Divorce Was Better Option

A recent disciplinary sanction reported on the web page of the Texas State Bar:

On August 18, 2009 the Board of Disciplinary Appeals signed a final judgment disbarring [a] Searcy, Arkansas attorney… On June 25, 2008 the Boardsigned an Interlocutory Order suspending [him] from the practice of lawpending the appeal of his criminal conviction of three charges ingeneral court martial order in Cause No. 431-43-9656FR United StatesAir Force, 37th Training Wing, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas: attemptto commit premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murderand wrongful fraternization with an enlisted person, offenses under theUniform Code of Military Justice. The crimes of attempt to commitpremeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder areintentional crimes as defined in the Texas Rules of DisciplinaryProcedure. [He] was sentenced to confinement for 18 years in the AirForce Corrections System. The court martial was subject to an automaticappeal. The United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirmedhis criminal conviction on April 23, 2008. On November 13, 2008 theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces denied his petitionfor Grant of Review on November 13, 2008. [The attorney] answered but failed toappear at the hearing.

The decision of the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirming the underlying conviction notes that the attorney was a “judge advocate with an impressive past and a promising career ahead of him” who had an affair with a paralegal and conspired with her to murder his spouse (a civilian attorney he had met while attending law school) rather than pursue “something as mundane as a divorce.” (Mike Frisch)