Statements on Judge Warshaw’s ruling

Jeff Chiesa and Lee Vartan, attorneys for Bill Tambussi

“Today, the Court dismissed the indictment, in full, against Bill Tambussi. The decision makes clear what we have said all along: this was a misguided prosecution that should never have been brought. That is why two U.S. Attorney’s Offices rightly passed on this prosecution years ago.

“Any fair and reasonable prosecutor would have done the same. But the New Jersey Attorney General was neither fair nor reasonable in this case. He took conduct from more than a decade ago and tried to criminalize it. Worse, he tried to criminalize the routine practice of law. That would have set an extraordinarily dangerous precedent. The indictment alleged that Bill Tambussi conducted legal research, filed a motion, and argued that motion. None of those things are crimes. They are the everyday practice of law, and if lawyers hesitate to do their jobs for fear of prosecution, our system of justice suffers. The Court recognized that in dismissing the indictment, noting that Tambussi’s actions were nothing more than “predictive lawyering” and a “reasoned legal decision”— “not criminal.”

“Vanity prosecutions have no place in our justice system. Former Supreme Court Justice and U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson said this about prosecutors: “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” Mr. Platkin would be wise to remember this as he closes out his final few months in office.

“This prosecution could have cost Bill Tambussi his good reputation, career, and freedom. Thankfully, the Court pushed back and dismissed this wrong-headed prosecution. Bill Tambussi is an outstanding lawyer and person, and he will continue to be a pillar of the New Jersey Bar, now freed from the cloud of this misguided indictment.”