List of disbarments in the United States

This is a list of disbarments affecting notable lawyers in the United States.

Name Jurisdiction(s) Date disbarred Date reinstated Reason/Details
Spiro T. Agnew Maryland 1973 — No contest plea to bribery and tax evasion.[1]
James Alexander New York 1735 1737 Retaliatory measure for defending John Peter Zenger from sedition.[2]
F. Lee Bailey Florida and Massachusetts 2001 — Misconduct while defending Claude Duboc.[3] Filed for reinstatement in Massachusetts in 2005, but has not yet been reinstated. Applied for reinstatement in Maine in 2013, and approved by a judge of the state's Supreme Judicial Court, but decision appealed by the state Board of Bar Examiners, requiring a rehearing by the entire court. Case heard by the full court on January 14, 2014;[4] the court announced on April 10 that it had voted 4–2 to deny Bailey admission.[5]
Rod Blagojevich Illinois 2020 May 18 — Former Governor of Illinois impeached and removed from office for corruption,[6][7] which includes racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion, conspiracy, attempted extortion, bribery, and making false statements to federal agents.[8]
Frank J. Brasco New York 1973 — Received five years in prison upon conviction of federal bribery and conspiracy charges.[9][10]
Tommy Burnett Tennessee 1990 2003 Convicted of multiple felonies as a result of the Operation Rocky Top political corruption investigation.[11]
Thomas J. Capano Delaware 2001 November 15 — Convicted of murder.[12]
Laurence Canter Tennessee 1997 — In part for unethical practices in marketing legal service (i.e. through spamming).[13]
Mark Ciavarella Pennsylvania 2019 October 1 — Former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas along with Michael Conahan convicted for the Kids for Cash scandal.[14][15] He was originally disbarred in February 2009 along with Conahan[16] before losing his law license for good ten years later.[17]
Harry E. Claiborne Nevada 1986 — Former United States District Judge for the District of Nevada impeached from office for tax evasion.[18]
Michael Cohen New York 2019 February — Pled guilty to lying to Congress and violating campaign finance law.[19]
Roy Cohn New York 1986 — Unethical and unprofessional conduct of misappropriation of clients' funds, lying on a bar application and pressuring a client to amend his will.[20]
Robert Frederick Collins Louisiana 1995 January 9 — Served five years in prison for bribery.[21][22]
Michael Conahan Pennsylvania 2009 February — Former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas along with Mark Ciavarella convicted for the Kids for Cash scandal.[14][15][16]
Marc Stuart Dreier New York 2009 October 8 — Violation of New York's insider trading statute and General Business Law[23]
Ed Fagan New York 2008 December — Failed to pay court fines and fees in Holocaust Case[24]
New Jersey 2009 January — Convicted for stealing money from Holocaust survivors.[25]
Joe Ganim Connecticut 2003 March — Mayor of Bridgeport resigned from office upon his conviction for one count each of racketeering, extortion, racketeering conspiracy, and bribery; two counts of bribery conspiracy; eight counts of mail fraud, and two counts of filing a false tax return.[26][27] He was released in 2010 after serving seven years in prison and worked for his family's law firm as a legal assistant before getting his old job back as mayor in 2015.
Stanley Hilton California State Bar 2012 — Misconduct[28]
Alger Hiss Massachusetts 1952 1975 Convicted of perjury[29]
Abraham J. Isserman New Jersey 1954 1961 Contempt of court during Foley Square trial
Andrew Jenkins New York 1991 — Sentenced to one year and one day in jail for money laundering[30][31][32][33]
Kathleen Kane Pennsylvania 2019 March — Resigned from the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General upon her conviction for perjury, obstruction of justice and related charges for illegal activities while holding office.[34][35][36][37] Her law license was suspended in September 2015 before being revoked four years later.[38][39]
Menis Ketchum West Virginia 2018 October 4 — Pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud while serving as a Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[40]
Kwame Kilpatrick Michigan 2008 — Former Mayor of Detroit pleaded No contest to one count of assaulting a police officer and guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges.[41] Granted a pardon by then-President Donald Trump less than 12 hours before his term ended.[42]
Egil Krogh Washington 1975 1980 Convicted of conspiracy to violate civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg[43]
Charles Kushner New Jersey,[44] New York,[45] and Pennsylvania[46] 2005 — Former real estate developer and lawyer pleaded guilty to 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering.[47][48] Served 14 months at Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery in Alabama[49][50] before being sent to a halfway house in Newark, New Jersey, to complete his sentence[49][50][51] and was released August 25, 2006.[52] Received a federal pardon by then-President Donald Trump (who is his son, Jared's father-in-law) December 23, 2020.
