New York appeals court rules the First Amendment requires disclosure of the admonition Sarcone received for professional misconduct

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Washington, D.C. – Today, a New York appeals court ordered the state’s Attorney Grievance Committee to release the admonition it imposed on John A. Sarcone III, who served as interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, in response to a challenge by Campaign for Accountability (CfA), which had filed a complaint against Sarcone with the state bar in August 2025.

A unanimous five-justice panel of the Appellate Division, Third Department, held that CfA has a presumptive First Amendment right of access to the Committee’s disposition of CfA’s complaint. The court also found that neither the Committee nor Mr. Sarcone had rebutted that presumption, and it directed the Committee to provide the admonition to CfA “forthwith.”

CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “Mr. Sarcone’s office prosecutes New Yorkers in public every day, yet he fought to keep his own misconduct secret. Today the court made clear that when the state finds a lawyer, let alone a senior federal prosecutor, has broken the rules, the public has a right to know what he did. We look forward to the public release of the admonition.”

CfA’s August complaint alleged: that Mr. Sarcone made apparently false statements that a man had lunged at him with a knife and tried to kill him, resulting in serious criminal charges that were dropped after surveillance video failed to support his account; made deceptive statements about his residence; and retaliated against the press for reporting on these issues.

CfA argued that this conduct may have violated New York Rules of Professional Conduct prohibiting improper extrajudicial statements, bringing charges unsupported by probable cause, and engaging in illegal conduct, dishonesty, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and reflecting adversely on a lawyer’s fitness.

In April 2026, the Committee informed CfA that it had found “a sufficient basis for a finding of professional misconduct” and had taken action against Mr. Sarcone. Citing state confidentiality law, it refused to say what that action was. In July 2026, CfA petitioned the court for disclosure. Mr. Sarcone “adamantly oppose[d]” releasing any records, while the Committee conceded it had no good-faith basis to keep its disposition secret.

In today’s decision, the court relied on the Second Circuit’s ruling in Civil Rights Corps v. LaSalle and noted that attorney discipline has historically been public. It also stressed that “[t]he primary concern of a disciplinary proceeding is the protection of the public in its reliance on the integrity and responsibility of the legal profession.” The court rejected Mr. Sarcone’s argument that disclosure would mark the end of all private discipline in New York. It declined to order release of Mr. Sarcone’s written response to the complaint, holding that the Committee’s investigative files remain confidential.

CfA was represented by Gregory L. Diskant and Faust Petkovich of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Hearst Corporation, Advance Publications, Inc. and other news organizations filed an amicus brief supporting CfA.

CfA will publish the admonition once it receives it.

The court’s decision is available here: https://campaignforaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sarcone-Order-PM-238-26-MO-Campaign-for-Accountability.pdf

CfA’s complaint is available here: https://campaignforaccountability.org/watchdog-files-john-sarcone-bar-complaint-over-apparently-illegal-actions/

Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.