BY THE VILLAGE SUN | “Trial by combat,” huh? How about no trials or practicing law for you, Rudy?
Brad Hoylman, who chairs the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee, cheered the decision by the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division to suspend ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s law license.
Hoylman accused the so-called “America’s Mayor” of sedition against America for whipping up the Donald Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In January, the state senator formally submitted a complaint calling for Giuliani’s license to practice law to be revoked.
“I’m glad the Attorney Grievance Committee agreed with my formal complaint that Rudy Giuliani is no longer qualified to practice law in New York,” Hoylman said, following the decision. “The profession of law is a sacred and noble one. And there can be no room in the profession for those who seek to undermine and undo the rule of law, as Rudy Giuliani has so flagrantly done.”
Hoylman’s complaint centered on the conduct that the Attorney Grievance Committee used to justify the suspension. Giuliani can seek a post-suspension hearing to appeal the decision.
In January, in announcing his intention to get Giuliani stripped of his law license, Hoylman slammed the ex-mayor for “his complicity in inflaming a violent coup attempt” and “seditious acts.”
“Like many of you, I was horrified to watch last week’s insurrection attempt in Washington, D.C.,” Hoylman said at that time in a statement. “And I was especially dismayed to see members of the legal profession from New York State at the heart of it.
“I will be filing a formal complaint with the Appellate Division of the Unified Court System, asking them to consider revoking Rudy Giuliani’s license to practice law in New York due to rampant and egregious violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, related to his participation in a scheme to unlawfully overturn the results of a free and fair election and his complicity in inflaming a violent coup attempt on our seat of federal government.
“During a speech last Wednesday immediately prior to the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Giuliani repeated baseless claims to sow doubt about the results of the 2020 presidential elections, and urged the angry mob to seek ‘trial by combat.’…
“I’ll do the same for any other attorney licensed in New York who was found to have participated in last week’s assault on our democracy. There must be consequences for seditious acts.”
A Hoylman spokesperson, asked if the state senator had been the only one to seek the formal removal of Giuliani’s legal license, said he could not say for sure. However, he noted, Hoylman’s “was probably one of the loudest and most prominent voices” calling for the action.
Thanks, Brad. That’s why I voted for you.