LYING LAWYER DISCIPLINED (AND HE WASN'T EVEN UNDER OATH)

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Bronx injury lawyer)

Matter of Christopher L. Musmanno

When a lawyer is admitted to practice law in other states in addition to New York, an imposition of professional discipline by that other state will also lead New York State to consider if the lawyer's conduct deserves some kind of professional discipline by New York; this is called reciprocal discipline.  The purpose is to protect the public from being hurt by its attorneys.

This lawyer's trouble arose out of trying to beat a traffic ticket in New Jersey. After being stopped for an illegal left turn, he told the police officer that he worked for the Union County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office and showed him an i.d. card issued by the Union County Sheriff's Office.

The Court's decision here doesn't indicate what the i.d. card was for or why Musmanno had it. Suffice it to say Musmanno eventually admitted to the officer that he lied about working for the Union County Prosecutor. He was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice. Musmanno eventually pled guilty to disorderly conduct.

So, "no harm no foul," right? No one was hurt. No one injured. No money stolen. And this attorney should have learned his lesson. Here this story should end, with Musmanno receiving some mild form of attorney discipline that would be private and not public. These things happen all the time, and in minor cases, we never hear about them.

One of my favorite comedians utters one of my favorite lines, which is:  "You can't fix stupid." Musmanno then lies again, this time to the New Jersey lawyer discipline authorities (called the Office of Attorney Ethics). He tells them that the charges against him were "dismissed," but we know that he really pled guilty to disorderly conduct, which should not be a big deal - except that he lied about it.

So now Musmanno has twice lied. True, he didn't commit perjury (lying under oath). Also, he didn't steal anything or hurt any of his clients. But attorneys are held to a higher standard. Or at least we're supposed to be.

On December 3, 2009 the New Jersey Supreme Court censured Musmanno - this means he was slapped on the wrist and told not to do this again - finding that what he did "adversely reflects on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness and fitness as a lawyer." And based on all of this, New York's disciplinary authorities gave Musmanno the same punishment: public censure. And thus ends a story that never should have begun.