This Senator is Not Getting Away with Openly Threatening Supreme Court: Judicial Watch Files Complaint

News Staff : Aug 26, 2019
Judicialwatch.org

In other words, if the US Supreme Court does not rule the way Senator Whitehouse and his clients prefer, they will use their power as Senators to restructure the Court.

(Washington, DC) — [Judicialwatch.org] Judicial Watch announced last week that it filed a complaint with the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee of the Rhode Island Supreme Court against US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who is a member of the Rhode Island bar, for filing an amicus curiae brief with the US Supreme Court on behalf of four clients while maintaining inactive status as a lawyer. In addition, Judicial Watch argues: "the brief Senator Whitehouse filed was unbecoming of the legal profession as it is nothing more than an attack on the federal judiciary and an open threat to the US Supreme Court." The complaint contains a copy of the Whitehouse brief. (Image: via Judicial Watch)

At issue in the Supreme Court case in which Senator Whitehouse submitted the brief (NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. City of New York (18-280) is whether New York City's ban on transporting a licensed, locked and unloaded handgun to a home or shooting range outside city limits is consistent with the Second Amendment, the commerce clause and the constitutional right to travel.

The Judicial Watch complaint [excerpt] reads as follows:

August 19, 2019

Dear Chair Madonna:

Judicial Watch files this unauthorized practice of law complaint against Rhode Island bar member U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse...

Besides practicing law without the proper authorization, Senator Whitehouse also violated the Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct by attacking the federal judiciary and openly threatening the US Supreme Court.

The brief concludes: The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it. Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it to be "restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics." Particularly on the urgent issue of gun control, a nation desperately needs it to heal.

In other words, if the US Supreme Court does not rule the way Senator Whitehouse and his clients prefer, they will use their power as Senators to restructure the Court.

Such a threat violates the spirit if not the letter of Rhode Island's Rules of Professional Conduct...

Attacking the federal judiciary and openly threatening the US Supreme Court is unbecoming for a member of the legal profession as well as a sitting US Senator. Senator Whitehouse's assertion, without basis, that the Court does not rule on the merits of cases but rather on partisan beliefs undermines confidence in the legal system. It is one thing for a politician to make such a claim on the campaign trail, it is another for a lawyer to make such a charge as part of a legal proceeding. In doing so, Senator Whitehouse has violated the rules of professional conduct.

The misconduct of Senator Whitehouse noted above appears obvious on its face. Senator Whitehouse either violated Rhode Island's or DC's rules, or both. Senator Whitehouse's filing of a brief on behalf of clients without an active law license anywhere in the country is inexcusable. Senator Whitehouse's attack on the federal judiciary and open threat to the US Supreme Court raises substantial questions about his character and fitness to practice law. His actions warrant a full investigation by the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee.

"Senator Whitehouse is violating basic legal ethics in threatening the Supreme Court while engaging in the unauthorized practice of law," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "He should be held accountable for these abuses"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Click here to read this press release in its entirety.