A Workers Compensation Court judge agreed Wednesday not to cite lawyer Stephen J. Dennis with criminal contempt for interrupting her on Sept. 3. Amato A. DeLuca, Dennis’s lawyer, appealed to Bertness, saying that a criminal contempt citation would likely harm Dennis’s reputation and potentially affect his ability to practice. DeLuca said Dennis “was very anxious” as he tried to explain to Bertness why he had failed to appear as scheduled at 10 a.m. that day to represent a client. Bertness said she would vacate the criminal contempt citation, but noted that she had had “some problems” with Dennis’s explanation of why he was late to court, and that his failure to appear and show up on time “is awful – that’s just terrible” for the client. She also noted that Dennis “had interrupted eight times.” Dennis also apologized. “I did not intent to challenge your authority. I did not mean to …” Dennis said. “I did make a mistake but that was unintentional.” He added, “I think that what we do is good, and honorable... |
