# Can You Be Disbarred For Being A Dick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373 "2018-05-17T22:00:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/21 "2018-05-18T19:27:01Z")
It depends on the complaint made to the law enforcement agency. (A) “There are illegal immigrants working and frequenting this restaurant as customers, and I’d like you to go round them up and deport them.” (B) “There are people speaking Spanish to one another at this restaurant, and I’d like you to go round them up and deport them.” There’s nothing false or actionable about the second report. Of course, the agency in question should respond to (B) by explaining that speaking Spanish in public is not illegal, nor an indicia of problematic immigration status. To illustrate the point, what if a lawyer called the police to report he saw a man with a holstered sidearm and he wanted the police to come arrest the armed man? (Not in New York, but in, say, Virginia, where carrying a firearm in plain view is legal and does not require so much as a license). That would (or should) also result in the dispatcher advising the caller that the conduct being described is perfectly legal. And it should not result in anyone being disbarred. Now, if his call were more along the lines of option (A), perhaps there are the beginnings of a case of false reporting. Even then, though, it’s extraordinarily weak. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/22 "2018-05-18T20:38:28Z")
As an aside, I’ve read that the lease to his office has been cancelled so he will be looking for new space soon. I wonder how difficult it will be for him to find accommodations in a building of sufficient quality that someone would expect to find a lawyer there. I would get a good laugh out of finding out that he’s stuck in a strip mall somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/23 "2018-05-18T21:15:11Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > As an aside, I’ve read that the lease to his office has been cancelled so he will be looking for new space soon. I wonder how difficult it will be for him to find accommodations in a building of sufficient quality that someone would expect to find a lawyer there. I would get a good laugh out of finding out that he’s **stuck in a strip mall somewhere**. Preferably between a _taqueria_ and a place that specializes in _Papa a la Huancaina_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/24 "2018-05-18T21:47:27Z")
Is it fair to ruin his life without knowing his heart? I mean, all this could just be circumstantial, with perfectly reasonable, non-racist explanations. Right? > **[Here's What We Know About Aaron Schlossberg, The Racist New York Lawyer Who...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/new-york-lawyer-aaron-schlossberg)** > > Aaron Schlossberg, the attorney caught on video berating people for speaking in Spanish at a New York restaurant, has been involved in a series of racist incidents over the course of nearly two years. ---
**Author:** ![Roy\_Batty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/25 "2018-05-19T03:26:26Z")
I saw the video - this guy is an entitled douche-bag. He lives in NYC and acts like he doesn’t hear Spanish being spoken on a regular basis there?! What a clueless piece of shit. I was on vacation in NYC a couple of years ago & found it fantastic. I thought all of the different languages being spoken was interesting, and gave the city a definite melting pot/multi-culturism that isn’t found in many other places. The only language I can fluently speak/understand is English, but I don’t mind hearing other languages at all, and actually think it’s cool in a lot of cases. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/26 "2018-05-19T15:43:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Is it fair to ruin his life without knowing his heart? I mean, all this could just be circumstantial, with perfectly reasonable, non-racist explanations. Right? > > [Here's What We Know About Aaron Schlossberg, The Racist New York Lawyer Who Berated People For Speaking In Spanish](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/new-york-lawyer-aaron-schlossberg?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=buzzfeed&ref=buzzfeed&utm_term=.abEvvm9Y6Y#.lpDbbMNj4j) Well, it’s possible to defend “non-racist,” I suppose, because his bizarre rants seem targeted at foreigners rather than particular races. The question might be how he reacts to a pair of illegal immigrants from Norway, pale, blonde and blue-eyed. I strongly suspect his ire towards Lars and Astrid would be substantially muted, though. I think he’s the kind of person who believes himself to be upset with illegal immigrants but who readily uses skin color and foreign languages as a proxy for “illegal immigrants.” I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/27 "2018-05-19T17:54:08Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, it’s possible to defend “non-racist,” I suppose, because his bizarre rants seem targeted at foreigners rather than particular races. The question might be how he reacts to a pair of illegal immigrants from Norway, pale, blonde and blue-eyed. > > I strongly suspect his ire towards Lars and Astrid would be substantially muted, though. I think he’s the kind of person who believes himself to be upset with illegal immigrants but who readily uses skin color and foreign languages as a proxy for “illegal immigrants.” > > I could be wrong. The white American born guy he went off on had a black beard and hair. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/28 "2018-05-19T20:14:37Z")
Opinion piece. [Being an asshat insufficient justification to disbar](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/aaron-schlossberg-will-not-be-disbarred-over-his-racist-rant.html) > [@](#): > > So, yes, Asshat’s behavior was deplorable, discriminatory, and disgusting—he provides a compelling case, in just a few seconds, that he is not fit to practice law. But it’s the public—his landlords, his clients, his employees, and law partners—who must make a decision about whether he loses his livelihood. There is no indication that Schlossberg has misled a court, mishandled funds, or deceived a client. Until evidence of such malpractice emerges, no organ of the state has power to strip him of his law license. It’s up to the rest of us to ensure that his career goes down the tubes where it belongs. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/29 "2018-05-19T20:53:16Z")
Regardless of whether he can be disbarred, there are going to be consequences. Some offices may not want to rent space to his firm. Some clients might not want to be associated with such a complete and utter wanker. And he might have a hard time finding an associate to work with. He’s probably on his own now, and he just made it his own professional life a lot harder. Being a dick in public has a price. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/30 "2018-05-20T01:33:25Z")
Not really relevant to the conversation, but linking for the picture. [Link](http://variety.com/2018/music/news/racist-lawyer-aaron-schlossberg-lawsuits-orchard-global-citizen-1202816886/) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/31 "2018-05-20T01:36:02Z")
