Patterico's Pontifications

1/4/2011

Stephen Yagman Disbarred

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:52 pm



It’s been a long time coming, but the magic moment is here:

The California Bar Journal explains:

Controversial civil rights attorney STEPHEN G. YAGMAN [#69737], known for his longtime crusade against police brutality, was summarily disbarred Dec. 22, 2010. Yagman, 66, had been on interim suspension since Aug. 23, 2007, following federal convictions of one count each for tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud and 17 counts of money laundering. The State Bar Court’s review department found that because bankruptcy fraud is both a felony and involves moral turpitude, it meets the criteria for summary disbarment. It rejected Yagman’s argument that the crime does not constitute moral turpitude.

. . . .

Prosecutors denied that Yagman was targeted for his civil rights battles and Judge Stephen V. Wilson, who presided over the 2007 trial, said he became convinced of Yagman’s guilt and “the jury was right.” Wilson called Yagman’s testimony “transparently untrue in so many areas.”

An appeals court upheld the conviction.

When we last checked in with Yagman, partisan hack Erwin Chemerinsky was fighting for Yagman’s license. Chemerinsky is from the Reinhardt/Pregerson school of legal thought, where principles and logic don’t count, and sneering liberal self-righteousness is central. But even Erwin couldn’t manage to convince the State Bar that Yagman’s license should survive convictions of numerous felonies in which the government proved intent to defraud beyond a reasonable doubt. The State Bar’s short decision is here (.pdf).

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.

Putz.

18 Responses to “Stephen Yagman Disbarred”

  1. Now THAT is cause for celebration.

    CStudent (58188d)

  2. Admirable restraint.

    Kevin M (298030)

  3. The ground squirrels and mice all seem happy today.
    The butterflies frolic; the hummingbirds play.
    A mockingbird sits there composing a dirge,
    ‘Til he finally yields to his scavenger urge.

    The robins and sparrows all join in the feast,
    In their joyous relief that the terror has ceased.
    And the birds dance around you, not sad in the least,
    Like the Munchkins danced over the Witch of the East.

    – Bob Kanefsky, Nobody’s Moggy Lands

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  4. You can only wonder why it took so long?

    AD-RtR/OS! (48b84c)

  5. Gee Mr. Frey, why don’t you say what you really think about Mr. Chermerinsky, Mr. Yagman and Judges Reinhardt and Pregerson? Why did you hold back?

    Just pulling your chain. These folks, each and every one of them, deserve a lot worse than what you’ve said. They all suffer from the disease that if the end is just (in their eyes) then the means doesn’t matter. Morality and logic are for “the little folk”. Well that thought pattern led to a felony conviction and disbarment for Yagman.

    Mike Myers (0e06a9)

  6. Be assured, Mike, that Patterico is far from the only one who has a poor opinion of Chemerinsky.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  7. Question: what is your opinion of Yagman’s participation in the case against Lon Horiuchi in Boundary County, Idaho?

    Second question: what is your opinion of that case that was brought against Lon Horiuchi?

    Third question: does anyone know the involvement, if any, between the claim of immunity by Lon Horiuchi as his defense, and (at the time) Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder?

    Brad (28313e)

  8. Brad, why do you think Patterico wants to address those silly questions?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  9. I should be ashamed of myself, but Schadenfreude is such a sweet pleasure.

    Bar Sinister (4d83c8)

  10. ” felony and involves moral turpitude”

    I must be missing something but is it not axiomatic that a felony is an act of moral turpitude? Is there such a thing as a felony that does not invovle moral turpitude? One would think that any lawyer, an officer of the court, who upon conviction of a felony would automaticaly be disbarred.

    cubanbob (acdfd7)

  11. How can Yagman be guilty of Moral Turpitude?
    Doesn’t that require one to have morals first?

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  12. cubanbob, actually it is not axiomatic but unfortunately I have not looked at the California definition in some time. For what its worth, the definition of what crimes are “moral turpitude” with respect to offenses vary depending on the context, civil litigation ( impeachment of a witness ), attorney discipline, immigration, etc.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  13. Of course, the extreme cynic would wonder how any attorney could be guilty of moral turpitude.
    Just sayin’!

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  14. SPQR, why do you think my questions are silly?

    Brad (28313e)

  15. Gee too bad! I was hoping to hire myself a well respected attorney like Mr. stephen wagman but unfortunately I hear that he is no longer practicing. SO LONG SUCKER !!!

    trublue (15c23a)

  16. As much as I dislike Yagman for his grand standing in police abuse cases, he does have at least one positive characteristic. He represented the State of Idaho as Special Prosecutor in the case against the FBI Agent who shot and killed Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. He not only won the case on appeal, the appellate court agreed that federal police agents could be prosecuted in state courts for wrongful doing.

    Michael J. Davis (9d1bb3)

  17. Sure, he was a half jew jerk from New York. However, his lawsuits won settlements. I’m sure there are a lot of officers who will think twice before violating someone’s civil rights.

    I. Have Rights (e1317c)

  18. Or before defending someone’s life, even their own. In situations where thinking twice may be once too many.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0794 secs.