Magistrate Judge Mark A. Lewis starts each day on the bench with the Pledge of Allegiance. He has since 9/11.

That practice troubled at least one shyster lawyer in his courtroom, who demanded hat the judge recuse himself for doing so.

The judge rightly refused.

And then came an unethical act by the lawyer.

[I]n a letter dated March 17, Atlanta-based attorney Donald A. Weissman, who is representing the defendant, told Lewis he objected to beginning court with "a public declaration of national loyalty."

He asked Lewis to stop the practice or recuse himself from the case.

In an order dated March 30, Lewis said reciting the pledge is not "mandatory, requested or required" for people in the courtroom, and ruled that Weissman's request had no basis.

The next day, during a hearing in open court with television cameras rolling, Weissman handed Lewis a copy of an official complaint he filed with the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Once the complaint was filed in court, Lewis was "ethically required" to remove himself from the case, Gwinnett Chief Magistrate Warren Davis said.

"It's always just good form to recuse," Lewis said Wednesday.

In other words, the lawyer objects to having the case presided over by a judge loyal to the United States. When the judge refused to be cowed by his arrogant demand, Weissman staged a PR stunt intended to force Judge Lewis off the case.

This complaint needs to be dismissed forthwith by the Judicial Qualifications Commission – and actions then need to be taken to disbar Weissman for this stunt.