On Tuesday, July 23, 2024, the District Court of Columbia Court of Appeals suspended attorney Rudolph Giuliani from practicing law pending a final determination on a recommendation that he be disbarred.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Rudolph W. Giuliani,” with case no. 22-BD-027.
The suspension by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals comes after the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility issued a report on May 31, 2024, recommending Giuliani’s disbarment. In the report, the Board agreed with an Ad Hoc Hearing Committee’s findings that Giuliani violated Pennsylvania ethics rules prohibiting frivolous litigation and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Specifically, Giuliani pursued claims in federal litigation on behalf of then-President Donald Trump’s campaign seeking to invalidate ballots and overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. However, Giuliani lacked any proof for his argument that barriers used at some ballot counting sites and a process allowing voters to fix errors on mail ballots were part of an election fraud scheme. Despite this, Giuliani asked a federal judge to invalidate enough votes to change Pennsylvania’s election results.
The Board’s report found Giuliani violated ethics rules by advocating claims without factual support, and concluded no reasonable lawyer could have thought the arguments presented even a “faint hope of success.” While the Board acknowledged Giuliani’s extensive history of public service, it determined this did not mitigate seeking such drastic election remedies as invalidating votes while knowing supporting facts were missing.
In suspending Giuliani pending the determination on disbarment, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals agreed with the Board’s recommendation that Giuliani’s conduct in the Pennsylvania election litigation was seriously improper and warranted the removal of his license to practice law in the District of Columbia. A final decision on disbarment is still pending.
Giuliani is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001 and gained national attention for his leadership during the September 11 attacks. Giuliani later became a personal attorney to former President Donald Trump. According to avvo.com, Giuliani is a white-collar crime attorney in New York, New York. He attended the New York University School of Law, graduating in 1968. He acquired his law license in the District of Columbia in 1976.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
