Department of Justice, Federal Judges, Gender, Pregnancy / Paternity, S.D.N.Y., U.S. Attorneys Offices, Women's Issues

Pregnant Lawyer 'Shouted At And Insulted' Over Request For Trial Delay

Basic human courtesy gets tossed to the wind when women lawyers become pregnant.

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It’s been about a month since we last discussed the sexism that pervades the legal profession. Since then, little has changed. Women lawyers are still being unfairly judged and scrutinized by their colleagues, and pregnant women who practice law are still being held to ridiculously high standards.

Take, for example, the case of Deborah Misir, a 42-year-old lawyer whose pregnancy travails made their way to the New York Times this past weekend. Given her age, Misir’s pregnancy was considered “high risk” — much of her work as a federal litigator would have to be put on hold for a time.

Misir, who is now six months pregnant, requested an adjournment last month in one of her cases set for retrial in January, but her adversaries from the Justice Department are fighting her tooth and nail. Misir claims the government attorneys even went so far as to yell at her…

Misir represents Vincent Tabone, the former vice chairman of the Queens Republican Party. Tabone was facing various corruption-related charges, and his case, which was heard this summer, ended in a mistrial in June 2014. Tabone’s retrial was scheduled for January 5, 2015, a date Misir had previously agreed upon.

Despite the fact that Misir was told by her doctor to “avoid stress, pressure and upsetting confrontations, which could result in medical complications that could threaten the life of [her] baby,” lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are arguing that her client’s right to a speedy trial would be affected by Misir’s proposed delay of his retrial. Here’s more from the New York Times:

The dispute over delaying the retrial arose after Ms. Misir wrote to Judge [Kenneth M. Karas] on Oct. 16, citing her pregnancy and saying she “physically cannot try a grueling federal white collar case during my third trimester.” In the letter she wrote on Wednesday, Ms. Misir described calling two prosecutors, Douglas B. Bloom and Perry Carbon, to ask if they would agree to a delay, only to be “shouted at and insulted.”

James Margolin, a spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, declined to comment other than to say that Ms. Misir’s characterization of the prosecutors’ behavior was “factually inaccurate.”

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While there are many issues at play here, including discrepancies concerning Misir’s travel restrictions and whether she was involved in ex parte communication with Judge Karas’s law clerk, we’re going to focus on all the fuss that’s apparently being made by attorneys for the S.D.N.Y. over her pregnancy.

In a letter written to Judge Karas last week, Misir perfectly described the situation:

I am puzzled by the U.S. attorney’s office’s objection to any adjournment due to my pregnancy. Pregnancy — much less high-risk pregnancy — has long been recognized in this country as a legal disability requiring accommodation. All federal agencies are required by law to abide by the protection for pregnant, working women.

Misir, a former Justice Department attorney herself, says that “in over 17 years of federal practice, [she has] never been treated so disrespectfully, brutally, and with lack of basic civility by opposing counsel, as has occurred in this court.” Why is it that when women attorneys get pregnant, their courtroom adversaries are so quick to become that much more adversarial? Why is it that when women attorneys get pregnant, the judges who are supposed to be impartial often favor their adversaries’ agendas?

It seems that basic human courtesy gets tossed to the wind when women lawyers become pregnant, and it’s an embarrassment to our legal profession that women continue to be treated in this way.

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Pregnant Lawyer Requests Delay in New York Corruption Retrial [New York Times]
Lawyer cites high-risk pregnancy in trial delay request; federal judge questions her travel plans
[ABA Journal]
Pregnant Lawyer Faulted for Ex Parte Communications [New York Law Journal]

Earlier: Judge Refuses To Postpone Hearing Because Maternity Leave Isn’t A Good Enough Excuse

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