Lawyers face potential fines for hurling anti-Catholic slurs at judge; arrest warrant issued for one

When two lawyers try to explain to a federal judge today why they shouldn't be fined thousands of dollars for filling a bankruptcy pleading with religious slurs, it will be a key event for two women whose legal careers began when the leader of the religious group they grew up in told them Jesus wanted them to be lawyers.

That man, Avraham Cohen, said Jesus spoke to him. Followers believe his every word, so there was little doubt Naomi Isaacson and Rebekah Nett believed the Lord wanted them to study law.

But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher has warned the two that they have crossed the line that separates zealous legal advocacy from naked religious bigotry. After the women filed a motion Nov. 25 that accused Dreher and others of being part of a Catholic conspiracy, the judge ordered each to show cause why they shouldn't be fined up to $10,000 and face other sanctions.

Instead of toning down, Isaacson and Nett doubled down. In a filing Friday, Nett said the court was infiltrated by Jesuits out to harm Cohen and his group.

More than half of her 42-page response is a recitation of "Historical Facts" about alleged Vatican misdeeds. Among them: Jesuits and Catholics were behind the sinking of the Titanic, orchestrated the Holocaust and prompted America's involvement in Vietnam.

On Tuesday afternoon, Dreher followed through on a threat and issued an arrest warrant for Isaacson, 37, of Minneapolis, for failing to comply with a Dec. 8 order to turn business records over to the bankruptcy trustee.

It is not the first time a federal judge has ordered Isaacson's arrest. She was taken into custody in December 2008 after a judge in Maryland found her in contempt for failing to turn over records in a case there. She was released a few days later.

continue at Pioneer Press 

HT DM