In re Gates

Richard Gates (defendant) was a licensed attorney permitted to practice before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (the court) (plaintiff). Gates had repeated conflicts with the court’s security officers while going through security to enter the courthouse. On multiple occasions, Gates set off the magnetometer at the courthouse screening point. If an officer asked Gates to remove an item of clothing or submit to additional screening, Gates became verbally abusive, using profane and insulting language to demean the officers in front of the public. This behavior caused delays for other members of the public trying to enter. Security officers repeatedly reminded Gates that his behavior was unbecoming for a member of the bar. On one occasion, Gates angrily slammed his shoes into a screening container so hard that one bounced to the floor. Gates was then escorted to the courtroom by a United States marshal, who warned him that his behavior was unacceptable. Gates replied that he felt the screening procedures were too strict. On a separate day, after this warning, Gates set off a waist-level alarm on the magnetometer. The security officer asked Gates to remove his belt and undergo additional screening. Gates became verbally abusive, used extensive profanity, and forcibly flung his belt on the conveyor belt. The belt hit the arm of a woman in line behind him. The security officer apologized to the woman; Gates did not. The court issued an order to show cause to Gates, asking him to explain why he should not be disciplined for repeatedly directing disruptive and abusive behavior toward courthouse security when entering. The United States trustee presented evidence of Gates’s misbehavior, and Gates presented evidence on his own behalf. The court then considered whether to discipline Gates.