This
tale
of
attorney
discipline
is
one
part
tech
failure
and
one
part
petty
misogyny, and
none
of
it
is
a
good
look.
A
Michigan
appeals
court
upheld
the
criminal
contempt
finding
against
attorney
Marshall
Tauber,
decision
available
below,
for
comments
he
made
at
the
close
of
a
Zoom
hearing.
Judge
Yasmine
I.
Pole
ruled
against
Tauber’s
client,
and
at
the
close
of
the
Zoom
hearing
he
was
heard
saying:
“Judge
–
–
thank
you.
F******
c***.”
Yikes
town!
The
trial
court
described
the
incident
as
follows:
While
the
Court
is
on
the
record
with
the
Oakland
County
Jail
still
logged
into
the
record,
while
the
Court
in
its
immediate
sitting
and
view,
[appellant]
participated
in
willful
disregard
to
the
court’s
authority
by
rendering
a
gender-based
slur
to
the
Court,
the
word
which
does
not
–
–
it
does
not
fairly
roll
off
my
tongue
as
easily
as
it
does
[appellant’s]
–
–
was,
“f***
c.”
That
is,
wow.
Members
of
staff
are
also
in
the
courtroom
while
[Tauber’s
client],
who
the
Court
has
gone
back
to
review
this
video,
appears
himself
to
be
in
shock
that
the
Court
would
be
called
such
a
thing.
According
to
Tauber,
he
believed
he
was
no
longer
connected
to
the
Zoom
(he
was
attending
the
virtual
hearing
from
his
car,
and
the
screen
went
black
and
he
mistakenly
thought
he
was
disconnected).
During
the
contempt
hearing,
Tauber’s
attorney
said
he
was
“technologically
inept,”
and
did
not
intend
for
anyone
else
to
hear
the
slur.
But
the
appeals
court
said
just
because
this
happened
during
a
virtual
hearing
“does
not
preclude
a
finding
that
misconduct
or
insolent
behavior
by
an
attorney
constitutes
contempt.”
The
appellate
court
also
shot
down
the
argument
that
Tauber’s
action
weren’t
willful
because
they
were
uttered
in
frustration.
“But,
the
term
‘willful’
for
purposes
of
criminal
contempt
does
not
require
such
an
intention.
Rather,
the
willful
disregard
consists
of
a
statement
that
tends
to
impair
the
court’s
authority
or
impedes
its
functioning.”
The
court
continued,
“Demeaning
or
belittling
the
trial
court,
particularly
in
front
of
a
client,
erodes
the
public’s
confidence
in
the
judicial
system.”
Tauber
told
the
ABA
Journal
he
intends
to
appeal
the
decision
to
the
Michigan
Supreme
Court:
“When
your
activities
are
in
that
gray
area
of
the
ether
where
the
court
controls
when
you’re
off
the
so-called
air,
when
are
you
out
of
the
court?”
Tauber
says
in
an
ABA
Journal
interview.
“I
thought
I
was
out
of
the
court
when
I
said
thank
you,
your
honor.”Tauber
estimates
that
six
to
eight
seconds
elapsed
between
the
time
he
thanked
the
judge
and
when
he
made
the
remarks.“They
weren’t
directed
at
her,
they
weren’t
intended
to
be
insulting
to
her,
they
were
just
my
thought
at
that
moment,”
he
says.
“And
I
didn’t
think
I
was
in
the
courtroom.”
That
sure
doesn’t
read
like
the
airtight
defense
he
seems
to
think
it
is.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
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@Kathryn1 or
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@[email protected].