New York allows to criminally prosecute parties and attorneys for objections criticising the court

I already wrote on this blog that my law license was suspended for 2 years for making motions to recuse on behalf of my clients required by the circumstances and my duty to my clients as an attorney.

Of course, such a suspension is a violation of my 1st and 14th Amendment rights, guaranteed to me as an attorney by federal and New York law, and allowing me to do my duty to my clients unimpaired by fear of repercussions or actual repercussions, especially punishments as severe as loss of my livelihood.

Yet, it could have been worse than that for me in New York's
lawless courts.

Had I made those same arguments that I made in written motions to recuse (without hearings that the challenged judge denied me) in the physical presence of that judge, during a hearing, I could have been locked up for a year, and be slapped with a criminal record.

Penal Law 215.50(1) provides: 

 "A  person  is guilty of criminal contempt in 

  the second degree when he
  engages in any of the following conduct:

1. Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent  behavior, 

   committed  during the  sitting of a court, 

   in its immediate view and presence and directly
  tending to interrupt its proceedings or to impair 

  the respect due to its authority".

Talking about vague statutes violating 1st Amendment.

The government does not have an inherent right to 

"respect to its authority", respect has to be earned.

Attorneys and parties have a right to impartial judicial

review guaranteed to them by the Due Process Clause 

of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

To enforce that right, attorneys and parties must 

have a right to be able to challenge judicial 

misconduct or appearance of impropriety without 

the fear of punishment for that.

Such rights of human rights defenders are also 

guaranteed by a Treaty that the U.S. is part of, 

the International Convention for Civil and Political 

Rights, which is made part of the U.S. Constitution 

through its Supremacy Clause, Article IV, Section 2.

A definition of contempt as "contemptuous" behavior

is a tautology and no definition at all.

It is also clear that what is "disorderly", "contemptous"

and "insolent" behavior is not clearly defined and

is subject to subjective interpretation by cranky

judges, objects of criticism.

It is also clear that this criminal statute allows a

judge to lock up for a year a pro se party or 

an attorney who dared to criticize the judge, and thus

"impair respect due" to the judge's authority.

So, I guess that "only" having my law license stripped

for criticism of a corrupt judge, under the 

circumstances, is a gift.

I could be locked up away from you, my dear readers, for 

a year.

Small blessings, so they say?

Imagine Judge Becker forgetting himself so much as 

to give me my requested hearing on the motions to recuse!

The horror!

That right could have turned into my demise, based

on the same arguments I made in my motion to recuse

in writing.

So, when you are asking for a motion hearing on a 

motion to recuse in New York, ladies and gentlemen, 

think first whether you are asking for a year

in jail for yourself.

And, don't be surprised when your attorney, retained

or assigned, refuses to make oral motions to recuse

a judge involved in an appearance of impropriety or

misconduct, "during the  sitting of a court,  

in its immediate view and presence".

Your attorney may very simply value his or her

freedom too much to sacrifice it for you.

Penal Law 215.50(1) made sure of that.