Font Size: 
Lawyer Reprimanded for 'Vulgar' Comments About Judges
The National Law Journal
July 09, 2007
The Michigan Supreme Court has reinstated a formal reprimand against attorney Geoffrey Fieger over "vulgar and crude" comments he made about three judges on a radio show several years ago.
In a 4-3 ruling, Michigan's high court held that Fieger's comments, which included calling the judges "jackasses" and likening them to Nazis, were not protected by the Constitution.
"We conclude that Mr. Fieger's vulgar and crude attacks on three members of our Court of Appeals were not constitutionally protected and that he is subject to professional discipline for having made them," Chief Justice Clifford Taylor wrote in the opinion issued last week.
The case stems from comments Fieger made during a 1999 radio show, during which he criticized the judges for overturning a $15 million verdict he had won.
Richard L. Steinberg, one of Fieger's lawyers, said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The opinion is morally bankrupt," Steinberg said. "It's a devastating blow to free speech rights in Michigan."
