Alex Jones’ lawyer faces disciplinary hearing in Connecticut

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A lawyer for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is dealing with scrutiny from a Connecticut choose, who started listening to testimony Wednesday on whether or not the lawyer must be disciplined for giving different attorneys for Jones extremely delicate paperwork, together with medical data of family of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty capturing.

Lawyer Norman Pattis is representing Jones in a defamation lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook households in opposition to Jones for calling the 2012 capturing in Newtown, Connecticut, a hoax. Twenty first-graders and 6 educators had been killed.

The Connecticut trial is separate from a trial in Texas that ended earlier this month with a jury awarding greater than $49 million to the mother and father of one of many slain youngsters. There’s additionally a second lawsuit in opposition to Jones in Texas by Sandy Hook households over the hoax claims.

Pattis, who didn’t testify Wednesday, has denied violating Decide Barbara Bellis’ order within the case to not disclose confidential paperwork to unauthorized folks. Pattis stated he was “assured in our protection” in a short response to an e-mail searching for remark Wednesday.

A lawyer for the Sandy Hook households, Christopher Mattei, testified Wednesday that Pattis despatched him a textual content during which Pattis stated he could have violated the doc disclosure order. After a pair hours of testimony earlier than Bellis in Waterbury, Connecticut, the listening to was continued to subsequent week.

Jury choice earlier than Bellis is ready to renew Thursday for a trial on how a lot in damages Jones ought to pay the households. Bellis discovered him responsible for damages final November.

In accordance with courtroom paperwork, Pattis despatched a lot of data from the Connecticut defamation case throughout the previous month to the lawyer representing Jones in Texas in the same lawsuits by Sandy Hook mother and father over the hoax claims, in addition to a chapter case for one in every of Jones’ firms.

It hasn’t been made clear what paperwork Pattis allegedly despatched. However from what has emerged from courtroom paperwork, lawyer feedback and the Texas lawsuit, they seem to have included confidential medical data of a few of the Sandy Hook victims’ family in addition to texts from Jones’ cellular phone.

Jones’ attorneys in Texas mistakenly despatched the final two years’ value of texts from Jones’ cellphone an lawyer for a Sandy Hook household. Within the lately accomplished Texas case, Jones had stated he didn’t have any texts about Sandy Hook. Authorized specialists say that episode may open Jones as much as a doable perjury cost.Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved.