Standing Committee on Discipline of the United States District Court for the Central District of California v. Stephen Yagman

Good Law

55 F.3d 1430·95 Daily Journal DAR 6873·1995 WL 320573·1995 U.S. App. LEXIS 12948·95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3958

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitMay 30, 199594-55918California17,704 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

Kozinski, J.

Opinion by Judge KOZINSKI; Dissent by Judge WIGGINS.

Never far from the center of controversy, outspoken civil rights lawyer Stephen Yag-man was suspended from practice before the United States District Court for the Central District of California for impugning the integrity of the court and interfering with the random selection of judges by making disparaging remarks about a judge of that court. We confront several new issues in reviewing this suspension order.

I

The convoluted history of this case begins in 1991 when Yagman filed a lawsuit pro se against several insurance companies. The case was assigned to Judge Manuel Real, then Chief Judge of the Central District. Yagman promptly sought to disqualify Judge Real on grounds of bias. 1 The disqualification motion was randomly assigned to Judge *1434 William Keller, who denied it, Yagman v. Republic Ins., 136 F.R.D. 652, 657-58 (C.D.Cal.1991), and sanctioned Yagman for pursuing the matter in an “improper and frivolous manner,” Yagman v. Republic Ins., 137 F.R.D. 310, 312 (C.D.Cal.1991). 2

A few days after Judge Keller’s sanctions order, Yagman was quoted as saying that Judge Keller “has a penchant for sanctioning Jewish…

dissent Opinion

Wiggins, J.

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent.

Opinion

55 F.3d 1430 63 USLW 2773 STANDING COMMITTEE ON DISCIPLINE OF the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR the CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Stephen YAGMAN, Defendant-Appellant. No. 94-55918. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 2, 1994. Decided May 30, 1995. Ramsey Clark, Lawrence W. Schilling, New York City, Marion R. Yagman, Stephen Yagman, Yagman & Yagman, P.C., Venice, CA, for defendant-appellant. Robert F. Lewis, Graham E. Berry, Michael L. Silk, Michael D. Berger, Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Ben Margolis, Hugh R. Manes, Los Angeles, CA, for amicus Los Angeles Chapter of the Nat. Lawyers Guild. Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky, University of Southern Cal. Law Center, Douglas E. Mirell, Los Angeles, Paul L. Hoffman, Gary L. Bostwick, Santa Monica, CA, Michael L. Abrams, Leslie H. Abramson, Scott Altman, E. Thomas Barham, Jr., Michael Bazyler, Thomas E. Beck, Marilyn Bednarski, David A. Binder, Alicia Blanco, Gary L. Blasi, Harland W. Braun, Doreen Braverman, Michael J. Brennan, Jeffrey Brodey, Evan H. Caminker, Robert Carlin, Gerald L. Chaleff, Richard C. Chier, John Wm.…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.

Parties

STANDING COMMITTEE ON DISCIPLINE OF the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR the CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA-
Plaintiff
Stephen YAGMAN-
Defendant

Judges

Wiggins
Kozinski
Thompson

Cites (65)

136 F.R.D. 652
137 F.R.D. 310
856 F. Supp. 1384
856 F. Supp. 1395
481 U.S. 787
732 F.2d 1048
482 U.S. 569
376 U.S. 254
12 F.3d 861
271 Ind. 499
453 N.W.2d 313
766 P.2d 958
379 U.S. 64
475 U.S. 767
497 U.S. 1
710 F.2d 549
485 U.S. 46
418 U.S. 264
398 U.S. 6
953 F.2d 724
758 F.2d 970
829 F.2d 1280
42 N.Y.2d 369
639 F.2d 54
33 N.Y.2d 559
508 S.W.2d 429
8 F.3d 1222
501 U.S. 1030
384 U.S. 333
331 U.S. 367
328 U.S. 331
314 U.S. 252
90 N.J. 604
466 U.S. 485
1 U.S. 319
783 F.2d 934
558 F.2d 59
765 F.2d 1364
811 F.2d 818
722 F.2d 1390
760 F. Supp. 338
31 F.3d 842
796 F.2d 1165
815 F.2d 575
484 U.S. 963
108 S. Ct. 450
98 L. Ed. 2d 390
987 F.2d 622
853 F.2d 383
28 Cal. 3d 402
428 So. 2d 406
808 S.W.2d 829
573 N.Y.S.2d 39
833 F.2d 446
586 F.2d 1108
379 Mass. 220
418 U.S. 323
415 Mass. 258
82 N.Y.2d 146
912 F.2d 1049
855 F.2d 394
539 F.2d 882
136 N.J. 516
55 F.3d 1430
78 N.Y.2d 184