Answer Filed In Water Bottle Ethics Charges Where Attorney Saved Innocent Client

A North Carolina death penalty defense attorney has answered charges that she violated ethics rules by failing to return a glass with possible DNA when she left the home of a suspect’s sister .

The attorney admits that she took a disposable plastic water bottle from the sister’s home believing it was her own and did not return it when she got to her car and realized the mistake (see paragraphs 29-31)

She denies that the conduct constitutes grounds for discipline and seeks costs against the State Bar.

Our prior coverage noted that the attorney’s efforts led to her client’s exoneration.

(Mike Frisch)