Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, sued Bruck last month in an attempt to force him to file a summary judgement against Dr. Margaret Carpenter of New Paltz. A Texas judge found Carpenter liable for more than $100,000 in fines and legal fees for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman last year. Texas bans nearly all abortions.
However, Bruck has refused to file the judgement against Carpenter in New York in accordance with the state’s “shield law,” which protects abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits.
“Since everything that the doctor did was legal in New York state — she never left New York state — our interpretation of the shield law made it pretty clear that we were not to comply with [the Texas judgement]," he says.
New York is one of eight states to adopt shield laws since the fall of Roe v. Wade. Carpenter’s case is considered the first major test of those laws, with some legal experts saying it could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Bruck has retained Andrew Celli, Jr., of the nationally recognized civil rights firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel. Last week, the Ulster County Legislature voted along party lines, 14-8, to allocate $50,000 for Bruck to find outside counsel.
“Our job is to provide a defense for our employee that is at least as robust as the case being leveled against him," said Democratic Legislator Limina Grace Harmon. "That is routine, that we would seek outside counsel in extreme circumstances — which we know these are, because this is a national issue.”
Unbeknownst to the legislature, Celli had already been hired. Bruck says Celli was technically retained August 1 to meet a mid-August filing deadline. Democratic Chairman Peter Criswell confirmed to WAMC in a statement that the legislature didn’t know this, but he stood by the body’s decision to approve the funds, adding: “A majority of the legislature — and the many constituents who came to session or wrote in — support the expenditure of funds to stand behind a county employee who was both doing his job and upholding New York state law.”
Bruck says Celli has agreed to represent him pro-bono once the $50,000 is depleted. He adds no funds were dispersed at the time Celli was hired.
“[Celli's] really passionate about fighting for what he believes is justice and has a great track record of it. So, I was really excited to reach out to him," says Bruck. "It seemed like at least members of the legislature knew — we were questioned about it, about why we were going with a New York City attorney instead of a local attorney — so I’m unsure why there’s been reporting seeming like that was a confusion for everybody or some sort of scandal. [I'm] happy to clear up any confusion going forward. We certainly didn’t keep any information from anybody intentionally.”
Celli did not return a request for comment in time for broadcast. A spokesperson for Ulster County says Celli was fully aware when he signed the retainer agreement that the funding hadn’t yet been approved, and that the reason the legislature wasn’t kept in the loop was because the county attorney, who helped with the agreement, “was away at the time.”
The eight Republicans who voted against the retainer funding last week cited multiple reasons for doing so, ranging from reservations about the case and the shield law in general, to concerns that legal fees could balloon if the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. Republican Legislator Joseph Maloney said the legislature should wait to move on the issue until it learns whether the county’s insurance could potentially cover the cost.
“I don’t think this is a responsible decision. If our insurance company decides that he’s indemnified, I’m all for him being covered and represented," said Maloney. "If not, I think we need to have a conversation — because there could be shield-type laws on a lot of different topics coming down the line, with states going in different directions. What are we gonna do? Without any information, just keep throwing money out of our budget?”
A motion to postpone the resolution failed. Democrats like Legislator Kathy Nolan referred to the funds as a starting point, noting that the case is already underway.
“There’s certain things that, when they’re happening, you need to take an action now, to stabilize it, to give yourself that room to make better decision making," said Nolan.
Carpenter has largely refused to comment on the lawsuit, but the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which she cofounded, has stressed in its statements that the two-pill regimen for medicated abortions is “an essential part of women’s healthcare” that has been “proved safe and effective globally for decades.” The Texas case isn’t the only legal battle involving Carpenter: she also faces criminal charges for allegedly prescribing abortion pills in Louisiana. New York has refused to extradite her in that case.
