the fifth to every question asked.

(2)  SMOOTH TALK (Comeback Kid Award)

A former Pennsylvania DA used "smooth talk" to be reinstated after being suspended for a year for prosecutorial misconduct.

(3)  FREAKY FRIDAY (Worst Love Scene)

An ethics complaint has been filed against an Ohio lawyer who slept with her divorce client, who very shortly thereafter committed suicide.

(4)  CLASH OF THE TITANS (Least Competent in a Legal Setting)

A federal district court judge in Michigan has issued sanctions against Trump attorney Sidney Powell (and others) in connection with their efforts to "unleash the Kraken" to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In this week's episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees and even breaks with his usual comedic banter to discuss the very serious issue of domestic violence.

(1)  OFFICE SPACE (Ms/Mr Uncongeniality Award)

A New York lawyer was suspended for three months for making false allegations against her cube-mate (and the cube-mate's husband) as part of a bitter interoffice feud between the two employees.

(2)  TARZAN (Worst Temper in a Non-Legal Setting)

A Colorado lawyer was suspended for one year (with six months stayed) for breaking his wife's nose in an act of domestic violence.

(3)  ROYAL DECEIT (Best Use of Deceptive Legal Marketing)

A New Jersey lawyer was censured for deceptively marketing his solo legal practice as a "Law Group."

(4)  CROCODILE DUNDEE (Hitchcock Award)

A Massachusetts court lifted the interim suspension of a lawyer who was convicted of criminal neglect after his 69-year-old mother with dementia was found wandering the streets on six different occasions.