In Re Hinds

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLEE, J.

This case requires us to determine the constitutional scope of rules disciplining an attorney for making out-of-court statements publicly criticizing the trial judge’s conduct of an ongoing criminal trial. Lennox Hinds, the appellant, claims that as a matter of constitutional right under the First Amendment, an attorney cannot be disciplined for making such statements unless they present a “clear and present danger” to the fairness of the judicial proceeding. The primary disciplinary standard sought to be applied in this case, however,…