Andrew W. Shalaby v. United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

This petition involves the disbarment and denial admission of an attorney to the bar of a Federal Court in Chicago, Illinois for allegedly impugning the integrity of a judge in violation of American Bar Association [ABA] Model Rule of Professional Conduct 8.2(a), a provision which states: A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualification or integrity of a judge.

1. Can a Federal Court deny an attorney admission to the bar of the court, as a punishment for the alleged violation of ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 8.2(a), for expressing an opinion that a particular judge was required to disqualify himself based on the fact that before becoming a judge, he worked for the law firm representing a party to a proceeding before him, if the attorney erred as to the date of the judge’s employment with the firm?

2. Does 28 U.S.C. § 455(b)(2) require recusal of a judge who was a former member of a law firm and, who, after leaving the firm, maintained a co-counsel relationship with the firm at the same time that the firm represented a party in the matter in controversy?

3. Should Richardson-Merrell Inc. v. Koller, 472 U.S. 424 (1985) be overturned so that an order revoking an