Not Unethical By 5-4 Vote

The Arizona Disciplinary Commission, by a 5-4 vote, approved the dismissal of ethics charges in a matter that that we had earlier discussed. The attorney had (1) gone to a police station for an interview wearing a t-shirt that declared “Let the f***ing begin” (2) called a prosecutor an “unethical piece of trash” and (3) arranged for a subscription to Modern Drunkard magazine to be sent to a prosecutor’s office due to his concern about the quality of the magazine choices in the waiting room. The magazines were not put out for general consumption. The hearing officer found the behavior inappropriate but not in violation of ethics rules. His report is attached to the commission’s report.

The dissenters would have imposed an informal reprimand. (Mike Frisch)