March 11, 2005 UPDATE - The State Bar of Michigan honored StateBarWatch's demands to remove false information from the State Bar of Michigan's web site.  This is a victory for those who are interested in keeping the State Bar of Michigan honest.  See below how StateBarWatch accomplished this victory for truth and candor:

_________________________________________________________________________

The State Bar of Michigan's web site misrepresented that federal bankruptcy attorney Allan J. Rittenhouse was subject to an order "indefinitely suspending" him from federal practice.   

The State Bar of Michigan was misleading the public.

The Real Story:

In Rittenhouse v. Delta Home Improvement, 255 B.R. 294 (W.D. Mich. 2000), U.S. District Judge David W. McKeague held that Mr. Rittenhouse could not practice federal bankruptcy law in a federal forum, choosing to side with the State Bar of Michigan.  Judge McKeague, who has a proclivity to ignore known facts and law to achieve a desired result (click here), failed to mention that he served on the State Bar of Michigan's Standing Committee on U.S. Courts, which pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455(d)(4), required his mandatory recusal. However, Judge McKeague never mentioned his relationship with the State Bar, so this information was not brought to light until after the litigation.   

In Rittenhouse v. Delta Home Improvement (in Re Desilets), 291 F.3d 925 (6^th Cir. 2002), the United States Court of Appeals promptly reversed Judge McKeague's legally unsound decision.  StateBarWatch found it troubling that the State Bar of Michigan concealed this information from its web site, and instead, elected to falsely represent that Mr. Rittenhouse is subject to a suspension.  

What StateBarWatch Did About It:

StateBarWatch continued its efforts to protect the public from the State Bar of Michigan by demanding that the State Bar correct its defamatory and misleading statements.  Click here to see StateBarWatch's letter to the State Bar.

The State Bar is likely to claim that the misleading statements on its web site are a mistake. However, StateBarWatch has exclusively obtained evidence that applicants for a law license with the State Bar have been denied for much less.  Click here to see. 

If you know about other false or misleading statements by the State Bar of Michigan, please contact StateBarWatch.