Yagman Ordered Back to Class

A federal judge ordered veteran civil rights lawyer Stephen Yagman on Monday to return to law school and retake a course in professional responsibility after finding that he engaged in judge shopping.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said the Venice attorney, who specializes in police abuse cases, had filed disqualification motions or had withdrawn every one of his cases assigned to Real.

Lawsuits filed in federal court are generally assigned to judges at random to ensure fairness.

Yagman, whose license to practice in California was recently suspended for a year over a client fee dispute, said afterward that Real had his facts wrong.

He said he would appeal the judge’s ruling, although he intends to enroll in the law school class anyway.

“Any lawyer, no matter how experienced, can benefit from a refresher course in professional responsibility,” said Yagman, who last took the course in 1971.

Yagman has a long history of strife with the courts.

He was found guilty of judge shopping in 1981 and was suspended for 30 days; suspended by the State Bar of California in 1989 for allegedly overcharging a client and other offenses; and suspended by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for two years in 1994 for calling federal Judge William D. Keller an anti-Semitic bully. That suspension was later overturned.