Lewis Libby District of Columbia 2008 March 20 — Convicted of four of five felony counts of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements to a grand jury and federal investigators, in United States v. Libby, pertaining to the Plame affair and related CIA leak grand jury investigation.[53]
Pennsylvania 2008 December 10 — Reciprocal with District of Columbia.[54]
Marvin Mandel Maryland 1982 October 29 1989 July 6[55] Mail fraud and racketeering.[56]
C. Vernon Mason New York 1995 — Price gouging, theft, and abandoning clients.[57]
John N. Mitchell New York 1975 July 3 — Perjury[58]
Michael D. Murphy Texas and Louisiana 1984, 1985 — [59][60]
Mike Nifong North Carolina 2007 — Prosecutorial misconduct while prosecuting the Duke lacrosse case.[61]
Richard Nixon New York 1976 August 9 — Obstruction of justice related to Watergate.[62]
Fred Phelps Kansas 1979 July 20 — Conduct during his lawsuit against court reporter Carolene Brady.[63]
United States federal courts 1989 (ceased practicing) — Already excluded from Kansas state courts by his disbarment, Phelps agreed to cease practicing in federal courts as part of the settlement for a 1985 disciplinary complaint by nine federal judges.[64]
Thomas Porteous Louisiana 2011 January — Former United States District Judge who voluntarily surrendered his state law license after being impeached by the United States House of Representatives and removed from office by the United States Senate on December 8, 2010.[65]
Michael E. Reiburn New York 1935 — Disbarred for unethical practices,[66] later for the same case sentenced to five years in prison for fraud.
Mitch Skandalakis Georgia 2005 — Convicted of making a false statement to an FBI investigator.[67]
Joel Steinberg New York 1987 — First Degree Manslaughter[68]
Lynne Stewart New York 2005 — Convicted in Federal Court of aiding terrorists and defrauding the U.S. government.[69]
Pat Swindall Georgia 1996 — Sentenced to one year in prison and paid a fine of $30,450 for perjury related to a money laundering in his involvement in a drug trafficking operation.[70][71][72][73]
Andrew Thomas Arizona 2012 April — Former Maricopa County attorney launched unethical attacks on political enemies, filed malicious and unfounded criminal charges and committed perjury.[74][75]
Jack Thompson Florida 2008 — Found guilty of 27 counts of professional misconduct, including verbal harassment and intimidation[76][77]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

References
  1. http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=7d19224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 28, 2001. Retrieved October 14, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "IN THE MATTER OF F. LEE BAILEY". April 11, 2003. Retrieved April 25, 2009. On November 21, 2001, the Supreme Court of Florida disbarred attorney F. Lee Bailey for "multiple counts of egregious misconduct, including offering false testimony, engaging in ex parte communications, violating a client's confidences, violating two federal court orders, and trust account violations, including commingling and misappropriation." Florida Bar v. Bailey, 803 So. 2d 683, 694 (Fla. 2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1056 (2002) (Bailey). [...] On March 7, 2002, a single justice of this court entered a judgment of disbarment, from which Bailey now appeals. [...] We agree [with the Supreme Court of Florida]. We therefore affirm the judgment of the single justice. So ordered.
