Discussion board of Hate emails lead to suspensions as a result of … sure, they’re dangerous
The Maryland Court of Appeals indefinitely suspended two members of her bar association, James Markey and Charles Hancock, because of an email chain that has continued for seven years and contains "disturbingly inappropriate and offensive statements," the court said. Three other lawyers who are not members of the Maryland Bar were also in the email chain.
Markey, a former judge on the Board of Veterans & Appeals, and Hancock, a former lawyer on the same board, are no longer in the positions they held in participating in these emails. Markey was fired from his position and Hancock retired.
In a not too subtle name, the emails were called the "Forum of Hate", and the ABA Journal has some of the high (low) lights:
• Markey commented on a photo of an all-white Little League team and asked where the white sheets were. "Bonfire" after every win, "said Markey, a reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
• Hancock referred to the top veteran judge, an African American, as a "G-Pot". The name was short for "Ghetto Hippopotamus". He also called the judge "a despicable imitation of a human woman who was supposed to pull her cervix out of her and force-feed her through the silence of the lamb."
• Hancock referred to “an open place in the AA's Forum of Gayness,” a reference to a lawyer who worked on the Veterans Committee.
• Markey referred to a bar and said it had a "creepy-looking clientele and I am not a homophobe".
• Markey described a woman who was the deputy chairwoman of the board as "Baby t". The name was the abbreviation for "Baby Talk", a derogatory indication of her tone.
• Hancock asked for a "chick" in a photo and said, "I want my pee to be introduced to Va Jay Jay."
• Hancock said a lawyer has nice "DSLs" that stand for "d- – – sucking lips".
• Markey changed an article about a suspended sheriff's employee. Markey changed the article to say that the employee's supporters got into a heated debate with an opponent, "a fast food man who plays basketball". Brandy's change said the opponent "went shy when 11 people causally threw ropes at him".
• Markey described the Chief Veterans Law judge as "total b- – – -".
The court found that the behavior was related to legal practice, since they used their business email addresses and the messages were sent during working hours and related to work colleagues. The court wasted a few words to condemn the outrageous behavior:
"Markey's and Hancock's statements, which show bias and prejudice, speak for themselves and are hideous behaviors," said the appeals court.
The emails were found to violate ethical prejudice or bias based on race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socio-economic status. And the court said: “Markey and Hancock's misconduct clearly had the potential to undermine the work of the board and the public's confidence in it, and to damage public perception of the legal profession, the board, the department, and the federal government Government in general. "
Kathryn Rubino is a senior editor at Above the Law and moderator of the podcast The Jabot. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. You are welcome to send her tips, questions or comments by email and follow her on Twitter (@ Kathryn1).
