A Baton Rouge attorney who referred to himself in court filings as “Emperor of the American Empire” and “Christian Emperor d’Orleans” has been suspended by the state Supreme Court and ordered not to be reinstated until submitting to a mental health exam.
Six Supreme Court justices issued the opinion imposing the disciplinary action against attorney Edward Moses Jr. on May 29. The decision comes in the wake of the federal court in the Western District of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal each fining Moses $2,500 for filing frivolous litigation.
In the federal case of Moses v. Edwards, the attorney argued that former Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and former President Donald Trump illegitimately held their offices and that Moses should assume the posts himself.
“Among various bizarre and frivolous assertions, Moses contends that, as Emperor of the American Empire and protector of the "Tribe of … Moses," he is entitled to the (offices) because the elections were invalid and the government of the United States was dissolved by a coup d'état on Jan. 6, 2021,” the 2022 appeals court decision states.
Moses was also suspended for one year by the federal court in the Middle District of Louisiana for filing frivolous lawsuits and attempting to use his clients’ cases to “assert his own personal agenda,” according to the state Supreme Court’s disciplinary order.
“Our review of the record demonstrates respondent was afforded full due process rights in the federal court and there is no infirmity of proof establishing the misconduct,” the high court’s decision states. “The discipline imposed by the federal court is not offensive to the public policy of this state and is not substantially different from the discipline we would impose under similar circumstances.”
The court characterized Moses’ filings and actions as bizarre and suggested that his ability to practice his profession has been compromised, endangering his clients or members of the public.
“In light of these concerns, we will mandate that after serving his one-year suspension, respondent shall not be eligible to seek reinstatement to the practice of law in Louisiana … unless and until he submits to a comprehensive mental health evaluation through the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program and files a copy of the evaluation report in this court …” the state Supreme Court said in its opinion.
The only justice not signing on to the court’s opinion was Jefferson Hughes.
“Justice Hughes did not assign reasons for his partial dissent in the referenced matter,” Robert Gunn, a spokesman for the high court, said in an email to the Louisiana Record. Gunn also noted that the court’s per curiam opinion says the state “Office of Disciplinary Counsel, not the Louisiana Supreme Court, filed a petition seeking the imposition of reciprocal discipline.”
Moses did not respond to a request for comment.
The high court indicated that in March, it issued an order giving Moses 30 days to explain why the court should not issue a one-year suspension.
“He asserted that although he is an attorney, he did not appear in these proceedings in his individual capacity, but rather solely in the capacity of “the Christian Emperor d’Orleans Trust protector of the Atakapa Indian ‘Tribe of … Moses’ (Foreign) Express Spendthrift Trust,” the Supreme Court stated.