Bad Judgment, Good Taste

A District of Columbia Hearing Committee has recommended approval of a consent discipline of a three-month suspension of an attorney convicted of stealing “seven or eight” neckties from a Nordstrom’s in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

The attorney was depressed as a result of his marital situation and sought help after his arrest. The hearing committee (chaired by my former student Matt Kaiser) accepted medical evidence that linked the depression and the crime.

The hearing committee concluded that the misdemeanor petit larceny conviction did not involve moral turpitude, which would have required disbarment.

The attorney has been suspended as a result of the conviction and will be reinstated if the recommendation is adopted.

The report in In re Albert G. Zarate can be found at this link. (Mike Frisch)