Arrest Warrant Issued For Minn. Lawyer Who Wrote Court Memo Calling Judges 'Bigoted Catholic Beasts'
A bankruptcy judge has ordered the arrest of a Minneapolis lawyer who slurred Catholics in court filings.
On Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher held a sanctions hearing and ordered the arrest of lawyer Naomi Isaacson, who is president of a group that filed for bankruptcy, report the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Associated Press. Dreher issued the arrest warrant because Isaacson failed to produce business records in the case.
Dreher also fined Isaacson and her lawyer, Rebekah Nett, $5,000 each for “beyond the pale” court pleadings, according to the Pioneer Press. Isaacson did not show up for the hearing.
Isaacson had written legal papers filled with Catholic slurs, including accusations that the courts are “composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry the sword of the church.” Nett had signed the papers.
Nett told Dreher she felt “caught in the crosshairs” between ethics requirements and her client’s demands for certain language in the pleadings, the Pioneer Press says. She said she tried to find a lawyer to replace her, but “no one will touch the case.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Catholic Rights Group Files Ethics Complaint Over Minn. Lawyer’s Religious Slurs in Court Filing”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Faces Possible Sanction for Signing Client Memo Calling Judges ‘Bigoted Catholic Beasts”
