(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
John Lauro is a member of the D.C. bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Astute readers will note that neither of those convey admission to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is its own entity with its own bar. This is called foreshadowing.
As Donald Trump’s attorney in the D.C. case before Judge Chutkan, Lauro sought to appeal the partial gag order that barred the former president from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, and courtroom staff, but did not go so far as to forbid Trump from bashing the potential jury pool or Judge Chutkan herself.
That’s where things went sideways for Lauro:
JUST IN: U.S. Court of Appeals clerk flags the Trump gag order appeal and notes lawyer John Lauro is not a member of the bar for the DC Circuit – Gives him a Nov. 2 deadline to complete his application. pic.twitter.com/DLlkmv7nkI
— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) October 18, 2023
D’oh. At least he has until November 2 to cure the oversight.
Lauro’s response to the embarrassment was to blame the media, which totally tracks.
“All experienced lawyers understand that I am trial counsel and have been admitted before the trial court for over 40 years,” Lauro told Newsweek in a statement on Thursday morning. “As trial counsel, I properly filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, which was transmitted to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and fully docketed.”
Actually, all experienced lawyers are a little shocked that a litigator wouldn’t just file the paperwork to be admitted in all the local courts. I remember being mortified by having to go to an Eastern District of New York hearing after my Southern District admission had come through but my E.D.N.Y. admission remained pending. And that’s because I was ordered by my boss to go over there — it’s not like I would’ve filed in a court I knew hadn’t admitted me yet of my own volition. A junior associate might not need an appellate admission out of the gate, but an attorney that runs his own firm doing high-stakes federal criminal defense for “40 years” should’ve been admitted to the D.C. Circuit roughly, I dunno, 35 years ago. It’s a four-page form! Just fill it out, preferably before running headlong into another court.
It’s not like the rules are classified documents or anything.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.