  4. Koenig, Seth (January 14, 2014). "State's highest court to decide: Can F. Lee Bailey be trusted to practice law in Maine?". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  5. Dolan, Scott (April 11, 2014). "Maine's high court denies F. Lee Bailey's bid to return to practicing law". Portland Press-Herald. Portland, ME. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  6. Journal, A. B. A. "Illinois disciplinary panel recommends Rod Blagojevich be disbarred". ABA Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  7. "Rod Blagojevich officially disbarred by Illinois Supreme Court". WGN-TV. May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  8. "United States v. Rod Blagojevich, et al, Superseding Indictment" (PDF). U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois. April 2, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  9. | Rep. Brasco Guilty of Bribery Conspiracy | ARNOLD H. LUBASCHJULY 20, 1974 |
  11. Kerr, Gail (September 17, 2009). "Tommy Burnett, former TN legislator, dies at 67". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  12. "IN THE MATTER OF ... THOMAS J. CAPANO" (PDF). SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE. November 15, 2001. Retrieved April 25, 2009. Thomas J. Capano is hereby DISBARRED from the practice of law in Delaware. His name shall be stricken immediately from the roll of attorneys licensed to practice before the Courts of this State.
  13. "Spamming Lawyer Disbarred". Wired. July 10, 1997.
  14. Frank, Thomas (April 1, 2009). "Thomas Frank Says 'Kids for Cash' Incentivizes the Prison Industry". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  15. "2 Pa. Judges Plead Guilty in Cash-for-Kids Corruption Scandal".
  16. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/23/pennsylvania.corrupt.judges/ Pennsylvania rocked by 'jailing kids for cash' scandal
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  20. "Cohn Ko'D". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. July 7, 1986. Retrieved March 15, 2008. One hospital attendant testified in a Florida court that Cohn "tried to take (Rosenstiel's) hand for him to sign" the codicil to his will. The lawyer eventually emerged with a document bearing what the New York judges described as "a number of 'squiggly' lines which in no way resemble any letters of the alphabet."
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  22. Excerpt from the Orders of the United States Supreme Court
  23. "Matter of Dreier". New York State Law Reporting Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  24. Noeleen G. Walder. Lawyer Disbarred for Failing to Pay Sanctions, Fees in Holocaust Case. New York Law Journal. December 12, 2008. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202426698941
  25. Koloff, Abbott. NJ: Disbar ex-Parsippany lawyer for stealing from Holocaust survivors. Daily Record. January 22, 2009
  26. Editorial: Court Right to Deny Law License to Ganim: State Supreme Court squashes former mayor's effort to get license back, Hartford Courant (April 9, 2014).
  27. Paul von Zielbauer, Bridgeport Mayor Convicted On 16 Charges of Corruption, New York Times (March 20, 2003).
  28. California State Bar Court: Decision and recommendation
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  31. State Senator Indicted in The New York Times on September 30, 1987
  32. Queens Lawmaker Guilty in Bank Plot by James Barron, in The New York Times on May 8, 1990
  33. "MATTER ANDREW J. JENKINS" at FindACase
  34. Dale, Maryclaire (August 16, 2016). "Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane Found Guilty on All Charges in Perjury Trial". Associated Press. NBC 10 Philadelphia. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  35. Bidgood, Jess (August 16, 2016). "Pennsylvania's Attorney General Is Convicted on All Counts". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
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  39. "PA Supreme Court Suspends AG's Law License". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  40. WV Supreme Court formally annuls Ketchum's law license
  41. http://detnews.com/article/20090121/METRO01/901210365/0/special/Kilpatrick-to-remain-disbarred
  42. "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency". Whitehouse.gov (Press release). January 20, 2021. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
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  44. In re Kushner, 870 A.2d 248, 183 N.J. 130 (2005).
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  51. New York Magazine: "The Legacy – his son Jared, the 28-year-old Observer owner, has to carry the ambition for the both of them" By Gabriel Sherman July 12, 2009
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  59. Erik Holmes (2006). "Senior Air Force JAG relieved of command". Air Force Times. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
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  72. "United States v. Patrick L. Swindall Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Case No. 91-8329". August 31, 1992.
  73. "In the Matter of Swindall Supreme Court of Georgia, 468 S.E.2d 372 (1996)". April 8, 1996.
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  76. Order, The Florida Bar v. Thompson, Nos. SC07-80, SC07-354 (Fla. Sept. 25, 2008) Archived March 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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