Lawyers duke it out in courthouse

PORTLAND, Ore., April 2 (UPI) -- Two lawyers exiting a landlord-tenant court in Multnomah County, Ore., came to blows in a courthouse hallway, witnesses said.

Court officials and witnesses said David Lawrence and Aaron Matusick began shouting at each other after leaving the courtroom and drew a crowd when the confrontation became physical, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Wednesday.

Witnesses said one man slapped the other and the second man responded with a punch to the forehead, but it was not clear which attorney instigated the violence.

Judge Pro-Tem Lewis Lawrence, who is not related to David Lawrence, forced the men to apologize after the fight and told them they would be permanently barred from his courtroom if further incidents take place.

"Both of them should have had enough sense not to engage in that," the judge said.

However, he added: "Isolated incidents are not a good gauge of who someone is."