EDITOR, The Tribune

THE recent decision by the President of the Court of Appeals to hold clients liable for the conduct of their attorneys in the Supreme Court is troubling and brings the sagacity of that decision into question.

Clients retain the services of lawyers to help them navigate the intricacies and complexities of the legal system. Many times clients do not even understand what is happening in the court nor do they control how the lawyer chooses to respond in real time to witnesses or lawyers from the other side. There are basic rules of decorum in every setting and lawyers, not their clients, are expected to be acquainted with those rules. If a lawyers misbehavior questions the integrity of the court or behaves so improperly that a mistrial occurs, the court should punish the offending lawyer. This is not unreasonable, since the presiding judge would have warned that lawyer about their behavior more than once! At the end of the day personal responsibility is the key issue.

If a lawyer is asked by a client to act in a way that would bring dishonor to the lawyer or the court, that lawyer should have the presence of mind to refuse that request, and likewise if a client and or judge asks a lawyer to behave himself and he doesn’t the he alone should bear the punishment. This just seems reasonable to me!

JB

Nassau

January 22, 2019