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Cozen Partner Claims Judge Called Him a 'Piece of Sh*t,' Put 'Wanted' Posters of His Face With a Bull's-Eye in Courtroom

Will this judge have to recuse himself for his alleged actions?

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The last time we wrote about a partner from Cozen O’Connor, he ended up with a “huge [bleep]hole” after sending a string of allegedly abusive emails to opposing counsel. Today, we’ve got another Cozen partner whose tale of woe with the New York court system may be liable for giving a New York judge a “huge [bleep]hole” of his own.

John McDonough, the Cozen partner in question, has accused Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack of some pretty untoward actions, and has filed papers to get the judge to recuse himself from a $100 million civil case against Duane Reade.

But what could have been so offensive that it would warrant calls for a judge’s recusal? Apparently McDonough isn’t a fan of being referred to as a “piece of sh*t”….

After the original case against Duane Reade ended in a mistrial in April, McDonough claims that he arrived in court one day to find that Judge Schack’s courtroom had been plastered with “Wanted” posters that contained a picture of his face (the same picture appears here on his firm profile). When McDonough asked where the pictures came from, Judge Schack said that he made them himself.

According to the New York Daily News, what happened next is what gave rise to McDonough’s recusal motion:

About two months later, McDonough’s partner asked the judge — outside the presence of opposing counsel — to sign trial transcripts. Schack allegedly replied, “Bull—-. I’m not signing it.” Then he added, “Tell that piece of s— McDonough he should not have made you do this,” the recusal motion states.

Schack then drew a red bull’s eye on McDonough’s photo and told the lawyer to give it to his partner “and send him his regards,” according to the motion.

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“Send him my regards” matched with a bull’s-eye on McDonough’s face? That sounds like some straight up Godfather sh*t. Check out Judge Schack’s masterful work of art:

Opposing counsel in the Duane Reade case noted that Judge Schack’s posters were meant as a “total joke,” and that McDonough was actually laughing at them on the day he found them in court. As you can see from this picture, Judge Schack’s placement of a bull’s-eye on McDonough’s head was all in good fun. Because really, in all fairness to the judge, that’s not an absolute kill shot by any means.

Judge Schack is supposed to make his ruling by September 4. In the meantime, this Biglaw partner may want to purchase a bullet-proof vest, just in case the judge decides to brush up on his target practice.

Legal bulls-eye on judge in Duane Reade maim case [New York Daily News]
Judge targets ‘piece of s—’ lawyer with bullseye poster during trial [New York Daily News]

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