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WILKES-BARRE — A city attorney has consented to a public reprimand for disparaging comments he made about a ruling against him in a case he handled in federal court.

Attorney William E. Vinsko Jr. acknowledged his statements were inappropriate and in September decided against challenging the misconduct alleged by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The board subsequently issued the reprimand in an Oct. 22 order.

A message left Tuesday with Vinsko, 43, a former assistant city attorney for Wilkes-Barre, was not immediately returned.

The reprimand was connected to a civil case in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Vinsko represented Swinka Realty Investments LLC in a civil rights suit against the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau. The District Court granted summary judgment against Swinka, determining there were no factual issues that had to be decided at a trial. Swinka then took the case to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed the summary judgment.

The disciplinary board noted the appeals court, in its May 2017 opinion, said Vinsko raised “frivolous arguments” and “improperly cast aspersions on the District Court’s analytical ability.”

According to the board, the opinion contained a “laundry list” of statements made by Vinsko “about the District Court and its capacity to synthesize and analyze the law and facts of the case.” Among them were:

• “The District Court … smugly contradicted itself.”

• “The District Court … was once again, wrong.”

• “[M]ost egregiously, the District Court seeks to deprive Swinka of its rights” and “clearly feels that Swinka’s rights are secondary to everyone else merely because of the values involved.”

The board also stated Vinsko “acknowledged that certain language … could be interpreted as an inappropriate challenge of the District Court judge’s integrity and qualifications.”

The board added Vinsko agreed that he violated the Rule of Professional Conduct stating that “a lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge.”

The board pointed out that Vinsko, who has no history of discipline in his nearly 17 years of practice, was remorseful and apologized for his comments.

Still, the board said, “In this case, public correction of (Vinsko’s) misconduct can only be accomplished through public discipline.”

Vinsko
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_Vinsko-William-1.jpg.optimal.jpgVinsko

By Jerry Lynott

[email protected]

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.