Another Selective Prosecution of Attorney Ethics Complaint

NY Lawyer Suspended for Conduct, False Accusations Against Judges in Suits Against Catholic Church
The New York Law Journal by Joel Stashenko - December 12, 2008

ALBANY - Attorney John A. Aretakis was suspended for one year yesterday by an Appellate Division, Third Department, panel for engaging in "undignified and discourteous conduct degrading to the court," much of it while handling cases alleging sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests. The panel unanimously upheld professional misconduct charges made by the Committee on Professional Standards. While frequently rebuked and fined by judges hearing his cases, the penalty levied by the court yesterday was the first public disciplinary action against Mr. Aretakis by a professional standards committee. "We find that this record clearly shows that respondent has repeatedly crossed the line separating zealous advocacy from professional misconduct," the court concluded in a per curiam ruling in Matter of Aretakis, D-73-08. "Accordingly, we conclude that, to protect the public, deter similar misconduct, and preserve the reputation of the bar, respondent should be suspended from practice for a period of one year."

Mr. Aretakis, who practices in Manhattan and Albany, said in an interview yesterday he will appeal. Last month, he also filed Aretakis v. Committee on Professional Standards, 1:08-vb-09712, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District, challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility as they are interpreted by the committee. He accused the court and the disciplinary committee yesterday of sanctioning him because of his attacks against the Roman Catholic Church on behalf of people allegedly abused by clergy. "I believe that this court is unfairly punishing me due to my zealous advocacy for victims of sexual abuse, primarily victims of Catholic priests who have sexually abused children," Mr. Aretakis said. "This country was founded on principles involving freedom of speech and the rights and duties of all citizens to criticize our institutions, politicians and public officials when we believe that wrongdoing has occurred." Mr. Aretakis, 48, contended that his practice is primarily in the First Department and that the Third Department was an improper forum for his disciplinary case. In its ruling, the five-member panel noted that "although his law office address is in New York City, he also practices in this Department," as defined under 22 NYCRR 806.1. Justices Robert S. Rose, John A. Lahtinen, Anthony T. Kane, E. Michael Kavanagh and Leslie E. Stein joined the ruling.

Frivolous Conduct

The court upheld two charges against Mr. Aretakis. One was a broad charge that he "engaged in frivolous conduct by making false accusations against judges"; "engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness as an attorney"; "knowingly made false statements of law and fact"; and "asserted positions which served to harass and maliciously injure."

The court said those charges were based on sanctions Mr. Aretakis has received in four other courts since 2005:

• In 2005, Acting County Court Judge Christian F. Hummel of Rensselaer County found Mr. Aretakis in contempt of court and fined him for making "reckless and unsubstantiated charges." In a recusal motion, Mr. Aretakis accused Judge Hummel of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to predetermine cases and other charges. Two years earlier, Judge Hummel dismissed Mr. Aretakis' suit against the public information chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, finding that the attorney had come close to committing contempt by charging that a conspiracy existed between local Catholic leaders and the judiciary in the Third Judicial District.

• In separate rulings in 2007 and 2008, Northern District Judge Gary L. Sharpe harshly criticized Mr. Aretakis for launching into a protracted attack on the diocese and its handling of sexual misconduct accusations against priests. Mr. Aretakis was representing a woman evicted from diocese-operated housing. Judge Sharpe ordered him to pay more than $16,000 to the diocese toward attorney's fees.

• In February 2007, Southern District Judge Paul A. Crotty fined Mr. Aretakis $8,000 for conduct that was "sloppy and unprofessional" in a priest sex abuse case in which the lawyer attempted unsuccessfully to show the Albany, New York and Newark, N.J., dioceses engaged in racketeering.

• In December 2007, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich found Mr. Aretakis' assertions in a defamation action were baseless and designed only to harass the defendants. She fined him $5,000. Mr. Aretakis said he has paid the sanctions in some cases and has withheld payment in others that are on appeal. The second charge upheld by the appellate panel yesterday said Mr. Aretakis made an "unwarranted, unprofessional and demeaning personal attack" in court papers against Paul Toomey, a town justice in Sand Lake, Rensselaer County. Mr. Aretakis said yesterday he had clashed with Mr. Toomey in criminal cases not involving the church.

The Third Department had granted Mr. Aretakis' request that the Nov. 18 oral arguments in his case be open to the public. Arguments in disciplinary cases are usually closed and papers sealed, but Mr. Aretakis has for years made public all the correspondence between the professional standards committee and himself. Mr. Aretakis acknowledged that he was admonished in October by the Committee on Professional Standards for other activities, including making an accusation in a 2003 speech in Albany to a group of Catholics that a priest was a pedophile. Admonishment is a private sanction. "They were building a file against me," Mr. Aretakis contended. "They admonished me in October and go after me in November and now this comes out just before Christmas. They're coming after me and they've been coming after me for a long time." The Third Department disciplinary committee makes findings that professional misconduct has been committed, but leaves it to the judges to set the punishment. The committee did not recommend sanctions against Mr. Aretakis, said Michael G. Gaynor, counsel to the committee. He declined further comment. Kenneth Goldfarb, a spokesman for the Albany diocese, declined to comment.