The St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press reports that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher yesterday issued show-cause orders to attorney Rebekah Nett and her client Naomi Isaacson threatening to impose sanctions on them for bigoted anti-Catholic statements contained in a legal memorandum they filed with the court last month. The memorandum was written by Isaacson, but signed by Nett. It called Judge Dreher, another judge and two bankruptcy trustees "dirty Catholics" and said the courts are "composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry the sword of the church." It accused one of the bankruptcy trustees of being "a Jesuitess" with a "track record of lies, deceit, treachery and connivery." In all, Judge Dreher cited 10 passages containing religious slurs, allegations of conspiracy and the like that were included in the memorandum. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4 for Nett and Isaacson to show cause why they should not be fined up to $10,000 each and be ordered to write public apologies. The court is also proposing that attorney Nett be required to attend at least 30 hours of ethics training.
UPDATE: The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights announced on Dec. 9 that it is filing a formal complaint against attorney Rebekah Nett with the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board and a formal grievance against her with the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation.
UPDATE2: The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on 12/14 that Naomi Isaacson's filings in response to the court's show cause order contain "even more religious slurs than the one prompting the judge's warning."
