How to interpret the suspension of Giuliani's license to practice law

A New York court has suspended Rudolph Giuliani's license to practice law. Giuliani was Donald Trump's chief election lawyer. The court found that Giuliani knowingly and repeatedly lied to courts, to legislatures and to the public about the last presidential election.

​The New York Attorney Grievance Committee accused Giuliani of knowingly making numerous false public statements about the presidential election. Giuliani had the opportunity to defend himself by filing his evidence in court. He admitted that many of the statements were false but claimed that he did not know they were false. He claimed there were documents supporting his positions, but he did not produce them.

​Giuliani stated many times that thousands of votes were counted in the names of dead people from Michigan and from Philadelphia (including the boxer Joe Frazier). Giuliani relied on a purge by the state of Pennsylvania (not Philadelphia) of the names of numerous dead voters in 2021, but this evidence did not show whether any dead Philadelphians' votes had been counted in 2020. After the committee produced documents showing that Frazier's voter registration was in fact canceled shortly after his death in 2011, Giuliani nonetheless continued to claim a Frazier vote was counted.

​Giuliani's defenses to accusations of false statements were strikingly similar to the false statements themselves. The court quoted numerous statements by Giuliani, and carefully analyzed evidence showing that he knew the statements were false. As the court found, Giuliani "refers to hundreds of witnesses, experts, and investigative reports, none of which have been provided or identified, and an Excel spreadsheet, also not provided, purportedly listing the names of thousands of deceased voters who allegedly cast ballots in Michigan."

​The court's suspension is "interim," that is for the duration of the full discipline investigation and proceedings. That duration may well be for a year or two. Because Giuliani is 77 years old, his career as a lawyer may be over.

​The court suspended Giuliani without a trial or hearing. It ruled solely on the documents filed by Giuliani and the committee. Giuliani and his attorneys knew that he would have to defend himself by submitting any favorable documents. The court found the committee accusations "uncontroverted," meaning Giuliani produced no credible counter-evidence or explanation. At the full proceeding, Giuliani will have the right to testify, and to call and cross-examine witnesses. He is also appealing the suspension order.

​The court suspended Giuliani now because it found he posed a threat of ongoing harm to the public. The court found this threat in his repeated public broadcasts of his lies, even after the committee filed charges against him.

​The court also based its suspension order on a finding that the seriousness of Giuliani's misconduct could hardly be overstated: "False statements intended to foment a loss of confidence in our elections and resulting loss of confidence in government generally damage the proper functioning of a free society."

​Trump lawyers lost scores of court challenges to the election. Some of those losses were on procedural grounds. Others involved failures to carry the burden of proving fraud or other fault. The Giuliani suspension order is different. A court has found that when Trump's chief election lawyer made numerous accusations about election defects, he was lying. When that lawyer had his first day in court, he admitted that many of his statements were false. He defended himself mainly by claiming his falsehoods were not intentional.

Citizens who care about whether the election was stolen from Donald Trump should ask, "If Giuliani did not produce evidence of fraud on behalf of Trump, and did not produce the evidence when his own law license was at stake, is the explanation that there is no such evidence?"

Bill Wernz is a former director of the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.