Eric Deters Gets Body Slammed By Federal Judge Danny Reeves In His Suit Against Bar Association And Chief Justice John Minton.
Judge rejects Eric Deters' effort to halt discipline
By Jim Hannah
FRANKFORT – U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves denied lawyer and WLW radio personality Eric Deters’ request Friday for a preliminary injunction to stop the Kentucky Bar Association from moving forward with disciplinary proceedings against him.
Deters was given 20 days to file a pleading in federal court on why Reeves shouldn’t sanction him for filing the suit against the Kentucky Bar and Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. of Bowling Green, among others.
Reeves said Deters made misrepresentations to the court about the law. At one point during the hearing, Reeves looked at Deters and said a “first-year law student could have done better legal research” than what appeared to go into the suit. As Deters tried to defend his motion, Reeves interrupted him and said, “let me stop you for a second or you are going to ramble on and on.”
“This is the first time I have ever been to federal court in Frankfort,” Deters said after the hearing, “and it is the first time I have ever argued a motion in court against Judge Reeves. And I’ve heard Judge Reeves is harsh. And that is the biggest butt whipping that I’ve ever gotten from a judge.”
Deters said afterwards that he did not understand where Reeve’s “anger” came from.
“We have researched this,” Deters said. “We thought about it a great deal. If I didn’t think a great deal about filing this lawsuit when I had to name the chief justice of Kentucky you got something else going.”
Reeves said the federal judiciary had no legal authority to intervene in a state bar disciplinary proceeding. The judge said the bar association would be “injured” by the issuing of an injunction and the public interest would not be served.
Deters wanted Reeves to stop trial commissioner Frank Doheny from issuing a public recommendation on six disciplinary charges for allegedly violating the rules of professional conduct. The recommendation could be issued as early as next week and bring public light to what has otherwise been a secret disciplinary process.
“I am so frustrated that no one is giving me a remedy for a clear injustice,” Deters said of not being able to get a new trial commissioner to hear the state disciplinary charges against him. “In other words, it’s not personal to the defendants in this case.
“I have respect for Chief Justice Minton. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. I just respectfully believe, under the rules, he has to hear my request to recuse Doheny.”
Reeves also said Deters would have “zero luck” in trying to appeal the decision.
The judge said Deters’ motion lacked merit, and in many instances, was completely contradictory to case law.
Deters said he would make a decision by the end of next week whether to appeal the decision.
During the hearing, Reeves didn’t allow Deters to address a claim in the underlying suit – that is still pending – that his First Amendment right to free speech is being violated.
There is a professional conduct rule that states “a lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity” of another lawyer.
The bar association has charged Deters with violating that rule for calling Grant County Circuit Judge Stephen Bates an unfair judge on the radio.
By Jim Hannah
FRANKFORT – U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves denied lawyer and WLW radio personality Eric Deters’ request Friday for a preliminary injunction to stop the Kentucky Bar Association from moving forward with disciplinary proceedings against him.
Deters was given 20 days to file a pleading in federal court on why Reeves shouldn’t sanction him for filing the suit against the Kentucky Bar and Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. of Bowling Green, among others.
Reeves said Deters made misrepresentations to the court about the law. At one point during the hearing, Reeves looked at Deters and said a “first-year law student could have done better legal research” than what appeared to go into the suit. As Deters tried to defend his motion, Reeves interrupted him and said, “let me stop you for a second or you are going to ramble on and on.”
“This is the first time I have ever been to federal court in Frankfort,” Deters said after the hearing, “and it is the first time I have ever argued a motion in court against Judge Reeves. And I’ve heard Judge Reeves is harsh. And that is the biggest butt whipping that I’ve ever gotten from a judge.”
Deters said afterwards that he did not understand where Reeve’s “anger” came from.
“We have researched this,” Deters said. “We thought about it a great deal. If I didn’t think a great deal about filing this lawsuit when I had to name the chief justice of Kentucky you got something else going.”
Reeves said the federal judiciary had no legal authority to intervene in a state bar disciplinary proceeding. The judge said the bar association would be “injured” by the issuing of an injunction and the public interest would not be served.
Deters wanted Reeves to stop trial commissioner Frank Doheny from issuing a public recommendation on six disciplinary charges for allegedly violating the rules of professional conduct. The recommendation could be issued as early as next week and bring public light to what has otherwise been a secret disciplinary process.
“I am so frustrated that no one is giving me a remedy for a clear injustice,” Deters said of not being able to get a new trial commissioner to hear the state disciplinary charges against him. “In other words, it’s not personal to the defendants in this case.
“I have respect for Chief Justice Minton. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. I just respectfully believe, under the rules, he has to hear my request to recuse Doheny.”
Reeves also said Deters would have “zero luck” in trying to appeal the decision.
The judge said Deters’ motion lacked merit, and in many instances, was completely contradictory to case law.
Deters said he would make a decision by the end of next week whether to appeal the decision.
During the hearing, Reeves didn’t allow Deters to address a claim in the underlying suit – that is still pending – that his First Amendment right to free speech is being violated.
There is a professional conduct rule that states “a lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity” of another lawyer.
The bar association has charged Deters with violating that rule for calling Grant County Circuit Judge Stephen Bates an unfair judge on the radio.
Labels: Justice
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 10:16 PM
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