Is an “upper west side apartment” an expensive location? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/32 "2018-05-20T02:43:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Is an “upper west side apartment” an expensive location? Yes, and Manhattan in general is expensive. > **[Upper West Side](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_West_Side)** > > The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West Side is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Hell's Kitchen to the south, Columbus Circle to the southeast, and Morningside Heights to the north. > Like the Upper East Side opposite Central Park, the Upper West Side is an affluent, primarily residential area ... [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] Like the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side is an affluent, primarily residential area with many of its residents working in commercial areas of Midtown and Lower Manhattan. It has the reputation of being New York City’s cultural and intellectual hub, with Columbia University and Barnard College located at the north end of the neighborhood, and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts located at the south end. The Upper West Side is considered to be among New York City’s wealthiest neighborhoods.[4] [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT] ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/33 "2018-05-20T09:30:03Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The guy has been a raging racist asshole for a long time, but it does no one any good to overreact to this sort of thing. Public exposure and mockery is warranted for someone throwing a public bigoted rant like this. Driving him out of his job and harassing him at his home is both excessive and an unpleasant precedent. I agree and it’s impractical too. So you get someone fired. One of two things happen: 1) they get another job which you don’t think they should have, one that might be even more problematic given his or her racist views, 2) they rely on taxpayer support. That’s why I just call people getting fired for off duty behavior “retaliation”. Because that’s all it is. Some people want this person punished, there’s no actual corrective action being taken here. It’s just revenge. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/34 "2018-05-20T09:31:57Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Regardless of whether he can be disbarred, there are going to be consequences. Some offices may not want to rent space to his firm. Some clients might not want to be associated with such a complete and utter wanker. And he might have a hard time finding an associate to work with. He’s probably on his own now, and he just made it his own professional life a lot harder. Being a dick in public has a price. Well, I imagine there’s plenty of clients accused of discrimination or hate crimes that could use a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/35 "2018-05-20T13:41:36Z")
Roy Cohn never seemed to lack clients. (Well, until he was disbarred in 1986, but he still continued to “assist” people with his expertise.) Being a jerk lawyer is a plus for a _lot_ of people. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/36 "2018-05-23T00:32:22Z")
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! [Racist Lawyer Says He’s Not Racist!](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/22/us/aaron-schlossberg-attorney-racist-rant-apology/index.html) EXTRA! EXTRA! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/37 "2018-05-23T16:29:36Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It depends on the complaint made to the law enforcement agency. > > (A) “There are illegal immigrants working and frequenting this restaurant as customers, and I’d like you to go round them up and deport them.” > > (B) “There are people speaking Spanish to one another at this restaurant, and I’d like you to go round them up and deport them.” > > There’s nothing false or actionable about the second report. > > Of course, the agency in question should respond to (B) by explaining that speaking Spanish in public is not illegal, nor an indicia of problematic immigration status. > > To illustrate the point, what if a lawyer called the police to report he saw a man with a holstered sidearm and he wanted the police to come arrest the armed man? (Not in New York, but in, say, Virginia, where carrying a firearm in plain view is legal and does not require so much as a license). That would (or should) also result in the dispatcher advising the caller that the conduct being described is perfectly legal. And it should not result in anyone being disbarred. > > Now, if his call were more along the lines of option (A), perhaps there are the beginnings of a case of false reporting. Even then, though, it’s extraordinarily weak. I can’t see how (B) is not a frivolous and inappropriate complaint too. You don’t ask a law enforcement agency to “do something” unless you think it is a legitimate complaint for them to address. To my mind, B is essentially A. If he’d instead said “a lot of Spanish, maybe you guys should investigate” that would be legitimately not an actual invalid complaint. But any “you should deport” implies “they are illegal” which makes it a false complaint. Regardless, most dicks don’t actually do anything unless they’ve been significantly impacted. he’s had his rant, he thinks he’s thrown the fear of God/ICE into them, he goes about the rest of his day oblivious to his own stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/38 "2018-05-23T18:11:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, I imagine there’s plenty of clients accused of discrimination or hate crimes that could use a lawyer. This is kind of what I’m thinking. The guy is a lawyer, which suggests two things: 1) he’s not stupid; therefore 2) this is a calculated image. Even if only 3% of New Yorkers are raging xenophobes, and even if only 3% of _them_ need a lawyer, and even if only 3% of _them_ come to him (and he’s getting tons of free exposure & advertising that would appeal strongly to other raging xenophobes) he’s got more business than he knows what to do with. Add to that his flamboyant behavior might elicit some personal torts and this guy will be doing alright financially with the bigot business alone. If he’s an otherwise competent trial lawyer … yeah, he’s doing alright for himself. Crazy old world. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/39 "2018-05-23T19:42:33Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > This is kind of what I’m thinking. The guy is a lawyer, which suggests two things: 1) he’s not stupid; therefore 2) this is a calculated image. > > Even if only 3% of New Yorkers are raging xenophobes, and even if only 3% of _them_ need a lawyer, and even if only 3% of _them_ come to him (and he’s getting tons of free exposure & advertising that would appeal strongly to other raging xenophobes) he’s got more business than he knows what to do with. Add to that his flamboyant behavior might elicit some personal torts and this guy will be doing alright financially with the bigot business alone. If he’s an otherwise competent trial lawyer … yeah, he’s doing alright for himself. > > Crazy old world. Too bad there’s no video of him after he left the scene to see if he had a Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman smirk on his face… ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373/40 "2018-05-24T17:32:06Z")
when Roy Moore got the boot from state supreme court did any disbar or suspension of his law license go with that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-be-disbarred-for-being-a-dick/814373.md?page=3)