Courts

'Give Him This To Go Cry,' Federal Judge Says During Yelling Match With Sex Cult Lawyer

The court was having none of it.

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The NXIVM sex cult case somehow managed to get wilder.

The organization’s former leader Keith Raniere watched on via teleconference from prison in Arizona while his lawyer, Marc Fernich and Judge Nicholas Garaufis got in a yelling match followed by half an hour of a silent staredown.

At issue was Fernich’s request to delay the hearing by an hour to attend the funeral of his friend and mentor. While that’s a valid reason for a delay on paper, Judge Garaufis denied the request because the funeral was in the morning and the hearing wasn’t until 2 p.m. Commuting from Queens can be a nightmare, but it’s not a four-hour nightmare. Add in that this hearing required moving a prisoner around on the other side of the country and any requested delay should be strongly disfavored.

Even though this was all settled over the weekend, Fernich decided to raise it again at the hearing itself and that’s when things got real:

Fernich said the denial of his request for an hour’s delay to the proceeding to allow him to attend the funeral violated “human decency and professional courtesy.”

Garaufis stood up from his chair, picked up a box of tissues and pointed at the attorney during a screaming match.

That is both incredibly funny and… probably inappropriately harsh. The requested delay was properly denied and it was absolutely inappropriate to try and relitigate it at the hearing itself, but this might be too mean. And when it comes to the boundaries of acceptable snark, I’m a frighteningly lenient audience.

After Fernich offered what Judge Garaufis clearly saw as grandstanding, the judge shouted, “Be seated or I’ll have you arrested.” One more trade of barbs and…

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Garaufis then sat back down and the courtroom fell into a deep silence.

The court sat virtually mute for 30 minutes.. Raniere, live over a video feed from his Arizona penitentiary, scratched his face and crossed his arms as the awkward silence reigned.

The quiet ended when Fernich stood and apologized to the judge, ending the stalemate.

Everything about this case is a circus. Raniere was ultimately ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution to his victims. If this upsets him, Judge Garaufis has some tissues for him.

Brooklyn federal judge in courtroom screaming match with sex cult lawyer who wanted hearing delayed to attend colleague’s funeral [NY Daily News]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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