There’s little I can imagine that can be more patronizing than a grown-ass woman lawyer being told she’s a “little girl” who “doesn’t know how to act like a young lady.” But that’s exactly what an ethics complaint alleges happened to Michigan prosecutor, Heather Washington, in March 2018.

It was an interaction Washington had with another attorney, Clifford Woodards II, that the complaint alleges went off the rails. Washington told Woodards she couldn’t offer his client a plea deal on a traffic violation without seeing the client’s driving record first. Woodards allegedly became “aggressive” with Washington citing his additional years of experience and telling the prosecutor she needed to “know [her] place.” As reported by the ABA Journal:

As he was leaving the office, Woodards said something to the effect of: “These kids think they know everything and always want to argue with people,” the complaint alleges.

Woodards then returned and pointed a finger in the prosecutor’s face, the ethics complaint says. According to the allegations, he said something to the effect of: “Little girl, don’t talk to me and move out of my face,” and/or “You need to back up, little girl, and know your place.”

He also allegedly said the prosecutor “doesn’t know how to act like a young lady, acting immature.”

A supervisor who heard raised voices entered the office and separated Woodards from the prosecutor.

Not content to let the interaction end there, Woodards took to the Facebooks for additional commentary, blaming Washington for the blowup, saying, “She went straight into rat mode, stepped into my personal space, and derisively started waving papers directly in my face.” Woodards removed the social media post a few days after he wrote it.

As noted by the Detroit Free Press, this isn’t the first time Woodards has been in hot water for name calling. He previously was reprimanded and fined by the Attorney Discipline Board for telling a probation officer she had “angry black woman’s syndrome” and “that’s why you don’t have a husband.”

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).