Ok, so in February of 2015 NYS Chief Judge Lippman established Statewide Commission for Attorney Discipline to allegedly review issues of lack of uniformity and fairness in attorney disciplinary proceedings in New York.
At the same time, Judge Lippman did not notify the federal court where he was making arguments that lack of uniformity is not a constitutional issue, in Neroni v Zayas case, and continues to aggressively oppose Mr. Neroni's appeal, which opposition has become frivolous because of Judge Lippman's changed position and appointment of the Commission.
The same refers to NYS Senate that is reviewing a bill S24 to end selective non enforcement of attorney discipline in New York against criminal prosecutors involved in misconduct and wrongful convictions by trying to establish a separate Commission addressing, specifically, prosecutorial misconduct, while the existing attorney disciplinary committees do nothing to prosecute prosecutors (including themselves, for their own misconduct). NYS Senate did not notify the court in Neroni v Zayas of its changed position and continues to oppose the same statements from Mr. Neroni that they use to support Bill S24.
At the same time, Monica Duffy, the Commission member, Chief Counsel of the NYS Appellate Division 3rd Department's Professional Conduct Committee (Attorney Grievance Committee), member of the Statewide Commission for Attorney Discipline and defendant/appellee in Neroni v Zayas case failed to notify the court of her changed position in participation in the Commission while continuing to oppose the same issues that Mr. Neroni raises that the Commission must explore and resolve.
The same applies to the Third Department court whose deputy clerk is on the Statewide Commission, similarly without any disclosures of the change of position to the Neroni v Zayas courts - district court or appellate court.
Says a lot about integrity of these folks, doesn't it?
But, member of the Commission Peter Skelos outdid them all.
In March Peter Skelos was appointed by Lippman to the Statewide Commission.
In May Peter Skelos' brother Dean Skelos, former New York State Senate Majority leader was arrested by the feds on charges of corruption and using his public position for personal gain, for himself and his son.
After his arrest and resignation from NYS Senate, on May 11, 2015, John Flanagan became NYS Senate Majority leader, while also having similar issues of using his public position as a senator for public gains were raised in the press based on Flanagan's activities as an attorney parallel to his position as a Senator.
On June 3, 2015, Peter Skelos, as part of a panel of 5 judges of the NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2nd Judicial Department, makes a decision denying reinstatement to disbarred attorney Joel R. Brandes, based on Mr. Brandes' provision of paralegal and law expert services to attorneys and expanding, by judicial interpretation, the scope of two criminal statutes, which Peter Skelos had no authority to do.
The decision makes all attorneys, not only attorneys facing suspension or disbarment (which is very easy to arrange in retaliation for criticism of any governmental misconduct because of loose and arbitrary rules and even more arbitrary enforcement of those rules) think twice before criticizing the judiciary, because in case of license revocation, they are now stripped by Skelos's decision of any possibility of earning a livelihood, even where it does not constitute the practice of law (as two judges said in other cases, Kevin Dowd in Delaware County Supreme Court, Mokay v Mokay and Lawrence Kahn in Neroni v Zayas in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York).
After arranging for this intimidation of the legal profession, Peter Skelos announced that he is retiring early (at 59, 11 years before mandatory retirement) to make use of a "wonderful opportunity" to return to legal practice.
The "wonderful opportunity" came, and I am not making this up, in joining the law firm of John Flanagan, the successor of Peter Skelos's brother Dean Skelos on the post of NYS Senate Majority leader in his law firm. John Flanagan, reportedly, for years derived income as a lawyer from decisions of senate where he was a senator.
Before joining Flanagan's "former" firm (Flanagan quickly retired before taking the majority leader seat, even though worked for that firm while he was a "mere" Senator), Peter Skelos made sure that attorneys are even more intimidated, through his decision in Matter of Brandes, against speaking about judicial corruption.
After the intimidating order was properly in place, the Commission where Peter Skelos is a member issued invitations for oral testimony to predominantly attorneys (11 out of 16 witnesses in the NYC public hearing were attorneys and only 1 out of 16 not related to the legal profession in any way - not an attorney, not a wife/daughter of an attorney, not a suspended attorney etc.), who as witnesses were by that time useless.
Licensed attorneys were also called to testify first-in-order in the three public hearings before the Commission in Albany, Buffalo and New York City.
None of them raised the issue that were the practice of law is not defined, there is nothing to regulate or prosecute for UPL, and that the issue of attorney discipline is a non-issue where what constitutes the practice of law is not defined by the law. NONE of them raised this issue.
The Matter of Brandes worked well. All the attorney witnesses said to the Commission, among some luke warm criticism of some minor issues, was that they are very happy to be invited to testify before such a distinguished panel.
No surprises as to integrity of the people calling themselves "the Honorables".
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