Key facts
- The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal from attorney Richard Trahant.
- Trahant was fined $400,000 for alleged protective order violations.
- The violations stemmed from efforts to remove a priest accused of sexual misconduct from a high school chaplaincy.
- The New Orleans Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
- Trahant's clients were among those victimized in a clergy abuse scandal.
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from attorney Richard Trahant, who was fined $400,000 for allegedly violating a protective order during his work on the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese bankruptcy case. Trahant had sought to have Paul Hart, a priest with a history of misconduct involving a minor, removed as chaplain of Brother Martin High School.
Trahant learned of Hart's past through his representation of clergy abuse claimants in the bankruptcy proceedings. Despite Hart having secretly admitted to sexual contact with a 17-year-old in the early 1990s, Archbishop Gregory Aymond had allowed him to continue in ministry, citing the age of consent under canon law at the time. Hart was later assigned as chaplain to Brother Martin High School in 2017.
Upon learning of Hart's past, Trahant informed the school's principal, who is also his cousin. While Trahant claimed he did not reveal confidential information, the federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy, Meredith Grabill, ordered an investigation. Although court investigators conceded there was evidence supporting Trahant's denial of providing confidential information to a journalist, Grabill ruled his actions constituted a protective order violation and imposed the $400,000 fine. The judge also expelled four of Trahant's clients from a committee of clergy abuse survivors negotiating a settlement.
Trahant's subsequent appeals to the New Orleans federal court and the US Fifth Circuit were unsuccessful. His petition to the Supreme Court argued, in part, that his due process rights were violated. The archdiocese waived its right to respond, and the Supreme Court denied the petition without explanation. Trahant stated he acted to protect children and suggested the fine be directed toward abuse survivors. His clients expressed dismay, viewing the ruling as a setback for victims seeking to expose abuse within the Catholic Church.