Criminal Justice
LGBTQ rights lawyer faces federal indictment for testimony in ‘judge shopping’ probe
A lawyer working for an advocacy organization for the LGBTQ+ community is facing a federal indictment alleging that he made false statements while testifying in an inquiry into “judge shopping.” (Image from Shutterstock)
A lawyer working for an advocacy organization for the LGBTQ+ community is facing a federal indictment alleging that he made false statements while testifying in an inquiry into “judge shopping.”
Lambda Legal lawyer Carl S. Charles was charged with making a false statement before a court in an indictment unsealed Monday, report Law Dork, Reuters, Law360, Law.com and the Alabama Political Reporter.
Charles has pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke of the Northern District of Alabama had referred Charles to federal prosecutors for possible investigation, accusing the lawyer in a Feb. 25 order of “repeated, intentional, bad-faith misrepresentations of key facts” during an inquiry into judge shopping by a three-judge panel.
Charles was among three lawyers reprimanded by Burke in connection with an effort to get their cases challenging an Alabama transgender law assigned to a judge deemed to be more hospitable to their arguments. Burke, an appointee of President Donald Trump during his first term, also imposed a $5,000 sanction on Charles.
Burke alleged that Charles lied under oath about a call to the chambers of a desired judge. Charles had sought to get his case assigned to the judge, an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter, by marking it as related to a previous case in which the judge ruled for transgender plaintiffs in a challenge to Alabama’s policy regarding sex changes on driver’s licenses, Burke said in the order.
The indictment alleges that Burke denied making phone calls to the judge’s chambers. After he was asked about his phone number, Charles said he wanted to amend his testimony and said he did call the judge’s clerk.
Lambda Legal has released a statement in support of Charles.
“This unjustified federal indictment is an outrageous act of governmental overreach,” the Sept. 9 statement said. “For more than three years, our colleague, Carl Charles, has been subjected to unprecedented and abusive judicial proceedings, smearing his character and undermining his role in fighting for some of the most vulnerable people in society. We fundamentally disagree with the characterization of the events that underpin this indictment, which ignores the fact that the routine phone call at issue was acknowledged by the court to be entirely legal and proper.
“We unequivocally stand behind Carl and all of our attorneys, who adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards every day in pursuit of our mission to advance and defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people.”
See also:
‘Judge shopping’ in federal courts should end, House urges
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