Community List — Youngbloods, Elders, Friends And Colleagues:
One of the greatest lawyers I have ever seen and one of the greatest champions of Black Liberation of our time has asked lawyers and members of the public to come to court on Friday, August 8th at 10 a.m. when Alton Maddox will argue before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in his appeal his suspension in an attorney disciplinary proceeding fifteen years ago.
Alton’s supporters are asking supporters to arrive at the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in lower Manhattan by 9:30 a.m. because of the delays going through the metal detectors. In a move, the Second Circuit has only given Alton five minutes to argue his appeal, so it is important to be on time. Reinstating Alton Maddox.
The racist nature of Alton’s unjust indefinite suspension is illustrated by the fact that attorneys who are disbarred for committing felonies and sent to prison, such are former Chief Judge Sol Wachtler, are frequently reinstated within a few years of their disbarment. Alton has now been suspended for fifteen years an dunder the terms of his indefinite suspension he cannot appeal for reinstatement unless he agrees to testify at a closed hearing before the disciplinary committee. This is a unique penalty fashioned to keep a unique attorney from ever practicing law again.
Alton was suspended indefinitely at the instigation of Attorney General Robert Abrams and Governor Mario Cuomo after he and his co-counsel, C. Vernon Mason, repeatedly embarrassed the Governor by calling for special prosecutors in cases where local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies failed to punish perpetrators of racist violence. After one of Alton’s clients, Glenda Brawley, refused to testify before a grand jury seeking to indict Mrs. Brawley’s daughter and her lawyers, Mr. Maddox was suspended indefinitely for refusing to testify at a closed session of a disciplinary committee concerning confidnetial advice he had allegedly given to his client. Mr. Maddox demanded a public hearing and declared that his clients should not have to guess whether their attorney revealed their confidences testifying before a secret tribunal.
Ironically, New York State permits attorney disciplinary proceedings to be closed in order to protect the reputations of accused attorneys. Prior to the case against Mr. Maddox, an accused attorney was presumed to have the right to waive confidentiality and have an open hearing. However, when Alton Maddox demanded an open hearing the Appellate Division ruled that the disciplinary committee had the authority to impose a closed hearing over the objection of the accused attorney. The rationale used by the appellate division was that the disciplinary committee could hold a closed hearing if an open proceeding would be disrup the disciplinary committee’s work.
The dishonesty of this rationale was exposed when Mr. Maddox finally had a public hearing before a referee in 1992. The hearing lasted several weeks (the referee heard testimony one day a week). Every day of the hearing the largest ceremonial courtroom in Kings County Supreme Court was filled with hundreds of Black people while hundreds more lined up waiting patiently outside the court for hours. THERE WAS NO DISRUPTION AND NO DISTURBANCE! Thus the strength and dignity of Alton Maddox and his supporters completely exposed the dishonest rationale of the disciplinary committee which claimed that it could not conduct a disciplinary hearing if Black people were permitted into the courtroom.
The essence of the disciplinary probe into Alton Maddox is the supposition that he did something improper when he advised Glenda Brawley and she subsequently defied a subpoena to testify before a grand jury (a misdemeanor offense) and instead took refuge in a Black church and dared the police to come and arrest her. By advising a client who subsequently decided to commit civil disobedience, Alton did not break any law or standard of professional conduct. Indeed, like many members of the National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee, I personally advised hundreds of clients who committed civil disobedience after speaking with me. No one has ever called a white attorney who gave advice to demonstrators before a disciplinary committee for allegedly giving improper advice to our clients.
Alton has been put out of circulation because he is a fearless, incorruptible and effective advocate for Black Liberation who enraged the former governor and attorney general when he effectively exposed the inability of New York’s criminal justice system to deliver justice in cases of racial violence. He won cases that most of us thought were hopeless. We need him back practicing law, now more than ever.
Those of us who consider ourselves to be progressive white lawyers have a special duty to be in court for Alton on August 8th because we failed to support him in 1992. I was both proud and ashamed that during Alton’s 1992 hearing before the referee the only white people in the courtroom who were not part of the prosecution team were Bill Kunstler, Monroe Freedman, Richard Harvey and me. Bill, Monroe and I testified in support of Alton, to no avail. Bill and I spoke at length about Alton’s case and at Bill’s insistence we placed 1,200 flyers about Alton’s court hearing in our monthly mailing of our newsletter to the New York City Lawyers’ Guild Chapter. Unfortunately, no Lawyers Guild members other than the four of us came to court for Alton in 1992.
Ironically, while progressive white lawyers were conspicuously absent from Alton’s 1992 hearing, several hundred predominately white lawyers, judges and law students packed a disciplinary hearing where the panel was considering whether to censure Bill Kunstler for remarks Bill made about a judge in the Central Park jogger case. I spoke with Bill in 1992 about the irony of the situation and he understood the importance of showing our solidarity by appearing for Alton.
Bill will not be in court for Alton on August 8th. I have no doubt he would be there if he could. The rest of us have no excuse. For me to stand up for Lynne Stewart requires me to stand equally for Alton Maddox. Bill would understand and I know his spirit will be at the Second Circuit on August 8th rooting for Alton Maddox.
For Justice and Peace,
Ronald B. McGuire
ronmcguire@att.net
For further information contact the Committee to Reinstate Alton Maddox at: http://www.reinstatealtonmaddox.com/.
The closest subway stop to 500 Pearl Street is Brooklyn Bridge on the 4/5/6 or Chambers Street or the J/M/Z lines. City Hall on the R/W, Park Place on the 2/3 and Chambers Street on the A/C/E are also nearby. Cell phones must be checked when you enter the courthouse.