Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct v. Visser
Supreme Court of Iowa
629 N.W.2d 376 (2001)
Attorney Kevin Visser (defendant) represented an insurance agency being sued by a former employee, and when a Waterloo newspaper reporter asked for comment, Visser faxed a letter with detailed statements about the case, which the paper published in a single article. The trial did not occur until more than two years later, in a different city over fifty miles away, where a witness testified the Waterloo paper was not readily available. The Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct (plaintiff) charged Visser with violating the rule against extrajudicial statements about pending litigation, and a Grievance Commission agreed; Visser appealed, arguing the rule itself was unconstitutional.
Whether a rule prohibiting a lawyer from making extrajudicial statements during pending litigation must be restricted to statements reasonably likely to affect the fairness of the proceedings.