Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

Brady Center's Attorneys Withdraw from Case Under Cloud of Ethical Lapses

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Brady Center's Attorneys Withdraw from Case Under Cloud of Ethical Lapses

Earlier this week, the Brady Center's Legal Action Project attorneys Jonathan Lowy and Alla Lefkowitz withdrew from a Wisconsin lawsuit after inadmissible evidence was published on Brady’s website in violation of Wisconsin’s rules of professional conduct concerning trial publicity.

According to an article on the Journal Sentinel's website, Milwaukee County Judge Jeffrey Conen may have given Lowy and Lefkowitz the benefit of the doubt when he said, “I don't how things are practiced in Washington, D.C., or New York or anywhere else, but out here in the Midwest we have certain rules.”  Judge Conen’s reference to Washington, D.C. and New York was likely due to those being the jurisdictions of Lowy’s and Lefkowitz’s bar membership, respectively. 

While it wasn’t unreasonable for Judge Conen to suppose that the Brady attorneys may have been unfamiliar with Wisconsin legal ethics and rules of conduct, all attorneys are charged with understanding ethical rules in the jurisdiction in which they’re licensed. In this case, the Wisconsin rules Lowy and Lefkowitz transgressed mirror similar rules in their own states of licensure, rules with which they are presumably familiar. 

"I don't how things are practiced in Washington, D.C., or New York or anywhere else, but out here in the Midwest we have certain rules." - Milwaukee County Judge Jeffrey Conen

Wisconsin's rule concerning trial publicity in part provides that “[a] lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter.”  This rule is identical to the American Bar Association’s model rule of professional conduct on the same topic: Rule 3.6.  To clear up any potential ambiguity, both the Wisconsin rule and the ABA model rule specifically mention publication of inadmissible evidence as a potential grounds for violation of the rules.  Both New York and Washington, D.C. have substantially similar rules concerning trial publicity.

The Brady attorneys’ behavior is typical of a general apathy shared by many anti-gun activists toward legal rules or principles they find objectionable or inconvenient.  In fact, the Wisconsin case that the Brady attorneys withdrew from is an attempt to punish a Federal Firearms Licensee for the criminal acts of a third party, which is exactly the type of case that Congress meant to stop through passage of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act ("PLCAA"). 

The PLCAA was itself a response to anti-gun litigators' attempts to get courts to break a centuries old common law tort rule that prevented holding an individual liable for the criminal acts of a third party.  While often portrayed as a special interest immunity to protect the gun industry, the PLCAA did nothing more than ensure even application of this common law rule throughout the United States. This in turn protects firearms dealers, manufacturers and importers, many of which businesses could be forced to close by the mere threat of costly litigation, from frivolous lawsuits brought by unscrupulous anti-gun litigators who put their hatred of guns above their oaths to uphold the law. 

Unfortunately, the withdrawal of Brady’s attorneys does not necessarily signal the end of the suit … or the end of Brady's freewheeling anti-gun tactics.

TRENDING NOW
Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

Honest people can disagree with the Founders’ decision to enshrine the Second Amendment within the Bill of Rights. They cannot, however, pretend that decision never happened. For much of the 20th Century, however, gun control activists ...

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

News  

Monday, October 16, 2023

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

Following an unprecedented terrorist attack on civilians that indiscriminately targeted even the elderly, women, and children, Israel has loosened its gun laws and is distributing firearms to civilians. As of press time, the number of victims killed in ...

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License (“HQL”) requirement is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. 

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

News  

Monday, November 13, 2023

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

At this point, gun owners and other productive Americans don’t anticipate much good news out of Chicago. On November 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit lived up to those expectations when it upheld Illinois’ ...

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

In Virginia, the pre-filing of legislation has begun for the 2024 session and anti-gun legislators are wasting no time in aggressively laying out their agenda. 

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

When the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its decision last year in the landmark New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, anti-gun extremist organizations had a collective conniption ...

Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Friday, December 1, 2023

Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Joe Biden has long insisted he would ban what he calls “assault weapons” and has enlisted a motley succession of extreme anti-gun legislators to aid in that effort. Now, Senators Angus King (IND-ME) and Martin ...

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

Take Action  

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Kearney City Council voted 3-2 to rescind the recent gun-free zone ordinance Resolution 2023-149. 

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Hunting  

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Tomorrow, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will be holding a hearing on a number of hunting-related bills, including bills pertaining to Sunday Hunting. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.