This Lawyer is a Disgrace
Today's paper has an article about a lawyer from Frederick County who has sued the state over an incident where he was arrested in the Court of Appeals building. According to this Baltimore Sun article, the regular bailiff was out, so he was replaced with a police officer from the state's Department of General Services. When the lawyer arrived at the courthouse, dressed in a slovely fashion, he was asked to show ID. He refused, and lied to the officer. He said he left his ID in the car, when it was actually in his pocket. He was then arrested. The charges were dismissed for lack of probable cause. Now the lawyer has sued for $700k for his "wrongful" arrest.
This is the same guy I wrote about here, when he rudely interrupted a trial judge, showed tremendous disrespect, and stormed out of a courtroom while the judge was hearing the case. In a wrongly decided opinion, the Court of Appeals let him off the hook because the judge made some procedural mistakes in handling the contempt ruling.
It looks like he didn't learn much. Perhaps he is correct that there is no legal requirement that you show ID when entering the Court of Appeals building. But a person entrusted with the privilege and responsibility of being a member of the Maryland Bar should know better than to handle it the way this guy apparently did. Just because you have the right to act like a jackass doesn't make it a good idea.
From the cop's perspective, what was going on? A man who was shabbily dressed and did not look (or apparently act) like a lawyer, was asked for ID and refused, and then proceeded to go upstairs where the judges' chambers (and the clerk) are located. I can understand why this would cause the officer concern. Maybe the officer had no legal right to arrest this guy. But the lawyer completely brought this on himself by his own actions.
Now this story is on the front page of the local paper. When I go to court for a jury trial, to represent a real person, who had something terrible happen to them, my jury is going to be getting their views about lawyers from stories like this.
That offends me. In my opinion, this lawyer is a discredit to the profession. I think he is exhibiting a pattern of behavior that brings shame on the profession and harms public confidence in the legal system. Whether what he has done is legal or not, at a minimum it is disrespectful and shows an alarming lack of judgment. Based on what I have read, I think this gentleman should be disbarred. This is not the sort of publicity lawyers and the legal profession need or want.
