New York lawyer accused of calling in bomb threat to avoid sanctions hearing
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A lawyer in Syracuse, New York, is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4 to enter a plea to allegations that she phoned in a bomb threat to avoid a hearing on an opposing lawyer’s request for sanctions against her.
Jacqueline B. Jones was charged in May with third-degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, Syracuse.com reports. The maximum penalty is a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.
Court records accuse Jones of calling in the bomb threat to a daycare center in the federal courthouse in February 2015 on the day of the sanctions hearing, the article reports. An opposing lawyer was seeking a sanction against Jones for failing to obey a court order to produce evidence in a civil case.
A federal magistrate judge denied the sanction request.
Jones’ lawyer, Edward Menkin, said she is “deeply remorseful and embarrassed” and she had written a letter of apology to the magistrate judge.
Menkin said stress “can cause a disruption of judgment in anyone,” and Jones had been in a very stressful situation.
“She’s paid a terrible price,” he said.
