California Lawyers Warned Against Speech ‘Disparaging’ Judges

California attorneys need to consider the safety of judges and their staff before bad-mouthing them to the press or in social media, a draft ethics alert by a state bar committee says.

Lawyers who say things that threaten or try to threaten judges could face discipline, according to the newly available draft alert from the California State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct. Attorneys could be disciplined for opinions that imply false statements of fact, the draft said. They’re already required to weigh the impact of their public statements outside court under state ethics rules.

• The alert would define ...