David Kenner, an 82-year-old lawyer from Encino, California, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal contempt and received a sentence of one year of probation along with a $5,000 fine. This sentencing arises from his failure to adhere to a protective order in a high-profile case where he served as counsel.
The case in question is United States v. Prakazrel Michel, Case No. 19-cr-148, presided over by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The charges against Kenner stemmed from a motion filed on March 3, 2023, by government attorneys, who sought an order to show cause for contempt. This motion, after investigation, was granted by Judge Amit P. Mehta, before whom Kenner eventually pleaded guilty to one count of contempt following a plea agreement with the U.S. government.
Court documents reveal that David Kenner, acting as counsel of record for the defendant in the Prakazrel Michel case, was granted access to discovery materials by the United States. This access was explicitly governed by a Protective Order designed to control the disclosure and usage of these materials. The Protective Order mandated that before any disclosure of discovery materials to an individual, “the defendant or his attorneys of record must give to the individual… a copy of this Order, and maintain a copy signed and dated by the individual … until such time as all appeals in this matter (if any) are concluded.”
However, events unfolded that led to Kenner’s contempt charge. In late November 2022, the defendant, represented by David Kenner Lawyer, introduced two journalists from Bloomberg Media to the case. Subsequently, in early December 2022, the defendant, with authorization from his counsel David Kenner, agreed to share discovery materials with these media members. While the journalists did sign copies of the Protective Order initially, they then proceeded to tear up the signed orders in the defendant’s presence, expressing discomfort with the restrictions.
Despite this clear indication of the journalists’ unwillingness to comply with the Protective Order, an individual, acting under David Kenner’s authorization, facilitated the journalists’ access to the defense team’s database containing the discovery materials. Critically, David Kenner lawyer did not take any steps to prevent this access or revoke his authorization, even after witnessing the journalists destroy the Protective Order.
The consequences of this breach became apparent on March 2, 2023, when Bloomberg Media published multiple articles incorporating information directly derived from the protected discovery materials. The following day, in court proceedings for United States v. Prakazrel Michel, David Kenner admitted that information had been shared with the media. However, he notably failed to disclose to the Court that the journalists had destroyed their copies of the Protective Order prior to accessing the sensitive materials, a direct violation of the Order’s stipulations.
The prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Hooks and Elizabeth Aloi from the Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Unit. This case underscores the critical importance of adhering to court-mandated protective orders, especially for legal professionals like David Kenner lawyer, and the serious repercussions of failing to do so.
