In re Charges of Unprofessional Conduct Contained in Panel Case No. 15976

In a personal injury case, the attorney (defendant) for a permanently injured client became concerned that the visible presence of Judge Franklin Knoll's (plaintiff) severely disabled law clerk — in a wheelchair, on a respirator, with a full-time attendant — would lead the jury to discount his client's own claimed inability to work by comparison. The attorney moved for a mistrial, a new jury panel without the clerk present, or reassignment to another judge; Judge Knoll denied the motion, the jury ruled against the attorney's client, and the attorney then cited the clerk's presence, without legal authority, as one basis for a new-trial motion. Judge Knoll filed a disciplinary complaint, and the panel found the conduct non-serious but issued an admonition.