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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

ATTORNEY WHO GOT 90 DAYS FOR MAKING JACK-OFF GESTURE IN COURT LOSES APPEAL



This appellate result is, we think, unremarkable—except for the fact that it reminded us of the court-room conduct of one Austin, TX solo practitioner Adam Reposa, who on March 11 of this year made a “jack-off” gesture in open court in response to a prosecutor’s argument, and was summarily sentenced by a less-than-amused trial judge to 90 days in the bucket for contempt. (See prior, juicy Above the Law coverage here.)

In an 8-1 decision today, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Reposa’s application for a writ of habeas corpus in his contempt case.

According to the Texas Lawyer Tex Parte Bog, Reposa took the news in stride, stating “Oh well.”
Oh well indeed.

BTW, we somehow doubt that Reposa’s 2006 on-air attack on a certain Austin judge in Reposa’s stomping grounds added bench or appellate sympathy to his cause. (See video here.)

A teeny gem from the opinion:

“During the contempt hearing, Leavitt asked [Reposa], "Were you placed on some type of probation as you were first put - given your law license?" [Reposa’s] counsel objected on relevance. Judge Davis heard the testimony prior to ruling on the objection. [Reposa] testified: "I have had mental health issues in the past. I didn't file my declaration of intent, my application until my third year of law school. And the State Bar wanted me to have an attorney monitor who deals with mental health issues and substance abuse issues." Judge Davis sustained the objection as to the reason for the attorney monitor-that is, as to the mental health issues-but overruled the objection as to the fact of an attorney monitor.”

Mental health and substance abuse issues in the past? And yet Reposa was still admitted to the Texas Bar? Yikes!

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