Attorney's 'Groundless, Provocative, and Legally Meritless' Challenges to Judge's Integrity Lead to Indefinite Suspension
"What Marshall did not have the right to do was make serious, disparaging allegations impugning Judge Wechsler's integrity as a judicial officer without a factual basis," stated the opinion. "It was the groundless, provocative, and legally meritless quality of his allegations, not his filing of a motion to recuse, that we sanctioned."
March 15, 2023 at 04:35 PM
4 minute read
The New Mexico Supreme Court has issued an opinion in a disciplinary matter, clarifying the standard for determining whether an attorney has violated Rule 16-802(A) of the Rules of Professional Conduct by making several unfounded statements about the integrity of a judge presiding over a case to which the lawyer's clients were parties.
The attorney, Victor Marshall, has been indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for at least 18 months after he allegedly attacked the integrity and candor of Judge James J. Wechsler, in an appeals court pleading where Marshall claimed, among other things, that there were "disquieting rumors about Judge Wechsler in the New Mexico Legislature, prompting some legislators to ask whether or not the rumors could be substantiated," according to the opinion filed March 13.
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