The Second Circuit has adopted a formal policy to punish attorneys who fail to file appellate briefs in criminal cases, cause the dismissal of their clients’ appeals and then fail to respond to an order to show cause why they should not be disciplined.
Noting that “misconduct of this nature is ongoing,” Second Circuit Chief Judge Ralph K. Winter, along with Circuit Judges Amalya L. Kearse and Ellsworth Van Graafeiland, used disciplinary prodeedings against four attorneys to announce the series of escalating sanctions that make up the new policy.
