The Associated Press reports that Lynne Stewart has been disbarred for helping one of her clients, Omar Abdel-Rahman, communicate with his fellow terrorists from prison. For these acts, Stewart was convicted of providing material support to terrorists.

A particularly interesting aspect of the story is that a New York court ruled that Stewart had to be disbarred, and could not voluntarily resign from the bar. As I understand the ruling, the Court determined that her disbarment was automatic one Stewart had been convicted of a felony, so any effort to withdraw voluntarily after her conviction would be unsuccessful. I do not know if there is much precedent for this, but it struck me as unusual.