Disbarment For Child Pornography Possession Conviction

The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board agreed with a panel order of disbarment in a case involving an attorney convicted of possession of child pornography. The board found that there was jurisdiction to impose bar discipline even though the attorney was suspended when the criminal conduct took place.

Further, disbarment was the appropriate sanction for the offense as “[a]t least one image [possessed by the repondent] depicted penetration of a pre-pubescent child, which involved sadistic or masochistic or other depictions of violence.” The attorney also distributed images to others on line.  (Mike Frisch)