Summary: A U.S. district judge is about fed up with the behavior from famed Drew Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky.
Attorney Joel Brodsky received a lot of attention from his controversial representation of convicted murderer Drew Peterson. His talent for being able to push the buttons of everyone still continues this day. A federal judge is just about done with his antics in the courtroom during a small time lawsuit regarding an auto dealer.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall is so fed up with his crazy accusations in the courtroom that she is ordering an entire day be spent to go over all the complaints about his conduct. In a stern warning to Brodsky and opposing counsel Peter Lubin, Kendall said, “I’m not going to permit my courtroom, ever, to be used a circus.”
The last straw came when Brodsky practically accused the witness of making up a son and accusing Lubin of running a “criminal enterprise.” Kendall explained, “It is my strong opinion that Mr. Brodsky has been overly aggressive in this case, that he’s not following the rules of professional conduct, and that he is filing a lot of motions to exacerbate the discovery process. And so it’s going to be a hearing primarily to determine whether sanctions should be applied to him.”
Brodsky is defending Saed and Mohammed Ihmoud of S&M Auto Brokers against allegations that the auto dealer knowingly sold a wrecked and rebuilt luxury Infiniti SUV. Brodsky accused Lubin of presenting an expert that lied about the condition of cars in other cases for the purpose of shaking down car dealers. He also accused the expert of threatening an elderly woman in another unrelated case then insinuated that the expert made up a son to use as an alibi.
Originally, Brodsky requested that the hearing be used to also determine if Lubin deserved any sanctions, but he then formally withdrew his allegations against Lubin. This is probably for the better since it is pretty clear that Brodsky is the one misbehaving. Kendall suggested to Lubin that he file sanctions against Brodsky after she heard an audiotape of a deposition where Brodsky repeated called Lubin a criminal. She said, “I have concerns about the level of acrimonious behavior on the part of the lawyers – primarily Mr. Brodsky. I mean, after reading everything and listening to everything, it looks like Mr. Lubin is defending himself 99 percent of the time, trying to maintain a level of decorum that is appropriate.”
Kendall also explained to the Ihmouds that the case was going to be very expensive for them, “So, you see, we’ve taken what is an odometer-fixing case and we’ve blown it into an enormous disciplinary matter.”
Brodsky tried to take back some of his comments like the one accusing the expert witness of inventing a son but Kendall explained to him that it was too late and didn’t matter. She then advised him to get his own lawyer.
Brodsky has been in trouble a few times before. In 2004, he was disciplined for forging a dead man’s signature in a probate case. His law license was suspended for three months. Brodsky was also referred by the judge in the Peterson trial to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. In 2013, Brodsky was removed from a case by a judge when he called the opposing counsel a “liar” and “moron.” Brodsky just laughs at his past conduct, noting that the attorney he called a “moron” was also removed from the case and “died of a rage-induced stroke, which tells you all you need to know.”
Do you think Brodsky is out of control? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about the Drew Peterson case, read these articles:
- Drew Peterson Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison
- Drew Peterson Convicted of Murdering Third Wife, Kathleen Savio
- Drew Peterson Removes Mistrial Request
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