Florida Bar Wins Dismissal of Federal Suit Over Lawyer Subpoena

An attorney’s civil rights challenge to a Florida Bar subpoena for his trust account records was dismissed by a federal court July 17.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Younger v. Harris, said federal courts must abstain from involvement in state legal proceedings, Judge Timothy J. Corrigan of the U.S. District Court for the Middles District of Florida said.

But Reginald Luster argued that, while the subpoena for his records was part of the bar’s investigation into his professional conduct as a lawyer, no legal proceedings had been instituted against him, and Younger abstention therefore didn’t apply.

The absence of ...