Correction: This report initially stated that Avraham Cohen, founder and leader of the Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology, has written anti-Catholic religious tracts. Cohen did not write the tracts.

It was all about the remorse. Or lack thereof.

The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a case with a central question: Is a six-month suspension from the practice of law just punishment for an attorney who peppered legal filings with anti-Catholic slurs and, among other hateful rhetoric, wrote that a judge was a “black-robed bigot”?

Some justices wanted to know if lawyer Rebekah Nett was sorry for doing that.

“I don’t find much in the way of remorse,” Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson told Zorislav Leyderman, the attorney who argued on Nett’s behalf.

Leyderman admitted that Nett has never apologized for the smears she included in her filings, but that her acceptance of a six-month suspension showed some remorse.

A special referee recommended the suspension this year. But the state panel that polices lawyers challenged it before the Supreme Court, saying Nett’s transgressions merited a two-year suspension — at least.

“This court has not seen a case of this sort … that matches the scope of the number of statements,” argued Patrick Burns, first assistant director of the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.

He said a case could be made for stripping Nett of her law license.

“If there were such a case, this would be it,” he said.

Associate Justice Christopher Dietzen asked Burns if he’d seen any remorse.

“Quite the contrary, your honor,” the lawyer replied. “She does not appear to understand the nature of her conduct.”

Nett was admitted to the bar in 2000 and set up a solo practice in Hastings. Before the board action, she had an unblemished disciplinary record in Minnesota, although state and federal courts in Wisconsin had sanctioned her.

She has spent much of the past few years representing the business interests of the Wisconsin religious group she was raised in, the Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology Inc., or SIST.

Former members claim SIST is a religious cult.

SIST classifies itself on tax records as an educational corporation. It’s most recent Form 990 filed with the IRS for the tax year ending Dec. 31, 2011, lists Nett as a board member and states she worked an average of 42 hours a week for the group.

Nett admitted in a 2012 court hearing that she never billed SIST for her legal work, and the group never paid her.

The lawyers’ board launched the disciplinary action after Nett filed documents in the 2011 bankruptcy of one of SIST’s subsidiaries. In the filings, Nett called U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher (who died in November) a “black-robed bigot” and a “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.”

Nett claimed Dreher and others were players in a Vatican conspiracy to destroy SIST.

Dreher fined Nett $5,000 for the slurs. The lawyer eventually paid.

Nett was not present for oral arguments and didn’t have to be. Last year, though, she skipped an evidentiary hearing at which her attendance was required.

The justices asked Leyderman about that. The lawyer said his client didn’t show up because she is “a very private person” and the prospect of having reporters ask her questions as she left the hearing was too stressful for her.

Associate Justice Wilhelmina Wright asked if there was any medical evidence to back that up.

“No, your honor,” Leyderman replied.

A month after the hearing, the referee, retired Ramsey County District Judge Charles Flinn Jr., recommended a six-month suspension to the Supreme Court, which metes out lawyer discipline. Nett would have to petition for reinstatement.

Flinn wrote that Nett had shown “an extensive pattern of bad-faith litigation” and that her pleadings were meant to “harass, embarrass, delay or burden” others.

But the lawyers’ board challenged the recommendation, saying it wasn’t strong enough. Board director Martin Cole called Nett’s behavior “the most egregious instance we’ve seen of this conduct.”

Flinn noted — and Leyderman argued — that Nett’s bad behavior occurred only in cases involving SIST or its subsidiaries. Associate Justice David Lillehaug asked Burns if the court could suspend her for six months but bar her from representing SIST for a longer period.

“I wonder if that is something we could adequately monitor,” Burns replied. “I think there are some problems with crafting a realistic solution of that sort.”

Leyderman argued that Nett was just doing the bidding of her client, SIST founder Avraham Cohen, who demanded the slurs and accusations be included in the filings. He said the lawyer was caught between obeying the rules of her profession and “a client who was very insistent.”

Anderson didn’t buy it.

“It’s an easy choice: ‘If you want me to make those statements, find a different lawyer,’ ” Anderson said.

David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.