My Friend Marcus Carey Says "[Eric Deters] Lawsuit Could Expose Ugly Underbelly Of Kentucky Judicial System". I AGREE.

Lawsuit Could Expose Ugly Underbelly Of Kentucky Judicial System

Eric Deters gets tons of attention. He is a loud talker on WLW radio, he is an "in your face" lawyer and he sues at the drop of a hat. Now, after fighting for years to defend himself against a series of complaints over allegedly unethical behavior, Deters is suing the Kentucky Bar Association in federal court.

According to a newspaper article this morning, Deters is asking Federal District Judge Danny Reeves to enjoin the KBA from finalizing a disciplinary action prosecuted against him. According to the report, the disciplinary action stems from an on-the-air criticism Deters leveled at Circuit Judge Stephen Bates. While the actual complaint and all proceedings up to the recommendation of the hearing officer are handled as confidential matters by the KBA, Deters lawsuit opens the door into an examination of the entire process.

Deters complains that one of the decision makers at the KBA works for the same firm that represented one of the people who filed a complaint, and that fairness required that person to step aside. This might seem a minor point, but the every litigant, including lawyers, deserve fair and impartial decision makers. And that is where the real ugly stuff starts.

Deters is reported to have broadcast some very harsh criticism of Judge Stephen Bates of Grant County, who had ruled against Deters in a case he was prosecuting. According to a number of reports, some of that criticism suggested that the judge was acting "unethically".

At issue in Deters lawsuit is nothing less than The First Amendment. According to the rules of the Kentucky Bar Association, lawyers are severely muzzled when it comes to criticizing a sitting judge. While propriety and respect are hallmarks of the legal profession and the Bar Association, which is an arm of the Supreme Court, has an interest in securing for the entire system a healthy respect among the public, Deters suit raises a very interesting question: Why should lawyers not have the same rights as ordinary citizens to speak their minds?

If Deters accusations were false, malicious or defamatory, then just as any other ordinary citizen there are and should be penalties for such speech. But, included in the larger context of Deters suit is the question whether lawyers can be constitutionally prohibited from criticizing judges.

Since the current set of bar association rules, and the decisions interpreting them, have been handed down by the very judges which the rules are written to protect, Deters suit has the potential to expose much more than the allegations of the complaints filed against him. It sounds like his suit could raise the question whether those whose oath requires them to defend the constitution are ignoring it in order to benefit themselves.


Editor's comment: Thoughtful piece, Marcus.

It remains to be seen whether the "lawsuit could expose [the] ugly underbelly of Kentucky judicial system" or whether Eric Deters might as well be "whistling dixie"!