ALBANY---Manhattan attorney Raoul Felder, appointed by Gov. George Pataki to the state Commission of Judicial Conduct of which he is currently chairman, has been muzzled by the commission which has blocked him from speaking publicly on behalf of the judicial panel or sign letters for the commission.

Earlier this week, commission members unanimously expressed their loss of confidence in the judgment and leadership of Felder as chairman and sought his resignation after Felder co-authored a book titled "Schmucks!" with comedian Jackie Mason.

The book has a subtitle of "Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and Dangerous and Good Guys Gone Bad". The commission said the book repeatedly invokes racial, ethnic and religious invective and that such statements are inconsistent with the Commission's role in enforcing the judicial obligations to refrain from words or conduct that manifest bias based on race, religion or national origin, and to require court employees and lawyers to refrain from such conduct.

The commission has resolved that only the administrator, Robert Tembeckjian, will speak publicly on behalf of the commission and answer substantive press inquiries and will only provide information not deemed confidential by law.

Members authorized the clerk of the commission to sign duly authorized commission orders, rather than Felder, and the certifications accompanying duly authorized commission determinations.

Felder said he it "doesn't disturb (him) at all and he would remain in the position. He said commission members were acting "like hysterical children".

Well-known First Amendment attorney, New York lawyer Floyd Abrams, said that Felder "can't be dismissed simply because he wrote a book that has disagreeable ideas. At some point the totality of views expressed based upon considerations of race and national origin could so compromise his real or reasonably expected conduct that it could be appropriate to dismiss him."

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has stated that he supports the commission and he has called for Felder's resignation. Commission members could vote to dismiss Felder. Felder claimed that he had been planning to remove himself as chairman by September but that now he had decided he wouldn't resign, saying he couldn't 'surrender on this issue".

Felder has maintained that his free speech rights are protected by the First Amendment but Spitzer said that "he does not have a First Amendment right to be chair of the Commission on Judicial Conduct" Felder had been appointed to the panel by former Gov. George E. Pataki. His term expires March 31, 2008. 4-19-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette