New York Court Suspends Rudy Giuliani's Law License

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

In New York City, New York, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from practicing law this past Thursday because of statements made during Donald Trump's loss in the presidential race.

For example, he was trying to get the courts to overturn Trump's loss, and this triggered a series of events that lead to this situation. If you're really curious, you can read the full 33-page report from the New York State Unified Court System website.

According to the video below, he has to be super careful with how he words things, especially as a (former) lawyer:

An attorney disciplinary committee has asked the court to suspend Giuliani’s license on the grounds of professional conduct violations. Reportedly, he had promoted theories that the election was riddled with fraud.

The court agreed with this decision and determined an immediate suspension should be in order. However, the disciplinary proceedings are not yet complete. This is because they have determined that there is an "immediate threat" to the public. Thus, the immediate suspension overrode the typical proceedings process.

According to the report, the court had reportedly stated:

“The seriousness of respondent’s uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated. This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president, Joseph R. Biden.”

Donald Trump felt that this suspension was a "witch hunt". Meanwhile, Giuliani reported that it was a "disgrace" on his afternoon radio show. Giuliani thought this was all hearsay.

Reportedly, on his radio show, he had stated:

“The bar association should give me an award. I defended an unpopular client. I’ve been threatened with death. I’ve had a good deal of my income taken away. I’ve lost friends over it.”

The court determined that since Giuliani was Trump's lawyer, he had communicated statements that were seen as misleading and false that affected the public, lawmakers, policymakers, and the courts. As mentioned earlier, lawyers have to be super careful with how they word things.

The court rejected Giuliani's comments:

“False statements intended to foment a loss of confidence in our elections and resulting loss of confidence in government generally damage the proper functioning of a free society."

Usually, the precursor of disbarment is interim suspensions. However, these are often tied to lawyers who are convicted of a crime, so it's not commonly done. Even so, Giuliani may be able to fight the suspension, call witnesses, and many more. If he does this, it may take several more months. In some cases, a person could get reinstated.

This ruling has massive implications: he will not be able to represent clients as a lawyer. However, before pleading with Trump's case, he has not appeared in court since 1992.

Giuliani will still be able to lobby for Trump and do security consulting, but cannot practice law in places beyond New York State. Plus, he will have to tell other states about this suspension.

Up until now, he was one of the primary drivers for Trump's claims of election fraud after the famous 2020 vote, especially when standing outside the Four Seasons Total Landscaping lot in Philadelphia. This lead to the series of events of January 6, where the U.S. Capitol was stormed in.

Since then, things have gotten pretty dire.

Plus, back in April, federal agents did raid Giuliani's home and took away electronic devices such as phones and computers. Giuliani maintains his innocence but may face further consequences or complications in the legal system.

As for the people of New York, New York, and for those across America, I'm sure the news of this situation has gotten many people thinking, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you are on.

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