If attorneys were judged based solely on the character of their clients, few defense attorneys would find themselves welcome in many American towns. Most Americans understand and support the idea that those accused of a crime have the right to capable representation, and that the nature of the defendant should not decide the quality of his or her attorney.If attorneys were judged based solely on the character of their clients, few defense attorneys would find themselves welcome in many American towns. Most Americans understand and support the idea that those accused of a crime have the right to capable representation, and that the nature of the defendant should not decide the quality of his or her attorney. Yet attorney Eric Bernstein, who provides legal services for several small towns as well as several adult industry professionals, discovered that representing adult industry clients can be more controversial to the politically motivated than representing rapists and murderers.
Bernstein has found himself at the center of controversy ever since news first broke that he once served as a legal chat board moderator on YNOTMasters.com. Several critics of Bernstein have used the news of his involvement with the adult industry to argue that Bernstein should not be allowed to continue to work for various New Jersey townships. In some cases, his critics have succeeded in having Bernstein dismissed from previous appointments based solely on the fact that he also represents adult industry professionals.
So far the most enthusiastic critic of Bernstein is a man by the name of Al Schweikert, the mayor of a generally conservative New Jersey town called High Bridge. Schweikert used Bernstein’s adult industry work, along with Bernstein’s previous position as chat board moderator on YNOTmasters.com, to attack Bernstein and question his ability to act as municipal attorney for High Bridge.
“If he is capable of making these types of decisions in his own life, he shouldn’t be making decisions about our town,” Mayor Schweikert was quoted as saying in an article for the New Jersey Star Ledger.
Schweikert also claimed that he had received at least twenty calls of complaint after news of Bernstein’s involvement with YNOTmasters.com first hit. Yet according to Bernstein, he had previously informed High Bridge of his involvement with the adult industry, and he said that Schweikert had ulterior motives for wanting him dismissed.
Bernstein explained to YNOT that well before the controversy surrounding his adult industry representation first broke out, the High Bride town council had rejected Mayor Schweikert’s own nomination for municipal attorney, a man the mayor had known for many years, and instead had selected Bernstein for the position. That decision never sat well with Schweikert.
“The mayor had an individual, who he had had there for a number of years when he was the mayor before, who he wanted to retain,” said Bernstein. “The [city] council … decided that they were not going to reappoint [this individual] to be the municipal attorney.”
After a period of evaluation and several interviews, the city council hired Bernstein as municipal attorney despite the objections of Mayor Schweikert. “The man never wanted me appointed,” said Bernstein.
When news of Bernstein’s involvement with the adult industry later provided the opportunity for a scandal, Schweikert wasted little time in seizing his chance to go on the offensive and push for Bernstein’s replacement. Yet some of Bernstein’s township employers remained supportive. Lebanon Township mayor Jay Weeks didn’t see a problem with Bernstein’s ties to the adult industry. “How he makes his money is his business,” Weeks was quoted as saying in the Star Ledger article. “I personally don’t have any problem with it because it doesn’t interfere with our township. Nobody seemed to raise any questions about it.”
In addition to Lebanon, Bernstein also still represents the town of North Plainfield. While one member of the North Plainfield council called the news of Bernstein’s adult industry work “troubling,” Mayor Janice Allen said that Bernstein’s work had always been solid.
While Bernstein no longer serves as municipal attorney for the towns of Franklin and Washington, he doesn’t believe his loss of those positions was the result of unfair bias due to his adult industry representation. “With the exception of High Bridge, the other two we lost had nothing to do with [the adult] industry,” said Bernstein. “It had everything to do with counting votes, and we didn’t have them.”
Unfortunately for Bernstein, some problems refuse to go away. Since our initial discussion with Bernstein, news has broken that the Neptune Township has also decided to dismiss Bernstein from a previous appointment. Neptune mayor Tom Catley was straightforward about the reasons for Bernstein’s dismissal, stating that the decision came about solely because Bernstein had clients from the adult entertainment industry.
“We didn’t feel that the porn business that he’s associated with has anything to do with what we were hiring him for, but by the same token, we felt it would be cleaner and better if we hired an attorney that didn’t have that kind of background,” said Mayor Catley to the Asbury Park Press. “We want this to stay focused on the main point. We don’t want to get off on other tangents.”
How Bernstein’s adult industry work might somehow result in “tangents” was not explained by Mayor Catley, and calls to his office seeking clarification were not returned.
Bernstein has been mostly silent since the Neptune Township incident was reported several days ago, but YNOT News has since learned that another town is considering dismissing Bernstein because of his adult industry clients. Sources tell us that a police officer from the Berkley Township is leading a charge to have Bernstein dismissed from his appointment there, although no action has yet been taken. According to sources, the police officer in question had previously been involved in a dispute with the town, and Bernstein had represented the town against the officer. If true, that would no doubt raise serious questions about the nature of the officer’s motivations.
Undeterred by the controversy, Bernstein sees his recent troubles as a simple matter of local politics, not one of morality. Asked what led him to the adult entertainment industry, Bernstein told YNOT News that he has had an interest in First Amendment law for a long time. He added that he isn’t concerned about continuing to represent adult industry clients because his ties to the industry are now well documented. “With the exception of my dental records and my medical records I think most people know about me,” he joked.
Bernstein’s legal background is varied, having worked both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney – in fact, he even helped the town of North Plainfield temporarily shut down an adult video store that was operating in violation of local zoning laws. Having been on both sides of the courtroom, Bernstein brings with him an experienced voice that is uniquely different from that of most traditional First Amendment attorneys. YNOT spoke with Bernstein at length about the state of the adult industry and the legal challenges it faces, and details of that conversation will be appearing soon in a future issue of YNOT News.
Bernstein, a sponsor of the upcoming Cybernet Expo show in San Diego, will be making an appearance there to speak with conference attendees. A “Legal Q & A with attorney Eric Bernstein” will take place on June 11th, open to all conference attendees, and Bernstein will also be a speaker at the “Political Crossfire” seminar on June 10th. Webmasters interested in speaking with Bernstein prior to Cybernet Expo can find his contact information on his Web site, which is located at embalaw.com.
Comments concerning YNOT News stories can be sent to editor@ynotmasters.com, or you are welcome to discuss all YNOT News articles on the YNOTMASTERS message boards.
