Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: Should Appellate Courts have Non-Party Jurisdiction over Lawyers' Appeals from Non-Monetary Sanctions?

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the circuit courts have confronted the jurisdictional question of when a non-party attorney who has been reprimanded by a trial judge may properly appeal from the reprimand. The circuit courts have given three different answers to this question: the non-party attorney may properly appeal (1) only when monetary sanctions are imposed; (2) only when the reprimand is 'explicit and formal'; or (3) when the reprimand is in the 'nature of a sanction.' After categorizing, explaining, and analyzing these different approaches, this article proposes a functionalist, factor-based, theoretical model that courts can use to determine whether appellate jurisdiction is proper when the non-party attorney appeals from a judicial reprimand.

Keywords: reprimand, attorney, appeal, sanction, discipline, disciplinary, professional responsibility, disbar, circuit split