Trials & Litigation
Joke About Portly Prosecutor Proves Costly for NYC Lawyer
By Martha Neil
Nov 3, 2009, 06:51 pm CDT
A joke about a portly prosecutor elicited a warning from a New York City administrative law judge during a sexual harassment hearing.
But in response, defense attorney Raphael Scotto then dropped the F-bomb, says Judge Joan Salzman in a ruling last month that slaps the 62-year-old counsel with a $2,500 fine for this and other misconduct in court. It also says that Scotto crumpled a subpoena at one point and tossed it in a trash can, reports the New York Post.
"This dramatic use of the trash bin to signify his scorn would become a signature move for him," writes Salzman in the ruling.
Scott insists that the prosecutor was trying to annoy him, the tabloid newspaper recounts.