Reprimand Recommended for Lawyers Who Fought After Trading ‘Jackass’ Barbs
Updated: Two Louisiana lawyers who traded barbs and got into a short physical altercation during a court proceeding have landed in trouble with the state attorney discipline board.
According to a hearing committee report on the May 2006 incident, lawyer Douglas H. Greenburg called his opposing lawyer a “jackass” during courtroom arguments. The opposing lawyer, Anthony P. Lewis, then told Greenburg “your mother is a jackass.”
The committee said it believed Greenburg started the physical altercation. A judge had previously found both lawyers in contempt of court for the incident, the report said.
Greenburg is the former district attorney of Terrebonne Parish, according to a story published by the Courier at the time of the incident. Lewis had a private practice and was also an assistant district attorney in Lafourche Parish, the story said.
Lewis told the publication that he and Greenburg have a “long-standing mutual dislike” based on disagreements over each others’ manner of trial practice.
Lewis told the Courier that the incident began when Greenburg accused him of wrongdoing. Lewis retorted that Greenburg was still trying to prosecute, prompting Greenburg’s jackass comment and Lewis’ jackass retort, he said. At that point, Lewis said, Greenburg lunged at him, grabbed his lapel and knocked him over, causing a temporary blackout. Greenburg told police he grabbed Lewis’ collar but he did not push him, the story says.
Reached by ABAJournal.com, Lewis said he didn’t think he can comment about the case. Lewis, who is a general practitioner and still working part-time as an assistant DA, did say it can be difficult to practice law as a minority in a rural area. Greenburg did not immediately respond to phone calls.
The attorney discipline board recommended a public reprimand for both lawyers. It also recommended a deferred 30-day suspension for Greenburg. The Legal Profession Blog noted the report.
The judge who found the lawyers in contempt had sentenced Greenburg to a day in the detention center, with credit for time served, and ordered him to pay $100. Lewis received a suspended sentence of 12 hours in the detention center that did not have to be served if he paid a fine of $50 and performed eight hours of community service.
Greenburg was also convicted of misdemeanor battery, but his sentence was suspended and his conviction dismissed, the report said.
Updated at 1:17 p.m. to include comments from Lewis.
